Editing Demeter (section)

==Mythology==
===Lineage, consorts, and offspring===
[[File:Demeter MKL1888.png|thumb|left|260px|[[Pompeii]]an relief of Demeter in her aspects of [[mother goddess]] and goddess of agriculture]]

Hesiod's ''[[Theogony]]'' (c. 700 BC) describes Demeter as the second child of the Titans [[Cronus]] and [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]], and the sister of [[Hestia]], [[Hera]], [[Hades]], [[Poseidon]], and [[Zeus]]. Alongside the rest of her sisters and brothers with the exception of her youngest brother Zeus, Demeter was swallowed as a newborn by her father due to his fear of being overthrown by one of his children; she was later freed when Zeus made Cronus disgorge all of his children by giving him an emetic. Zeus then led his siblings in a war against their father and the other Titans. Cronus was supplanted by this new generation of deities; and Demeter thus became one of the Olympian gods, the new rulers of the cosmos, alongside her brothers and sisters.<ref>Grimal, s.v. [https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofclas00grim/page/115/mode/2up?view=theater Cronus].</ref>

Demeter is notable as the mother of [[Persephone]], described by both Hesiod and in the ''Homeric Hymn to Demeter'' as the result of a union with Zeus.<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+912&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130 912]; [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138%3Ahymn%3D2 ''Homeric Hymn to Demeter'' (2)].</ref> An alternate recounting of the matter appears in a fragment of the lost [[Orphism (religion)|Orphic]] theogony, which preserves part of a myth in which Zeus mates with his mother, Rhea, in the form of a snake, explaining the origin of the symbol on [[Hermes]]' staff. Their daughter is said to be Persephone, whom Zeus, in turn, mates with to conceive [[Dionysus]]. According to the Orphic fragments, "After becoming the mother of Zeus, she who was formerly Rhea became Demeter."<ref>[[Proclus]], ''Commentary on Plato's Cratylus'' 403 e (90, 28 Pasqu.) [=Orphic [https://archive.org/details/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft/page/188/mode/2up?view=theater fr. 145 Kern]; West 1983, p. 217.</ref><ref>Kerényi 1976, p. 112.</ref>[[File:Triptolemos Louvre G187.jpg|thumb|left|320px|[[Triptolemus]], Demeter and Persephone by the Triptolemos-painter, c. 470 BC, [[Louvre]]]]

There is some evidence that the figures of the Queen of the Underworld and the daughter of Demeter were initially considered separate goddesses.<ref>Zuntz, G., Persephone. Three essays in religion and thought in Magna Graecia (Oxford, 1971), p. 75-83.</ref> However, they must have become conflated by the time of Hesiod in the 7th century BC.<ref name="Persephone_asia_minor" /> Demeter and Persephone were often worshipped together and were often referred to by joint cultic titles. In their cult at Eleusis, they were referred to simply as "the goddesses", usually distinguished as "the older" and "the younger"; in [[Rhodes]] and [[Sparta]], they were worshipped as "the Demeters"; in the Thesmophoria, they were known as "the thesmophoroi" ("the legislators").<ref>Martin Nilsson (1967) ''Die Geschichte der Griechische Religion'' pp.463, 477</ref> In Arcadia they were known as "the Great Goddesses" and "the mistresses".<ref>Martin Nilsson (1967) ''Die Geschichte der Griechische Religion'' pp. 463–465</ref> In [[Mycenaean civilization|Mycenaean]] Pylos, Demeter and Persephone were probably called the "queens" (wa-na-ssoi).<ref name="Mylonas159">"Wa-na-ssoi, wa-na-ka-te, (to the two queens and the king). Wanax is best suited to Poseidon, the special divinity of Pylos. The identity of the two divinities addressed as wanassoi, is uncertain ": George Mylonas (1966) Mycenae and the Mycenean age" p. 159 :Princeton University Press</ref>[[File:Villa Carmiano triclinio 2 (cropped).jpg|thumb|Dionysus (Bacchus) and Demeter (Ceres), antique fresco in [[Stabiae]], 1st century]]According to [[Diodorus Siculus]], in his ''[[Bibliotheca historica]]'' written in the 1st century BC, Demeter and Zeus were also the parents of Dionysus. Diodorus described the myth of Dionysus' double birth (once from the earth, i.e. Demeter, when the plant sprouts) and once from the vine (when the fruit sprouts from the plant). Diodorus also related a version of the myth of Dionysus' destruction by the Titans ("sons of [[Gaia]]"), who boiled him, and how Demeter gathered up his remains so that he could be born a third time (Diod. iii.62). Diodorus states that Dionysus' birth from Zeus and his older sister Demeter was somewhat of a minority belief, possibly via conflation of Demeter with her daughter, as most sources state that the parents of Dionysus were Zeus and Persephone, and later Zeus and Semele.<ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/3E*.html Book III].</ref>

In Arcadia, a major Arcadian deity known as Despoina ("Mistress") was said to be the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon. According to Pausanias, a [[Thelpusa|Thelpusian]] tradition said that during Demeter's search for Persephone, Poseidon pursued her. Demeter turned into a horse to avoid her younger brother's advances. However, he turned into a stallion and mated with the goddess, resulting in the birth of the horse god [[Arion (mythology)|Arion]] and a daughter "whose name they are not wont to divulge to the uninitiated".<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.25.5 8.28.5–7].</ref> Elsewhere, he says that the [[Phigalia]]ns assert that the offspring of Poseidon and Demeter was not a horse, but Despoina, "as the Arcadians call her".<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.42.1 8.42.1].</ref>

In [[Orphic literature]], Demeter seems to be the mother of the witchcraft goddess [[Hecate]].<ref name="fr. 41 Kern">Orphic frr. 400 I (I p. 334) [= [https://archive.org/stream/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft#page/112/mode/2up fr. 41 Kern] = [[Scholia]] on [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], 3.467], 400 II (I p. 334) Bernabé [= [https://archive.org/details/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft/page/112/mode/2up?view=theater fr. 42 Kern] = Scholia on [[Theocritus]], 2.12].</ref>

Both [[Homer]] and Hesiod, writing c. 700 BC, described Demeter making love with the agricultural hero [[Iasion]] in a ploughed field during the marriage of [[Cadmus]] and [[Harmonia]].<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:5.92-5.144 5.125]; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:963-1002 969–974].</ref> According to Hesiod, this union resulted in the birth of [[Plutus]].

Demeter took [[Mecon (mythology)|Mecon]], a young Athenian, as a lover; he was at some point transformed into a poppy flower.<ref>Smith, s.v. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DM%3Aentry+group%3D14%3Aentry%3Dmecon-bio-1 Mecon]; [[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]] on [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Georgics]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2007.01.0092%3Abook%3D1%3Acommline%3D212 1.212]</ref>

The following is a list of Demeter's offspring, by various fathers. Beside each offspring, the earliest source to record the parentage is given, along with the century to which the source (in some cases approximately) dates.

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! scope="col" style="width: 100pt;" | Offspring
! scope="col" style="width: 95pt;" | Father
! scope="col" style="width: 55pt;" | Source
! scope="col" style="width: 70pt;" | Date
! class="unsortable" scope="col" style="width: 10pt;" |
|-
| [[Persephone]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Zeus]]
| [[Hesiod|Hes.]] ''[[Theogony|Theog.]]''
| data-sort-value=1 | 8th cent. BC
| <ref>Gantz, p. 64; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:901-937 912&ndash;914].</ref>
|-
| [[Dionysus]]
| [[Diodorus Siculus|Diod. Sic.]]
| data-sort-value=15 | 1st cent. BC
| <ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=demeter-bio-1&highlight=demeter%2Cdionysus s.v. Demeter]; [[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/3E*.html#62.5 3.62.5]; [[Scholia]]st on [[Pindar]], ''Pythian Odes'' 3.177{{primary source inline|date=October 2024}}.</ref>
|-
| [[Arion]], [[Despoina]]
| [[Poseidon]]
| [[Pausanias (geographer)|Paus.]]
| data-sort-value=19 | 2nd cent. AD
| <ref>Tripp, s.v. Arion or Areion, p. 101; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.25.7 8.25.7].</ref>
|-
| [[Plutus]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Iasion]]
| [[Hesiod|Hes.]] ''[[Theogony|Theog.]]''
| data-sort-value=1 | 8th cent. BC
| <ref>Morford, p. 339; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:963-1002 969—974].</ref>
|-
| [[Philomelus]]
| Hyg. ''[[De astronomia|De astr.]]''
| data-sort-value=16 | 1st cent. BC/AD
| <ref>''Brill's New Pauly'', s.v. Philomelus (1); Hyginus, ''[[De astronomia]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.4.7 2.4.7].</ref>
|-
| [[Hecate]]
| rowspan="2" | ''No father mentioned''
| [[Orphic]] frr.
| data-sort-value=50 |
| <ref name="fr. 41 Kern"/>
|-
| [[Eubuleus]]
| [[Diodorus Siculus|Diod. Sic.]]
| data-sort-value=15 | 1st cent. BC
| <ref>[[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html#76.3 5.76.3].</ref>
|}

===Abduction of Persephone===
{{Main|Rape of Persephone}}
[[File:Demeter in horse chariot w daughter kore 83d40m wikiC Tempio Y di Selinunte sec VIa.JPG|thumb|left|280px|Demeter drives her horse-drawn chariot containing her daughter [[Persephone|Persephone-Kore]] at [[Selinunte]], Sicily, 6th century BC.]]
Demeter searched for her missing daughter Persephone ceaselessly for nine days, preoccupied with her grief. [[Hecate]] then approached her and said that while she had not seen what happened to Persephone, she heard her screams. Together the two goddesses went to [[Helios]], the [[Solar deity|sun god]], who witnessed everything that happened on earth thanks to his lofty position. Helios then revealed to Demeter that her brother Hades, god of the Underworld, had snatched a screaming Persephone to make her his wife with the permission of Zeus, the girl's father. Demeter was then filled with anger, and so the seasons halted and all living things ceased their growth and began to die.<ref>Kerényi 1951, pp.&nbsp;232–241 and notes 784–798.</ref> Faced with the extinction of all life on earth, Zeus sent his messenger [[Hermes]] to the Underworld to bring Persephone back to her mother. Hades agreed to release her if [[Taboo#In religion and mythology|she had eaten nothing]] while in his realm, but Persephone had eaten a small number of [[pomegranate]] [[seed]]s. This bound her to Hades and the Underworld for certain months of every year, most likely the dry Mediterranean summer, when plant life is threatened by drought,<ref>As in Burkert, ''Greek Religion'' (Harvard, 1985) p. 160.</ref> despite the popular belief that it is autumn or winter.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/gpr/ |title=Martin Nilsson, ''The Greek popular religion'', The religion of Eleusis, pp 51–54 |publisher=Sacred-texts.com}}</ref> There are several variations on the basic myth; the earliest account, the ''[[Homeric hymn|Homeric Hymn to Demeter]]'', relates that Persephone is secretly slipped a pomegranate seed by Hades<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uh.edu/~cldue/texts/demeter.html|title=HOMERIC HYMN TO DEMETER|website=www.uh.edu}}</ref> and in Ovid's version,<ref>Ovid, ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' ([https://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph5.htm#479128843 ''Book V'', ln. 533–571])</ref> Persephone secretly eats the pomegranate seeds, thinking to deceive Hades, but she was discovered and made to stay. Contrary to popular perception, Persephone's time in the Underworld does not correspond with the unfruitful seasons of the ancient [[Greek calendar]], nor her return to the [[Upper World (Greek)|upper world]] with springtime.<ref>Graf, "Demeter" in ''Brill's New Pauly''</ref> Demeter's descent to retrieve Persephone from the Underworld is connected to the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/32/the-eleusinian-mysteries-the-rites-of-demeter/|title=The Eleusinian Mysteries: The Rites of Demeter|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|access-date=2019-04-27}}</ref>[[File:Demeter rejoiced, for her daughter was by her side.jpg|thumb|''Demeter rejoiced, for her beloved daughter was by her side''.]]

The myth of the capture of Persephone seems to be pre-Greek. In the Greek version, Ploutos (πλούτος, wealth) represents the wealth of the corn that was stored in underground silos or ceramic jars (''pithoi''). Similar subterranean ''pithoi'' were used in ancient times for funerary practices. At the beginning of the autumn, when the corn of the old crop is laid on the fields, she ascends and is reunited with her mother, Demeter, for at this time, the old crop and the new meet each other.<ref>[https://sacred-texts.com/cla/gpr/gpr07.htm#page_48 Martin Nilsson, ''Greek Popular Religion''.] pp 48–50</ref>

[[File:Terracotta Baubo figurine.jpg|thumb|left|A [[Greek terracotta figurines|Greek terracotta figurine]] of Baubo, of the face-in-torso type]]
In the [[Orphism (religion)|Orphic tradition]], while she was searching for her daughter, a mortal woman named [[Baubo]] received Demeter as her guest and offered her a meal and wine. Demeter declined them both because she mourned the loss of [[Persephone]]. Baubo then, thinking she had displeased the goddess, lifted her skirt and showed her genitalia to the goddess, simultaneously revealing [[Iacchus]], Demeter's son. Demeter was most pleased with the sight and delighted she accepted the food and wine.<ref>[[Clement of Alexandria]], ''[[Protrepticus (Clement)|Exhortation to the Greeks]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/215#2.11 2.11]; Grimal, s.v. Baubo.</ref><ref>Graves, p. 92.</ref> This tale survives in the account of [[Clement of Alexandria]], an early [[Christian]] writer who wrote about pagan practices and mythology. Several [[Baubo#Baubo figurines|Baubo figurines]] (figurines of women revealing their [[vulva]]s) have been discovered, supporting the story.

===Demeter at Eleusis===

Demeter's search for her daughter Persephone took her to the palace of [[Celeus]], the King of Eleusis in Attica. She assumed the form of an old woman and asked him for shelter. He took her in, to nurse [[Demophon of Eleusis|Demophon]] and [[Triptolemus]], his sons by [[Metanira]]. To reward his kindness, she planned to make Demophon immortal; she secretly anointed the boy with [[ambrosia]] and laid him in the hearth's flames to gradually burn away his mortal self. But Metanira walked in, saw her son in the fire and screamed in fright. Demeter abandoned the attempt.<ref name=":1" /> Instead, once Persephone returned from the underworld, she and Demeter taught Triptolemus the secrets of agriculture, and he, in turn, taught them to any who wished to learn them. Thus, humanity learned how to plant, grow and harvest grain.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Siculus |first=Diodorus |year=1939 |title=The Library of History, Book V, 47-84 |url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref> The myth has several versions; some are linked to figures such as [[Eleusis (mythology)|Eleusis]], [[Rarus]] and [[Trochilus (mythology)|Trochilus]]. The Demophon element may be based on an earlier folk tale.<ref name=":1">Nilsson (1940), p. 50: "The Demophon story in Eleusis is based on an older folk-tale motif which has nothing to do with the Eleusinian Cult. It is introduced to let Demeter reveal herself in her divine shape".</ref>
[[File:Demeter, Mourner, marble relief, Knossos, 1st-2nd century AD, AMH, 145408.jpg|thumb|Demeter in mourning, marble relief from [[Knossos]], [[Archaeological Museum of Heraklion]].]]

===Demeter and Iasion===
Homer's ''[[Odyssey]]'' (c. late 8th century BC) contains perhaps the earliest direct references to the myth of Demeter and her consort [[Iasion]], a Samothracian hero whose name may refer to [[bindweed]], a small white flower that frequently grows in wheat fields. In the ''Odyssey'', [[Calypso (mythology)|Calypso]] describes how Demeter, "without disguise", made love to Iasion. "So it was when Demeter of the braided tresses followed her heart and lay in love with Iasion in the triple-furrowed field; Zeus was aware of it soon enough and hurled the bright thunderbolt and killed him."<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' 5.125 ff (trans. Shewring)</ref> However, [[Ovid]] states that Iasion lived up to old age as the husband of Demeter.<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DI%3Aentry+group%3D1%3Aentry%3Diasion-bio-1 s.v. Iasion]; [[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/141#9.418 9.421]</ref> In ancient Greek culture, part of the opening of each agricultural year involved the cutting of three furrows in the field to ensure its fertility.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Iasion.html|title=IASION - Greek Demi-God of the Samothracian Mysteries|website=www.theoi.com}}</ref>

Hesiod expanded on the basics of this myth. According to him, the liaison between Demeter and Iasion took place at the wedding of [[Cadmus]] and [[Harmonia (mythology)|Harmonia]] in Crete. Demeter, in this version, had lured Iasion away from the other revellers. Hesiod says that Demeter subsequently gave birth to [[Plutus]].<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:963-1002 969—974]; Gantz, p. 64; Tripp, s.v. Iasion; ''[[Oxford Classical Dictionary]]'', s.v. Iasion.</ref>

===Demeter and Poseidon===
[[File:Demeter Altemps Inv8596.jpg|thumb|left|Roman copy of 4th century BC Greek bust ([[National Roman Museum]])]]
In Arcadia, located in what is now southern Greece, the major goddess [[Despoina]] was considered the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon Hippios ("''Horse-Poseidon''"). In the associated myths, Poseidon represents the river spirit of the Underworld, and he appears as a horse, as often happens in northern European folklore. The myth describes how he pursued his older sister, Demeter, who hid from him among the horses of the king [[Onkios]], but even in the form of a mare, she could not conceal her divinity. Poseidon caught and raped his older sister in the form of a stallion. Demeter was furious at Poseidon's assault; in this furious form, she became known as ''Demeter Erinys''. Her anger at Poseidon drove her to dress all in black and retreat into a cave to purify herself, an act which was the cause of a universal famine. Demeter's absence caused the death of crops, livestock, and eventually of the people who depended on them (later Arcadian tradition held that it was ''both'' her rage at Poseidon and her loss of her daughter caused the famine, merging the two myths).<ref name=oxford_companion/> Demeter washed away her anger in the River [[Ladon (river)|Ladon]], becoming ''Demeter Lousia'', the "bathed Demeter".<ref>Other ritually bathed goddesses were Argive [[Hera]] and [[Cybele]]; [[Aphrodite]] renewed her own powers bathing herself in the sea.</ref>

"In her alliance with Poseidon," Kerényi noted,<ref>Kerényi 1951, p. 185.</ref> "she was [[Gaia (mythology)|Earth]], who bears plants and beasts, and could therefore assume the shape of an ear of [[grain]] or a mare." Moreover, she bore a daughter [[Despoina]] ({{lang|grc|Δέσποινα}}: the "Mistress"), whose name should not be uttered outside the Arcadian Mysteries,<ref>"In Arcadia, she was also a second goddess in the Mysteries of her daughter, the unnameable, who was invoked only as 'Despoina', the 'Mistress'" (Kerényi 1967, pp. 31ff., citing Pausanias, [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.37.9 8.37.9].</ref> and a horse named [[Arion (mythology)|Arion]], with a black mane and tail.

At [[Phigaleia]], a ''[[xoanon]]'' (wood-carved statue) of Demeter was erected in a cave which, tradition held, was the cave into which Black Demeter retreated. The statue depicted a [[Medusa]]-like figure with a horse's head and snake-like hair, holding a dove and a dolphin, which probably represented her power over air and water:<ref>L. H. Jeffery (1976). ''Archaic Greece: The Greek city states c. 800-500 B.C.'' (Ernest Benn Limited) p 23 {{ISBN|0-510-03271-0}}</ref>

{{Blockquote|The second mountain, Mount Elaius, is some thirty stades away from Phigalia, and has a cave sacred to Demeter surnamed Black ... the Phigalians say, they concluded that this cavern was sacred to Demeter and set up in it a wooden image. The image, they say, was made after this fashion. It was seated on a rock, like to a woman in all respects save the head. She had the head and hair of a horse, and there grew out of her head images of serpents and other beasts. Her tunic reached right to her feet; on one of her hands was a dolphin, on the other a dove. Now why they had the image made after this fashion is plain to any intelligent man who is learned in traditions. They say that they named her Black because the goddess had black apparel. They cannot relate either who made this wooden image or how it caught fire. But the old image was destroyed, and the Phigalians gave the goddess no fresh image, while they neglected for the most part her festivals and sacrifices, until the barrenness fell on the land.|[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]]|[http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.42 8.42.1–4].}}

===Demeter and Erysichthon===
[[File:Plate 80- Ceres' Nymph Telling Famine to Strike Erysichthon (Insatiabili fame Erisichtonem torquet Fames), from Ovid's 'Metamorphoses' MET DP866521.jpg|thumb|''Demeter orders Famine to strike Erysichthon'', Elisha Whittelsey Collection]]

Another myth involving Demeter's rage resulting in famine is that of [[Erysichthon of Thessaly|Erysichthon]], king of [[Thessaly]].<ref name=oxford_companion/> The myth tells of Erysichthon ordering all of the trees in one of Demeter's sacred groves to be cut down, as he wanted to build an extension of his palace and hold feasts there. One tree, a huge oak, was covered with votive wreaths, symbols of the prayers Demeter had granted, so Erysichthon's men refused to cut it down. The king used an axe to cut it down, killing a [[dryad nymph]] in the process. The nymph's dying words were a curse on Erysichthon. Demeter punished the king by calling upon [[Limos (mythology)|Limos]], the spirit of unrelenting and insatiable hunger, to enter his stomach. The more the king ate, the hungrier he became. Erysichthon sold all his possessions to buy food but was still hungry. Finally, he sold his daughter, [[Mestra]], into slavery. Mestra was freed from slavery by her former lover, [[Poseidon]], who gave her the gift of shape-shifting into any creature to escape her bonds. Erysichthon used her shape-shifting ability to sell her numerous times to make more money to feed himself, but no amount of food was enough. Eventually, Erysichthon [[Autocannibalism|ate himself]].<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0028%3Abook%3D8%3Acard%3D728 8.738–878]; [[Callimachus]], ''Hymn VI to Demeter'' [https://archive.org/details/callimachuslycop00calluoft/page/126/mode/2up?view=theater 34 ff.].</ref>

In a variation, Erysichthon tore down a temple of Demeter, wishing to build a roof for his house; she punished him the same way, and near the end of his life, she sent a snake to plague him. Afterwards, Demeter put him among the stars (the constellation [[Ophiuchus]]), as she did the snake, to continue to inflict its punishment on Erysichthon.<ref>Hyginus, ''De astronomia'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.14.4 2.14.4]</ref>

In the [[Pergamon Altar]], which depicts the battle of the gods against the Giants ([[Giants (Greek mythology)|Gigantomachy]]), survive remains of what seems to have been Demeter fighting a Giant labelled "Erysichthon."<ref>McKay, [https://books.google.com/books?id=SsEeAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA93 p. 93]</ref> Demeter is also depicted fighting against the Giants next to Hermes in the [[Gigantomachy by the Suessula Painter|Suessula Gigantomachy vase]], now housed in the [[Louvre]] Museum.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=Louvre+S+1677&object=Vase | publisher = [[Tufts University]] | website = www.perseus.tufts.edu | title = Louvre S 1677 (Vase) | access-date = February 22, 2023}}</ref> Usually, ancient depictions of the Gigantomachy tend to exclude Demeter due to her non-martial nature.{{sfn|Smith|Plantzos|2018|page = [https://books.google.com/books?id=Z1FVDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA409 409]}}

===Wrath myths===
[[File:Склеп Деметры.JPG|thumb|left|Demeter in an ancient Greek [[fresco]] from [[Panticapaeum]], 1st century [[Crimea]].]]
According to [[Ovid]], Demeter gave the Sirens, the companions of Persephone, wings to search for her daughter when she was abducted by Hades.<ref>Ovid, ''Metamorphoses'' V, 551.</ref> However, the ''Fabulae'' of [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]] has Demeter cursing the sirens for failing to intervene in the abduction of Persephone. <ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#141 141]</ref><ref>Pseudo-Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' 141 (trans. Grant).</ref>

While travelling far and wide looking for her daughter, Demeter arrived exhausted in [[Attica]]. A woman named Misme took her in and offered her a cup of water with pennyroyal and barley groats, for it was a hot day. Demeter, in her thirst, swallowed the drink clumsily. Witnessing that, Misme's son [[Ascalabus]] laughed, mocked her, and asked her if she would like a deep jar of that drink.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph5.htm#479128841 5.446-461]; [[Antoninus Liberalis]], ''Metamorphoses'' [https://topostext.org/work/216#24 24]; Tripp, s.v. Ascalabus.</ref> Demeter then poured her drink over him and turned him into a [[gecko]], hated by both men and gods. It was said that Demeter showed her favour to those who killed geckos.<ref>[[Antoninus Liberalis]], ''Metamorphoses'' [https://topostext.org/work/216#24 24].</ref>

Demeter pinned [[Ascalaphus (son of Acheron)|Ascalaphus]] under a rock for reporting, as sole witness, to [[Hades]] that Persephone had consumed some [[pomegranate]] seeds.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.5.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022#note6 1.5.3].</ref> Later, after [[Heracles]] rolled the stone off Ascalaphus, Demeter turned him into a short-eared owl instead.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+2.5.12&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022#note6 2.5.12].</ref> In other versions, Persephone was the one who transformed Ascalaphus into the bird by sprinkling him with water of the river [[Phlegethon]].<ref>Ovid. ''Metamorphoses''. Book V, 534.</ref>

Before Hades abducted Persephone, he had kept [[Minthe]] as his mistress. But after he married Persephone, he set Minthe aside. Minthe would often brag about being lovelier and more queenly than Persephone and say Hades would soon come back to her and kick Persephone out of his halls. Demeter, hearing that insult towards her daughter, grew angry and trampled Minthe; from the earth then sprang a lovely-smelling [[Mentha|herb]] named after the nymph.<ref>[[Oppian]], ''Halieutica'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Oppian/Halieutica/3*.html#482 3.485 ff]</ref> In other versions, Persephone herself is the one who kills and turns Minthe into a plant.<ref>[[Strabo]], ''[[Geographica]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Strab.+8.3.14&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198 8.3.14.]</ref><ref>[[Scholia]] ad [[Nicander|Nicandri]] ''Alexipharmaca'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=Zy2LWzF4v3oC&pg=PA212 375]</ref><ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph10.htm#484521431 10.728]</ref>

In an [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argive]] myth, when Demeter travelled to [[Argolis]], a man named Colontas refused to receive her in his house, whereas his daughter [[Chthonia]] disapproved of his actions. Colontas was punished by being burnt along with his house, but Demeter took Chthonia to [[Hermione (Argolis)|Hermione]], where she built a sanctuary for the goddess.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.35.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 2.35.4]</ref>

Once, the Colchian princess [[Medea]] ended a famine that plagued [[Corinth]] by making sacrifices to Demeter and the nymphs.<ref>[[Scholia]] on [[Pindar]]'s ''Olympian Odes'' [https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg5034.tlg001a.perseus-grc1:13.74/ 13.74]</ref>

===Favour myths===
[[File:Head of statue of Demeter.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Head of a statue of Demeter, marble, [[Roman imperial period (chronology)|Roman imperial period]], 2nd century CE]]

During her wanderings, Demeter came upon the town of [[Pheneus]]; to the Pheneates that received her warmly and offered her shelter, she gave all sorts of pulse, except for beans, deeming it impure.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D15%3Asection%3D3 8.15.3].</ref> Two of the Pheneates, Trisaules and Damithales, had a temple of Demeter built for her.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D8%3Achapter%3D15%3Asection%3D4 8.15.4].</ref> Demeter also gifted a [[fig]] tree to [[Phytalus]], an [[Eleusis|Eleusinian]] man, for welcoming her in his home.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.37.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 1.37.2]; Grimal, s.v. Phytalus, p. 373.</ref>

Demeter gave [[Triptolemus]] her serpent-drawn chariot (one of the serpents that drew this chariot was [[Cychreides|Kykreides]]) and seed and bade him scatter it across the earth (teach humankind the knowledge of agriculture). Triptolemus rode through [[Europe]] and [[Asia]] until he came to the land of [[Lyncus]], a [[Scythian]] king. Lyncus pretended to offer what's accustomed of hospitality to him, but once Triptolemus fell asleep, he attacked him with a dagger, wanting to take credit for his work. Demeter then saved Triptolemus by turning Lyncus into a [[lynx]] and ordered Triptolemus to return home airborne.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://ovid.lib.virginia.edu/trans/Metamorph5.htm#479128845 5.642-678]</ref> [[De astronomia|Hyginus]] records a very similar myth, in which Demeter saves Triptolemus from an evil king named [[Carnabon]] who additionally seized Triptolemus' chariot and killed one of the dragons, so he might not escape; Demeter restored the chariot to Triptolemus, substituted the dead dragon with another one, and punished Carnabon by putting him among the stars holding a dragon as if to kill it.<ref>Hyginus, ''[[De astronomia]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.14.2 2.14.2].</ref>[[File:Statue of Demeter at the Academy of Athens on May 23, 2022.jpg|left|thumb|340px|Statue of Demeter by [[Leonidas Drosis]] in the façade of the [[Academy of Athens (modern)|Academy of Athens]], [[Greece]].]]

When her son [[Philomelus]] invented the plough and used it to cultivate the fields, Demeter was so impressed by his good work that she immortalized him in the sky by turning him into a [[constellation]], the [[Boötes]].<ref>Hyginus, ''[[De astronomia]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.4.7 2.4.7]; Grimal, s.v. Philomelus, p. 366.</ref>

In the tale of [[Eros]] and [[Psyche (mythology)|Psyche]], Demeter, along with her sister [[Hera]], visited [[Aphrodite]], raging with fury about the girl who had married her son. Aphrodite asks the two to search for her; the two try to talk sense into her, arguing that her son is not a little boy, although he might appear as one, and there's no harm in him falling in love with Psyche. Aphrodite took offence at their words.<ref>[[Apuleius]], ''[[The Golden Ass]]'' [https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/TheGoldenAssV.php#anchor_Toc348436733 5.28-31]</ref> Sometime later, Psyche in her wanderings came across an abandoned shrine of Demeter, and sorted out the neglected sickles and harvest implements she found there. As she was doing so, Demeter appeared to her and called from afar; she warned the girl of Aphrodite's great wrath and her plan to take revenge on her. Then Psyche begged the goddess to help her, but Demeter answered that she could not interfere and incur Aphrodite's anger at her, and for that reason, Psyche had to leave the shrine or else be kept as a captive of hers.<ref>[[Apuleius]], ''[[The Golden Ass]]'' [https://www.poetryintranslation.com/PITBR/Latin/TheGoldenAssVI.php#anchor_Toc349118610 6.1-4]</ref>

[[Hierax (mythology)|Hierax]], a man of justice and distinction, set up sanctuaries for Demeter and received plenteous harvests from her in return. When the tribe neglected Poseidon in favour of Demeter, the sea god destroyed all of her crops, so Hierax sent them instead his own food and was transformed into a hawk by Poseidon.<ref>[[Antoninus Liberalis]], ''Collection of Transformations'' [https://topostext.org/work/216#3 3]</ref>

Besides giving gifts to those who were welcoming to her, Demeter was also a goddess who nursed the young; all of Plemaeus's children born by his first wife died in a cradle; Demeter took pity on him and reared herself his son [[Orthopolis]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.5.8&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 2.5.8].</ref> Plemaeus built a temple to her to thank her.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+2.11.2&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 2.11.2].</ref> Demeter also raised [[Trophonius]], the prophetic son of either [[Apollo]] or [[Erginus of Orchomenus|Erginus]].<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D9%3Achapter%3D39%3Asection%3D5 9.39.5]; Grimal, s.v. Trophonius, pp. 459–460.</ref>

===Other accounts===
Demeter seems to have accompanied Dionysus when he descended into the Underworld to retrieve his mother [[Semele]] in order to visit her now married daughter, and perhaps lead her back to the land of the living for the remainder of the year.{{sfn|Kerenyi|1967|pages=[https://archive.org/details/eleusisarchetypa0000kern/page/42/mode/2up?view=theater 42-43]}}{{sfn|J. Paul Getty Museum|1983|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=exArAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA31 31, especially note 58]}} In many vases from Athens Dionysus is seen in the company of mother and daughter.{{sfn|J. Paul Getty Museum|1983|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=exArAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA30 30]}}

Once [[Tantalus]], a son of [[Zeus]], invited the gods over for dinner. Tantalus, wanting to test them, cut his son [[Pelops]], cooked him and offered him as a meal to them. They all saw through Tantalus' crime except Demeter, who ate Pelops' shoulder before the gods brought him back to life.<ref>[[Lycophron]], ''Alexandra'' [https://archive.org/details/alexandragreichi00lycouoft/page/98/mode/2up?view=theater 152-155]; [[Fabulae|Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#83 83]; Grimal, s.v. Pelops.</ref>