Demeter || Goddess of Harvest and agriculture || Greek Mythology 2025

Demeter is the Greek goddess of agriculture, harvest, fertility, and sacred law. She is one of the twelve Olympian gods and is best known as the mother of Persephone, the goddess of spring.

Demeter’s most famous myth is the abduction of Persephone by Hades, the god of the underworld. When Persephone was taken, Demeter’s grief caused all crops and plants to wither, bringing about a great famine. Eventually, a deal was struck allowing Persephone to spend part of the year with Hades and part with Demeter. This myth explains the seasons—Demeter causes winter when she mourns Persephone’s absence and allows spring and summer when they are reunited.

Demeter is often depicted holding wheat, a torch, or a cornucopia, symbolizing abundance and the cycle of life and death. Her Roman counterpart is Ceres, from whom we get the word “cereal.”