Demeter is one of the main goddesses of Greek Pantheon . It is the mother goddess that nourishes the earth and the myth of Demeter and Persephone he served the ancient Greeks to explain the succession of the seasons. As a Greek goddess of agriculture she was very venerated and also as a protector of marriage and sacred laws. The rites that took place in their temples were known as the "Eleusinian mysteries." Join us to know 3 Myths of the Goddess Demeter and other stories of the Greek goddess of agriculture.
The Goddess Demeter
The goddess Demeter, the Greek goddess of agriculture , was the daughter of Cronos and Rhea and like her brothers was devoured by her father and saved by the little one, Zeus .
Myths of the Goddess Demeter
The myths of the goddess Demeter they are usually related to agriculture. Especially the one who stars with his daughter Persephone is one of the best known of the Greek mythology , but there are other stories about this awesome Greek goddess that the Romans called Ceres .
Myth of Demeter and Persephone
The Greek gods had no qualms about having incestuous relationships. According to most versions of the myth of Demeter and Persephone , which the Romans called Proserpina, this was the daughter of Zeus and the goddess of agriculture . Others attribute paternity to Yasón, son of Zeus and Pleiade Electra, that was struck down by a ray that launched its jealous father when finding out that it had lain with Deméter. In any case, Persephone she was the favorite daughter of Demeter and with it he crossed the fields fertilizing them and making life sprout in his path.
The god of the underworld was looking for a wife and noticed his niece, the beautiful Persephone . When the girl was picking flowers in the fields Sicily , with the connivance of Zeus, he kidnapped her and took her to the underworld. Demeter, angered by the nymphs who had to guard her daughter for not avoiding it, turned them into sirens. If you want to know more about this interesting myth, we invite you to read the post: Why do sirens have fish tail? Discover the myth!
Demeter sought her desperately everywhere and implored Zeus to help her. While searching for it, the world withered and became infertile. The god took pity on her and the humans who were starving and urged Hades to return her to the world. This one before the pressure it let it go with the condition that it did not eat anything in the underworld. However, he deceived her and got Persephone I consumed four pomegranate granites. Upon reaching the outside, the gods made a pact. Since he had eaten 4 pieces of fruit, he would spend 4 months with Hades in the underworld and the other 8 with his mother abroad. The months that you are not with Demeter they correspond to winter and nothing blooms or fructifies due to the sadness of the goddess of agriculture.
Myth of Demeter and Triptolemus
While looking for Persephone, Demeter disguised as an old woman, she arrived at Eleusis. He explained that he was from Crete and that some pirates had kidnapped her. She said she could do any domestic work and was welcomed by Queen Metanira to take care of her youngest son Demofonte, brother of Triotólemo.
She did so and became so attached to the child that she wanted to give him immortality. She anointed him with ambrosia and brought him to the embers to burn his mortal skin, Metanira discovered it and began shouting in such a way that Demeter had to interrupt the ritual and show herself as the goddess that she was. Demofonte did not achieve immortality, but Demeter , grateful to have been welcomed by the family of King Céleo wanted to reward them and taught the eldest son, Tritólemo, all the secrets of agriculture, giving him a winged chariot drawn by dragons and loaded with seeds that flew through the sky.
Tritólemo taught to all the towns of Greece the art of agriculture and it is considered that he was the first to be initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries.
Myth of Demeter and Melissa
The third of the myths of the goddess Demeter that we present to you speaks of one of his priestesses called Melisa. The cult of Goddess Demeter it involved an initiation into the Eleusinian mysteries, and the whole process was something that Demeter's servants had to keep secret.
Melissa was one of those initiates and had the privilege of being instructed by the goddess herself. One day, when leaving the temple, she was interrogated by the women of the town who wanted to know what the initiation rites consisted of. She refused to rebel anything and the angry women beat her to death trying to explain her secret. Demeter, when he saw what happened, sent a pest in the form of a plague that killed most of the population and also left thousands of bees out of the priestess's body. For this mythical fact to the servants of Demeter they were known as "Melissae" which means "bees".
Did you know these myths of the goddess Demeter ? Do you know any more history of the goddess of agriculture or your daughter Persephone ? Share it with us!