Demeter (redirected from Dêmêtêr)

Demeter (dĭmē`tər), in Greek religion and mythology, goddess of harvest and fertility; daughter of Kronos and Rhea. She was the mother of Persephone by Zeus. When Pluto abducted Persephone, Demeter grieved so inconsolably that the earth became barren through her neglect. Searching for her daughter, she wandered to Eleusis, where the Eleusinian Mysteries were inaugurated in her honor. She revealed to Triptolemus, an Eleusinian, the art of growing and using corn. The Thesmophoria, a fertility festival held in her honor at Athens, was attended only by women. The Romans identified her with Ceres.

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Demeter

Demeter of Cnidus, sculpture, mid-4th century BC; in the British Museum.

(credit: Courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum)

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 a famine. In addition to appearing as a goddess of agriculture, Demeter was sometimes worshiped as a divinity of the Underworld and as a goddess of health, birth, and marriage.

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Demeter

goddess of corn and agriculture. [Gk. Myth.: Jobes, 429–430]

See : Farming

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Demeter

goddess of fecundity. [Gk. Myth.: Jobes, 429–430]

See : Fertility

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Demeter - A CASE tool developed mainly by Karl Lieberherr. ["Contributions to Teaching Object-Oriented Design and Programming" Aug/Sep 1988 issue of JOOP, OOPSLA '89 Proceedings].