DEMETER
- $42.99
The Goddess of fertility, of grain and the harvest, of the earth (380 B.C.)
13" H x 9.5" W
- Product Code: SKU0000468
- Availability: In Stock
Daughter of Cronus and Rhea. It is Demeter that makes the crops grow each year. Sacred to her are livestock and agricultural products, poppy, narcissus and the crane. When her daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades, god of the underworld, Demeter's grief was so great that she neglected the land; no plants grew, and famine devastated the earth. Dismayed at this situation, Zeus demanded from Hades to return her to her mother. Hades agreed, but before he released the girl, he made her eat some pomegranate seeds that would force her to return to him for 4 months each year. In her joy at being reunited with her daughter, Demeter caused the earth to bring bright spring flowers and abundant fruit and grain for the harvest. However, her sorrow returned each fall when Persephone had to go back to the underworld. The desolation of the winter season and the death of vegetation were regarded as the yearly manifestation of Demeter's grief when her daughter was taken from her. Demeter and Persephone were worshiped in the rites of the Eleusinian mysteries