Ceres is the goddess of the birth of life and fertility

An ancient paramilitary overregulated Rome was not too concerned to invent interesting biographies and adventures for its gods. Only after capturing Greece and transporting the statues of the Greek gods to themselves, they at the same time took their wonderful stories. Catholics, who conducted divine services in Latin, read Latin texts and introduced during the Renaissance the whole world with the Roman gods. Therefore, we know not Phoebe, but Apollo, not Artemis, and Diana, for example. A similar story happened with Ceres, the Italian goddess of fertility, who subsequently received a beautiful biography of the Greek Demeter. To this day, the marble statues of Ceres, created from the Greek copies of Demeter, have reached. Here is an example - a statue of the goddess of fertility of Ceres.

Ancient Italian beliefs

The cult of the earth was important for many ancient peoples. There were no exception to the Italic peoples who lived on the Iberian Peninsula. Ceres - goddess of the earth and fertility of Rome - one of the oldest deities. And initially it was connected in the minds of the Italic peoples with the even more ancient goddess of the land Tellus. In the beginning Ceres had one task - the protection of grain crops. This was the time from the moment of sowing, then the germination of plants and their maturation. The ancients believed in the animation of all nature as a whole (both the tree and the stone were alive according to their ideas, they had a soul), and, of course, Ceres, the goddess Tellus, were animated by them, filled with life. Ceres was believed to have taught people how to cultivate fields, and besides, it was the goddess of the birth of life. Flowers and fruits are her animate gifts, her obligatory paraphernalia. Therefore, it was portrayed as harsh, beautiful, majestic, with a crown of thorns on its head, a torch in one hand and a basket full of grain and fruit. Her functions also included the protection of motherhood and marriage and harvests from robbers. She also protected the village community, but she could send insanity to people.

Holidays in honor of the ancient goddesses

For the first time the goddesses appeared, as they say in Italy, on the Sicilian, the most fertile land (Tellus). Ceres, the goddess, received its fruits, mostly grain. On the most important days, for example, the day of the first plowing and sowing, and this was a holiday that depended on weather conditions and therefore could move around and have conditional terms, Ceres, the goddess Tellus received bloody sacrifices. For them, most of the pigs were stabbed, but there were also cows. The holidays were called Cerealia and began approximately (different sources give slightly different dates) on 11-12 April. They were called Ludi Cerealis and were very spectacular (there were foxes, for example). The farmers dressed in white robes, laid wreaths on their heads and held feasts and celebrations for eight days. By April 19, they were completed in honor of Ceres, Liber (Greek Dionysus) and Libera (Cora). For this, on the hill of Aventine was built in the temple between 493 and 495 BC. E. Ceres, the goddess of the plebeians, had twelve different additional names:

• Mistress.
• Chloe.
• The one who gives gifts to the land.
• The one that gives apples.
• Ruthless.
• Warm and others.

They were associated with various moments of field work

Temples

Firstly, there was a temple in Rome, on the Aventine Hill. There was a statue of a deity. Now the statue of the goddess of fertility Ceres in Rome is in the Roman National Museum. More precisely, it is not a statue, but a Roman marble copy from the bust of Demeter, 4th century BC. E.

The next church was in Paestum.

The sanctuary is also in Lavinio. They found a copper plate with the text, which says how to cook the entrails of animals, then to bring them to the goddess.

The confluence of Ceres and Demeter

From ancient Roman sources it is known that in 496 BC. E. There was a big crop failure. On this occasion the Greek masters built in Rome a temple dedicated to the triad consisting of Demeter, Dionysus and Cora. The new gods merged, as already mentioned, with the old and received Roman names. The main role was played by Ceres, the goddess of fertility. Holidays were held on the Greek samples. These were mysteries, in which only married women participated. Girls and men were not allowed to enter mystery orgies. They consisted of the celebration of the marriage of Pluto and Proserpine.

Thus, the ancient Italic cults united with the Greeks and became inseparable in the minds of the plebeian farmers who most reverently worshiped this goddess who gives life.