Editing Demeter (section)

===Conflation with other goddesses===
[[File:Kykladitisses exhibition in the Museum of Cycladic Art, Athens Greece 175.jpg|thumb|240px|Terracotta plaque relief of Demeter in profile wearing ears of corn, 1st century BC–AD, Archaeological Museum of [[Amorgos]], Greece.]]

In the Roman period, Demeter became conflated with the Roman agricultural goddess [[Ceres (mythology)|Ceres]] through [[Interpretatio graeca#Interpretatio romana|interpretatio romana]].<ref>''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', [[The Book People]], Haydock, 1995, p. 215.</ref> The worship of Demeter has formally merged with that of Ceres around 205 BC, along with the ''[[Ceres (mythology)#Middle Republic|ritus graecia cereris]]'', a Greek-inspired form of cult, as part of Rome's general religious recruitment of deities as allies against Carthage, towards the end of the [[Second Punic War]]. The cult originated in southern Italy (part of [[Magna Graecia]]) and was probably based on the Thesmophoria, a mystery cult dedicated to Demeter and Persephone as "Mother and Maiden". It arrived along with its Greek priestesses, who were granted [[Roman citizenship]] so that they could pray to the gods "with a foreign and external knowledge, but with a domestic and civil intention".<ref>[[Spaeth, Barbette Stanley]], ''The Roman goddess Ceres'', University of Texas Press, 1996, pp. 4, 6–13, citing [[Arnobius]], who mistakes this as the first Roman cult to Ceres. His belief may reflect its high profile and ubiquity during the later Imperial period and possibly the fading of older, distinctively Aventine forms of her cult.</ref> The new cult was installed in the already ancient Temple of Ceres, [[Liber]] and [[Libera (mythology)|Libera]], Rome's [[Aventine Hill|Aventine]] patrons of the [[plebs]]; from the end of the 3rd century BC, Demeter's temple at Enna, in [[Sicily]], was acknowledged as Ceres' oldest, most authoritative cult centre, and Libera was recognized as Proserpina, Roman equivalent to Persephone.<ref>[[John Scheid|Scheid, John]], "Graeco Ritu: A Typically Roman Way of Honoring the Gods," ''Harvard Studies in Classical Philology'', 97, Greece in Rome: Influence, Integration, Resistance, 1995, p.23.</ref>

Their joint cult recalls Demeter's search for Persephone after the latter's abduction into the Underworld by [[Hades]]. At the Aventine, the new cult took its place alongside the old. It did not refer to Liber, whose open and gender-mixed cult played a central role in plebeian culture as a patron and protector of plebeian rights, freedoms and values. The exclusively female initiates and priestesses of the new "[[Ritus graecus|greek style]]" mysteries of Ceres and Proserpina were expected to uphold Rome's traditional, [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patrician]]-dominated social hierarchy and [[mos maiorum|traditional morality]]. Unmarried girls should emulate the chastity of Proserpina, the maiden; married women should seek to emulate Ceres, the devoted and fruitful mother. Their rites were intended to secure a good harvest and increase the fertility of those who partook in the mysteries.<ref>Spaeth, Barbette Stanley, ''The Roman goddess Ceres'', University of Texas Press, 1996, pp. 13, 15, 60, 94–97.</ref>

Beginning in the 5th century BCE in [[Asia Minor]], Demeter was also considered equivalent to the Phrygian goddess [[Cybele]].<ref>Eur.Hel.1301–45 and Melanippid.764PMG.</ref> Demeter's festival of Thesmophoria was popular throughout Asia Minor, and the myth of Persephone and [[Adonis]] in many ways mirrors the myth of Cybele and [[Attis]].<ref name=Persephone_asia_minor>[http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/Forms/fLemmaBody.aspx?lemmaId=10541#noteendNote_11 Kore / Persephone]. Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World: Asia Minor. http://asiaminor.ehw.gr/Forms/fLemmaBody.aspx?lemmaId=10541#noteendNote_11</ref>

Some late antique sources syncretized several "great goddess" figures into a single deity. For example, the [[Platonist]] philosopher [[Apuleius]], writing in the late 2nd century, identified Ceres (Demeter) with Isis, having her declare:
<blockquote>I, mother of the universe, mistress of all the elements, first-born of the ages, highest of the gods, queen of the shades, first of those who dwell in heaven, representing in one shape all gods and goddesses. My will controls the shining heights of heaven, the health-giving sea winds, and the mournful silences of hell; the entire world worships my single godhead in a thousand shapes, with divers rites, and under many a different name. The Phrygians, first-born of mankind, call me the Pessinuntian Mother of the gods; ... the ancient Eleusinians Actaean Ceres; ... and the Egyptians who excel in ancient learning, honour me with the worship which is truly mine and call me by my true name: Queen Isis.
:--[[Apuleius]], translated by E. J. Kenny. ''[[The Golden Ass]]''<ref>{{cite book|last1=Apuleius|title=The Golden Ass|date=1998|publisher=Penguin classics}}</ref></blockquote>