Demeter (
), the goddess of vegetable fertility(1), played an important role in ancient Greek society. Like most cultures of the time, the Greeks relied on agriculture as a means of survival. Thus as the patron deity of agriculture, Demeter was widely worshipped with festivals (like the Thesmophoria and the Haloa) and other honors.
Naturally, there are also many myths dealing with Demeter in her capacity as a fertility goddess. While the most famous of these is unquestionably the story of the Rape of Persephone (described in gorgeous detail in the Homeric Hymn), Demeter's interactions with mortals while she wandered the earth searching for her daughter became the basis of other mythological legends. One of these is the story of Demeter and the son of King Keleos of Eleusis.
Demeter and Demophon
Legend tells that Demeter, having abandoned Olympos to search for her daughter, disguised herself as an old woman. For a long time she wandered aimlessly through the cities of men, denying herself food, drink, and comfort. One day, the exhausted goddess sat beside a well on a narrow footpath that crossed the precinct of Eleusis. There she came across the daughters of King Keleos, who had gone to the well with pots to fetch some water.
Fatigue and exhaustion had changed her godlike appearance to such an extent that nobody could realize who she was. It's no surprise then, that upon seeing the miserable situation the old lady was in, the four girls took pity on her and invited her to the palace on the condition that she gave them some information about her background. Determined not to reveal her true identity, Demeter told them that her name was Doso, and that she had been abducted by pirates but managed to escape by taking an unknown direction. After roaming about she ended up in Eleusis with no place to go and in need of assistance. The daughters of Keleos were moved by her story and, having heard about her capabilities in domestic duties and the upbringing of children, decided to take Demeter with them.
Once in the palace, the mysterious traveler was entrusted with the care of Demophon, the only son of King Keleos and his wife Metaneira. Demophon was a frail, late-born child with low chances of reaching the "coming of age." But everything changed radically when Demeter became his nurse and protectress. The goddess, wanting to reward the royal couple for their kindness and attentions, undertook the child's upbringing immediately in her own unique way. She covered Demophon daily with ambrosia, blew her healing breath on him, and even tried to grant him the gift of immortality. The boy grew and flourished before his time, until one night, something irreparable happened.
Every night, after the palace servants had retired to bed, Demeter took Demophon and placed him over a burning flame that she had ignited, so that he would become strong and immortal. But Queen Metaneira, in her heedlessness, decided to keep watch by night from her chamber and spy.
She watched in terror as Demeter put the baby in the fire of the hearth and, not knowing the godly origin of the old lady, began to hurl threats in an awful way. When Demeter heard her she snatched the child from the fire and cast him to the ground, saying:
"Witless are you mortals ... For I would have made your son deathless and unaging all his days, but now he can in no way escape death ..." [Homeric Hymn to Demeter 256]
Demophon's sisters took him up from the ground and embraced him lovingly, but he was not comforted (since he was being held by nursemaids who were far inferior). It was then that Demeter revealed her true identity, changing her looks and stature, much to the dismay of the Queen.
But the story has a relatively happy ending, as Demeter then taught Keleos and the Eleusinians the rites that were to be celebrated in her honor. As for the child, according to Homer, "he grew like an immortal being."
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(1)Demeter is also referred to as the "goddess of corn." This is not a reference to maize, which is a product of the New World, but rather to wheat. (Early mythographers were for the most part British, and in Britain the term "corn" is used to refer to grain.) Thus in ancient depictions of Demeter, she appears almost always carrying a sheaf of wheat, not an ear of corn.