Demeter (spelt maiden) was the second eldest of the
gods. She was important as a fertility deity, and was often
syncretized with other goddesses like Rhea, Gaia, Roman Ceres and
Phrygian Cybele. Though she never married, she was no stranger to the
arts of love. In fact, her priestesses initiated brides and grooms
into the "secrets of the marraige bed. While she was still young
she bore Persephone (fathered by Zeus)
In the famous story Persephone is kidnapped by Hades, and Demeter
wanderes the earth in grief and sorrow, bringing a blight to all the
crops. When Persephone is returned to her, the earth is fertile again.
Eleusis is the place where they are re-united and it is associated
with the famous Elusinian Mysteries.
She sometimes takes the form of a white mare.
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