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) | abode = Mount Olympus | symbol = Cornucopia, wheat, torch, bread | consort = Iasion, Zeus, Oceanus, Karmanor, Poseidon and Triptolemus | parents = Cronus and Rhea | siblings = Hestia, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus, Chiron | children = Persephone, Despoina, Arion, Plutus, Philomelus, Eubuleus, Chrysothemis and Amphitheus I | mount = | festivals = Thesmophoria | Roman_equivalent = Ceres }} In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr''; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the goddess of the harvest, who presided over grains and the fertility of the earth. Her cult titles include Sito (), "she of the Grain",〔. Cf. .〕 as the giver of food or grain〔Eustathius of Thessalonica, scholia on Homer, 265.〕 and Thesmophoros (, ''thesmos'': divine order, unwritten law; "phoros": bringer, bearer), "Law-Bringer," as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society.〔Themis was an ancient Greek goddess, embodiment of divine order, law. She was the organizer of the communal affairs and she evoked the social order: Finley, ''The World of Odysseus'', rev. ed. Viking Press. (1978:78 note 82)〕 Though Demeter is often described simply as the goddess of the harvest, she presided also over the sacred law, and the cycle of life and death. She and her daughter Persephone were the central figures of the Eleusinian Mysteries that predated the Olympian pantheon. In the Linear B Mycenean Greek tablets of circa 1400–1200 BC found at Pylos, the "two mistresses and the king" may be related with Demeter, Persephone and Poseidon.〔John Chadwick, ''The Mycenean World''. Cambridge University Press, 1976.〕〔"Wa-na-ssoi, wa-na-ka-te, (to the two queens and the king). Wanax is best suited to Poseidon, the special divinity of Pylos. The identity of the two divinities addressed as wanassoi, is uncertain ": George Mylonas (1966) Mycenae and the Mycenean age" p.159 :Princeton University Press〕 Her Roman equivalent is Ceres.〔''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215.〕 == Etymology == It is possible that Demeter appears in Linear A as ''da-ma-te'' on three documents (AR Zf 1 and 2, and KY Za 2), all three apparently dedicated in religious situations and all three bearing just the name (''i-da-ma-te'' on AR Zf 1 and 2).〔Y. Duhoux, "LA > B da-ma-te = Déméter? Sur la langue du linéaire A," Minos 29/30 (1994-1995): 289–294.〕 It is unlikely that Demeter appears as ''da-ma-te'' in a Linear B (Mycenean Greek) inscription (PY En 609); the word , ''da-ma-te'', probably refers to "households".〔Y. Duhoux and A. Morpurgo-Davies, Companion to Linear B, vol. 2 (2011), p. 26. But see Ventris/Chadwick,''Documents in Mycenean Greek'' p.242: B.Dietriech (2004):''The origins of the Greek religion'' Bristol Phoenix Press. p.172〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】url=http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/da/da-ma-te/ ) (【引用サイトリンク】url=https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/4560 )〕 On the other hand, , ''si-to-po-ti-ni-ja'', "Potnia of the Grain", is regarded to refer to her Bronze Age predecessor or to one of her epithets.〔Inscription MY Oi 701. (【引用サイトリンク】url=http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/si/si-to-po-ti-ni-ja/ ) (【引用サイトリンク】url=http://www.palaeolexicon.com/ShowWord.aspx?Id=16929 ) (【引用サイトリンク】url=https://www2.hf.uio.no/damos/Index/item/chosen_item_id/5609 ) Cf. .〕 Demeter's character as mother-goddess is identified in the second element of her name ''meter'' () derived from Proto-Indo-European '' *méh₂tēr'' (mother).〔(Online Etymology Dictionary "mother" )〕 In antiquity, different explanations were already proffered for the first element of her name. It is possible that ''Da'' (),〔.〕 a word which became ''Ge'' () in Attic, is the Doric form of ''De'' (), "earth", the old name of the chthonic earth-goddess, and that Demeter is "Mother-Earth".〔(Online Etymology Dictionary "Demeter" )〕 This root also appears in the Linear B inscription ''E-ne-si-da-o-ne'', "earth-shaker", as an aspect of the god Poseidon.〔(Adams, John Paul, ''Mycenean divinities'' ) – List of handouts for California State University Classics 315, retrieved 7 March 2011.〕〔R. S. P. Beekes. ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', Brill, 2009, p. 324.〕 However, the ''dā'' element in the name of Demeter, is not so simply equated with "earth" according to John Chadwick.〔Chadwick, ''The Mycenaean World'', Cambridge University Press, 1976, p. 87) "Every Greek was aware of the maternal functions of Demeter; if her name bore the slightest resemblance to the Greek word for 'mother', it would inevitably have been deformed to emphasize that resemblance. () How did it escape transformation into '' *Gāmātēr'', a name transparent to any Greek speaker?" Compare the Latin transformation ''Iuppiter'' and ''Diespiter'' vis-a-vis '' *Deus pater''.〕〔.〕 The element ''De''- may be connected with ''Deo'', a surname of Demeter〔Orphic Hymn 40 to Demeter (translated by Thomas Taylor: "O universal mother Deo famed, august, the source of wealth and various names".〕 probably derived from the Cretan word ''dea'' (), Ionic ''zeia'' () meaning "barley", so that she is the Mother and the giver of food generally.〔Martin Nilsson, ''Geschichte der Griechischen Religion'', vol. I (Verlag C.H.Beck) pp 461-462.〕 Arcadian cult to Demeter links her to a male deity (Greek: Πάρεδρος, ''Paredros''), who accompanied the Great Goddess and has been interpreted as a possible substitution for Poseidon; Demeter may therefore be related to a Minoan Great Goddess (Cybele).〔Nilsson, 1967:444〕 An alternative, Proto-Indo-European etymology comes through Potnia and Despoina; where ''Des-'' represents a derivative of PIE '' *dem'' (house, dome), and Demeter is "mother of the house" (from PIE '' *dems-méh₂tēr'').〔Frisk, ''Griechisches Etymological Woerterbuch.'' Entry 1271〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Demeter」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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