| Demeter |
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Demeter, the next Earth Mother, following in the footsteps of Ge and Rhea, the chthonic deity who sends forth the grains year after year. Having lost her seat at the oracle to Apollo after the Lord slew her sacred serpent, and subsequently having lost her daughter by her brother Zeus to her other brother Hades, she no longer announces her oracles to Man — she makes Man come to her. Her secrets are the most famous in the Colonies, and even those who don't count themselves as faithful give a second thought to seeking out her mysteries uninitiated, for the stigma that comes of having violated the Lady can confer just as many curses upon a mortal as the Lady herself. |  |
Common History
Demeter was the goddess of corn, grain, and the harvest. She was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea. It was believed that Demeter made the crops grow each year; thus the first loaf of bread made from the annual harvest was offered to her. She was the goddess of the earth, of agriculture, and of fertility in general.
Though Demeter is often described simply as the goddess of the harvest, she presided also over the sacred law, and the cycle of life and death.
Related Colony
Common Rituals
Demeter was also known for founding the Eleusinian Mysteries. These were huge festivals held every five years and very important events for many centuries. Yet, little is known about them as those attending were sworn to secrecy. It is thought that the central tenet around which the Mysteries revolved was that just like grain returns every spring after its harvest and the winter lull, so does the human soul after the death of the body, reincarnated in a next life.
Demeter's two major festivals were sacred mysteries. Her Thesmophoria festival was women-only. Her Eleusinian mysteries were open to initiates of any gender or social class. At the heart of both festivals were myths concerning Demeter as Mother and Persephone as her daughter.
Cults and Sects
Hymn
O Universal mother, Ceres fam'd
August, the source of wealth, and various nam'd:
Great nurse, all-bounteous, blessed and divine,
Who joy'st in peace, to nourish corn is thine:
Goddess of seed, of fruits abundant, fair,
Harvest and threshing, are thy constant care;
Who dwell'st in Eleusina's seats retir'd,
Lovely, delightful queen, by all desir'd.
Nurse of all mortals, whose benignant mind,
First ploughing oxen to the yoke confin'd;
And gave to men, what nature's wants require,
With plenteous means of bliss which all desire.
In verdure flourishing in honor bright,
Assessor of great Bacchus, bearing light:
Rejoicing in the reapers sickles, kind,
Whose nature lucid, earthly, pure, we find.
Prolific, venerable, Nurse divine,
Thy daughter loving, holy Proserpine:
A car with dragons yok'd, 'tis thine to guide,
And orgies singing round thy throne to ride:
Only-begotten, much-producing queen,
All flowers are thine and fruits of lovely green.
Bright Goddess, come, with Summer's rich increase
Swelling and pregnant, leading smiling Peace;
Come, with fair Concord and imperial Health,
And join with these a needful store of wealth.
Characters with this Patron
- LTJG Alastair Piers — Raptor ECO, VAQ-121 "Gentlemen Ghosts"