Demeter was in Greek mythology the daughter of Kronos and Rhea, and therefore sibling to Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hera and Hestia. Following on from the Titanomachy revolt, the uprising against Kronos and the Titans, Demeter would take up her seat on Mount Olympus and would become one of the most revered of the goddesses of ancient Greece.

Demeter may not be immediately thought of as one of the most powerful of the Olympians, and her power is overlooked when compared with the immediately strength of the likes of Zeus, but Demeter is closely linked with life and death.

The power that Demeter had is mostly clearly depicted in the Eleusinian Mysteries, the story of Demeter’s search for her lost daughter. The Eleusinian Mysteries are stories that predate the worship of the Olympian gods, although as with many similar tales, they would be incorporated into later tales of worship. The story of Demeter and Persephone within the Mysteries relates to how Hades abducted Persephone to be his queen of the Underworld.

The disappearance of Persephone greatly upset Demeter, with a strong bond between the two, and the mother set out across the world in search of her lost daughter. As she searched, Demeter would neglect to bring forth crops and plant life, and winter spread across the world. Zeus saw the suffering that Hades had caused, and sent word that Persephone was to be released. Hades though would not simply give up his queen, and so would instead compromise in that Persephone would spend half of the year with her mother, and half the year in the Underworld.

This compromise brought forth seasons, and during spring and summer, Demeter and Persephone are united, and crops grow, and during the remaining part of the year crops die with mother and daughter separated.

Demeter was worshipped as the goddess of agriculture, grain and the seasons, and in essence had the power over the sustenance needed by mankind. It was Demeter who, during her search for Persephone, trained Triptolemos about farming, and from him the knowledge was passed to all of man. Thus it was that Demeter’s power was sufficient to bring perpetual winter and the cessation of crop growth.

The power of Demeter is different to the might of Zeus and his lightning bolts, but could make the difference between life and death, and also a hard or bountiful year.

Sources -

http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/Demeter.html

http://www.mythweb.com/gods/Demeter.html

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/d/demeter.html