Demeter (Greek: Δήμητρα、 Demeter is a goddess of agriculture, grain, and harvest in ancient Greek mythology, and one of the twelve main gods of Olympus. In Roman mythology, the god corresponding to Demeter is Ceres (Latin: Ceres).
Demeter taught humans to cultivate and give life to the earth. She has boundless magical power, which can make the land fertile, plants lush, and grains abundant, as well as make the land wither, all things wither, and no grass grows. It can provide people with endless wealth, while also making their families destitute and impoverished.
Demeter was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea, the sister of Hestia, and the sister of Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. She later gave birth to the underworld queen Persephone with Zeus.

In the boom period of ancient plastic arts, Demeter's image was usually similar to Hera's, but his appearance was relatively friendly, not as dignified as Hera's. Demeter is a kind-hearted woman who wears a circular crown woven from golden ears of wheat, and sometimes holds ears of wheat, daffodils, torches, fruit baskets, horns of abundance, or sickles.

The myth of Demeter is closely related to her daughter Persephone. Persephone has lived with her mother Demeter since childhood and has never considered marriage. Once, while Persephone was playing with the nymphs of Ningfu in the jungle, the earth suddenly split open, and Hades, the underworld king, took the opportunity to take her away. Persephone's uncle Hades had long fallen in love with her, and with the acquiescence and help of Zeus, he implemented this plan. Persephone, who had been robbed, cried out sadly to her mother. Demeter heard Persephone's cry for help and was heartbroken. She quickly put down her farm work and ran towards the cries, but by this time Persephone had already disappeared. Demeter was extremely anxious, and she kept eating and drinking for several days and nights, searching everywhere for the whereabouts of her daughter. In this way, Demeter traveled all over the corners of the earth for nine days and nine nights without achieving anything. When the tenth day came, she accidentally met Hecate. She also heard Persephone's cry for help, but did not recognize the robber. They went to the omniscient residence of Helios together, and Helios told Demeter all the details of the matter (first, the spring fairy Arethusa revealed the truth to Demeter). Demeter was extremely angry after hearing this, and she decided not to return to Mount Olympus until her daughter returned to her side (it was said that Demeter found out the truth and immediately found Zeus, ordering Hades to immediately bring Persephone back to her side, otherwise she would let the earth's particles run dry).
She disguised herself as an old woman and came to Elucis. The wife of King Cyrus of Elucis, Methanaela, took Demeter in and made her the nurse of her sons Demorphon and Triptolmus. Demeter was very fond of Demorphon and wanted him to achieve eternal life. Demeter used agar to wipe him off and even baked him on a fire at night. However, due to the accidental discovery of Metanella, this process was interrupted and failed. Subsequently, Demeter revealed his true feelings to the king and queen. She taught Triptolmus to cultivate the land and gave him a wheat ear, telling him to sow the grain wherever he went.
During the period when Demeter was not on Mount Olympus, the already cultivated land no longer grew crops, the seeds rotted in the soil, and the grains were just heading, either dry or waterlogged. Famine threatens the world, and people no longer worship gods. In desperation, Zeus had no choice but to order Hades to return Persephone to Demeter. But this is no longer possible. Hades, in order to keep Persephone, has made her eat the food of the underworld. According to the regulations of the goddess of fate, only people or gods who have not been contaminated with the food of the underworld can return to the world, while Persephone has already broken his fast and eaten six pomegranate seeds. Ultimately, only a compromise agreement can be reached; Let Demeter return to Mount Olympus once again to revive the earth, and grant Persephone the function of dividing the two realms of heaven and earth. She spends half of her time in the underworld as the queen of the underworld, and half of her time returning to the earth to be with her mother. This is why every spring everything recovers and is full of vitality, which is precisely the way that Persephone comes out of the underworld to Mount Olympus; When Persephone returned to the underworld, everything withered, the land became barren, and the harsh winter covered the land.
On the way to Demeter's search for his daughter, the affectionate Poseidon pursued her endlessly. In order to avoid him, the goddess transformed into a mare and mixed in the herd. However, Poseidon, who became a male horse, mated with her and gave birth to the divine horse Arion. There are also legends about the love between Demeter and Iacion. The goddess gave birth to Pluto, the god of wealth.

In addition to overseeing grain and the abundance of the earth, Demeter was also revered as the goddess of legislation or justice, named Thesmophora, because food is the foundation of people's lives and prosperity, and agriculture is the foundation; Sometimes she is also the protector of marriage and family, and her image and function are extremely similar to Hera. The worship of her is usually closely linked to the worship of Persephone. The worship center of Demeter is at Elucis, where the secret ceremony of Elucis is held. Throughout Greece, there are festivals to commemorate her, and ancient people believed that the earth was the source of life and the mother of all things. The offerings offered to Demeter include bulls, cows, pigs, fruits, beehives, fruit trees, rice ears, and chestnuts. In Rome, Demeter was confused with Kres and was very popular among farmers, with sacrificial festivals usually held in April. Later, Kreis was mixed with Gaia, Rhea, or Cooper.
At first, the Earth God was the god who took over everything, but with the development of religious thought, Demeter emerged. During the reign of the nobility of the clan, Demeter was considered the second ranked god in the world. Homer did not categorize Demeter within the theology of Olympus, and he rarely mentioned her. With the gradual rise of agricultural status, the worship of Demeter has also greatly developed. Around the 5th to 6th centuries BC, Demeter held an important position in the theological system of Olympus.