Ceres (mythology)

Ceres
Goddess of agriculture, fertility, grains, the harvest, motherhood, the earth, and cultivated crops
Member of the Dii Consentes
Seated Ceres from Emerita Augusta, present-day Mérida, Spain (National Museum of Roman Art, 1st century AD)
Symbol	sickle, torches, wheat-sheaf, crown of wheatstalks, cornucopia with fruits, cereals, poppy
Festivals	Cerealia, Ambarvalia
Genealogy
Parents	Saturn and Ops
Siblings	Jupiter, Juno, Neptune, Vesta, Pluto
Children	Liber/Bacchus, Libera/Proserpina
Equivalents
Greek	Demeter

Religion in ancient Rome
Marcus Aurelius (head covered) sacrificing at the Temple of Jupiter
Practices and beliefs
libation votum temples festivals ludi funerary practices imperial cult mystery religions
Priesthoods
Pontifices Augures Vestales Flamines Fetiales Epulones Fratres Arvales
Deities
Dii Consentes Capitoline Triad Aventine Triad Indigitamenta underworld gods agricultural gods childhood gods divine emperors
Related topics
Glossary of ancient Roman religion Roman mythology Ancient Greek religion Etruscan religion Gallo-Roman religion Interpretatio Graeca Decline
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In ancient Roman religion, Ceres (/ˈsɪəriːz/ SEER-eez,^[1][2] Latin: [ˈkɛreːs]) was a goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships.^[3] She was originally the central deity in Rome's so-called plebeian or Aventine Triad, then was paired with her daughter Proserpina in what Romans described as "the Greek rites of Ceres". Her seven-day April festival of Cerealia included the popular Ludi Ceriales (Ceres' games). She was also honoured in the May lustration (lustratio) of the fields at the Ambarvalia festival: at harvesttime: and during Roman marriages and funeral rites. She is usually depicted as a mature woman.

Ceres is the only one of Rome's many agricultural deities to be listed among the Dii Consentes, Rome's equivalent to the Twelve Olympians of Greek mythology. The Romans saw her as the counterpart of the Greek goddess Demeter,^[4] whose mythology was reinterpreted for Ceres in Roman art and literature.^[3]