Download The Two Great Gods of Earth

By: Kyle Paulson, Michael Smith,
Trey Ellis, Tony Pagan, Andie Passi,
Sahra Khan, Bianca Olivas
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Demeter is goddess of corn (the harvest), which is
considered one of the gifts of the Earth.
She has a daughter named Persephone, who was
stolen away by Hades, lord of the underworld.
Demeter searched but couldn’t find her, so she
disguised herself as an old woman and sat by a
well.
Has a temple built for her by the people of Eleusis
in order to gain her favor.
She was still very sad about her daughter, so she
stopped allowing crops to grow and be planted.
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Zeus sends Hermes to retrieve Persephone from
the underworld, so Demeter will be happy and
crops will resume growth.
Before Persephone leaves, Hades makes her eat a
pomegranate seed, which requires her to return to
him for a third of every year.
When Demeter is with her daughter, she is happy,
causing spring and crop growth.
But when Persephone returns to the underworld,
Demeter is sad, and for 1/3 of the year, there is
winter and very little crop growth.
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Dionysus, or Bacchus was the god of wine and the
son of Zeus and Semele.
Semele was dying while pregnant with Dionysus,
so Zeus pulled Dionysus out of her before she
died.
Zeus puts Dionysus in his side and took him to the
nymphs of Nysa where he was cared for until his
birth.
He was born by fire and nursed by rain. The fire
ripens the grapes for the wine, and the water keeps
the plant alive.
As he grew to be an adult, he taught men
everywhere how to tend grapes.
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Dionysus was the god of wine, which is both good and bad.
Wine creates happiness, but also makes people drunk. This
is why Dionysus is known as “man’s benefactor, as well as
man’s destroyer.” (Hamilton 71) The Greeks held him in
great honor because they valued greater the benefits that
wine brings, which are happiness and joy, than the
detriments that it brings.
Dionysus, being the god of wine, brought joy and sadness
which is similar to comedy and tragedy in Greek theater. It
was also thought that all of those who took part in the plays
of the Greek theater were considered servants of Dionysus.
Dionysus, like Persephone, dies with the arrival of winter
and is said to be torn to pieces by, according to some
versions, the titans, or by, according to other versions, the
orders of Hera (Zeus’ wife). However, he is always brought
back to life, and always rises from the dead.
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Dionysus and Demeter, along with their
symbols, the harvest and the vine, dwell
on earth.
Dionysus and Demeter were the only
two gods in Greek mythology that
experienced mortal pain, sorrow, and
grief.