Demeter

Demeter is the daughter of the Titans, Cronus and Rhea. As these are also, 'technically', the parents of Zeus, then so Demeter is the sister of Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. She is a Lesser God in the Twelve: the pantheon of Gods in the 'official' religion of the Merebian Empire and resides in the "First Plane" of the pantheon. On Oberon, the figure of Demeter is the archetypal ancient Greek version of the deity rather than the Roman 'equivalent' deity, Ceres.

A typical 'Erganthan' representation of Demeter © 2001 Unknown

Epithets

She is most often referred to as 'The Bringer' due to her connection not only with harvests but with the changing of the seasons.

Symbol

Demeter's Symbol is that of poppy on a white background. The colour of the poppy can be either red or purple - Clerics tend to go for the red version, whilst Druids more commonly opt for the purple one.

Sphere of Influence

Demeter's 'spheres of influence' are:

• Summer
• Harvests
• Nature

It should be pointed out that Demeter is the personification of Nature which has been 'tamed' by civilisation, as opposed to 'Pan' who represents nature in it's 'wild', uncivilised state. Demeter is widely accredited with teaching mankind how to grow and cultivate crops and the seasons are reflections of her mood (see later).

Depiction

By far the most common image of Demeter is of a handsome woman in her mid to late 30s with tanned skin and dark hair. There is tradition in Erganth that she be depicted with red hair and fair skin but that is very specifically for her worshippers in that Kingdom (where she supplanted a pre-existing nature Goddess). Demeter wears robes adorned with flowers, particularly poppies. She is never depicted in any sort of armour although she is sometimes shown carrying a staff, sickle or (less commonly) scythe, any of which could be considered to be a 'weapon'.

Relationships

Of all the deities of the Twelve she is closest to her brother/grandson (it's complicated) Dionysus, and the Festival of Dionysus (which occurs immediately after the end of the harvest in the calendar) is a testament to that relationship.

Demeter is said to have sired a daughter with her brother, Zeus (try not to think about it), called Persephone who was later abducted by Hades and taken to the Underworld. Persephone was released but must return to the Underworld for three months of each year. During this time her mother (Demeter), in her anguish, permits no crops to grow and a coldness falls upon the land. This is, of course, why we have Winter but is known by many as "Demeter's Sorrow".

Demeter's mood and physical state can also cause crops to fail to grow at other times of the year. When Demeter was raped by Poseidon she retreated from the mortal realm to recover and it is said that this caused a great famine descended upon Oberon which lasted for a generation.

Rituals and Devotions

Demeter is the Goddess of the Harvest and of Nature and, as such, rituals performed in her name take place either in ploughed fields or in secluded woodland groves. Indeed it is considered a great honour for a worshipper of Demeter for a birth or death to occur in either of these locations.

Devotions to Demeter occur around meals and her worshippers "say grace" - a short, individual statement of thanks for the harvest that put food on the plate before them.

Festival

Demeter's festival occurs on the day between Septembus and Octembus in the Imperial Calendar and so is actually just before the start of the month in which the harvest should occur.

Worshippers

As part of the 'the Twelve', Demeter is primarily worshipped by Humans and Tieflings - she has practically no non-Human worshippers otherwise. of these people, Demeter is most popular with anyone who relies upon crops for their livelihood (which is a LOT of people).

Demeter is most likely to be named as a patron deity by those with the classes of Cleric or Druid. A scant few Paladins, following the Oath of the Ancients, may also follow her but these are very rare.

Clerics

Her Clerics are considered to be the 'militant' arm of the faith - they follow either the 'Nature' or 'Life' domains but they are also very much one of the many ways in which the Empire maintains its power structure. Her clergy, as part of the Twelve, teach the citizens of the Empire the prayers and devotions which must be followed to ensure a good harvest. The Clerics of Demeter, as with all the Clerics of the Twelve, can build temples within the towns and cities of the Empire and are recognised as 'officially' following one of the Gods of Oberon.

Druids

A large number of Demeter's most faithful worshippers choose not to join the ranks of the clergy but to follow one of the many Druidic orders. These orders are focused less on her being a representation of the 'taming' of nature and more of her as the embodiment of the 'cycle of life' and the changing of the seasons.

Druids of Demeter are usually warmly welcomed by followers of Demeter and are routinely asked to bless the planting of crops at the start of Spring, and the harvest at the end of the Summer. At other times, they usually defer to their Clerics.