Autumn Equinox :: Deity of the Sabbat :: Demeter
One of the twelve Olympic deities, Demeter is an earth goddess of fertility, the harvest, vegetation and grain. The
second part of her name, “meter” means “mother” and de (or da) was formerly thought to mean “earth”, though more modern
theories point to it being contracted from the Cretan word for barley. Worship of Demeter rose to prominence circa 800 BCE
and she is most likely a synchronization of earlier goddesses. By the next century, when Hesiod wrote his Hymn to Demeter
and Theogony, her worship was widespread throughout the Greek world with cult centers in Agrigentum, Siris, Arcadia, and
Phigaleia and particularly at Eleusis.
In spring, in the Athenian month Anthesterion, the Lesser Mysteries of Demeter were performed at Agrae just outside Athens. In early autumn, in the month Pyanopsion, near to sowing time, one of the most important and widespread festivals took place in honor of Demeter and her daughter Kore. The Thesmophoria included ceremonies intended to promote fertility and like many rituals of Demeter, it was secret and restricted to women. The Greater Mysteries, performed at Eleusis, were also celebrated in autumn in the month of Boedromion and were initiatory in nature. Divine favors, both in this life and the next, were promised to Her initiates and Her wrath to those who broke the oaths of silence. The secrecy surrounding the rites of Demeter seems to be due primarily to the sense of awe and fear generated by the contemplation of the hidden powers of earth and the Underworld.
Located 15 miles from Athens, on a land locked bay with a rich and fertile plain, the prehistoric settlement of Eleusis merged with Athens in the 7th century BCE. It was at Eleusis that Demeter taught the secrets of agriculture to Triplolemos, thereby giving man the ability to sustain himself and it was at her temple on Akris hill that Demeter waited annually for her daughter to return to her. The earliest building found here is geometric in shape. Subsequent larger temples, two in the Archaic Period replace the smaller one and both Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius made improvements and repairs to the temple, even rebuilding it after it was destroyed by the Costabocs in 170 CE. This continual upkeep and dedicated attention is a testament to the beloved nature of the Goddess and the import and power of the mysteries she reveals.
Continue to Autumn Equinox :: Myth of Demeter & Kore
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