Character History
Demeter - the personification of the true mother. The goddess takes a harvest, grows trees and cannot imagine their own life without children. But piercing a calm woman is ready to destroy everything that herself created when the daughter was in peaceful life. Perhaps, infinite love made a demeter of such a revered deity for the ancient Greek people.History of origin
The exact time of the cult of the goddess Mother's cult is unknown, but the first reliable references to Demeters are dating 1500 to our era. The worship was specially distributed in Eleusin, whose name is mentioned in the myth dedicated to the abduction of Persephone.
Initially, revered as the goddess of the barley field, with the time of Demeter received the status of the patroness of agriculture. A simple mention in prayers was replaced by five-day mysteries carried out every year.
Teschemiths - the holidays called the holidays in honor of Demeters - they led exclusively rich women who took upon themselves all expenses. In honor of the Mother's goddess, sacrifices were sacrificed, sang songs and marchs were arranged.
In the Roman mythology, Demeter is known under the name of Ceres. The cherry accompanies the goddess of Annon's harvest, and in his hands a mother holds a variety of fruits. Ancient Greek mythology has assigned the goddess another attribute - most often the demeter is depicted with a wheat spikelet in their hands.
The Roman name of the Cerecher is not the only pseudonym demeters. The goddess of agriculture is also known under the names of Afhey, Europe, Erinia and others. The researchers counted 18 pseudonyms of the patroness of agriculture.
Demeter in mythology
The birth of Demmers was accompanied by unpleasant events. The father of the goddess, the Almighty Kronos, eaten all the children who gave birth to a man's wife Reia. The same fate suffered a demeter, which became the second child in the family of the rulers of Olympus.
Later Zeus, his native brother of Goddess, freed the girl from the stomach of his father. Demeter settled on Olympus surrounded by relatives. Beautiful cheerful girl attracted the attention of the thumbs up. Zeus often visited the goddess in the image of the snake. Over time, the relationship of brother and sisters have become closer, perverse appeared from the Divine Union. However, the ruler of Olympus soon lost interest in her sister and became interested in another young beauty.
Having considered himself a free, Demeter responded to the courting of another God (in other sources - a simple mortal). Jesia, son of Zeus and Electra, has long sought the goddess of fertility. Conquered by the perseverance of the young man, the woman came to the glance at the dating, which took place on the plowed field. After these meetings, Demeter gave birth to the sons of Plutos and Filomel. Zeus, having learned about the adventures of the sister, in a rustling of jealousy, Iasion Zniba killed.
A no less close relationship is associated with Demeter and Poseidon. The Lord of the Sea accidentally saw the goddess during swimming and wasveling a woman. But Demeter did not feed on a man's response feelings. To escape from persistent courtship, the goddess of fertility turned into a mare and hid in grazing nearby herd.
Sunny move did not occur, Poseidon immediately understood the design of the sister. The lord of the seas and rivers turned into a stallion and overtook a demeter while she rested in the shadow of the tree. It seems that Zeus did not mind this union. A new love link brought a demeter of two children: the talking horse of the arion and daughter despine.
Persephone abduction
Demeter loved and triggered all the children, but still highlighted Persephone. A special location to his daughter lights a myth that tells about the marriage of the girl.
Zeus, the responsibilities of which came to arrange the marriages of the gods, decided to give Persenefon to marry her own brother Aida, managing the kingdom of the dead. While the girl walked with girlfriends on the ground, the newly made of the bridegroom organized a gay to grow not far from the perceptons an unusual flower.
Lifting the aroma of the plant, the daughter of Demetra moved away from the girlfriends. At that moment, the Earth was split, and Aid dragged the beauty to the underground kingdom. Hearing the cries of the girl, a demeter was racing into the scene of the incident, but his daughter's traces were left no longer. A quick-hearted mother nine days sought Persephone in the light. No one knew what happened to the girl, and could not tell the goddess where to look for a daughter.
The purposeful woman still found out the truth. Realizing that Zeus separated it with Pershefon, Demeter left Olympus. Taking the form of a simple mortal, the woman began to wander through the light, until he got to the city of Eleusin. Here the goddess fertility settled in a nurse into the house of Queen Methanira.
The son of the royal person became a new object of demetering worship. On a small boy, the goddess moved all the love of Persephone. In order not to part with the baby, Demeter decided to make Tsarevich immortal. But during the rite in the room entered the methanist and shouted, seeing that the nanny holds a boy over fire.
The goddess dropped the child to the fire, the methanirs did not have time to save the son. The angry goddess appeared before the queen in true guise and ordered the temple in his own honor in the city. There was a lonely and unhappy sister of Zeus, having ceased to talk with the gods and mortals.
While Demeter was looking for daughter and grieving about the loss, the fields were dried on earth, and the trees stopped fruit. Concerned Zeus sent messengers to the sister with requests to draw. But Demeter did not listen to relatives. The only way out was to return the mother's Persephone, only Aid did not want to part with his wife.
Then the Vladyka Olympus decided that the daughter would spend two thirds of the year with his mother, and for the remaining time to return to the spouse. Since then, each autumn of Demeter flows into a longing of his daughter and is reborn again and having fun with the arrival of spring.
Interesting Facts
- In myths dedicated to Demeter, the beautiful goddess hair is mentioned, the color of which resembles a wheat field.
- The meaning of the patroness of agriculture is not definitely. The first part of the Demeter name is translated as "mother." A debate is being conducted on the second component. Possible translation - "Mother Earth" or "Wheat".
- The ancient Greeks devoted to Demetra the constellation of Virgo.