Demeter

Ringkasan

Demeter adalah dewi Olimpus dalam mitologi Yunani yang membawahi panen, pertanian, dan kesuburan tanah, dikenal lewat kisah putrinya Persephone dan Misteri Eleusis.

Demeter is an Olympian goddess in Greek mythology who presides over harvest, agriculture, and the fertility of the earth, known for the story of her daughter Persephone and the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Kisah dan tradisi

Demeter adalah dewi Olimpus yang membawahi panen, pertanian, dan kesuburan tanah. Orang tuanya Kronos dan Rhea; saudaranya Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, dan Hestia; dan ia ibu Persephone. Seni menggambarkannya sebagai perempuan dewasa bermahkota yang membawa bulir gandum atau obor, kadang duduk, berjalan, atau naik kereta yang ditarik kuda atau naga; lambangnya adalah berkas gandum dan cornucopia, dengan ular dan babi sebagai hewan sucinya. Ia kemungkinan penjelmaan kembali dewi-dewi ibu bumi setempat di Yunani Zaman Perunggu. Kisah utamanya adalah penculikan Persephone oleh Hades. Dalam Himne Homerik, Demeter menyembunyikan benih sehingga tanah tidak menumbuhkan apa pun dan manusia menghadapi tahun yang mengerikan. Ia baru memulihkan kesuburan bumi setelah Persephone dijanjikan tinggal bersamanya dua pertiga tahun. Sumber lain menyebut Persephone harus kembali kepada Hades selama sepertiga atau separuh tahun. Demeter juga digambarkan memiliki kuasa lain. Ia mengutuk Erysichthon dengan rasa lapar yang tak terpuaskan karena menebang hutan sucinya, dan hampir membuat anak asuhannya di Eleusis tak mati dan tak menua sebelum rencananya digagalkan. Untuk menghindari Poseidon, ia berubah menjadi kuda betina. Himne Homerik juga menyatakan bahwa ia mengajarkan misterinya kepada Triptolemus, Polyxeinus, dan Diocles. Tempat suci di Eleusis didedikasikan bagi Demeter dan Persephone dan menjadi lokasi Misteri Eleusis. Sejak sekitar 600 SM, misteri itu menjadi upacara resmi dalam kalender Athena, dan misteri itu kemungkinan menjanjikan kehidupan akhirat yang lebih baik. Bangsa Romawi mengenal Demeter sebagai Ceres. Ia juga dipandang sebagai dewi pernikahan dan dipuja terutama oleh perempuan; kurban untuknya antara lain babi dan kue madu.

Demeter is an Olympian goddess who presides over harvest, agriculture, and the fertility of the earth. Kronos and Rhea are her parents; Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, and Hestia are her siblings; and she is the mother of Persephone. Art shows her as a mature woman wearing a crown and bearing wheat or a torch, sometimes sitting, walking, or riding in a chariot drawn by horses or dragons; her symbols are the sheaf of grain and cornucopia, with the snake and pig as sacred animals. She was probably a reincarnation of local mother Earth goddesses of Bronze Age Greece. Her central story is the abduction of Persephone by Hades. In the Homeric Hymn, Demeter kept the seed hidden so that the ground produced nothing and mankind faced a dreadful year. She restored the earth's fertility only after it was agreed that Persephone would live with her for two parts of the year. Other accounts say Persephone had to return to Hades for one-third or one half of the year. Demeter is also shown with other powers. She cursed Erysichthon with an unquenchable hunger for cutting down her holy grove, and nearly made her foster child at Eleusis deathless and unageing before her plan was thwarted. To escape Poseidon, she changed into a mare. The Homeric Hymn also says she taught her mysteries to Triptolemus, Polyxeinus, and Diocles. The sanctuary at Eleusis was dedicated to Demeter and Persephone and was the location of the Eleusinian Mysteries. From c. 600 BCE the mysteries became an official ceremony in the Athenian calendar, and they probably promised a better afterlife. The Romans knew Demeter as Ceres. She was also regarded as the goddess of marriage and was worshipped especially by women; sacrifices to her included pigs and honey-cakes.

Konteks budaya

Demeter dipuja dalam festival seperti Thesmophoria, festival musim gugur khusus perempuan di Attika. Kisahnya bersama Persephone mungkin melambangkan pergantian musim.

Demeter was honoured in festivals such as the Thesmophoria, an all-female autumn festival in Attica. Her story with Persephone was perhaps symbolic of the changing seasons.

Fakta utama

Budaya / Culture: Mitologi Yunani
Kawasan / Region: Eropa
Klasifikasi / Classification: Deity
Kemampuan / Abilities: Menahan dan memulihkan kesuburan tanah, Mengutuk dengan kelaparan, Berubah wujud, Memberi atau menolak keabadian

Nama lain / Alternate names

Ceres, Deo

Tahukah kamu? / Did you know?

Dalam seni Arkais dan Klasik, obor di tangan Demeter melambangkan pencariannya akan putrinya yang hilang.

In Archaic and Classical art, the torch in Demeter's hand signifies her search for her lost daughter.