The Greek Gods ES

Demeter shows a great love for Persephone from the beginning. When Persephone is taken to the underworld to be Hades' bride, Demeter could sense that something was off. She then discovers that Zeus gave her to Hades as a bride and Demeter left Olympus due to rage. She takes on a mortal form to bring and raise a newborn child. Her mortal name was Dos and she wanted to make the male baby immortal in order to make him strong and powerful. She tries to do a ritual or ceremony and he interrupts her by either crying or screaming. She gets angered by this and does not make him immortal. Demeter then plagued Earth on the fields with infertility. Zeus talks to Demeter to try and change what she has done and spare Earth. She refused so Zeus took it into his own hand to get Persephone back to Demeter. Hades allows it but gives her a seed that she eats. This means that she is tied to the underworld no matter what, but Demeter can see her during the year. I thought it was interesting that Demeter took a mortal form and left Olympus completely. She tried to fill a void by abandoning Olympus and even trying to make a mortal boy immortal. She went through many drastic changes during this time. It reminds me of how a college kid goes out of state and the parents freak out because they do not know what to do. 

To me, Demeter seems like the embodiment of the mourning mother, and seems to show the power of a mother's love for her child. In the Homeric Hymn, after losing Persephone and in her grief, Demeter disguise herself as an old woman and is asked by the daughters of Keleos to nurse their brother Demophoon and she agrees willingly. Did she not perhaps hope that this task would be asked of her, wanting to fulfill her need to nurture? We have seen before, as with Dionysus and Aphrodite, gods disguising themselves in order to act out plans that they have preconceived. Demeter wants to make Demophoon a god, immortal, against his mother's wishes and in doing so keeps him from his real mother. Is she perhaps in some way recreating what she has lost? When Metaneira looks upon the flame-crib of Demophoon and cries out against what is happening, Demeter goes into a rage, shaming Metaneira for stealing her son's chance at immortality. Is it possible that this rage is triggered by Demeter feeling as though her coping mechanism (nurturing Demophoon) is being torn away from her? Demeter's state after the rapture of persephone seems like such a unique reaction- might not most greek mothers have been happy to have their daughters married to gods? Even Zeus tries to convince Demeter that this decision was made in love and if she will relent her resistance, all will be well. But Demeter does not. 

As I have said before, Demeter scares me quite a bit. She seems to be very stern and stubborn, especially during the kidnapping of Persephone, but rightfully so. What surprises me the most about her is how little we know about her. Was she secretive as well as her followers? It brings a lot of explanation to me not knowing much about her before this class.