Demeter

**Demeter** is the goddess of agriculture as well as sacred law and the cycle of life and death, the giver of life and in turn, the taker of it.

Many of the boons she offers to Zagreus inflict her signature Status Curse, Chill, which causes enemies to slow down and, possibly, shatter, spreading the Curse. In addition to that, she offers the 2nd highest raw percentage damage increase. Her other boons vary between helping survivability by healing, increasing damage, or boosting your different boons over time by increasing their rarity.

Demeter boons excel at control, as Chill slows enemies down the more Zagreus strikes them. Since Chill is easy to stack and maintain, this also enables good synergy with the Mirror of Night Upgrade, Privileged Status.

Demeter only appears after reaching the surface for the first time (just reaching the final boss, they don’t have to be defeated), making her one of the five Olympian gods (the other four being Poseidon, Hermes, Aphrodite and Zeus) who will not appear in the very first run of a save.

## Characteristics and Personality

Lady Demeter, the Goddess of Harvest, Agriculture, and Seasons, was once benevolent, hardworking, strong-willed, and protective. However, her pain and grief over losing her beloved daughter Persephone resulted in the infamous "Endless Winter," causing her to take on a more wintry appearance and bitter personality.

As a mother, she was kind but overly controlling, keeping her daughter on a tight leash out of fear for her safety. Due to Persephone's mortal heritage, she saw her as fragile, and refused to consider her feelings, not even listening when she tried to tell her about Hades. Her overprotection led to a rift between them.

The ice Queen, in interactions with other Olympians, she is shown to be despising them and unfoundedly blames mortals for Persephone's disappearance. She is quite imperious, spiteful and only seems to hold her daughter and later Zagreus in high regard. They respect her and are cautious around her, fearing what the eldest of the Olympians might do.

Even the most inflexible of the Olympians appeared to yield to Zagreus, despite her 'steel-like gaze,' relutance and distrust of everyone, and don't throw in the towel. However, gradually, she opens up and reciprocates the young man's captivating kindness, seeing in him 'something "familiar" to her eyes' and reminding her of happier times when she used to have a soft heart. She aids him in his escape from confinement.

At first, she seems to act as a kind of icy matriarch, always rigid and sour in Zagreus' presence. She bitterly advises Zagreus never to fall in love with a mortal, as such cases are doomed to failure. When she discovers that Zagreus is actually her grandson, she warms up in his presence, and acts more reasonably with all. Demeter starts to soften with he, affectionately calling him "little sprout" and undoing her eternal winter with Persephone's return, slowly warming her frozen heart. But she makes it clear that she hasn't forgotten the incident, leaving a part of Mount Olympus frozen as a perpetual reminder that she had not forgotten the incident.

## Physical description

Demeter's appearance is themed around winter and ebbing life. She is an elderly woman with blue lips and silvery-white hair worn in twin braids that cross her chest and loop back over the opposite shoulder. Six shoots of pale blue wheat frame her head, and she wears icicle-like earrings and ornaments that resemble snowflakes above her head. Her blue robe is flecked with a frost-like pattern on the abdomen, and her cape is made of snow with large blue snowflakes on its shoulders. Her forearms are mostly covered in ice, with only her digits and small parts of her forearms having visible skin, and she wears a small ring or bit of snow on her left ring finger. The only bits of green on her person are her eyes and the green ribbon she holds, which looks much like Persephone's hair ribbon. A cornucopia, covered in snow and containing no food, appears behind her.

## History

### Before Hades

Demeter was born to the Titans Hyperion and Theia and like the rest of the Titan's children she rebelled against them. She wielded the Twin Fists of Malphon in battle and personally defeated her father in combat.

She once fell in love with a mortal farmer and the two conceived a daughter named Kore/Persephone. However her mortal lover passed away, leaving her alone to raise their daughter. She lived with her daughter on Mount Olympus until one day Persephone disappeared. Demeter searched the world for her missing daughter but her search proved fruitless. With her daughter lost, she concluded that all of humanity must suffer for it, creating the infamous Endless Winter that caused devastation through plant death, famine, and drought for mortals.

### Hades

Demeter appears to Zagreus after he reaches the surface for the first time and lends Zagreus her boons to help him escape the Underworld. When Hades learns of Demeter aiding Zagreus, he's fearful of her and is one of the reasons why he is keeping Persephone's existence a secret, partially out of fear of what she would do if she knew the truth about Persephone's disappearence, this is due to Zeus, who took her by surprise and without consulting her or Hades. Even if Persephone wanted to join Hades, whom her mother doesn't like and would blame for everything, Demeter would not accept hearing that her daughter made that choice on her own account. Not even Zeus could contain her fury if Demeter found out the whole truth.

### Epilogue

When she finally learns that Persephone is the Queen of the Underworld and that Zagreus is her grandson, she takes it relatively calmly. Although she disagrees with Persephone's choice of suitor, she accepts that their hearts do what they want.

## Affinity

If given Nectar, Demeter will give you the Frostbitten Horn.

Demeter's affinity gauge is maxed out at 7 hearts, requiring the gifting of 6 Nectar and 1 Ambrosia.

## Favor

Demeter's favor requires completing the Epilogue, then a few instances of dialogue with her. The favor is completed when Demeter requests Zagreus to "be more candid with her" next time.

While it is not possible to forge a bond with Demeter before the Epilogue is completed, maxing out her affinity gauge to the locked heart will count towards the requirements to trigger the Epilogue.

## Codex entry

'*...Over time, mortals have come to fear great Demeter, eldest of Olympians, goddess of seasons, bringer of plenty, and taker-away of it. I cannot imagine she is moved by any of their offerings. Much is said of her in hushed tones, not unlike the ones reserved for the master here. Once, she administered her gifts of sustenance with generosity, until some stroke of Fate befell. She changed, and has never been as giving since. The mortals who once prayed to her for plenty now beg mostly for mercy. My understanding is, despite popular belief, Demeter is no direct relation to Lord Hades or his brothers, being born of more ancient Titan stock; she certainly has taken pains to distance herself from Zeus in particular, often leaving Olympus for long stretches, in search of something. Or someone. Not that I would know a thing of it; only the mutterings of shades descended to this realm from freezing cold or famine. Surely, they pray, the seasons are due for a turn for the better?*'

## Quotes

> *For quotes and dialogue regarding Demeter, please refer to Demeter/Quotes.*
>
>

## Mechanics

Demeter boons mostly revolve around Chill and upgrading your Cast effects.

## Trivia

* Achilles refers to Demeter as the eldest Olympian, yet Aphrodite's birth from Uranus technically positions her as the most ancient. This might suggest that Aphrodite would be considerably younger in the game's canon, or it could be attributed to confusion among mortals.

## Additional notes

*For additional information on Demeter that does not pertain to Hades, see Wikipedia's article: Demeter*