DEMETER

I begin to sing of rich-haired Demeter, awful goddess

-Of her and her trim-ankled daughter whom Aidoneus rapt away

Homeric hymn to Demeter

 Demeter ['Earth Mother']is an ancient goddess, far older than the Olympic pantheon in which she is made the daughter of Cronos and Rhea, and sister of Zeus. She invented agriculture and the arts of sowing and ploughing, so that the fertile earth could be coaxed into bearing abundant harvests. The change from a hunter-gatherer existence to farming, leading to the development cities, crafts and laws, making Demeter also the patroness of planned society and marriage. Demeter is the fair-haired earth goddess who blesses all the phases of the harvest. She walks the furrowed fields dressed in green, with a wreath of braided corn in her hair. She was portrayed as a matron having beautiful golden hair, wearing a blue robe, and carrying a sheaf of wheat. Sometimes she is seen crowned with ears of corn or ribbons and holding a sceptre Her symbols are fruits, grain, the torch, snake and pig.

The best known story of Demeter concerns her search for her daughter Persephone, who had been abducted by Hades, the god of the Underworld. Demeter disguised herself as an old woman called Doso, and wandered the face of the earth, looking for her child. Eventually, she came upon the house of Celeus, king of Eleusis, and his wife Metaneira. Moved by the suffering they saw in the face of the woman, they bade her be seated, offering her food and drink. However, she sat silently, refusing all nourishment. Eventually she consented to drink a cup of barley meal mixed with water and mint [kykeon- her usual sacrament]. She became the nurse of their young son Demophoon, and he grew as fast as a young god, for Demeter anointed him with ambrosia. Moreover, she planned to make him immortal by burning his mortality from him, placing him each night in the heart of the fire. Metaneira suspected that something strange was happening, and kept watch one night, leaping forward to save her son from the flames as Demeter placed him in the blaze. The goddess exclaimed that now, instead of being a god, he would be subject to the whims of death and Moira [fate]. She thrust off her disguise, and stood before them in her true, shining form, asking that the people should build her a temple. This she retreated into, and remained there, brooding on her loss. The following year, no crops grew. The trees refused to yield fruit and the buds withered on the vine. An endless winter descended on the earth.

Zeus realised that the whole of creation was doomed unless Demeter lifted her curse, and sent Iris, the goddess of the rainbow to plead with her. Demeter refused. One by one, all the immortals visited her, but she remained unmoved by any of their entreaties. Zeus realised that there was no other remedy and sent Hermes into the underworld to fetch Persephone. However, Hades was unwilling to lose his lovely bride, and offered her a sweet pomegranate as she readied herself to leave. Now he knew full well that anyone who eats the fruit of the underworld is doomed to remain there. Though Persephone was allowed to visit her mother, she was now bound to return. Persephone could spend two thirds of the year with her mother but the remaining third of the year must be spent with her husband, Hades.

The earth quickly began to recover. Spring returned and the frozen buds blossomed, and the earth became green and fertile once more. When Persephone returns to the underworld, Demeter decrees that barren winter shall cover the earth, but when she returns in the spring, the earth blossoms in joy.

At Eleusis Demeter taught Triptolemus [the brother of Demophoon] the principles of agriculture, which he taught others in turn, and this is how humankind learned how to farm. A mystery cult was established at Eleusis in her honour, and people of all classes went there to be initiated. The penalty for betraying their secrets was death, so we know very little about what the rites involved. We do know that they included the initiates being taken into a darkened sanctuary to be shown some sacred object, which may have represented the seed corn in the earth [an allusion to Persephone herself] and drank kykeon, Demeter's own mint and barley water.

It is possible that Persephone is an aspect of Demeter herself, and the two are sometimes even referred to as 'the two Demeters'. They seem to be two aspects of a triple fertility goddess with Persephone as the maiden who kept the seed in the underworld [i.e. the earth], Demeter as the harvest mother and Hekate as the crone. All three have chthonic aspects. Demeter also had a son called Plutos or Pluto, who represents the wealth of the harvest.

Demeter rules the cycle of the year, the phases of the moon, the seasons and the life of man, ordering them all in their time. This makes her a goddess of stability, law and order, a state which extends into fidelity and marriage. The women of Greece celebrated the feast of Thesmophoria (thesmophoros, "she of the regular customs") in her honour.

Demeter's gifts are fertility, plenty and creativity. She is concerned with stability, routine and good order. Demeter is the ultimate archetype of the mother who loves her children and puts their well-being above everything else. When her child is in danger, she displays determination and tenacity of heroic proportions; a feat that most mothers would emulate should the need arise. She is the epitome of mother-love, empathy, care and nurture. Her torch lights the darkness.