Demeter

agriculture and grain

Demeter makes the grain grow and grants the harvest, without her the land withers and people go hungry.

💡 Did you know? Her chief symbol is the ear of grain, often bound into a sheaf or a wreath.

with the abduction of Persephone

When Hades stole her daughter Persephone, the grieving Demeter let everything wither and so winter arose.

💡 Did you know? For part of the year Persephone returns; then the earth blooms again: spring and summer.

for nine days with torches across the earth

For nine days Demeter wandered with burning torches, without eating or resting.

💡 Did you know? It was the all-seeing sun god Helios who finally told her that Hades had taken Persephone.

the Eleusinian Mysteries

At Eleusis secret rites were held that gave initiates hope of a blessed afterlife.

💡 Did you know? What exactly happened at Eleusis was kept so secret that it remains uncertain to this day.

the cultivation of grain

Demeter taught humankind to sow and reap grain: the beginning of agriculture and civilisation.

💡 Did you know? She sent her protégé Triptolemus out on a winged chariot to spread agriculture.

Ceres

For the Romans, Demeter is Ceres, goddess of grain, especially revered by the common people.

💡 Did you know? The word „cereal“ comes from her name and the largest dwarf planet, Ceres, is named after her.

Triptolemus

In a winged dragon chariot he taught the peoples farming.

💡 Did you know? A favourite hero of Eleusinian art.

with Celeus of Eleusis

At night she laid little Demophon in the fire to make him immortal.

💡 Did you know? The startled mother interrupted the rite.

with a famine

No grain grew while her daughter was missing.

💡 Did you know? Thus her grief forced the compromise of the seasons.

ears of grain

Along with torch and cornucopia.

💡 Did you know? The ear of grain became the very sign of agriculture.

Erysichthon

He had felled her sacred grove.

💡 Did you know? In the end he devoured himself.

the pig

Piglets played a role of their own in the Mysteries.

💡 Did you know? Pigs were considered animals of fertility.