How you say?

Let's start with the simplest part: her name. The ancient Greek meaning of Demeter was "Corn Mother", signifing that she was the goddess of grains and other agriculture, as well as the harvest. Because her name is ancient Greek, and no ancient Greek speakers still exist, we don't actually know how her name is pronounced. The two most common pronounciations are "Deh-MEH-tuhr" and "Deh-MEE-tuhr." Technically we don't konw which is correct, so you are free to call her whatever you choose.(Though most people have their favorite.)

The Family Tree: It's complicated!

The Greek gods were extremely weird, and so their family tree is extremely complicated. If you want to know the full family tree, check out the video below. But right now, I'm just going to give you a rundown.

Demeter was born to the Titans Rhea and Kronos. She was the second of 6 children: 3 boys and 3 girls. Her older sister is named Hestia, and her younger siblings are (in this order) Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. Demeter did not want to have any children, but her brother Zeus thought she was beautiful and took up the chase. Demeter tried to run away but Zeus caught her, so Persephone was born. Poseidon also loved and pursued her, and so a furious Demeter gave birth to a daughter, Despoina, and a male horse, Arion. (I told you gods were weird!) Demeter is one of the 12 gods of Olympus, the main ones who rule over all the others. The other eleven are listed below. Click on the icon to see more about each god.

    Zeus
    Poseidon
    Hera
    Dionysus
    Hermes
    Athena
    Hephaestus
    Apollo
    Artemis
    Ares
    Aphrodite