Ceres (Demeter)
Cronus m. Rhea
Hestia
Hades
Poseidon
Demeter
Hera
Demeter was the
daughter of
Cronus and
Rhea, and is one
of the three
goddesses of the
first Olympian
generation
Zeus
She is the goddess
of the ripe grain,
vegetation,
agriculture, and
the Eleusinian
mysteries, and
Persephone’s
mother
One of the most common
myths involving Demeter is
the abduction of her
daughter, Persephone, by
Hades and the drought she
placed on the Earth until
Persephone was returned to
her
Once Persephone was returned to
Demeter, she brought fertility back to
the Earth.
In another myth, Poseidon once pursued Demeter, in
her archaic form as a mare-goddess. She resisted
Poseidon, but she could not disguise her divinity
among other horses.
Poseidon
became a
stallion
and forced
himself
upon her.
She bore a
daughter
and a horse
named
Arion.
One of the greatest gifts which Ceres gave
people were cereal, the cultivation of which
made man different from wild animals
Demeter's
emblem is
the poppy,
a bright
red flower
that grows
among the
barley
The second
gift Ceres
gave the
people were
her Mysteries,
which give the
people higher
hopes in this
life and the
afterlife.
Demeter and the Eleusinian
Mysteries
Demeter was searching for
her daughter Persephone.
Having taken the form of
an old woman called Doso,
she received a hospitable
welcome from Celeus of
Eleusis, and his wife
Metaneira
Demeter and the Eleusinian
Mysteries
As a gift to Celeus, because of
his hospitality, Demeter
planned to make their son
Demophoön a god, by coating
and anointing him with
Ambrosia, breathing gently
upon him while holding him
in her arms, and making him
immortal by burning his
mortal spirit away in the
family hearth every night.
Demeter and the Eleusinian
Mysteries
Demophoön flourished
like a god and would
have become immortal,
if unfortunate
Metaneira had not seen
what was happening –
she didn’t understand
the rituals and thought
a stranger was trying to
burn her child in the fire
Demeter and the Eleusinian
Mysteries
In the Homeric Hymn
to Demeter, King
Celeus is said to have
been one of the first
people to learn the
secret rites and
mysteries of Demeter’s
cult, along with
Triptolemus, Celeus'
son, who had learned
agriculture from
Demeter and spread it The Departure of Triptolemus, Attic red-firure cup
to all of Greece.
Demeter and the Eleusinian
Mysteries
The belief behind practicing the mysteries is that if
we are nourished like the child by Demeter’s truth
and become initiated into her mysteries, we also will
find redemption, immortality, and joy
Demeter and the Eleusinian
Mysteries
The rites, ceremonies, and beliefs were kept
secret, as initiation was believed to unite the
worshipper with the gods and included
promises of divine power and rewards in the
afterlife.
Demeter and the Eleusinian
Mysteries
The cult of Demeter was a special kind of religion,
not the general prerogative of everyone but open
only to initiates.
Initiates were sworn to absolute secrecy and faced
dire punishments if they revealed the secret rites
The religion was not restricted to men; women,
children, and even slaves could participate
Demeter and the Eleusinian
Mysteries
There were two stages:
the Lesser Mysteries
(preliminary steps to
initiation),
and the Greater
Mysteries (full initiation
into the cult)
Demeter and the Eleusinian
Mysteries
The Lesser Mysteries were held in Athens,
usually once a year in early Spring.
Ceremonies focused upon ritual purification,
involving sacrifices, prayer, fasting, and
cleansing by water.
Demeter and the Eleusinian
Mysteries
The Greater Mysteries were held annually during
September and October. The formal celebration lasted
eight days. The Greater Mysteries included days of
prayer, cleansing in the sea, sacrifices, chanting, and a
procession to the sanctuary of Demeter in Eleusis and
finally a return to Athens on the 9th day.
Demeter and the Eleusinian
Mysteries
Demeter and the Eleusinian
Mysteries
The cult of Ceres at
Rome was the
counterpart to the
Eleusinian cult of
Demeter in Greece.
Temple of Ceres
The temple on the
Aventine hill in
Rome was
dedicated to Ceres,
and the ritual of
worship in her
temple was
stylistically Greek,
even the prayers
were spoken in
Greek.
Temple of Ceres
The Aventine Triad is the
term for the joint cult of the
Roman deities Ceres, Liber
and Libera. The represent,
respectively, Demeter,
Dionysus, and Persephone.
The cult was established ca.
493 BC on or near the
Aventine Hill in Rome