She was the goddess of agriculture and civil order. As the goddess of the fertility of the earth, she was in close relations with the three brothers, who divided power over the world among themselves. She gave birth to Persephone (Proserpina) to Zeus; Poseidon, who in the form of a stallion seduced her, who took the form of a mare, is the daughter and horse of Arion. Demeter's daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped underground god Hades in Enna (Sicily). Demeter wandered for nine days, looking for her daughter, but her plaintive cry was heard only by Hecate and Helios. When only on the 10th day Helios informed her about the kidnapping of her daughter, she left in anger Olympus and withdrew to Eleusis, to the king of that city, Kelei.
The abduction of Persephone. Antique jug, ca. 330-320 BC.
Here Demeter, taking the form of an elderly woman, sat down at the source; The daughters of Kelei greeted her affectionately and asked about her homeland. Demeter answered that her name was Deo, that she had been robbed by Cretan robbers, and asked them to shelter her. The girls' mother, Metaneira, took in a foreigner and entrusted her with her youngest son, Demophonta.
In the subsequent story, the goddess of agriculture and, in general, the creator of any culture, manifests herself by educating heroes of popular power. To give the boy Demophon eternal youth, Demeter put him in the fire at night, but Metaneira spied on this and prevented her with plaintive cries. Then the goddess revealed herself to her and ordered her to build a temple at the source, in which she settled. Still angry, she caused a crop failure throughout the land.
Great Gods of Greece (Greek Mythology)
Besides Eleusis, ancient place cult of Demeter, she was especially revered in Crete, Argolis, Arcadia, on the western coast of Asia, Sicily and Italy. Her cult was partly secret. Of the holidays established in honor of her, except those indicated above Thesmophorium, it should be noted the Athenian Proerosia, the holiday that preceded the cultivation of the fields, Chloe, - a sacrifice for the ripening but still green crops, Haloi(festival of threshing), Talisia- the festival of the first fruits of the field, and Eleusinia.
Demeter- V ancient greek mythology goddess of fertility and agriculture. One of the most revered deities of the Olympic pantheon. Her name means "Mother Earth".
The cult of the mother goddess, the patroness of farmers who protects all life on earth, goes back to the pre-Indo-European era. The Indo-European peoples called her Mother Earth. She is the “Great Mother,” giving birth to all living things and receiving the dead, the embodiment of primitive creative energy. In a similar form (according to one hypothesis), Demeter was also revered: she was considered the patroness of sorcerers, in which she was identified with the great goddess, who was an assistant in witchcraft and the only assistant from him. She was also called (“Avenger”), Thermasia (“Hot”), Chthonia (“Earthly”, “Underground”); her daughter - - was the queen of the underground kingdom of the dead. At the same time, Demeter is a “good goddess”, the guardian of life, who taught humanity agriculture.
In Roman mythology, Demeter's counterpart was Ceres, the goddess of the fertile field. In late antiquity, the cult of Demeter was mixed with the cult of Cybele. Sometimes Demeter was seen in the constellation Virgo.
The establishment of the Mysteries of the Great Goddesses dates back to mythical times. Only in Megalopolis were there statues of Callignothus, Mentas, Sosigenes and Paul, who established them already in the 4th century. BC e. In 272 BC. e. In Argos, Demeter took the form of an old woman and killed King Pyrrhus with tiles. A temple was built for Demeter and Pyrrhus was buried there.
The most famous festivals associated with the cult of Demeter are the Eleusinian Mysteries, which symbolically represented the grief of Demeter, who lost her daughter, and her wanderings in search of Persephone, secret connection between the world of the living and the world of the dead, physical and spiritual cleansing. Participants in the rituals fasted, drank kykeon - a drink made from barley and mint, which, according to legend, Demeter drank in the house of Kelei - and then entered the temple dedicated to the goddess, where they were shown some sacred objects. Those who completed the ritual were considered initiated into the mysteries of life and death; Even slaves were allowed to take part in it.
MythDemeter (Ceres among the Romans) is the goddess of fertility and agriculture, the daughter of Kronos and Rhea, one of the most revered Olympian deities. She was depicted as a beautiful woman with golden hair, dressed in blue robes, or (mostly in sculptures) as a venerable, imposing woman seated on a throne.
Part of Demeter's name meter means "mother". She was worshiped as a mother goddess, especially as the mother of grain and the mother of the girl Persephone.
Demeter's life began as darkly as Hera's. She was the second child of Rhea and Kronos - and the second he swallowed. Demeter became the fourth royal consort of Zeus (Jupiter), who was also her brother. Born from the union of Zeus and Demeter only child, their daughter Persephone, with whom Demeter was associated in myth and cult.
The story of Demeter and Persephone, beautifully told in Homer's Hymn to Demeter, centers around Demeter's reaction to Persephone's abduction by Demeter's brother Hades, lord of the underworld.
Persephone was picking flowers with her friends in the meadow. When she picked a flower, the earth suddenly opened up in front of her and Hades appeared from its depths on horses black as night in a golden chariot. He grabbed Persephone, lifted her onto a chariot and in the blink of an eye disappeared into the bowels of the earth. Persephone struggled and screamed, calling on Zeus for help, but help did not come.
Demeter heard Persephone's cry and rushed to find her. In her frantic desire to find her child, she did not stop to eat, sleep or bathe.
Finally, Demeter met Hecate, the goddess of the dark moon and crossroads, who invited her to go together to Helios, the sun god. Helios told them that Hades had kidnapped Persephone and taken her to underground kingdom, where she became his bride against her will. In addition, he said that the abduction of Persephone was carried out by the will of Zeus. He advised Demeter to stop shedding tears and accept what had happened.
Demeter rejected this advice. Now she felt not only grief, she felt betrayed and insulted by Zeus. Having left Olympus, she turned into an old woman and wandered, unrecognized, all over the world.
Demeter grieved for her kidnapped daughter, refusing to act. As a result, the growth and birth of all living things stopped. The famine threatened to destroy the human race and thereby deprive the Olympian gods of worship and sacrifice.
Each of the Olympians came to Demeter, bringing gifts and giving honor. And the angry Demeter let everyone know that she would not set foot on Olympus and would not allow plants to grow until Persephone was returned to her.
Eventually Zeus gave in. He sent Hermes, the messenger of the gods, to Hades, ordering him to bring Persephone back. Hermes rushed to the underworld and found Hades.
Hearing that she was free and could return, Persephone was delighted and prepared to go with Hermes. But first Hades gave her a few pomegranate seeds, which she ate.
Seeing Hermes and Persephone, Demeter rushed to her daughter and embraced her. Demeter then worriedly asked if her daughter had eaten anything in the underworld. If Persephone had not eaten, she would have been returned to her forever. But since she swallowed the pomegranate seeds, she will now spend two-thirds of the year with Demeter and one-third in the underworld with Hades.
After reuniting with her daughter, Demeter returned flowering and fertility to the earth. She then established the cult of the Eleusinian Mysteries. These were awe-inspiring cultic ceremonies, and the initiates were forbidden to reveal their secret. During these mysteries, people received knowledge of how to live in joy and die without fear.
Archetype
Motherhood
Demeter represented the mother archetype on Olympus. Her most important roles were those of mother (daughter - Persephone), one who nourishes (goddess of fertility), and giver of spiritual food (Eleusinian Mysteries).
Demeter is, of course, the mother figure, principle and script. She personifies maternal instinct, the desire to give birth to a child, the joy of becoming pregnant, the pleasure of feeding, caring for and raising children.
A woman with a strong Demeter archetype passionately desires to be a mother, and having become one, she discovers this role for herself as self-realization, as implementation myself. When Demeter represents the most powerful archetype in a woman's soul, being a mother is the most important role and function of her life. The image of mother and child, most often represented in Western art Madonna and Child corresponds to the deep inner idea that drives a woman.[
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The mother archetype encourages a woman to nurture and nourish others, to be generous and generous, and to find satisfaction as the family's breadwinner, caring for the family and home.
It is also about providing physical, psychological or spiritual food to other people, not even necessarily relatives. If Demeter is the most powerful goddess in a woman’s soul, then being a mother, “nanny” or “nurse” becomes the meaning of her life.
Feeding others gives the Demeter woman extraordinary satisfaction. She finds it very enjoyable to nurse her children and enjoys serving hearty meals to family or guests. If they enjoy her food, her how good mother(and not like Athena - a gourmet cook), warm feelings. If she works in an office, she enjoys making coffee for others.
Spiritual Parenting
Unlike Athena, who trained great strategists and generals, Demeter trained agricultural kings and raised cultural heroes. She also gave people the Eleusinian mysteries. Everyone could participate free people who did not shed human blood.
Many famous women- religious mentors - had the properties of Demeter and were perceived by their followers as a maternal image. Such were, for example, the laureate Nobel Prize world Mother Teresa and spiritual director of the Aurobindo Ashram in India, who was addressed simply as “Mother”.[
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Generosity
Demeter was the most generous goddess of the ancient Greeks. This “joy of giving” can be found in many women. Some quite naturally feed, groom and nurture other people on a physical level, others provide emotional and psychological support, and still others provide people with some kind of spiritual nourishment. In this they share the ideal maternal scenario. First, the mother takes care of the physiological needs of the baby: she feeds, waters, dresses and puts on shoes. She supports the grown-up child on an emotional and psychological level: she can give practical advice, reassure and reassure, praise and guide. And adult children value the spiritual wisdom of their mother, which they can always rely on in difficult times. This ideal is difficult to achieve in real life. But from time to time we meet women on our way who play the role of Demeter for us in one particular case or another. Or we carry out such a mission ourselves.
Family priority
For a woman who is “ruled” by Demeter, family is more important than home. Home for her is, first of all, “a place where the family gathers.” In this she differs from women who follow the path of the goddess of the hearth - Hestia. The peaceful fire of Hestia can burn regardless of the number of family members and their immediate needs for care and guardianship. For Demeter, the family itself is more important, and space is never a hindrance. So mothers easily come to a city on the other side of the country (or even the Earth) and feel at home if their children are there too. Without a family, life has no meaning for her. However, grandchildren or wards can replace natural children.
Maternal strength
Tradition assigns the mother the role of guardian of the moral law that determines the unity of the family team: “The whole world in the family comes from the mother.” The mother had primary responsibility for moral qualities and the fate of children, what else to a greater extent manifests itself today. The mother often appears as the personification of the Law, the violation of which leads to terrible, irreparable consequences. Sometimes mothers themselves feel like this, trying to instill this feeling in their children.
An important component of the “motherhood” complex is blocking aggression, violence, conflict behavior. Traditionally in Rus', a mother’s aggressiveness was considered dangerous for her children even in the womb, as well as after birth. The responsibilities of the mother of the family included, first of all, blocking violent forms of behavior.
However, the mother's task is to protect and protect her children. When we're talking about about the danger for them (even imaginary), then the mother herself becomes a threat to others and at the same time does not shy away from verbal or even physical aggression. The maternal role for such a woman will become an “archetypal shield” with which she will hide both from the judgments of those around her and from herself. And then any arguments against, doubts and reproaches of conscience will be discarded.
Women like Demeter become invincible when it comes to the well-being of their children. Many special education classes for children with disabilities exist only because of the desire of Demeter mothers to give their children everything they need. Perseverance, patience, perseverance are the properties of Demeter, which can ultimately influence a powerful man or social institution.
Depression, anger and destructiveness
We remember part of the myth of the abduction of Kore, when mother Demeter sat in her temple and refused to support life on earth. This led to famine and the gradual death of all living things. Real women can fall into a similar state, plunging into severe depression and not even emerging from their melancholy for years. This is a terrible time for their family, and the children are going through it very hard. As a result, the child's childhood may be colored by the feeling that his mother does not accept him, and this turns into distrust of the world as a whole. Such a mother is called a “dead mother.” Physically she is present in the family, but in her soul she is too far from it and is not able to give her child a feeling of love and support.
Far more common than these extreme forms of refusal is the Demeter mother's refusal to acknowledge and approve of the increasingly less dependent from them. Although maternal depression is not as obvious in these circumstances, withholding approval (which the child needs for self-esteem) is also associated with depression. She experiences her child's growing independence as an emotional loss. She feels less needed, rejected, and as a result may become depressed.
When the Demeter archetype has significant power and a woman is unable to exercise it, she risks falling into chronic depression caused by “feelings of empty nest and emptiness.” A woman who longs to have a child may become infertile, the child may die or leave the home. Her job as a nanny may end, or she may lose her clients or students. In this case, the Demeter woman tends to sink into depression rather than feel anger or actively fight for what is meaningful to her (a common reaction of the Hera woman). She grieves, feeling that life is empty and meaningless.
Demeter Woman
The Demeter woman is first and foremost a mother. In her close relationships, she feeds, educates and supports, helps and gives. She provides others with what she sees them need - chicken soup, an appreciative hug, money, helping a friend overcome difficulties, constantly inviting her to "come home like a mother."
The aura of Mother Earth is often felt around the Demeter woman. It is solid and reliable. People describe her as having "ground under her feet"; she does what needs to be done with warmth and practicality. Usually she is generous, directed towards external world, is altruistic and devoted to people and principles, to the point that she can be perceived as stubborn and unyielding. She has strong opinions and is difficult to budge when something important or someone important to her is involved.
Childhood and parents
Some little girls look like developing Demeters - "little mothers" cradling baby dolls. Little Demeter also enjoys holding real babies; at nine or ten she may be eager to nurse her siblings.
The goddess Demeter continues the lineage of fertility goddesses, like her mother and grandmother. She was the daughter of Rhea and the granddaughter of Gaia - goddesses of the earth. She also has other correspondences with her mother and grandmother. All three goddesses suffered from harm caused by their husbands to their children. Gaia's husband imprisoned her children in her body when they were born. Rhea's husband swallowed her newborn children. And Demeter’s husband allowed their daughter to be captured in the underworld. All three biological father showed a lack of parental feelings.
Real life corresponds to the myth of Demeter in cases where women-mothers marry men who lack parental feelings. In this situation, the Demeter daughter grows up, not connected with her father, but closely associating herself with her mother. The maternal qualities of a Demeter daughter may result in her reversing roles with her immature or inept parents. When she is old enough, she may look after her parents or become a caretaker for her younger siblings.
In contrast, if young Demeter has a loving and approving father, she will grow up feeling his support for her desire to be a good mother herself. She perceives men positively and her expectations towards her husband will be positive. The archetype's tendency toward the victim position will not be reinforced by childhood experiences.
Adolescence and youth
At puberty, the archetypal maternal urge receives hormonal support and her own child becomes a biological possibility. At this time, some Demeter girls begin to experience desire get pregnant. If other aspects of her life are not filled, then the young "Demeter" who becomes sexually involved and becomes pregnant may joyfully accept the child.
Many "Demeters" marry early. In working class families, a girl is often encouraged to get married immediately after leaving school. This encouragement may correspond to the Demeter girl's own inclination to have a family rather than an education or a job.
If a young Demeter woman does not get married and start a family, she will go to work or go to college. In college, she will likely take courses that will prepare her for a career in helping others. As a rule, the Demeter woman is not ambitious, not inclined to intellectual work, and does not strive for excellent grades, although she can do well in her studies if she has the ability and interest in the disciplines taught. The status that is so important for the Hera woman is not significant for Demeter. She often chooses friends without caring at all about their role in society.
Job
The maternal nature of the Demeter woman predisposes her to choose activities related to nurturing or helping. She is drawn to “traditionally female” professions such as teacher, educator, and medical worker. When the Demeter archetype is present, helping others grow or feel good becomes a core motivator and brings satisfaction. Women who become therapists, psychotherapists, and pediatricians often reflect a certain Demeter inclination in their choices. Many women working in kindergartens, nurseries, primary schools, orphanages, also bring their own inclinations to work.
Some Demeter women become key figures in organizations that feed off their maternal energy. Typically, in such a situation, the Demeter woman makes a great impression on others. She can imagine and then found an organization and personally lead it to rapid success.
Relationships with women: friendship or rivalry
Demeter women do not compete with other women for men or achievements. Envy or jealousy of other women concerns children. A childless Demeter woman feels inferior to women of her age who have become mothers. If she is infertile, she may feel bitter and bitter at the ease with which others get pregnant, especially if they have abortions. In more later years life, if her grown children live far away or are emotionally distant, she will envy the mother who sees the children often. At this stage of life, jealousy can also surface due to grandchildren.
Demeter women have mixed feelings about the women's movement. Many Demeter women are angry with feminists because they devalue the role of motherhood. On the other hand, Demeter women strongly support many women's initiatives, such as protecting children from violence, providing shelters for abused women.
Demeter women usually form strong friendships with other Demeter women. Many of these friendships began when they were new mothers together. Sometimes they rely more on their girlfriends than on their husbands - as in emotional support, and in real help.
Within families where all women are Demeter, mothers and daughters can remain close from generation to generation. Such families have a pronounced matriarchal structure.
Relationships with men:
The Demeter woman attracts men who feel attracted to maternal women. Among them there may be a typical “mama's boy”, whom Demeter will appreciate for his individuality and misunderstanding by others, she will sincerely admire and care for him, and he will devotedly love her, as children love their mothers. Demeter’s partner can also be a man who, as a child, dreamed of marrying his own mother, and now has found in his Demeter wife someone who will be caring, warm, responsive, monitor his diet, buy him clothes and keep them in order, refer him to a doctor, when he needs it, arrange for him social life. But Demeter can also connect her life with a sociophage - a person incapable of love, devotion and remorse, capable only of consuming and exhausting (both moral and material) a loved one.
Of all the men who are attracted to Demeter's qualities, only the mature and generous man is the "family type man." Such a man has a strong desire to have a family, and he sees in the Demeter woman a partner who shares his dream. This type of man is a "good daddy" to his children, but he also looks out for her. If she finds it difficult to refuse people seeking to benefit from her beautiful Demeter nature, he will help her be on her guard. A family-type man helps her realize herself through the birth of children. For the first three types of men, the idea of having a child is threatening, and they may insist on an abortion if she becomes pregnant. This demand will lead her to a maternal crisis: she will either abandon the man for whom she played the role of mother, or she will abandon motherhood. This choice will make her feel like a mother who must make the impossible choice of sacrificing one of her children.
There is an opinion that a Demeter woman is interested in sex only as an opportunity, a way to have a child. And that many Demeter women have their own little secret- they do not get much more pleasure from breastfeeding a baby than from sex with a man.
I said earlier that I do not consider sensuality to be the prerogative of the Aphrodite archetype. In my opinion, sensuality is a feature of a woman’s physics. She can certainly be awakened in herself in the most obvious way - through the awakening of Aphrodite with the help of various women's things- personal care, lace lingerie, perfume, behavior that awakens in men the desire to help and take care. That being said, I believe that EVERY woman has her own unique form of sensuality. In Demeter it is earthy, unadorned, “animal” and deep.
In ancient cults, in order for the earth to bear fruit, a husband and wife at a certain time made love on freshly plowed land, conceiving a child at that moment and thereby performing a ritual of agricultural magic. This action seems to me to be the personification of the Demeter archetype, while it is certainly sensual and charged with enormous sexual, life-creative energy.
Today it is customary to separate the process of conceiving a child and his birth, when the first is seen as deeply attractive, while the second, although joyful, is painful. Now I don’t want to raise a wave of discussion about whether the process of childbirth can be enjoyable, be something more than an injury that you want to quickly forget, and why silicone breasts are an object of desire, and breastfeeding breasts are indecent. I only mean that people have long known that birth is a process no less sensual than the one that precedes it. And each of us, regardless of the archetype, has our own sensual energy seething.
Children
The Demeter woman feels a deep need to be a biological mother. She wants to give birth and raise her own child. She is capable of being a loving foster mother, an attentive teacher, but if she cannot have children, her deep passionate desire is not fulfilled, and she may feel failed.
All Demeter women perceive themselves as good mothers who have the interests of their children in the foreground. However, from the point of view of their impact on children, Demeter women can be both flawless, loving and terrible possessive, suppressive mothers.
Some Demeter mothers are always afraid that something bad might happen to their child. Therefore, they limit their children's independence and prevent them from forming close relationships with others. Due to the intention of always protecting her child, the Demeter mother can establish excessive control over him.
Another negative model of maternal behavior in Demeter women is a mother who cannot say “no” to her children. She sees herself as selfless, generous, a providing mother, a giver and a giver. This Demeter mother wants her children to have everything they want. If it is far beyond what she can give them, she will either make sacrifices to provide what she wants or feel constantly guilty.
Average age
Middle age is an important time for Demeter women. If such a woman does not have a child, she is constantly preoccupied with thoughts of what is expiring. biological time to be able to get pregnant. If there are problems with conception or pregnancy, they visit fertility specialists. They may be considering adoption. A unmarried women intend to become single mothers.
In middle age, a woman - the founding mother of an organization - may face a crisis situation when the organization becomes so strong and wealthy that someone wants to seize its position and power.
However, the Demeter woman is able to rethink her life, realizing that even late child will not fill the emptiness inside forever, in this case, she can take care of herself, continue her education or start a new business. But this requires strength and courage.
Old age
In old age, Demeter women often fall into one of two categories. Many find that this time is a reward for them. They are the active, active women they always have been, who have learned life's lessons and are valued by others for their worldly wisdom and generosity. Children, grandchildren, clients, students, patients - all these people, including more than one generation, love and respect such a woman. She is like the goddess Demeter - who gave her gifts to the human race and is very revered.
The opposite fate befalls the Demeter woman, who considers herself victim. Usually the source of her unhappiness is the disappointments and unfulfilled expectations of middle age. Now, identified with the deceived, grieving, angry Demeter, sitting in her temple and not allowing anything to grow, such a woman in her declining years does nothing, but the older she gets, the more bitter she becomes.
Psychological problems
s
A woman who identifies with Demeter acts like a generous maternal goddess with limitless ability to give
. She can't say no
, if someone needs her attention and help.
The Demeter woman's excessive, excessive mothering ability may not be her best trait: she wants her child to need her and worries when he is not under her control. She will be encourage addiction
and keep the child "tied to your skirt." She does the same in other close relationships. For example, she may be raising a "dependent child" when she is nurturing a "poor little boy" in her lover or taking care of the " restless child " in her friend.
Demeter woman, unable to say no, becomes overworked and then exhausted and apathetic or resentful, resentful and angry. If she feels that she is being exploited, she usually does not express it directly, displaying in defending her interests the same lack of assertiveness that led her to say “yes” when she should have said “no.” Instead of expressing her anger or insisting that things change, the Demeter woman is likely to ignore her feelings or sensations as ungenerous and work even harder.
When she tries to suppress her true feelings, and they somehow come out, she begins to show passive-aggressive behavior.
When a Demeter woman loses a close relationship in which she played the role of a mother figure, not only is the relationship and loved one lost, but also her role as a mother, which gave her a sense of strength, self-worth and meaning. She is left with an empty nest and a feeling of emptiness.
The reaction of women who have dedicated their lives to their children to their leaving their mother is described by the term "empty nest depression" Demeter women can react to endings in a similar way. love affair. The same reaction is possible for such a woman in the case when she “nurtured” some project for years, but it failed or was brought to completion by other people. Such organizational difficulties leave her feeling “robbed” and rejected.
Photo materials taken from the resource pinterest.com
Jean Shinoda Bolen "Goddesses in every woman: New psychology of women. Archetypes of goddesses" Sofia publishing house, 2007
Galina Borisovna Bednenko “Greek goddesses. Archetypes of femininity." - Series: Library of psychology and psychotherapy of the independent company “Class”, 2005
and also get acquainted with the new electronic edition of the book
Greek gods and goddesses as role archetypes: New electronic edition. - M.: Spinners, 2013
by the address http://halina.livejournal.com/1849206.html
* Reflections in italics are mine
czarstvo-diva.livejournal.com 2013
Demeter is the great goddess of the fertility of the earth, giving growth to everything that grows on the earth, giving fertility to the fields, blessing the work of the farmer. The Romans named the goddess Demeter by their name ancient goddess fertile field - Ceres.
Goddess Demeter
Goddess of fertility
The great goddess Demeter is powerful. It gives fertility to the earth, and without its beneficial power nothing grows either in shady forests, or in meadows, or in rich arable lands.
Goddess Demeter
Demeter (Ceres to the Romans) is one of the most revered goddesses in Greece. This is the goddess of fertility and agriculture, who was especially revered by farmers. Numerous festivals were celebrated in her honor throughout Greece. It is characteristic that in Homer’s poems the goddess Demeter seems to be relegated to the background. This proves that the Greeks began to honor her as the greatest goddess when agriculture became their main occupation, and cattle breeding lost its former importance.
Demeter is the goddess of fertility and agriculture, daughter of Cronus and Rhea, sister of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera and Hestia, mother of Persephone. The most ancient pre-Olympic deity.
The main myth about Demeter
The main myth about Demeter is associated with the tale of the abduction of Demeter's daughter, Persephone, by the god of the underworld Hades. Heartbroken, Demeter unsuccessfully searched for her daughter for nine days, and on the tenth day she learned from the all-seeing Helios that Persephone had been kidnapped by Hades with the consent of Zeus. The angry Demeter left Olympus and began to wander the earth in the form of an old woman. Meanwhile, the land stopped producing crops, famine set in, and sacrifices to the gods stopped. Zeus agreed to return Persephone to her mother on the condition that she spend part of the year on earth with Demeter, and the rest of the time she remained with Hades in the underworld.
Return to Olympus
Then Demeter returned to Olympus, and the earth again began to bring gifts. According to another myth, Demeter, having left Olympus, came to Eleusis in the form of an old woman. The wife of the Eleusinian king Keleus, Metanira, took Demeter as a nanny to her sons Demophon and Triptolemus. Deciding to make one of the children, Demophon, immortal, Demeter rubbed him with ambrosia and kept him over the fire at night. One day Metanira saw her son engulfed in flames and attacked Demeter. The child fell from the hands of the goddess and died in the fire. Then Demeter revealed herself to Metanira and Kelei. The goddess gave the second son, Triptolemus, an ear of wheat and taught him to cultivate the land, ordering him to teach all people agriculture.
In the Roman mythological tradition, D. corresponds to Ceres.
Demeter is the goddess of fertility, literally translated “mother earth”, the daughter of Kronos and Rhea, she is both the sister and lover of Zeus, the sister of Hera and Poseidon. According to legend, she was devoured by her own father Kronos, and later Demeter was removed from his body.
The daughter of Demeter and Zeus, Persephone, disappeared while walking in the Nissean Valley. After nine days of searching, the all-seeing Helios informed his mother that Zeus had given Persephone to his brother Hades as a wife.
Demeter became angry and left Olympus. Having lost her divine power, like a mere mortal, she set off to wander the earth. Without the beneficial power of Demeter, the earth became impoverished, the harvest decreased and famine began.
To appease Demeter, Zeus returned her daughter, but on the condition that Persephone would spend two thirds of the year with her mother, and a third of the year in the kingdom of Hades. Having calmed down, Demeter ascended Olympus and restored fertility to the earth. Since then, Persephone has lived underground with Hades once a year. At this time, the mother is struggling for her daughter, and everything around freezes. When the Daughter returns to her mother on earth, the mother joyfully greets her, and nature awakens, being born again.
Below are photos of beautiful images of Demeter:
Another myth tells how, pretending to be an old woman, Demeter went to the wife of the Eliusinian king Metanira to nurse her sons. At night, Demeter rubbed ambrosia into the body of one of them, Demophon, holding him over the flame so that the boy would become invulnerable. Once Metanira saw that the nanny was holding a child over the fire and rushed to her. Demeter could not hold the boy, and he died.
Having revealed herself to the Eliusinian king and his wife, Demeter admitted that she was the goddess of fertility, and as a sign of reconciliation, she gave her second son an ear of wheat, taught Triptolemus agriculture, and ordered him to pass on the acquired knowledge to all people.
