Demeter and Persphone
Demeter is the Greek goddess of grain and agriculture. Her daughter Persephone was kidnapped and taken to Hades with permission from Zeus. Demeter was worshiped through celebrations in hopes of bringing vegetation growth, especially as famine spread throughout Greece. I enjoy seeing the various areas each God looks over; the possibilities seem never ending.
As Athens grew it could no longer feed its people and in return took over Eleusis, which is also the city that host Demeter’s shrine/temple. The acts of worship towards her were held by a cult that would perform rituals in honor of her, but many elements remained a secret even to this day. Demeter was respected enough by the people to not only receive an offering, but the first fruits of their harvest.
The human body and soul can be viewed in several different possibilities. These can include Monist who believes the body and soul are connected together. It describes the soul as being responsible for the body’s physical movements, leaving the soul to die when the body does so. The duelist allow the body and soul to be two different entities which allows either the soul to live on or the body; but in a different form. Views can also be looked on as Gnostics which places a higher focus on knowledge rather than action. Its sub form is rather interesting as well; Docetism. This view of life is that life itself is simply not real and only an illusion. This illusion will eventually pass, and at this point you will be shown the real reality. With this idea people are supposed to either live a very simple life, or embrace all the pleasures it has to offer in order to flee the illusion.
The Hymn to Demeter begins we very quickly get the sense of undervaluing of kinship. Zeus who is Persephone’s father has given his brother permission to take his daughter from her mother. Within this same moment the father figure is casted in such a negative light whereas the mother is the one who is sided with. Looking back at the
As Athens grew it could no longer feed its people and in return took over Eleusis, which is also the city that host Demeter’s shrine/temple. The acts of worship towards her were held by a cult that would perform rituals in honor of her, but many elements remained a secret even to this day. Demeter was respected enough by the people to not only receive an offering, but the first fruits of their harvest.
The human body and soul can be viewed in several different possibilities. These can include Monist who believes the body and soul are connected together. It describes the soul as being responsible for the body’s physical movements, leaving the soul to die when the body does so. The duelist allow the body and soul to be two different entities which allows either the soul to live on or the body; but in a different form. Views can also be looked on as Gnostics which places a higher focus on knowledge rather than action. Its sub form is rather interesting as well; Docetism. This view of life is that life itself is simply not real and only an illusion. This illusion will eventually pass, and at this point you will be shown the real reality. With this idea people are supposed to either live a very simple life, or embrace all the pleasures it has to offer in order to flee the illusion.
The Hymn to Demeter begins we very quickly get the sense of undervaluing of kinship. Zeus who is Persephone’s father has given his brother permission to take his daughter from her mother. Within this same moment the father figure is casted in such a negative light whereas the mother is the one who is sided with. Looking back at the