Demeter: Goddess of The Harvest

     Demeter was one of the earliest gods and the mother of agriculture. She was the goddess of corn, the harvest, and bread. Demeter is best known for her story about her daughter Persephone and how she made the seasons. She was arguably the most mature god and was often depicted as a great, responsible mother. Even though Demeter was a god she was not considered an Olympian because unlike her brothers and sisters who actually lived on Mount Olympus, the home of the gods, she lived on the earth with humans. Because she lived on earth, Demeter was one of the only two great gods who had to suffer.

 

     The heritage of Demeter can be traced back to her Grandmother and Grandfather, Mother Earth and Father Heaven. Among those two being’s children were the parents of Demeter, the titans Cronus and Rhea. Demeter was one of Cronus and Rhea’s six children. Her siblings were Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, and Hestia. Demeter’s father Cronus ate all of his children except the youngest, Zeus, who escaped with the help of his mother. After growing up, Zeus came back to save his siblings who were immortal but trapped in Cronus’ stomach. After he rescued Demeter and his other brothers and sisters, Zeus and his siblings known as the gods,then waged war on their parents, aunts, and uncles who were the titans. The gods succeeded and became the supreme rulers of the universe.

     

     Though Demeter was never actually married she had unwanted relations and bore children with Zeus, Iasion, Poseidon, and Karmanor. The most famous children that she had were Persephone,the Queen of the Underworld, and Pluto, the God of agricultural wealth. Another one of Demeters famous children was Arion, the immortal horse of several heroes including Hercules. Demeter was in the form of a horse trying to hide from Poseidon, who wanted to marry her, but Poseidon turned himself into a horse to mate with Demeter and she then bore the horse named Arion. Arion went on to be the trusty steed of the great hero Hercules.

 

     Demeter is the goddess of agriculture and has symbols that are closely related to farming and food. The cornucopia, or the horn of plenty, is the symbol most often associated with Demeter. Because Demeter was the one to teach humans how to farm it is easy to see why the cornucopia, symbolizing prosperity and an abundance of food, would remind people of Demeter. For a similar reason Demeter was symbolized by bundles of wheat and bread. Another of Demeter’s symbols was a torch which represented her long search for her daughter Persephone when she was abducted. Demeter was also often seen with the two winged serpents (drakones) that pulled her chariot. Demeter was worshipped at the temple the Greeks built for her in Eleusis. Demeter was the patron of pigs and domesticated animals and plants such as wheat.

 

     The most famous story about Demeter is that of the abduction of her daughter Persephone. One day Hades, the king of the underworld, noticed Persephone, the beautiful daughter of his sister. Hades was in need of a wife, so he asked his brother Zeus to help him catch Persephone and make her the queen of the underworld. Zeus did this by planting a flower, the narcissus. Zeus knew the flower would be too beautiful for Persephone to resist. Persephone went to pick the flower when she saw it, but just as she reached for the flower, Hades sprung out of the ground and kidnapped her. Demeter was greatly saddened by the loss of her daughter and for several days she ate nothing and in turn, nothing on the earth grew. Demeter then traveled to her patron city of Eleusis as a human in search of a new child. She stayed with a family until they discovered who she was and her intent to take their youngest child and immortalize him for her own. After Demeter was discovered to be a God, she ordered the family to build a great temple for her.

 

     Demeter was very depressed and continued to wander the earth where nothing grew. Zeus, realizing the pain humans were in, knew that Persephone must be returned to Demeter and sent the messenger god Hermes to Hades. Hades agreed to let his queen go, but secretly had Persephone eat pomegranate seeds which forced her to return to him. Zeus was forced to forge a compromise between Demeter and Hades. Persephone would stay with Demeter for two thirds of the year (spring/summer) and Hades one third (winter/fall). During the time Demeter has her daughter the earth is prosperous, however when Persephone is with Hades, Demeter is sad and the earth is barren. This story illustrates how Demeter is different from the Olympians in that she suffers. This story is the ancient Greek explanation for the seasons.

 

    The Greeks used Demeter to explain why the land was barren at some times, and fertile at others. Demeter provided a healthy delivery of children to their mothers. Demeter was the one to teach humans how to safely give birth to new offspring. Another one of the major effects of Demeter on Greek life was the Eleusinian cult. This was based of the “Mysteries” she stood for which provided a blessed afterlife to initiatives. The cult usually worshipped in Demeter’s sacred town of Eleusis.

 

     Demeter was never married but was raped many times. She was always looking for a man who would give her security, not intellectual or sexual pleasure. Demeter is one of the earliest examples of marriage being based on love instead of looks or family. She was also the Archetype Mother for the Greek society. This means that she cared not just for her children, but all of the poor, needy, young, and old. Her special virtues such as caring could have possibly changed the way people thought and paved the road for some modern day religions centered around peace.

 

     Of all the Greek gods and goddesses it was perhaps Demeter who had the greatest influence on the people of Earth. Demeter gave humans the gift of agriculture, which changed human life forever. Demeter was the Greek’s explanation for the Neolithic Revolution, the most prominent event in the history of humans. Because of the gifts Demeter brought, humans were no longer forced to live hunter-gatherer lives, but rather settle and begin civilized life. The surplus of food allowed humans to not have to focus solely on survival, so they could spend time on new technology and culture. Demeter, or what she symbolizes, was in essence the start of how we live today.