Demeter is the Olympian Goddess of the Harvest. She is the sister of Zeus and mother of Persephone.Template:Infobox gods
Greek Mythology
Like most of her siblings, Demeter was swallowed by the Titan lord Cronos shortly after her birth. After Zeus rescued them, she joined her brother to wage the Great War.
After the fall of the Titans, Demeter took dominion over plants and agriculture, especially grains. She rarely got involved in the squabbles of the gods, featuring in very few of the stories.
Her most famous appearance is in the tale of the abduction of her daughter Persephone by her brother Hades. Unable to find her daughter, she searches the earth until she finally asks Helios. The all-seeing Sun God reveals the truth and Demeter falls into a deep depression, causing the earth to go barren. To prevent the starvation of everything, Zeus negotiates with Hades; Persephone would spend two-thirds of the year with her mother and one-third with her husband. Demeter's joy at her daughter's return to Olympus causes the growth of plants in spring; her sadness at Persephone's departure to the Underworld causes lifeless winter.
God of War
Chains of Olympus
Demeter is mentioned in a retelling of the above myth on pedestals in the first room of the Temple of Persephone. She is never mentioned again and makes no appearances.
Trivia
- Her Roman name, Ceres, is where the word "cereal" comes from.
- In God of War III, her power over plants is given instead to her sister Hera.