Demeter: Greek Goddess of Agriculture, Fertility, and the Harvest

    Since it is Fall, and it is almost Thanksgiving, I'd like to write about a deity that connects to the season.  As a goddess of the harvest Demeter is the perfect fit, don't you think?  She was a very important goddess to the Greeks because she controlled the crops, like corn and grain.  Each year, she was offered the first loaf of bread of the harvest season.  Not only did her domain over crops make her an important goddess, but she was also one of the main 12 Olympian gods, which means she was very popular. 
    This popularity of hers is shown through her multiple myths.  The most known myth about Demeter is the story of Persephone, her daughter.  One day, Persephone was abducted by Hades to be his wife, which made Demeter a not-so-happy goddess.  She demanded that Hades release her daughter, which he refuses.  She is so ticked off that she curses the world the withering of plants and crops.  Seeing this, Zeus commands Hades to let Persephone go.  Hades tricks Persephone into eating a pomegranate from the Underworld, which means she has to stay with Hades.  They end up agreeing that Persephone will stay with Hades with four months of the year.  This time becomes what we know as winter.  When Hades gives her back to Demeter, spring begins.
    Another myth of Demeter is when Poseidon lusts for her.  In the story, Demeter is looking for Persephone when Poseidon sees her and lusts for her.  She avoids him by turning herself into a horse, but Poseidon catches on.  He turns himself into a stallion, and rapes her.  She gives birth to an unnamed girl and a horse named Arion.  Arion is known as the fastest horse in Greek Mythology.  He is so fast that he is known to run across seas.

Symbols: corn, pig, torch, snake
Parents: Cronus and Rhea
Major Temple: Eleusis

 

Janus: Roman God of Gates, Doorways, Transitions, Beginnings, and Endings.

    I know, I know.  God of doorways and transitions seems really boring and unimportant.  You'd be surprised how important he may be.  In fact, Janus was proposed to be the most important god, sometimes replacing Jupiter as top god.  Why would a over-dignified doorman be important?  Because as god of transition, he rules over many things, such as: light, the sun, the moon, change, time, movement, the year, and all other things that have anything to do with transitions.
    Even though he was sometimes seen as top god, he wasn't involved in many myths.  The ones he was in weren't important, either.  One of these myths is when he had raped the nymph Crane.  The only worthy outcome of these myths is the fact that he had a daughter, Cardia, goddess of hinges.  Fitting for a daughter of the god of doors, right?  Another myth of his is when Romulus and his men captured the Sabine women.  In Roman mythology, Romulus was the founder of Rome.  He and his followers needed wives, so they captured the Sabine women.  When the Sabine king, Tatius, and his men attacked Rome, Janus caused a volcanic spring to erupt, burying them.
    Janus is often depicted as having faces, one looking to the future and one to the past.  He is often presiding over the beginnings and endings of conflicts, therefore over war and peace.  In fact, his temples were open during times of war and closed during times of peace.  While many Roman gods had specialized priests looking after their temples, Janus had the King of of the Sacred Rites to look after this temple.

Symbols: Key and Scepter
Offerings: Ram, Incense, Wine, Barley, and Cakes
Coins: Janus appeared on the earliest coins in Rome
Meals: Every meal began with a request for blessings from Janus

Hel: Norse Goddess of the Underworld

    She is one hel of a goddess.  Literally.  Her name is Hel, and, ironically, that is what she rules.  Hel is the Norse goddess of the underworld.  In Norse Mythology, the underworld is located in one of the nine worlds--Helheim.  If the name brings you down, don't feel bad.  Helheim is a pretty gloomy place.  It's cold and damp, and filled up with gloomy spirits.  In Norse myths, Hel receives only a portion of the spirits of those who die.  While the brave, pillaging warriors go to Valhalla or Folkvangr, criminals and those who were not warriors went to Helheim.  So if you were a goody-two-shoes but did not fight, too bad.  You get to spend the rest of eternity in the cold with Hel herself.
    The story of Hel goes back to the all-famous Loki, God of Trickery and Mischief.  You see, Loki is her daddy.  That didn't really help her reputation with the other gods.  It didn't help that half of her face looked dead and rotting.  To get rid of her, Odin sent her to Helheim to take care of the dishonorably dead.
    She's not known to be in very many myths.  One of her main myths is that of Baldr's death.  Baldr is the son of Odin and Frigga, and he is the god of light, peace, and forgiveness.  When he had a prophetic dream of his death, his mom made everything in the nine worlds promise not to harm him.  However, she had forgotten mistletoe.  When Hel's dad, Loki, found out, he tricked Baldr's blind brother Hodr into killing him during a party.  This party included throwing things at Baldr, and Loki gave Hodr an arrow made of mistletoe, which killed baldr instantly.  The messenger of the gods, Hermod, was sent to beg Hel to release Baldr.  She promised to let him go back.  However, every living and dead creature has to cry for Baldr, which almost happened.  The only creature not to cry was a giantess, who was Loki in disguise.
    Just like any other god, Hel is destined to fight on Ragnarok, the doomsday of Norse Mythology.  She, with her dad, will join the giants and monsters to destroy the gods and the world.

Symbols: Plate and knife
Sacred Colors: black and white
Offerings: bones, coffee beans, wine, onyx
Siblings: Fenrir, Jormangandr, Sleipnir