CLA204H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Chariot Racing, Actaeon, Panathenaic Stadium
Document Summary
Lecture 9 the female deities (p 200-249) The female olympians are usually associated with fecundity, both natural and human. Demeter is the goddess of agriculture and the harvest. She is the force that makes grain sprout from the seed. She is the centre of the (divine) household, where the fire burns and sustenance is prepared. Transformation myths are stories that describe a supernatural change in form as a result of divine reward or punishment. Ovid the roman poet is famous for composing metamorphoses, a poetic collection of about. 250 transformation myths which was published in the 8th century. Demeter is the goddess of agriculture and the harvest, a mother-goddess who presided over the fertility and fruitfulness of the earth, especially the production of wheat. The meaning of de- remains unknown, but the -meter part of her name means mother . However, even though spring is the time of growth, the seeds are usually planted in autumn.
