Ceres
Roman goddess of agriculture and grain, identified with the Greek Demeter
The Myth of Ceres
Ceres was the goddess who made crops grow, and her worship was deeply woven into Roman agricultural life. Her great temple on the Aventine Hill, built around 493 BC, became the headquarters of the plebeian political movement, making her both a harvest goddess and a symbol of popular rights. The Cerealia festival in April featured games in the Circus Maximus and the bizarre tradition of releasing foxes with burning torches tied to their tails into the fields. Roman law punished anyone who damaged crops with death, declaring it an offence against Ceres herself. Her myth of losing and recovering her daughter Proserpina explained the seasons.
Parents
Saturn and Ops
Children
Proserpina
Symbols
Fun Fact
The word "cereal" comes directly from Ceres — every bowl of breakfast cereal is named after the Roman harvest goddess
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Demeter
⚡ godGoddess of the harvest, agriculture, fertility, sacred law
Goddess of grain, harvest, and the fertility of the earth. When her daughter Persephone was abducted, Demeter's grief brought winter to the world.
Demeter Thesmophoros
⚡ godlaw, agriculture
An epithet of Demeter as bringer of divine law and civilised customs, honoured at the Thesmophoria, the most widespread festival in the Greek world.
Demeter
⚡ godGoddess of harvest and the Eleusinian Mysteries
Demeter was the goddess of grain, harvest, and fertility whose grief over Persephone's abduction explained the seasons and whose Mysteries promised hope beyond death.
Ops
⚡ godAbundance, harvest, earth
Roman goddess of abundance and the harvest, wife of Saturn, equivalent to the Greek Rhea
Demeter
⚡ godGoddess of the harvest and sacred law
The goddess of grain and agriculture whose grief at losing her daughter created winter and whose mysteries at Eleusis promised life after death.
Carpo
⚡ godHarvest, autumn
Goddess of the autumn harvest and one of the original Attic Horae who presided over the fruiting of crops
Cereal
💭 conceptLanguage and agriculture
The English word for grain-based food products, derived from Ceres, the Roman name for Demeter, the Greek goddess of the harvest and grain
Cereals
💭 conceptGrain, agriculture, breakfast food
Grain-based food products, from Ceres (Demeter), the Roman goddess of grain and the harvest.
Auxo
⚡ godGrowth, summer
Goddess of plant growth and one of the original Attic Horae who presided over the increase of crops
Pomona
⚡ godFruit trees, orchards, gardens
Roman goddess of fruit trees and orchards, with no direct Greek equivalent
Thallo
⚡ godSpring, growth
Goddess of spring blossoms and one of the original Attic Horae who presided over the budding of plants
Saturn
⚡ godTime, agriculture, abundance, dissolution
Ancient Roman god of agriculture and time, identified with the Greek Kronos, ruler of a lost golden age