Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
A votive plaque known as the Ninnion Tablet depicting elements of the Eleusinian Mysteries, discovered in the sanctuary at Eleusis (mid-4th century BC). The Eleusinian Mysteries (Greek: Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, romanized: Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Eleusis in ancient Greece.
One particularly distinctive epithet she bore was Demeter Melaina (Ancient Greek: Δημητηρ Μελαινα), meaning “Black Demeter” and referring to an Arcadian version of her mythology. The ancient Greek travel writer Pausanias records a myth where, whilst searching for her lost daughter Kore, Demeter was pursued by the god Poseidon .
Triptolemus' first introduction to Demeter is during Demeter's search for her daughter following the abduction of Persephone.While Demeter, in the guise of an old woman [8] named Doso, [9] was searching for her daughter Persephone (Kore), who had been abducted by Hades (Pluto), [10] she received a hospitable welcome from Celeus, the King of Eleusis.
Thus, Demeter, in her sadness, neglects to nourish the earth for the months that Persephone is gone, only doing so when she returns, until the process repeats again. These episodic periods became the winter and spring seasons, with the "death" and "rebirth" of Persephone being allegorical for the cycle of life and the experience of all beings. [9]
"Despoina" was an epithet for several goddesses, especially Aphrodite, Persephone, Demeter, and Hecate. [32] [33] Persephone and Demeter are two of the three goddesses of the Eleusinian mysteries. They are perhaps the "Two Queens" referred to in various Linear B inscriptions. [34] At Olympia they were called Despoinai (Δέσποιναι). [35]
Ephesos: Cult of Demeter and Kore, celebrated at night-time. [148] Priene: Cult of Demeter and Kore, similar to the Thesmophoria. [35] Sicily. Syracuse: There was a harvest festival of Demeter and Persephone at Syracuse when the grain was ripe (about May). [149] A fest Koris katagogi, the descent of Persephone into the underworld. [35] Libya
The kykeon was the sacred drink used during initiation into Demeter and Persephone's cult. [1] The two priestesses wear two tunics each, which are secured on their breast with diagonally crossing straps; their chest is further decorated with a gorgoneion brooch. Saint Demetra's face, which is no longer preserved, was inclined to the left, as ...
The new cult was installed in the already ancient Temple of Ceres, Liber and Libera, Rome's Aventine patrons of the plebs; from the end of the 3rd century BC, Demeter's temple at Enna, in Sicily, was acknowledged as Ceres' oldest, most authoritative cult centre, and Libera was recognized as Proserpina, Roman equivalent to Persephone. [76] Their ...