Demeter

The goddess of agriculture and the protector of marriage and social order.

Demeter and Zeus were the parents of Persephone; when Persephone was abducted by Hades (lord of the Underworld), Demeter made the earth infertile and roamed the land in misery and torment; she refused to associate with the Olympians and finally settled in Eleusis and, disguised as an old woman, became the nurse for the young son of king Keleos.

One night she was caught transforming the young boy into an Immortal by bathing him in fire; the family was aghast at this display of unnatural behavior until Demeter announced her true identity and swore to make Eleusis her most holy of shrines.

With her hiding place exposed, Zeus sent the Immortals, one at a time, to try to persuade Demeter to lift her curse from the face of the earth but she rejected all their pleas; Zeus then sent Hermes to the House of Hades and demanded that Persephone be returned to her mother; Hades allowed Persephone to leave but before she left he gave her a pomegranate seed which she ate; by eating the seed she had unwittingly bound herself to Hades and was required to spend a portion of each year with him in the Underworld.

Demeter was forced to accept the sharing of her daughter’s affection and lifted her curse so that the earth could become bountiful once more.

Demeter and Persephone are worshiped together as the Karpophorus (Carpophorus) meaning Fruitful.

For more detailed information on Demeter I suggest that you consult the Immortals section of this site.