Demeter in the "Hymn to Demete

A detailed Summary of Demeter in the "Hymn to Demete

"In Greece man first realized what mankind was" Most of the People do not know when Greek dramas and myths were first told in their present shape, but whenever it was primitive life and had been left far behind. The stories we read tell us what the people of ancient Greece thought about their world. They believed there were many Gods and that those Gods controlled the universe. For example, Zeus, the greatest god, was in charge of the weather, thunder and lighting. When it thundered, the ancient Greeks thought Zeus was at work. The ancient Greeks believed that all of nature- trees and mountains and rivers and rocks, either was or contained gods and goddesses. Many stories explained the nature. Ancient Greeks also believed that the gods and goddesses were not very different from human beings, they were just like another family. Zeus was the father, and Hermes queen of gods, women marriage and childbirth was the mother.

The main purpose of these myths was to explain natural phenomena so for the most part mythology was the earliest form of science. For instance the story of Demeter the goddess of agriculture and her beautiful daughter Persephone. While playing with her friends one day Persephone was captured by Hades and taken to t

Despite Demeter's power over the earth and the fertility of its soil, she and all other deathless gods were ultimately forced to obey Zeus. "Earth was made to grow at the will of Zeus,"[H. Demeter, 9] and "by leave of Zeus,"[H. Demeter, 31] Persephone was offered to Hades by Zeus. Demeter and Persephone were also overpowered by Hades by "secretly giving her sweet pomegranate seed to eat,"[H. Demeter, 371] and thus obliging her to spend one-third of the year with him. The portrayal of male dominance within myth stories gives us insight into the way of life found in ancient Greece. Daughters and wives were meant to "keep house, spread their masters' bed,"[H. Demeter, 144] do women's work and "to carry it (water) in pitchers of bronze to their dear father's house."[H. Demeter, 108] yet, despite the undercurrent of male dominance, women are not viewed as completely powerless. The importance placed on reproduction and the dominant role that women play in continuing the human race is a cause of fear and inferiority by males. In her despair and anger, Demeter "caused a most dreadful and cruel year for mankind over the all-nourishing earth,"[H. Demeter, 305] and she had the power to "destroy the whole race of man with cruel famine."[H. Demeter, 310] Demeter as a goddess is capable of withholding the fertility of the earth and thus causing the end of man. Her power unfolds the real fear of the mortal man due to his lack of control and involvement in the childbearing process. Greek society was one of a kind within which women had little or no say in important decisions, and their main role was to serve their mates [Britannica]. Particularly this myth portray the placement of power, but they also let us believe about the fears of men and the yearnings of women

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he underworld as his wife. In her grief Demeter senselessly destroys all the earth's crops and brings about a great drought and famine. Hades brother, Zeus, arranges a compromise where P

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Approximate Word count = 1354
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English