DEMETER

Demeter, the goddess of grain and agriculture, is also referred to as the “Earth goddess.”
She resides on mount olympus, making her one of the fourteen olympian gods. She is one of the
daughters of Cronus and Rhea. Like her siblings, Hera, Hestia, Posiedon, and Hades, she was
swallowed by her father, and was later released by her brother Zeus. Demeter was never married,
but had seven children, Persephone, Ploutos, Philomelus, Despoena, Arion, Eubuleus, and
Chrysothemis. Demeter was the goddess of agriculture and grain, giving her control over harvest
and growing grains. In result of this, she could make plants grow, or not grow. She also had
control over the seasons. Demeter would often be seen giving wheat to harvesters, which is why
she is usually symbolized with the symbol of wheat. Demeter was also often seen holding a horn
called the “Cornucopia.” This horn symbolizes her status of fertility and agriculture. Demeter
physically appeared to be mature, fully clothed, and often with a veil over her head though her
face is visible. In Greek religion, Thesmophoria is an ancient three day festival celebrated by
women to honor Demeter. The meaning of Thesmophoria is unknown but is argued to be
“bringer of treasure or wealth” or “the carrying of things laid down.” On the first day, women
would sacrifice piglets for the goddess to ensure fertility. The second day of the festival, women
were required to fast. During this day, they would combine the remains of the piglets with grain,
as it was believed to protect their crops. The cult of Demeter would bake cakes shaped as men
and serpents as another symbol of fertility. The final day of the festival was when women would
share a big feast of food associated with fertility such as pomegranate.

Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, was kidnapped by Hades, god of the underworld.
Demter was very sad her daughter had been kidnapped, which affected the harvest across
Greece. Demeter went to Zeus (the king of the gods), Zeus knew that if Demeter remained sad
the harvest would be disrupted, so he helped her. Zeus went down to Hades to ask to let
Persephone leave, but he said that he had already fed her six pomegranate seeds, and the only
way she could leave was if she had not eaten any of the food she was given. Zeus and Hades
later then agreed to have Persephone spend six months in the underworld and the other six
months on earth. Whenever Demeter was to spend the six months with Persephone, Demeter
would be happy and crops would grow, and the weather would be very nice, but when Demeter
went back to the Underworld, to live with Hades. The plants would stop growing entirely and the
weather would be very bad, explaining the cause of different seasons.Three interesting facts
about Demter is that she gave birth to a flying and talking horse named arion. The second
interesting fact about Demeter, is that her favourite animal was a pig. One last interesting fact
about Demeter is that she was swallowed by her father as an infant.