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Message:: [QUOTE="Jochen1, post: 5187489, member: 103829"]Dear Friends of ancient mythology! Demeter was one of the most important goddesses of ancient Greece. And so she is understandably one of the deities most frequently depicted on coins. Her depiction has interested me for a long time. Her standard attributes always include the ears of grain in her hand, often together with a head of a poppy, and a burning torch, sometimes two torches. The torch may be surrounded by a snake. More rarely it is accompanied by an additional cista mystica from which a snake rises. But there are also pictures of her riding a biga with torches in her hand, pulled by winged snakes. She is often veiled, as befits one of the most venerable goddesses. Sometimes she wears a Kalathos, but not always. Coin #1:Moesia inferior, Nikopolis ad Istrum, Diadumenian, AD 217-218AE 27, 13.88g, 0°struck under governor Statius LonginusObv.: M OΠEΛ ΔIAΔOV - MENIANOC KBust, draped and cuirassed, seen from front, bare-headed, r.Rev.: VΠ CTA ΛONΓINOV NIKOΠOΛITΩN ΠPOC / ICDemeter, in long robe and mantle, veiled, standing frontal, looking l., resting         with raised left hand on a long, burning torch, around which a snake is coilingand holding ears of grain in her extended right hand over a cista mystica withopen lid, from which a second snake rises.Ref.: a) not in AMNG:Rev. AMNG I/1, 1836b) Varbanov 3722c) Hristova/Hoeft/Jekov (2020) No. 8.25.5.4 (same dies)rare, almost VF, dark green Patina[ATTACH=full]1213775[/ATTACH]  Etymology:Even the ancient world recognised a composite in its name, the second part of which is μητερ (Greek = mother). The first element has not been unanimously clarified until today. Of course γη- = earth (especially the Orphicists) is discussed, so that she would then be the earth mother (Pauly). It is possible that Demeter already appears in Linear A as da-ma-te. Mythology:Demeter was the daughter of Uranos and his sister Rhea. Like all his children, she was eaten by Uranos after her birth, but spat out again when Metis gave him an emetic. She was considered the goddess of the field and of fruits, especially of grain. At first the grain grew among the other grasses and herbs and was unknown to man. She taught them how to collect and store it, sow it and bake bread with it. Before that, people had fed only on acorns (Virgil, Georgica). According to some, this was done in Egypt, according to others by the Athenians or in Sicily. Egypt was considered by the Greeks to be the oldest country in the world and the source of all knowledge, Sicily was an important supplier of grain in ancient times In the Orphic Hymns it is said that she also invented ploughing with oxen. According to Kallimachos and Diodoros Siculus, she is said to have been the inventor of the laws and to have urged people to respect the property of others. That is why in Greek she was called thesmophoros = bearer of the laws. Because of her beauty her brother Zeus fell in love with her and sired Persephone with her. Her brother Poseidon also desired her. She tried to escape him by turning into a horse and joining the herd of horses of king Onkios in Arcadia. But she was not successful. Poseidon recognised her anyway, turned into a horse as well and sired the famous black-maned stallion Areion and a daughter with her. Their name is sometimes called Despoina or Hera. But her real name could not be mentioned outside the mysteries (Apollodor; Pausanias). This misdeed grieved her so much that she wrapped herself in black clothes, avoided the other gods, and finally retreated into a cave. She no longer cared for the grain, everything withered away, and man and cattle began to suffer and die of hunger. No one knew where she was until Pan, who roamed everywhere, discovered her in Arcadia and reported this to Zeus. Zeus sent the Parzec to her and they succeeded to persuade Demeter to change her mind. Demeter herself, on the other hand, loved Jasion above all, a son of Zeus and Elektra. To him she gave birth to Pluto, the god of wealth and prosperity. But Zeus' jealousy was so great that he killed Jasion with a bolt of lightning. I have already told the story of Persephone's abduction by Hades in detail. Among the other known mythologies of the Demeter is the story of Triptolemos, the oldest son of Keleus in Eleusis, to whom she gave her snake biga so that he could spread the use of grain throughout the world. To this story belongs the following coin (both stories are, by the way, in my first volume of mythology from 2017). Coin #2Cilicia, Kelenderis, Elagabal, 218-222AE 22, 6.16g, 330°Obv.: M(?) AVP AN - TΩNINOC (both N's retrograde)Laureate head r.Rev.: K - E - [ΛE]NΔEPITΩN (both N's retrograde)Demeter holding torch in her raised right hand driving r. in a biga, which is drawn by two winged snakes Ref.: SNG Levante 548 (same dies); SNG von Aulock 5650rare, good VF, extraordinary stylePedigree:ex Hirsch auction 168 (1990), lot 729ex Gorny & Mosch auction 108 (2001), lot 1525ex. Münzen und Medaillen 20 (2006), lot 233[ATTACH=full]1213776[/ATTACH]Note:Here Demeter drives the snake biga, which she later gave to Triptolemos. If someone had helped her find Persephone, he was rewarded by Demeter. In gratitude she gave Phytalos the branch of a fig tree and taught him how to plant and cultivate it. She gave Pandareios the gift of eating as much as he wanted without harming him. On the other hand, she took revenge on those who had not helped her. To Ascalabos, who had mocked her when she drank thirstily from a bowl, she poured the rest of the barley-filled water (kykeon) into his face, turning him into a spotted lizard (Greek: askalabotes). Lynkos, king of the Scythians, who wanted to execute Triptolemos, she turned into a lynx (Greek lynkos). Erysichthon, who who cut down a forest sacred to her she gave insatiable hunger, so that he finally ate himself. Acheron, who had revealed that Persephone had eaten some pomegranate seeds, so she had to stay in the underworld, she turned into a night owl. According to others, she had hung an enormous stone around his neck. Background:According to Pauly she was a special form of the earth goddess with a strong emphasis on the agricultural aspect. Hiding in a cave, the abduction of her daughter into the underworld and the snakes tied to her show that there was a connection to the chthonic gods. But unlike the underworld gods, she was rather peaceful and not threatening. She was a harvest goddess with wheat blond hair (Iliad). The farmers prayed to her for good harvests. In Crete "harvest" even meant "to pay homage to Demeter". The origin of her complex form was probably Thessaly with a connection to the pelasgian Dos = Pheraia. Their connection to Iasion and Plutos also speaks for this. These were not grain demons, but chthonic healers (Pauly). According to some, she was once a queen in Sicily whose daughter was kidnapped by a pirate who took her to Pluto. In Sicily, the granary of antiquity, there was a true Demeter religion, which, like the mother in Persephone/Kore, lamented the disappearance of the plant world. With the gathering of Core flowers in the meadows, hopes of immortality were attached to the rebirth of nature in spring. This was also expressed in the balance between the chthonic and epichthonic nature of the corn. and underworld goddess Demeter herself. From the Christian side, such as Augustinus, the idea of a cyclical process of creation associated with Demeter was vehemently rejected, as it was contrary to her eschatological idea that history should be directed towards one goal. The mystical seeds of Demeter as the guide to rebirth did not only include the grains of the field, but also the flocks of the dead! Thus not only did her Eleusinian retinue include agricultural demons such as Dysaules and cultural heroes such as Triptolemos, but also infernal beings such as Baubo and Daeira. In the theology of Orphism, she is fused with the Magna Mater, which also includes Kabires and Idaean Dactyls Festivals of Demeter:The most important place of worship for Demeter was in Eleusis, which is said to have been an entrance to the underworld. The Eleusinian Mysteries were held every year in their honour. But with the spread of Christianity, the cult of Eleusis lost its importance. After an attempt by Emperor Julian II. Apostata to revive the mysteries, Emperor Theodosius I had the temple closed in 392. Four years later the Temple of Eleusis was finally destroyed by the Visigoths under Alaric I. Coin #3Thrace, Anchialos, Gordian III, 238-244AE 25, 9.8g, 24.74mm, 225a so-called "Dreier (= value of Three)"Obv.: AVT K M ANT ΓOPΔIANOC AVΓLaureate head.r.Rev.: AΓXIAΛ - EΩNDemeter, richly draped and veiled, sitting on a basket (cista mystica), holding in heroutstretched right hand eas of grain and poppy and in her raised left hand long torch.Ref: AMNG II, 641 var. (3 ex., 1, 2 in Berlin, 3 in Sofia), Av. (3) Sofiarare, almost VF[ATTACH=full]1213777[/ATTACH] Note:Here Demeter is depicted sitting as in Knidos (see below), but on a cista mystica, and thus has a relationship with the Eleusinian Mysteries. In Greece there was the Thesmophoria, a 10-day festival in honour of Demeter. Only women were allowed to participate in this festival. In his comedy "Thesmophoriazusai", 411 B.C., Aristophanes mocks the festival: He has Euripides and his brother-in-law dressed in women's clothes mingle with the celebrants, which gives the opportunity for rough jokes. It is known that Alkibiades, together with his comrades, had imitated this festival a few years earlier, in 415. He had disguised himself as the high priest, another one had played the torchbearer. This led to the famous trial against him and to his deposition as commander-in-chief of the campaign to Sicily (the so-called Hermen Crimes). History of Art:A popular theme in antiquity was the abduction of Persephone by Hades, pictures of her stay in the underworld and her return. Triptolemos are also frequently found. But motifs from other Demeter mythology are rarely found. Here is one of these rarer depictions:[ATTACH=full]1213778[/ATTACH] Demeter sitting on a throne stretches out her hand to Metaneira, who sits before her and hands her three ears of wheat. Detail of an Apulian red-figured hydria, c. 340 BC, attributed to the Varese painter. Today in the Old Museum of the National Museum in Berlin. Metaneira, the mother of Triptolemos, had given Demeter a warm welcome when she came to Attica. Reliefs with Triptolemos and statues of Demeter are known from ancient times, such as the sitting statue of Knidos. Here Demeter is depicted in a serene, timeless posture, underlining her maternal role in the pantheon of the 12 Olympic Gods. In Knidos she was worshipped together with Hades and other underworld gods and her daughter Persephone. The marble statue dates from 350 BC and is now in the British Museum in London.[ATTACH=full]1213779[/ATTACH] Mythological representations of Demeter, on the other hand, as already mentioned, are only few in antiquity. This changed in modern times. As an example: the ceiling painting by Giovanni the Udine from the Villa Farnesina in Rome (1511/12) shows Venus, Hera and Demeter. Demeter/Ceres is often depicted in a triumphal chariot to celebrate happiness and prosperity. She was painted by Rubens with Pan and nymphs. The motto of Terenz "Sine Cerere et Libero friget Venus" (= without fruit and wine Venus freezes) also served as a model for emblems and paintings.[ATTACH=full]1213780[/ATTACH] Sources:(1) Homer, Ilias(2) Hesiod, Theogony(3) Vergil, Georgica(4) Ovid, Ars amatoria(5) Callimachos, Hymnes(6) Apollodoros, Bibliotheke(7) Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheke(8) Pausanias, Voyages in Greece　 Secondary Lietratur:(1) Benjamin Hederich, Gründliches mythologisches Lexikon(2) Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher, Lexikon der Mythologie(3) Karl Kerenyi, Die Mythologie der Griechen(4) Robert von Ranke-Graves, Griechische Mythologie(5) Der Kleine Pauly(6) Reclams Lexikon der antiken Götter und Heroen in der Kunst (7) Hans-Joachim Hoeft, Münzen und antike Mythologie - Reise in ein fernes Land,　 2017 Online Sources:(1) theoi.com(2) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demeter_of_Knidos(3) <a href="https://sammlung.theologie.uni-halle.de/demeter/" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://sammlung.theologie.uni-halle.de/demeter/" rel="nofollow">sammlung.theologie.uni-halle.de/demeter/</a>(4) Wikipedia Best regards[/QUOTE]

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