Demeter

[gentlelamb]

I'm considering working with Demeter but I'm finding it hard to find any information about her and her personality online. The only thing that comes up when I try to do any research on her is the Persephone story. If anyone works with of has any useful information about Demeter, please message me.

[Xiao Rong]

Hi Gentlelamb, I work with the goddess Persephone so by extension I have studied Demeter quite a bit. You're right that not much is known about her personality except for the myth about Persephone, although there is also a lot of interesting stories about what she did while she wandered searching for her daughter (see the stories about Baubo and Demophon), that reveal her intense grief, sense of humor, compassion, and wrath. Also, she and Persephone were honored for hundreds of years by the secretive Cult of Eleusis in the Eleusinian Mysteries.

I am also very much interested in the Goddess Archetypes, of which Demeter is one. I have found that they really help me understand the Goddesses, as well as how the Goddesses are present in myself to some degree or another. Here are some helpful links:

http://goddess-power.com/demeter.htm
http://persephoneandhecate.blogspot.com ... meter.html
http://persephoneandhecate.blogspot.com ... -look.html
http://persephoneandhecate.blogspot.com ... -myth.html
http://persephoneandhecate.blogspot.com ... meter.html

Hope this helps!

[Siona]

You may have already found this website, but just in case... very, very helpful for historical information on Demeter.
http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Demeter.html

I know you asked for online resources, but you might also be interested in these two books.
Potnia: A Devotional Anthology in Honor of Demeter It is a series of essays, poems, prayers, rituals, and so on, written by some modern devotees of Demeter. Might help you get a feel for her personality, how others see her.
Mysteries of Demeter Contains information about Demeter and Persephone, daily ritual ideas, a yearly cycle of festivals, and so on.