Demeter (Greek)

Demeter

Alternatvie Names:
Demeter (English pronunciation: /dəˈmiːtər/; də-MEE-tər) Δημήτηρ (Greek, probably "earth-mother"), Dēmētēr, Ceres, 데메테르, 디메터, 케레스, 세레스

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Demeter is the goddess of corn, grain, and the harvest. She is the daughter of Cronus and Rhea. It is Demeter that makes the crops grow each year. The first loaf of bread from the harvest is sacrificed to her.

Demeter is intimately associated with the seasons. Her daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades to be his wife in the underworld. In her anger at her daughter's loss Demeter laid a curse on the world that caused plants to wither and die, the land became desolate. Zeus became alarmed and sought Persephone's return. However, because she had eaten while in the underworld Hades had a claim on her. Therefore, it was decreed that Persephone would spend four months each year in the underworld. During these months Demeter grieves her daughters absence, and withdraws her gifts from the world, creating winter. Her return brought the spring.

Demeter is also known for founding the Eleusinian Mysteries. These were huge festivals held every five years. They were important events for many centuries. Yet, little is known of them as those attending were sworn to secrecy. The central tenant seems to have been that just as grain returns every spring after its harvest and wintery death, so too the human soul could be reborn after the death of the body.

Her Roman cognate is Ceres.

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Greek deities series
Primordial deities | Titans | Aquatic deities | Chthonic deities

Twelve Olympians
Zeus | Hera | Poseidon | Hades | Hestia | Demeter | Aphrodite | Athena | Apollo | Artemis | Ares | Hephaestus | Hermes | Dionysus

Chthonic deities
Hades | Persephone | Gaia | Demeter | Hecate | Iacchus | Trophonius | Triptolemus | Erinyes

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demeter

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Demeter | Indo-European deities | Agricultural deities | Agricultural goddesses | Animal goddesses | Eleusinian Mysteries | Greek goddesses | Twelve Olympians | Greek mythology | Primordial Teachers | Divine women of Zeus

Bast (Egyptian)

Bast (Greek: Bastet)

[Egyptian] Bast, or Bastet, was originally a lion headed goddess.  She was a daughter of Ra, the god of sun and a national deity of protection.

She was the cat-goddess of the delta, sometimes with a lion decorating her breastplate as a reminder of her former, wilder self. Cats were respected and often portrayed as the slayers of evil serpents. She was sometimes fused with the more dangerous Sekhmet.

She was the Egyptian goddess of affection, hearth, home, joy, music, celebration, dancing, pleasure and fertility.

To take part in a celebration at her temple in Bubastis, ensured the mental and physical health of the participants. Also, she was known as the harvest goddess. All cats were worshipped as incanations of her.

Honoring live domesticated cats was also important to Bast's followers.A vast cat cemetery has been uncovered in Bubastis. Mummifying one's pet was considered homage to this playful, free spirited goddess.

Deities of agriculture

Deities of agriculture, corn, grain and/or harvest

Acca Larentia (Acca Laurentia)	Roman	♀	a mythical woman, later goddess, in Roman mythology
Athena	Greek	♀	the goddess of the city, handicrafts, agriculture, and wisdom
Ceres	Roman	♀	the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Demeter
Demeter	Greek	♀	the goddess of grain and fertility, the pure nourisher of the youth and the green earth, the health-giving cycle of life and death, and preserver of marriage and the sacred law
Minerva	Roman	♀	the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Athena

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Links

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Deities_by_association