Ceres is what the ancient Romans called the goddess of earth and fertility. Artists on their canvases depicted her as a beautiful, tall and majestic woman with green eyes, in whose thick wheaten hair scarlet poppies bloomed. The constant attributes in the hands of the goddess were either a cornucopia, or a bowl filled with fruit, or an armful of poured ears of wheat. Ceres was dressed in light, airy clothes, certainly of a bright blue color, which emphasized her alabaster skin. The chariot of the majestic goddess was depicted drawn by fire-breathing dragons or royal lions.
Ceres in the myths of different peoples
Ceres is the goddess of fertility. Her name translates as “mother earth.” Once upon a time in Ancient Rome she was revered more than other gods, since it was believed that the quantity and quality of the harvest, and therefore the prosperity of farmers, depended on her.
It was previously believed that Ceres was the patroness of the underworld, who sent madness to mortals. Along with this, she was credited with protecting family and marriage. And it was believed that Ceres was the goddess of the origin of life. According to the laws of Romulus, Ceres was given half of the husband's property if he divorced his wife without any special reason.
Also, the goddess Ceres patronized rural communities and was the protector of harvests from thieves. The executions that were carried out on such robbers were also dedicated to her name. But subsequently Ceres began to be considered only the goddess of harvests and earth.
Ceres is the goddess of Rome. However, different peoples had different names. For example, in Ancient Greece the goddess Ceres was called Demeter. The Greeks considered her the goddess of fertility and agriculture and also greatly revered her. In Ancient Egypt there was Isis - the goddess of fertility and motherhood. And among the Slavs, Ceres was called Merena, and she was considered the patroness of the fertile land and the kingdom of the dead.
Cerealia - celebrations in honor of the beloved goddess
The goddess Ceres in Ancient Rome was so revered that magnificent festivals with games and sacrifices were held in her honor. These festivals were called cerealia. The Romans began celebrating on April 12 and continued for another eight days.
Cerealia were celebrated especially zealously by the Roman plebeians, who strictly observed all required ceremonies and customs. The peasants dressed up in all white and decorated their heads with lush wreaths.
The holiday began with sacrifices, which included honeycombs, various fruits, pigs and even pregnant cows. After this, horse races were held at the circus for several days in a row. Festive tables were set in the open air and were laden with food.
Everyone who was nearby at that moment was invited to the tables; even passers-by had to be escorted to the table. In this way, the Romans hoped to appease their goddess so that the harvests would continue to be rich and life would be full.
Ceres and her daughter Proserpina
From ancient times to the present day, the Romans have had one interesting myth about the goddess Ceres and her immortal daughter Proserpina. Proserpina is called Persephone by the Greeks. Her father is Jupiter among the Romans, and Zeus in Greek myths.
According to this myth, the beauty of Proserpina captivated the god Pluto (Hades among the Greeks), who was the stern ruler of the underground kingdom of the dead. Pluto kidnapped the beautiful Proserpina and, using force, forced her to become his wife.
Ceres was inconsolable. She looked everywhere for her beloved daughter with two torches in her hands: one was reason, and the other was emotions. The goddess found her in the underworld and demanded that Pluto return Proserpina back to Earth. When the vile god of the dead refused, the unfortunate mother prayed for help from other gods, but they did not want to help her.
Then Ceres, being beside herself with grief, forgot about her duties, and all nature, together with its goddess, began to fade. People were dying of hunger and begged the gods to have mercy on them. Only then did Proserpina’s father, Jupiter, order Pluto to return his daughter to earth.
According to an agreement between the god of the dead and Jupiter, the beautiful Proserpina lived on earth for two thirds of the year, and for the rest of the time she had to go down to her husband.
Ceres was happy next to her daughter for most of the year, and the nature around also blossomed and bore fruit, and when Proserpina went to her husband, along with the sadness of the mother goddess, withering and death came to the earth. This is how myths explained the changing seasons on earth.
Strange love story
There is another interesting Roman myth. In it, the god of the sea Neptune (or Poseidon among the Greeks) passionately fell in love with the beautiful Ceres. Neptune even helped his lover search for her missing daughter Proserpina throughout the world.
However, the young god of the sea was too intrusive in his persistent courtship, and Ceres, tired of him, decided to hide and turned into a mare. Soon the persistent young man found his beloved and turned himself into a stallion. The result of all this was the birth of the goddess Ceres's daughter, the nymph Despina, and a son, who was named Arion.
Son of Ceres - Arion
Arion was a horse - dazzlingly beautiful, winged and fast as the wind. In addition, he had the gift of eloquence, that is, he knew how to speak beautifully in human language. At a young age, he was given to be raised by sea deities - the Nereid nymphs. The nymphs taught a fast horse to carry Neptune's chariot across the stormy sea.
Arion's first owner was the famous son of the god Jupiter, Hercules. Then the king of Argos, Adrastus, who in turn owned this horse, won all the races and races on it.
The Art of Farming from Ceres
The goddess Ceres, after a painful search for Proserpina, taught Triptolemus, her pupil, how to farm. In addition, she gave him another expensive gift - her wonderful chariot.
By order of Ceres, Triptolemus traveled all over the world and taught people everything that he learned from the great goddess. Also, the Eleusinian festivals were to be held in honor of Ceres.
So, according to ancient Roman myths, the great goddess of fertility not only taught mortals to plow, sow and harvest, but also how to properly use what they grew. For example, people learned to grind grain into flour and bake wonderful bread from it.
Ceres, Latin, Greek Demeter - Roman goddess of grains and harvests, around the 5th century. BC e. identified with Greek.
Ceres was one of the oldest Italian and Roman goddesses; according to tradition, it had a special priest (flamin) already in the royal era. In Rome, a temple was dedicated to Ceres, built in 493 BC. e. on the slope of the Aventine hill, in which honors were paid to both Ceres herself and the gods close to her: the married couple and Libera. The temple was built in the Etruscan style after a fire in 31 BC. e. was restored in the Corinthian style; During the Republic, it housed the resolutions of the Senate. Of the remaining temples of Ceres, the most famous was the temple at Ostia, the remains of which have survived. The festivities in her honor - cerealia (April 19) - were of a peasant and plebeian character. At cerealias, people dressed in white clothes, and the poor were offered refreshments at state expense. Her cult, especially widespread among women, acquired certain mystical features over time, although not to the same extent as, for example, the Eleusinian mysteries.
In the illustration: a fragment of the painting “The Goddess Ceres Reclining in the Background of a Forest Landscape” by Adrian Van Stalbeemt. Photo: Ceres statue in Milan, Italy.
Few statues and paintings depicting Ceres have survived; their artistic level is relatively low, with the exception of “Ceres” from the National Museum in Rome. Of the few paintings by European artists, Watteau’s “Ceres” (1712) and Vouet’s large painting “Ceres with the Fruits of the Harvest” (c. 1640) are considered the best.
Allegorically Ceres, “fruits of Ceres” - food:
“Moreover, Ceres and Bacchus, so to speak,
Venus is helped to win…” (i.e. wine and food).
- J. Byron, “Don Juan.”
Ceres is also the closest dwarf planet to Earth.
Ancient militarized, regulated Rome did not bother too much to come up with interesting biographies and adventures for its gods. Only after capturing Greece and transporting the statues of the Greek gods to themselves, they at the same time grabbed their wonderful stories. Catholics who conducted services in Latin, read Latin texts and introduced the whole world during the Renaissance to Therefore, we know not Phoebus, but Apollo, not Artemis, but Diana, for example. A similar story happened with Ceres, the Italian goddess of fertility, who later received a beautiful life story of the Greek Demeter. Marble statues of Ceres, created from Greek copies of Demeter, have survived to this day. Here is an example - the statue of Ceres.
Ancient Italic Beliefs
The cult of the earth was important for many peoples of antiquity. The Italian peoples who lived on Ceres were no exception - the goddess of the earth and fertility of Rome - one of the most ancient deities. And initially she was associated in the minds of the Italic peoples with the even more ancient goddess of the earth Tellus. At the beginning, Ceres had one task - to protect grain crops.
Time was devoted to this from the moment of sowing, then to the germination of plants and their maturation. The ancients believed in the animation of all nature as a whole (both wood and stone, according to their ideas, were alive, they had a soul), and, naturally, Ceres, the goddess Tellus, was animated by them, filled with life. Ceres was believed to teach people how to cultivate fields, and in addition, she was the goddess of the origin of life. Flowers and fruits are her animated gifts, her obligatory attributes. Therefore, she was depicted as stern, beautiful, majestic, with a crown of thorns on her head, a torch in one hand and a basket filled with grain and fruits. Its functions also included the protection of motherhood and marriage and the harvest from robbers. She also protected the rural community, but she could also send madness to people.
Holidays in honor of ancient goddesses
For the first time, goddesses appeared, as is believed in Italy, on Sicilian, the most fertile land (Tellus). Ceres, the goddess, received her fruits, mainly grain. On the most important days, for example on the day of the first plowing and sowing, and this was a holiday that depended on weather conditions and therefore could move and have conditional dates, Ceres, the goddess Tellus, received bloody sacrifices. Most often pigs were slaughtered for them, but sometimes even calving cows were slaughtered. The holidays were called cerealia and began approximately (different sources give slightly different dates) April 11-12. They were called Ludi Cerealis and were very spectacular (foxes were baited, for example). Farmers dressed in white clothes, placed wreaths on their heads and held feasts and celebrations for eight days. By April 19 they were completed in honor of Ceres, Liber (Greek Dionysus) and Libera (Kore). For this purpose, a temple was built on the Aventine hill between 493 and 495 BC. e. Ceres, the goddess of the plebeians, had twelve different additional names:
- Mistress.
- Chloe.
- The one who gives gifts to the earth.
- The one that gives apples.
- Ruthless.
- Warm and others.
They were associated with various moments of field work
Temples
First, there was a temple in Rome, on the Aventine Hill. There was a statue of the deity there. Now the statue of the fertility goddess Ceres in Rome is located in the Roman National Museum. More precisely, it is not a statue, but a Roman marble copy of a bust of Demeter, 4th century BC. e.
The next temple was in Paestum.
There is also a sanctuary in Lavinio. There they found a copper tablet with a text that says how to boil the entrails of animals in order to present them to the goddess.
Confluence of Ceres and Demeter
From ancient Roman sources it is known that in 496 BC. e. there was a big crop failure. On this occasion, Greek craftsmen built a temple in Rome dedicated to the triad consisting of Demeter, Dionysus and Kore. The new gods merged, as already mentioned, with the old ones and received
The main role was played by Ceres, the goddess of fertility. Holidays began to be held according to Greek models. These were mysteries in which only married women took part. Girls and men were not allowed to attend mystery orgies. They consisted of the wedding celebration of Pluto and Proserpina.
Thus, the ancient Italian cults united with the Greek ones and became inseparable in the minds of the plebeian farmers, who most strongly revered this particular life-giving goddess.
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Ceres Ceres
(Ceres). The goddess who corresponded to the Greek Demeter among the Romans and was identified with her. Her holiday, Cerealia, was considered a predominantly plebeian holiday. The pig was considered the sacrificial animal of Ceres.
(Source: “A Brief Dictionary of Mythology and Antiquities.” M. Korsh. St. Petersburg, edition by A. S. Suvorin, 1894.)
CERES(Ceres), the ancient Italian and Roman chthonic goddess of the productive forces of the earth, the growth and ripening of cereals, as well as the underworld, who sent madness to people, as well as the goddess of motherhood and marriage (according to the law of Romulus, half of the property of a husband who divorced his wife without reason was dedicated to her ). She was revered as the guardian of the rural community (paga), the protector of its harvest from robbers (a person executed for stealing the harvest at night was dedicated to her). Subsequently, Ts. was considered only the goddess of grains and harvests, enjoying great honor as such, especially among the peasants who celebrated cerealias dedicated to her and called on her during paganalia - the festival of the pagi. During the era of the struggle between patricians and plebeians, C. headed the plebeian triad (C., Liber and Libera) of gods, which in 493 BC. e. A temple was built by Campanian craftsmen in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine, where the plebeians had long revered the agricultural gods Seya, Segetia, Messiah, and Tutulina, whom C. replaced, and where there was an underground altar of Cons. There is an opinion that Ts. was always the goddess of the plebs, since her flamen was a plebeian, possibly a priest of the plebeian community, and the cerealia were included in the Numa calendar in connection with the introduction of some of the plebeians to the Roman community. The Temple of the plebeian triad of gods became the center of the struggle plebeians with patricians, an archive of plebeian magistrates, a refuge for persecuted plebeians, a place for distributing bread to them (C. was identified with the goddess Panda or Empanda, in whose temple they fed the hungry; Aul. Gell. XIII 22; Serv. Verg. Georg. I 7). After the reconciliation of the patricians and plebeians, Ts. began to be revered as a common goddess, but her old role revived with the aggravation of contradictions between the people and the nobility, when Ts. was opposed to the goddess of nobility Cybele. Ts. together with Tellus The holidays of the harvest, as well as winter sowing (sementiva, December 13) and cerealia (April 19), were dedicated. Cerealia were accompanied by circus and stage games, baiting foxes, to which burning torches were tied, and scattering of nuts (Ovid. Fast. IV 681 next), which was supposed to protect crops from the heat and stimulate their growth. In the 3rd century. BC e. Ts. gets closer to Demeter, Libera with Proserpine - Persephone. The cult of Ts. is Hellenized, the female mysteries of Ts. appear, the celebration of the meeting of Ts. with her daughter returning from Pluto, which was preceded by nine days of fasting and abstinence (Serv. Verg. Georg. I 344). The invention of agriculture and the introduction of laws that introduced people to civilization are associated with Ts. (as well as with the Greek Demeter).
Lit.: Le Bonniec N., Le culte de Gères a Rome. Des origines a la fin de la République, P., 1958.
E. M. Shtaerman.
(Source: “Myths of the Peoples of the World.”)
CeresThe goddess of the harvest, the patroness of fertility, Ceres was deeply revered by Roman farmers. In her honor, solemn celebrations were held - cerealias, which began on April 11 or 12 and lasted 8 days. Cerealia were observed especially zealously by the lower classes - the plebeians. They dressed up in white clothes (as opposed to ordinary work clothes), decorated themselves with wreaths, and after ceremonial sacrifices (they offered pigs, fruits, honeycombs), they had fun with horse racing in the circus for eight days. The Roman people hosted festive meals, inviting everyone passing by to appease Ceres, who provided hearty food. Gradually, the cult of the goddess Ceres merged with the cult of the “Bright Goddess” (Tellura) and the Greek Demeter, but the festival of Cerealia with its fun and wide hospitality was preserved.
(Source: “Legends and Tales of Ancient Rome.”)
CERESin Roman mythology, the goddess who breathes life into all plants. Protects young shoots from bad weather, weeds and OTHER dangers. Together with Tellura, she sent a light warm wind and rain that nourished the roots of plants to help the crops. In honor of Ceres, solemn celebrations were held - cerealia, which began on April 11 or 12 and lasted 8 days. These celebrations were especially zealously observed by the lower classes - the plebeians. They dressed in snow-white clothes, decorated themselves with wreaths, and after the solemn sacrifices, they entertained themselves with circus races for eight days. Ceres was offered pigs, fruits, and honeycombs. On these days, the Romans hosted meals at their place, inviting everyone passing by to taste the festive dishes. It was believed that cordial hospitality was especially pleasing to Ceres. In the temple of the goddess there was an archive of the commoner class. Every year, worthy people were chosen from this list to take care of the temple. Ceres was always accompanied by the god and goddess of viticulture - Liber (his other name is Bacchus or Bacchus) and his wife - the kind and beautiful Libera.
(Source: “Dictionary of spirits and gods of German-Scandinavian, Egyptian, Greek, Irish, Japanese, Mayan and Aztec mythologies.”)
Marble.
III centuries BC e.
Rome.
National Museum.
Synonyms:
See what "Ceres" is in other dictionaries:
- (Latin ceres, Greek Demeter, i.e. mother of the earth). 1) the goddess of agriculture and grain fruits, whose festivities were distinguished by mysterious rituals. 2) an asteroid, discovered in 1801. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
Ceres- Ceres. Marble. 2 1st centuries BC. National Museum of Rome. Ceres. Marble. 2 1st centuries BC. National Museum of Rome. In the myths of the ancient Romans, Ceres is the goddess of fertility, as well as the underworld, sending madness to people, the goddess of motherhood and marriage.... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary "World History"
Demeter, harvest, goddess, motherhood, marriage Dictionary of Russian synonyms. Ceres noun, number of synonyms: 10 asteroid (579) ... Synonym dictionary
In Roman mythology, the goddess of agriculture and fertility. Corresponds to the Greek Demeter... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary
