demeter

Demeter is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and myth, revered as the goddess of agriculture, grain, and the harvest, and as a protector of earthly fertility. A member of the Olympian pantheon, she is the sister of Zeus and the daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Her cult was widely worshipped, most famously at Eleusis, and she figures prominently in the mythic cycle surrounding the seasons.

Central to her myth is the story of her daughter Persephone (Kore). When Persephone was abducted by Hades to the underworld, Demeter grieved and withdrew her gifts from the earth, causing famine. Zeus arranged a compromise: Persephone spends part of each year with Hades and part with Demeter. The daughter's return brings spring and renewal, while Demeter's sorrow during her absence accounts for autumnal decline and winter.

Worship and symbols: Demeter's primary cult center was Eleusis, where the Eleusinian Mysteries promised initiates knowledge about life, death, and renewal linked to agricultural cycles. She is commonly depicted with a stalk of wheat or a cornucopia, and sometimes with a crown of grain or a lamp or torch during her search for Persephone.

Family and later tradition: Demeter remains closely associated with Persephone as her daughter. In some traditions she is also linked as the mother of Ploutos, god of wealth, reflecting fertility of the earth. In Roman mythology, Demeter is identified with Ceres, whose cult and the Cerealia festival underpinned Roman agricultural religion.