Demeter

Sister of Zeus, mother of Persephone, Demeter’s bounty gives mortals security and ease. No more must they hunt and gather to feed their families, but cultivate from the very earth itself. In her honor they offer up the first and best of every harvest — for antiquity teaches what will happen if her gift is ever withdrawn permanently. When Zeus gave Persephone to Hades in marriage without Demeter’s consent, when the Lord of the Underworld leapt up from a great chasm and abducted her as was the custom, Demeter denied the world a harvest, and civilization very nearly collapsed. The Theoi desperately entreated her, but she would not be moved by anything save Persephone’s return. In the end, Zeus relented, and Demeter would have her beloved daughter, but only for half the year — and so for half of each year, she lets the land lie fallow to remind the Theoi not to trifle with her or hers.

In Rome, she was Ceres, Goddess of grains and fertility alike, preeminent among all the agricultural deities. She was a popular subject of worship not only for these reasons, but because of the Eleusinian Mysteries, imported from Greece, in which she was a central figure. Rome’s prosperity was attributed to her blessing, and her protection was given to the Tribunes, who were inviolate guardians of the plebian class.

In the modern era, Demeter’s power waxes high. The Green Revolution — the development of chemical fertilizer and 100 other technologies—has driven food production to heights unthinkable even a few centuries ago. The advent of organized labor reflects Demeter’s power in a different way — the withholding of power resonates strongly with her denial of the harvest, and it pleases Demeter that mortals can take such a lesson. Yet, so many go hungry despite her gifts, so many are powerless despite her blessing, and for all her divine majesty Demeter cannot save everyone.