Demeter

Demeter, in Greek mythology, was the personification of nature as the universal mother (Gk. ge, earth; meter, mother), as Zeus or Jupiter was the father of the air or firmament, both being the children of Chronos. Their union led to the birth of Persephone (Proserpina). When she was carried over by Aidoneus (Pluto), Demeter in her grief wandered over the earth, and threatened to starve the human race by refusing her kindly offices. Being welcomed with hospitality at Eleusis, she favoured the spot ever after, and became associated with Dionysus (Bacchus) in the Eleusinian Mysteries. In many other places her worship was kept up, and she was identified with the Roman Ceres (q.v.). She was generally represented seated in a chariot drawn by dragons or fierce animals, bearing a basket on her head and some ears of corn in her hand.