Editing Ceres (mythology) (section)

===Agricultural fertility===
Ceres was credited with the discovery of [[spelt]] wheat (Latin ''far''), the yoking of oxen and ploughing, the sowing, protection and nourishing of the young seed, and the gift of agriculture to humankind; before this, it was said, man had subsisted on acorns, and wandered without settlement or laws. She had the power to fertilize, multiply and fructify plant and animal seed, and her laws and rites protected all activities of the agricultural cycle. In January, Ceres (alongside the earth-goddess [[Terra Mater|Tellus]]) was offered spelt wheat and a pregnant sow, at the movable ''[[Feria]]e [[Sementivae]]''. This was almost certainly held before the annual sowing of grain. The divine portion of sacrifice was the entrails ''([[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#exta|exta]])'' presented in an earthenware pot ''([[Olla (Roman pot)|olla]]).''<ref>[[John Scheid]], in [[Jörg Rüpke|Rüpke, Jörg]] (Editor), ''A Companion to Roman Religion'', Wiley-Blackwell, 2007, p 264; and Varro, ''Lingua Latina'', 5.98.</ref> In a rural, agricultural context, [[Cato the Elder]] describes the offer to Ceres of a ''porca praecidanea'' (a pig, offered before harvesting).<ref>Spaeth, 1996, p. 35: "The pregnant victim is a common offering to female fertility divinities and was apparently intended, on the principle of sympathetic magic, to fertilise and multiply the seeds committed to the earth." See also Cato the Elder, ''On Agriculture'', 134, for the ''porca praecidanea''.</ref> Before the harvest, she was offered a propitiary grain sample (''praemetium'').<ref>Spaeth, 1996, pp. 35–39: the offer of ''praemetium'' to Ceres is thought to have been an ancient Italic practice. In Festus, "Praemetium [is] that which was measured out beforehand for the sake of [the goddess] tasting it beforehand".</ref> Ovid tells that Ceres "is content with little, provided that her offerings are [[Glossary of ancient Roman religion#castus, castitas|casta]]" (pure).<ref>Linderski, J., in Wolfgang Haase, Hildegard Temporini (eds), ''Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt'', Volume 16, Part 3, de Gruyter, 1986, p. 1947, citing Ovid, Fasti, 4.411 - 416.</ref>

Ceres' main festival, [[Cerealia]], was held from mid to late April. It was organised by her [[plebeian]] [[aedile]]s and included circus games (''[[Ludi|ludi circenses]]''). It opened with a horse-race in the [[Circus Maximus]], whose starting point lay below and opposite to her Aventine Temple;<ref>Wiseman, 1995, p. 137.</ref> the [[Altar of Consus|turning post]] at the far end of the Circus was sacred to [[Consus]], a god of grain-storage. After the race, foxes were released into the Circus, their tails ablaze with lighted torches, perhaps to cleanse the growing crops and protect them from disease and vermin, or to add warmth and vitality to their growth.<ref>Spaeth, 1996, pp. 36–37. Ovid offers a myth by way of explanation: long ago, at ancient Carleoli, a farm-boy caught a fox stealing chickens and tried to burn it alive. The fox escaped and fired the fields and their crops, which were sacred to Ceres. Ever since (says Ovid) foxes are punished at her festival.</ref> From c.175 BC, Cerealia included ''[[ludi scaenici]]'' (theatrical religious events) through April 12 to 18.<ref>A plebeian aedile, C. Memmius, claims credit for Ceres' first ludi scaeneci. He celebrated the event with the dole of a new commemorative [[denarius]]; his claim to have given "the first Cerealia" represents this innovation. See Spaeth, 1996, p. 88.</ref>
====Helper gods====
In the ancient ''sacrum cereale'' a priest, probably the [[Flamen|Flamen Cerialis]], invoked Ceres (and probably Tellus) along with twelve specialised, minor assistant-gods to secure divine help and protection at each stage of the grain cycle, beginning shortly before the Feriae Sementivae.<ref>Ceres' 12 assistant deities are listed in [[Maurus Servius Honoratus|Servius]], ''On Vergil's Georgics'', 1.21. Cited in Spaeth, 1996, p. 36. Servius cites the historian [[Fabius Pictor]] (late 3rd century BC) as his source.</ref> [[Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher|W.H. Roscher]] lists these deities among the ''[[indigitamenta]]'', names used to invoke specific divine functions.<ref>[[Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher]], ''Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie'' (Leipzig: Teubner, 1890–94), vol. 2, pt. 1, pp. 187–233.</ref>

* '''Vervactor''', "He who ploughs"<ref name="Price p11">{{cite book |author1=Mary Beard |author-link=Mary Beard (classicist) |author2=John North |author2-link=John A. North (classicist) |author3=Simon Price |author3-link=Simon Price (classicist) |title=Religions of Rome: Volume 1: A History |year=1998 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |isbn=978-0521316828 |page=11}}</ref>
* '''Reparātor''', "He who prepares the earth"
* '''Imporcĭtor''', "He who ploughs with a wide furrow"<ref name="Price p11" />
* '''Insitor''', "He who plants seeds"
* '''Obarātor''', "He who traces the first ploughing"
* '''Occātor''', "He who harrows"
* '''Serritor''', "He who digs"
* '''Subruncinator''', "He who weeds"
* '''Mĕssor''', "He who reaps"
* '''Convector''', "He who carries the grain"
* '''Conditor''', "He who stores the grain"
* '''Promitor''', "He who distributes the grain"