Demeter

**Demeter** is the goddess of the harvest and agriculture, and the mother of Persephone.

## Personality

We largely see Demeter's personality through secondhand sources, as she lives on Earth and has largely been seen in flashbacks. She appears to be hardworking, strong-willed, and protective, especially when it comes to her daughter. However, she is also obstinate and headstrong, believing that only she knows what's best for Persephone and often refusing to listen to any opinions that do not match her own.

Demeter is one of the most temperamental goddesses. By default, she is temperate, calm and nurturing, however, at a moment's notice, her mood could change. A single insult might cause her to fly into a rage, a moment's bad news could cause her to go into hysterics and an endearing sight would instantly send her back into a charitable mood. A stereotypical mother in-law, Demeter takes every opportunity to chastise and criticize Hades' work and marriage to her daughter. Possessing a very caring nature and an obsession for cereal, Demeter insists upon advising eating healthy and hard work as every mother would. While Demeter always rewards everyone who shows her kindness (like Triptolemus and Metanira), she is extremely severe to those who disrespect her (like Erysichthon).

Demeter is somewhat unique amongst personifications of Mother-Nature, as she is not overly environmental, she cares for the environment but will not punish or proselytizes over things like animal abuse, pollution or stripping resources; Instead she simply lets disasters befall those who destroy their own environments and is content to let humans either figure out it is in their best interests to maintain their environments or just let them kill themselves off. She views this as the same as any animal who takes too much without stopping to think about their actions and in general takes a very Darwinian stance on the balance of nature. Like all Cronus' children, she was on-par with Zeus himself, however, unlike most of Zeus's other siblings, she rarely took issue with him or the other gods - usually just maintaining the status-quo of the world.

Persephone is not only Demeter's only child, but she was her first. Through the perspective of her daughter and friends, Demeter is described further as an overbearing mother. She has helped Persephone from childhood to become successful, all the while keeping her on a tight leash out of fear for her safety. She didn't allow Persephone contact with other gods, frequently photographs every moment of Persephone's life, and pushed her to train to be a sacred virgin. It appears that Demeter's helicopter parenting is a product of her fear of Persephone being used by any of Zeus’ lineage.

As it becomes clearer that Persephone is a fertility Goddess, Demeter is scared for her daughter and causes her to be more protective. She had Hermes fudge the records of incoming souls after Persephone caused many casualties on Earth, and forced him to keep quiet about what occurred.

Demeter has a soft spot for children and not just humans; baby birds, cows, horses, dogs and cats were all very endearing to Demeter. Demeter has a penchant for bestiality and not only had sex with animals but with other gods while changing herself into an animal during sex. Offerings to Demeter could not contain meat as the idea of sending her dead animals was seen as abhorrent to her.

## History

Demeter is the second daughter and child of Cronus and Rhea. Like her sisters and two of her brothers, she was swallowed as a newborn by her father due to his fear of being overthrown by one of his children; she was freed when her youngest brother Zeus made Cronus disgorge all his children by giving him a special potion.

Demeter is notable as the mother of Persephone, which was the result of a union with her younger brother Zeus.

### Tantalus

Shortly after the betrothal of Persephone, Demeter was invited to a feast for the gods by the mortal king named Tantalus. King Tantalus wished to express his devotion to the gods and so prepared a massive party in all their honors. He had prayers and formal ceremonies made to each so that they would all show up to attend. Tantalus wished to express his utter devotion to the gods and served them all a special stew he had made for them. Demeter, distraught over the loss of Persephone that year, absentmindedly ate the stew while Tantalus was saying grace to all of them. Tantalus concluded the toast by wishing for them to enjoy the stew which came to him at great personal coast for he had made it out of his son Pelops.

While most of the gods were overcome with gasps of disgust or shocked looks, Demeter began screaming with disgust at what she realized she had eaten. Tantalus thought that human sacrifice was expected of him but found that unlike the Titans, who had previously welcomed such offerings, the gods were disgusted by it. Zeus killed Tantalus and Hades arranged for a particularly cruel punishment for Tantalus that suspended food just out of his reach and water that receded whenever he bent down to drink it. Hecate, goddess of witchcraft, brought Pelops back from the dead and Demeter restored his body from it's remains, however part of his shoulder was missing, the part that Demeter had already eaten, and so the god of the forge, Hephaestus, rebuilt it for him with a metal prosthetic. Pelops would become a house-guest in the halls for a few years by the gods to make up for his sacrifice.

Ever since the incident, Demeter refused to eat any form of meat, though the law of the wild allowed animals to be killed without incurring any malice from her, she simply was never willing to trust any meal made of meat after Tantalus' banquet. From that point on, Demeter only ever consumed either Ambrosia and Nectar made by her sister Hestia, or grain and bran. The confection of grains and bran would be named "cereal", after Demeter's Roman alias, "Ceres", as it was the only mortal food she would eat.

### Wrath of Demeter

Erysichthon (whose name means "earth-tearer") was a king of Thessaly who cut down the trees of the sacred grove of the goddess Demeter. Erysichthon and his team came across the largest tree in the grove, adorned with praying tablets and a warning sign. The men Erysichthon brought were too skittish to cut down the sacred tree, but Erysichthon grabbed an axe and declaring he’d do the same even if it was Demeter herself. He struck the tree, which bled like a being of flesh and cursed Erysichthon. The dryad associated with the tree, a favorite of Demeter, died as well.

The other dryad nymphs who witnessed the event went straight to Demeter, informing her of the sacrilege. Demeter then sent a nymph to the barren lands of Scythia to contact Limos, the goddess of starvation, as Demeter herself was so antithetical to Limos she could not get too close to her. The nymph transferred Demeter’s plan to Limos, who agreed to help.

Later that night, Limos snuck into Erysichthon’s palace while he slept, and cursed him with eternal hunger. Erysichthon, waking up from a dream where he was a having a rich meal, felt hungry and asked for a table to be prepared for him. But no matter how he ate, he could never satisfy his hunger, and ended up selling his entire fortune in exchange of food. He even sold his daughter, Mestra, who asked for help from Poseidon for having deflowered her, who then gave her the gift of shapeshifting. Erysichthon took advantage of his daughter’s new ability and kept selling her, as she kept escaping with her powers.

But in the long run none of it could help him, and Erysichthon ended up eating his own self, until nothing of him remained. This is probably the anecdote Demeter likes to relate to Hades and Persephone when they visit. Considering how much she dislikes Hades as a son-in-law and how much she loves her daughter, it's an accurate statement.

## Powers and Abilities

* **Aerokinesis**: Demeter has the power to control the wind, creating everything from calm breezes to tornadoes.
* **Animal Shapeshifting**: Demeter can become any animal at her convenience.
* **Atmokinesis**: As a Goddess of the Seasons, Demeter can control the weather to a certain extent, such as making it rain, or snow, or cause the temperature to change, however she wished it. Demeter can regulate the seasons, altering the over-all environment. She usually allows other gods like Zeus and Poseidon to make their own weather but has an overriding authority over storms, floods, hurricanes, blizzards and temperature.
* **Chlorokinesis**: Demeter has supreme mastery over all plant-life. As the goddess of agriculture and harvest, Demeter has divine authority and absolute control over plants. She can also grant fertility to the earth, allowing plants to grow where they could not grow before. She aids plants in growing simply by being near them. As the Goddess of Agriculture, Demeter has divine authority and absolute control over plants, crops, and the harvest. She could either grant or enhance the fertility of the earth, turning barren plains into fertile fields, and encourage orchards to bear fruit and flowers to bloom.
* **Cryokinesis**: Demeter can control or create ice, snow, hail and sleet.
* **Geokinesis**: Demeter can make soil more fertile, create tremors or unleash outright earthquakes. Often used to increase the output of crops.
* **Transmutation**: Demeter uses transmutation to alter the elements, herself, animals and humans, everything from altering soil to turning herself into animals to transforming humans into stone.
* **Shape-shifting**: Demeter is skilled at shapeshifting, though she hardly ever utilizes this ability. She has transformed into an eagle (while escaping from Kronos' palace on Mount Othrys), a bat (while sneaking into Tartarus' maximum-security zone with her siblings), a snake (while trying to escape from Zeus' advances), a mare (while trying to escape from Poseidon's advances).
* **Swordsmanship**: Demeter always wears a curved and menacing Imperial Gold sword (forged for her by the Elder Cyclopes) on her belt. While she usually uses it to cut wheat, it is stated that Demeter is also capable of skillfully wielding it in combat against those who anger her.
* **Granting Powers**: Demeter is able to grant the gifts of godhood and immortality to whomever she chooses - had it not been for the untimely interference of Metaneira, she would have successfully made Demophoon an immortal god. Later on, she made Triptolemus her immortal lieutenant as the God of Farming.
* **Season Control:** As the Goddess of the Seasons, Demeter can control the seasons, such as annually transforming spring into winter (when her daughter Persephone is with Hades), and vice versa (when her daughter returns).
* **Zoopathy**: Demeter can talk to any animal and has their loyalty. Demeter can summon and control animals to an extent when she sent numerous ants to help Psyche sort out the grains spilled all over Aphrodite's kitchen.
* **Culinary Arts**: Demeter is said to be an excellent cook, knowing how to bake delicious bread and cookies.

## Relationships

### Family:

#### Persephone (Daughter)

Persephone is Demeter's only daughter. She is very protective of her, to the point of being overbearing and controlling. Although their relationship is often strained, and Persephone enjoys her new freedom, they are shown to still be close to each other. Persephone respects her mother for her strong-willed attitude and often takes after her no-nonsense approach to conflict. She is also shown to miss her mother and wonders how she is doing on Earth. She often puts what she believes to be best for Persephone over what Persephone wants herself. This has manifested for Persephone in the form of a nightmare where Demeter traps her in a greenhouse to keep her safe.

After Persephone was deceived by Zeus and Hera's son, Ares, she calls Demeter to "defend" her. Demeter has the flower nymphs follow Persephone to the point where she is now never alone. At an unknown time, Persephone would meet Hermes after he accidentally trespasses on her bathing as he could bathe himself before returning home. As he came to the realization she was Demeter's daughter, Hermes wanted to buy her silence as he feared what Demeter would do if she found out. Persephone would create a plan where Demeter would "outsmart" Hermes after he would try to deceive Demeter into meeting her and then apologize by saying he had already seen Persephone and wanted to give a suitable gift for Persephone.

Demeter fell for this and allowed the two to become friends, much to Persephone's excitement as she wanted more friends. The two became close friends. During this time, Hermes would see that Demeter and Persephone did not always get along.

Not long after, Persephone would meet with TGOEM and be offer the chance to move in with Artemis and live on Ascim. Demeter was quick to deny this opportunity for Persephone. The argument continues on Earth, where Persephone blames Demeter for the way people view her as a joke because she's been sheltered her whole life. Demeter argues she has provided Persephone paradise on earth and Persephone does not appreciate what she's done. To end the argument, she grounds Persephone and forbids her from sending letters to friends. This infuriates Persephone and states she would rather have Zeus marry her off so she could no longer be under Demeter's control and Demeter calls her an ungrateful brat.

Soon after the argument, Persephone would witness the deaths of her closest friends and commit an act of wrath. Demeter was quick to pay off Hermes so he can cover the souls arriving in the Underworld but was unable to do the same with the Titan Helios. Not long after this, she granted Persephone permission to live with Artemis. Before that, the Goddess Hecate would arrive to study on Earth and Demeter allows her friend to stay on her land where Hecate and Persephone became close.

### Extended Family:

#### Hades

Demeter and Hades siblings and Demeter is Hades' mother-in-law. According to Hades, Demeter would often argue with him about anything, and he found it difficult trying to get along with her. It is also the main reason he never tried courting her back in their youth.