| agon | In Greek drama, the term denoting the contest, struggle, or conflict between the principal characters.
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| chthonic | [THOH-nik] Term relating to earth or the infernal regions, commonly associated with goddesses of fertility and /or death and regeneration.
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| Demeter | [de-MEE-ter] (Ceres) Daughter of Cronus and Rhea, she was the Olympian goddess of agricultural fertility. Her myth is closely related to that of her daughter Persephone. (See Persephone.)
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| Demophon | (1) Son of Celeus and Metanira and the younger brother of Triptolemus. When searching for Persephone, Demeter became Demophon's nursemaid and tried to make him immortal by holding him in the fire, until the process was interrupted by the child's mother. (2) The son of Theseus and Phaedra (or Ariadne) who fought in the Trojan War.
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| Eleusinian [el-oo-SIN-ee-uhn] Mysteries | A cult at the town of Eleusis involving the worship of Demeter, Persephone, and Triptolemus. Initiates were sworn to secrecy.
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| epiphany | The appearance or manifestation of a divine being; a revelatory perception of almost supernatural intensity.
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| Eros | [AIR-ohs] (Cupid) God of love and sexual desire, he was represented as an unbegotten primal force (Hesiod) or as the son of Ares and Aphrodite (Homer).
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| Gaea | [JEE-uh] (Gaia) The Greeks' original Earth Mother, a primal divine power coeval with Chaos. After producing Uranus (Sky), she mated with him to produce the Titans.
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| Gorgons | Three hideous sisters with snakes for hair and with hypnotic eyes. Medusa, the only mortal Gorgon, had a gaze so terrifying that she could turn men to stone. With Athene's help, Perseus beheaded her.
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| Great Goddess, the | Ancient parthenogenetic goddess (worshiped in Old Europe and many other cultures) whose functions included overseeing the cycle of life, death, and regeneration. Originally a creator deity, she eventually acquired association with agriculture and was worshiped as an earth goddess. Gaea is the oldest form of the Great Goddess specific to Greek mythology.
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| Hecate | [HEK-uh-tee] In Hesiod, a great and gracious goddess; in later myth, a creature of darkness and the Underworld, patron of magic and witchcraft.
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| hieros gamos | [HYE-rohs GAHM-ohs] A sacred marriage in which male and female entities, human or divine, are united in a way that ensures or promotes peace and fecundity.
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| Kore | [KOHR-ee] A Greek term meaning "maid," commonly applied to Persephone, daughter of Demeter.
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| parthenogenesis | The phenomenon by which a female was able to reproduce without being fertilized by a male.
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| Persephone | [per-SEF-oh-nee] Daughter of Zeus and his sister Demeter, she personified the grain harvest. When Hades took her to the Underworld, her mother (symbolizing the fertility of the soil) fell into such extreme grief that the gods ordered Persephone's return to the daylight world for most of the year. She is also called Proserpina and Kore (Core), the Maiden.
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| Plutus | [PLOO-tuhs] A son of Demeter and Iasion and the personification of wealth.
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| Semele | [SEM-uh-lee] Daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, sister of Agave, and mother (by Zeus) of Dionysus, she was consumed in Zeus's lightning when she demanded to see him in his true form. Dionysus later rescued her from Hades and escorted her to heaven.
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| serpent | A reptile that can represent evil, such as Typhoeus or the dragon of chaos; alternatively, it can also signify the beneficent or healing powers of nature, such as the snakes associated with Apollo's son Asclepius. The ancient Goddess of Crete was also depicted with serpents, as were classical representations of Athene.
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| sparagmos | [spuh-RAHG-mohs] The ritual tearing asunder of a young male sacrificial victim, a dismemberment associated with Osiris, Dionysus, Pentheus, and Orpheus, as well as numerous Near Eastern dying and rising gods, such as Attis, Tammuz, and Adonis.
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| Thanatos | [THAN-a-tohs] The personification of Death, he was the twin brother of Hypnos (Sleep).
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| Thesmophoria | [thes-moh-FOHR-ee-uh] A festival honoring Demeter in which only women (excluding virgins) participated.
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| Triptolemus | [trip-TOHL-e-muhs] The young man whom Demeter chose to travel the world teaching the skills of agriculture, in some accounts identified with the child whom Demeter tried to make immortal. He was associated with Demeter and Persephone in the Eleusinian Mysteries.
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