Demeter
/dɪˈmiːtər/noun
The ancient Greek goddess of agriculture, grain, fertility, and the harvest.
Did you know?The secret Eleusinian Mysteries honored Demeter and Persephone, promising initiates a transformed understanding of death and the afterlife.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*méh₂tēr
“Mother; the ancestral root connected with Greek mētēr”
Late Bronze Age
Mycenaean Greek
da-ma-te
“A Linear B form possibly referring to Demeter, though its identification and meaning remain debated”
c. 8th–5th Century BCE
Ancient Greek
Dēmḗtēr (Δημήτηρ)
“The goddess Demeter; the name’s first element is uncertain, while the second is related to mētēr, “mother””
Ancient Greek
Greek
Dēmḗtēr
“Goddess of grain, cultivated earth, fertility, and the harvest”
Latin
Latin
Dēmēter
“The Greek goddess Demeter, adopted into Roman literary tradition”
Modern English
English
Demeter
“The Greek goddess associated especially with agriculture, grain, and the harvest”