Skip to main content Skip to Search Box
Definition: Demeter from Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary

pronunciationpronunciation

(1835) : the Greek goddess of agriculture compare ceres

Demeter

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In Greek mythology, the goddess of agriculture, especially corn (Roman Ceres ); daughter of the Titans Kronos and Rhea; and mother of Persephone by Zeus. Demeter and her daughter were worshipped in a sanctuary at Eleusis, where the Eleusinian Mysteries , one of the foremost mystery religions of Greece, were celebrated. The Thesmophoria was a corn festival held in Demeter's honour at Athens and other centres. It also commemorated the introduction of law and the principles of civilized life, attributed to the goddess because agriculture was regarded as the basis of civilization. She was later identified with the Egyptian goddess Isis . She is depicted carrying a sceptre and corn or a poppy, and sometimes also a basket and torch. Her sacred animal was the pig. Myth Demeter was swallowed at birth by Kronos, along with her brothers, Pluto and Poseidon, and sisters, Hera and Hestia; her father believed that one of his children would depose him. Zeus, hidden as a baby, forced him to…
765 results

Full text Article Demeter

From Encyclopedia of the Ancient Greek World
Also known as: Ceres One of the 12 Olympian gods, Demeter was worshipped as the goddess of grain, agriculture, and fertility. For an agrarian society like ancient Greece, this divinity was clearly of the utmost importance in daily life and religion. Unlike many other major Greek goddesses, Demeter…
| 534 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Demeter

From Dictionary of Classical Mythology
Persephone, accompanied by Hermes,...
Demeter, one of the twelve great Olympian deities, was the Greek goddess of corn, and thus the great sustainer of life for men and beasts alike. She was identified by the Romans with Ceres. One of the six children of the Titans CRONUS and Rhea, she was swallowed and later regurgitated by her…
| 1,530 words , 1 image
Key concepts:

Full text Article Demeter

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Demeter of Cnidus, sculpture, mid-4th century bc;...
In Greek religion, a consort of Zeus and the goddess of agricuture, especially grain. Though rarely mentioned by Homer and not an Olympian deity, she is probably an ancient goddess. She is best remembered for her role in the story of Persephone , in which her lack of attention to the harvest causes…
| 169 words , 1 image
Key concepts:

Full text Article Demeter

From The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization
the Greek goddess of corn, identified in Italy with Ceres. The second part of her name means ‘mother’, and dē (or da ) was thought to mean ‘earth’ in antiquity, but the Greeks had a separate goddess of the Earth, and Demeter came later in the pantheon, as granddaughter of Ge (Gaia) and sister of…
| 1,344 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Demeter

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
In Greek mythology, the goddess of agriculture, especially corn (Roman Ceres ); daughter of the Titans Kronos and Rhea; and mother of Persephone by Zeus. Demeter and her daughter were worshipped in a sanctuary at Eleusis, where the Eleusinian Mysteries , one of the foremost mystery religions of…
| 373 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Demeter (Greek)

From Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities
Also known as: Brimo, Centeotl (Mexican), Ceres (Roman), Deo, Doso, Kore, Kore-Persephone, Isis (Egyptian). Demeter (the Roman Ceres), is one of the great Hellenic divinities. She is the Greek goddess of agriculture and vegetation, protector of marriage, and corn goddess. The daughter of Cronus and…
| 424 words

Full text Article Demeter and Persephone

From The Classical Tradition
Greek gods, mother and daughter; Roman Ceres and Proserpina. The central myth tells of the violent seizing of Persephone (or Kore, "the maiden") by Hades (or Plouton, "the rich one," Roman Dis), lord of the underworld, who made her his queen. Demeter then caused the earth to become barren. Through…
| 1,250 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article throne of Demeter, the

From Encyclopedia of Mythological Objects
Variation: Demeter's throne In Greek mythology, Demeter (Roman goddess Ceres), the goddess of all useful fruits, grasses, and grains, had a throne in the council hall on Mount Olympus; it sat opposite the throne of Poseidon (Roman god Neptune) on the right side of the hall (all the thrones of the…
| 119 words

Full text Article Demeter

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
| 33 words
Key concepts:

Full text Article Demeter

From The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Houghton Mifflin
| 83 words
Key concepts:
Mind Map

Stack overflow
More Library Resources