Demeter

=Demeter= by: Georgia Demeter, godess of agriculture Imagine being blessed by a goddess, a loved one being cured of illness or, your child becoming immortal. Demeter, also the goddess of kindness and compassion shows these emotions to mortals who have aided her and whom are kind. She, herself, goes through strong lengths to recover her only daughter and does not give up searching for her until she finds out what had happened to her. Demeter is stubborn enough to convince Zeus to let her have her daughter back fromHadesevery half a year by making the earth barren. Demeter is a strong willed individual that controls the seasons. Demeter is best known for being a kind and generous goddess who helped mortals with their agricultural needs and the fertility of their soil. (Demeter, Greek Goddess of the Bountiful Harvest) She shows compassion and helps a sickly child on her search for Persephone because the boy’s father offered Demeter shelter. Another event Demeter is best known for is her long journey in search of Persephone when she was kidnapped by Hades. While on her trek, Demeter is known for holding a torch to represent Demeter and her search for her daughter. She is also known for wearing a wreath with grains and wheat. Mortals were rewarded by Demeter if they aided her in her search for her daughter or supplied her with shelter on her trek.  Demeter expresses her emotions freely because when Demeter grieved over her lost daughter, nothing grew on the earth. The soil also lacked the capability to support life, thus also making her the goddess of fertility as well. (Lindemans) This goddess is very compassionate, she understands human grief due to the loss of her daughter stolen away by Hades, and she therefore helps lighten the sadness of humans. The harvest of wheat and grains is another part to the goddess's powers because wheat and grains are harvested from the earth, which is what Demeter controls and either allows to flourish or be destroyed. (Demeter, Greek Goddess of the Bountiful Harvest) On Demeter's journey to find her daughter she shows compassion and longing. Demeter was welcomed and provided with work and shelter by a king. Now Demeter, being the goddess of fertility and kindness, cared for the son's of the King. Eventually however these boys began to remind Demeter more and more of her missing child Persephone, and therefore she decided that she would change one of the boys, Demophoo so that he would become immortal. Therefore once every night Demeter would pick up Demophoo and hold him over the fire place so that each time the fire would burn a little bit of his humanity away. One night however as she was about to complete the ritual, Demophoo's mother came in and panicked because she didn't know for one that Demeter was a goddess until she revealed herself, because she was in the disguise of an old woman and second, she thought Demeter was going to kill her son. Demeter was allowed to stay and continue to help at the castle except the loss of Demophoo becoming a god reminded her so strongly of Persephone that Demeter returned to Zeus. Eventually the castle created a shrine for Demeter, and it is said that she visits the castle every so often. Demeter was not married however Zeus admired her work and the beauty of the earth and therefore he "gifted her" with two children. One was a girl named Persephone, the goddess of flowers and spring, and Dionysus, the god of wine and celebration. It is said that Demeter also loved Iasion, a Greek hero whom she bestowed great wealth upon. Now Iasion had a brother and it turns out they were both the sons of Zeus. Iasion also lusted for Demeter, and therefore one day he decided to take things at his own pace and decided to harm her. Fortunately, before Iasion laid hands on her he was fried into dust by a lightning bolt by his father Zeus. Later, when Persephone was kidnapped from Demeter, she set out on her journey but was followed by Poseidon. Demeter, well aware of Poseidon’s goals, therefore decided to hide as a horse in a group of other horses. Poseidon saw through Demeter's attempt to hide and turned into a stallion. Poseidon and Demeter had two children, one of which was Areion, known as the fastest and swiftest horse and was the race of the gods. It is said that Demeter may have loved Poseidon although it is not known for sure. “Aaron J. Atsma” Demeter is a kind goddess that gifts mortals, although, if Demeter is in a bad mood or is stressed or insulted, then she is quiet deadly. Demeter stopped at a lake to drink water on her journey to find Persephone. Demeter drank loudly, and a boy approached her, and began to laugh at her for the noise being created. Turning around to face him, she angrily turned him into a lizard. No sooner than becoming a lizard, the boy/lizard was swooped up by a hungry bird and was eaten. Another large impact that Demeter made on the people of Greece is during Demeter's search, and absence of her daughter, she was overcome by grief and unable to allow growth on the earth. This affected the Greeks because depending on her mood, their civilization and culture could be completely wiped out due to lack of food. Although there are great consequences when Demeter is angry, there are numerous benefits to aiding her. For example one child was given the opportunity to become immortal, and another son of a man that helped her was cured of illness. Demeter was celebrated and honored due to her kindness and compassion towards mortals. Monuments and alters were built in honor of her as she was worshiped by the people of Greece. Her affect was great on the people, as the bounty of the harvest greatly impacted their economy and allowed them to flourish and plan ahead for the Winter while Demeter grieves the loss of her daughter till the next summer. Overall, Demeter was one of the more caring goddesses and should be greatly appreciated for her being so.

Citations: //DEMETER //. Aaron J. Atsma, 2000-2008. Web. 07 Dec. 2009. < [] .>

//Demeter //. Micha F. Lindemans, 03 May 1997. Web. 7 Dec. 2009. < [] .>

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