Cérès
Cérès: the goddess of the earth and the harvests
Cérès is the Roman goddess of the earth and the harvests. His worship spreads in all Europe. Cérès is particularly worshipped in the agricultural world because she presides over the cycle of the seasons.
The goddess Cérès is the Roman version of the Greek goddess Demeter. Cérès is the goddess of the harvests.
Latin name: Ceres
Greek Name: Demeter
Parents: Saturn and Ops
Brothers and sisters: Jupiter, Juno, Pluto, Vesta, Neptune.
Child: Proserpine.
The Roman mythology resumes the Greek mythology. The Latin authors relieve the Greek tradition and sometimes evoke the goddess Cérès.
In the Metamorphoses, Ovide evokes the story of the goddess Cérès.
CERES AND PROSERPINE
Proserpine, girl of Cérès, is kidnapped by the god Pluto. He takes him to Hell. When Cérès notices that his daughter disappeared, she is discouraged. She travels Earth and seas to look for her daughter. She discovers Proserpine’s belt floating on the water.She understands while her daughter was kidnapped. Furious, she decides to take revenge and plunges the world into the sadness. To cajole him, teaches him that from now on, Proserpine is the queen of Hell.
Cérès ask Jupiter to help him because he is the father of Proserpine. Jupiter decides that Proserpine will cross a part of the year on earth with her mother and a part of the year in Hell with her husband. This cycle marks the rhythm of the seasons.
Vesta
Vesta: the goddess of the home
Vesta is the Roman goddess of the home. It is a very respected divinity. The cult of Vesta spreads to East. But the goddess Vesta remains a divinity of reference to Rome. Indeed, she is the mother of the hero – founder Romulus.
The goddess Vesta is the Roman version of the Greek goddess Hestia. Vesta is the goddess of the home.
Latin name: Vesta
Greek name: Hestia
Parents(Relatives): Saturn and Ops
Brothers and sisters: Jupiter, Juno, Pluto, Cérès, Neptune.
The Roman mythology resumes the Greek mythology. The Latin authors relieve the Greek tradition and sometimes evoke the goddess Vesta in their narratives.
In the Splendors, Ovide evokes the story of the goddess Vesta.
VESTA
Ovide compares Vesta with the Earth because they have both of the fire inside herself
VESTA’S HISTORY
Vesta is the third girl of Saturn and Ops. But unlike her older sisters, she refuses to get married and prefers to remain alone.
VESTA AND THE DONKEY
Priape tried a day to make an excessive use of the goddess Vesta while she slept. But a donkey began braying, so alerting Vesta. Priape then had to run away.