Ceres
Ceres, the daughter of Saturn, goddess of agriculture
- the daughter of Saturn and Ops, Ov. F. 6, 285, sister of Jupiter and Pluto, mother of Proserpine, goddess of agriculture, esp. of the cultivation of corn, and of the growth of fruits in gen. (cf. Cerealis); represented as upon a chariot drawn by dragons, with a torch in her hand, and crowned with poppies or ears of corn, Ov. F. 4, 497; 4, 561; 3, 786; 4, 616; id. Am. 3, 10, 3; Tib. 1, 1, 15; 2, 1, 4; Verg. G. 1, 96; Hor. C. S. 30; cf. O. Müll. Archaeol. § 357 sq.: templum Desertae Cereris, deserted (because the temple was in a solitary, secluded place), Verg. A. 2, 714: Cereri nuptias facere, i.e., without wine, Plaut. Aul. 2, 6, 5 (354); cf. Serv. ad Verg. G. 1, 343.—From the names of places where she was worshipped, called Ceres Hennensis, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 49, § 107; Lact. 2, 4, 28: Catinensis, id. l. l.: Eleusina, id. 1, 21, 24: Milesia, id. 2, 7, 19; cf. Val. Max. 1, 1, ext. 5.—
- B Ceres profunda or inferna, i. e. Proserpina, Stat. Th. 4, 460; Stat.5, 156; cf.: sacerdos Cererum, Inscr. Orell. 6082.—
- II Meton., food, bread, fruit, corn, grain, etc., Fest. s. v. cocus, p. 45; cf.: fruges Cererem appellamus, vinum autem Liberum, Cic. N. D. 2, 23, 60; Verg. G. 1, 297; id. A. 1, 177; 1, 701; Hor. C. 3, 24, 13; id. Epod. 16, 43; Ov. M. 3, 437; 8, 292; 11, 112 al.—Prov.: sine Cerere et Libero friget Venus, Ter. Eun. 732; cf. Cic. N. D. 2, 23, 60.
hic [Pluton ] Cereris sobolem nigrantes vexit ad umbras
†~us, triticum
~erem, †satis [l. sata ], segitem, messem
multae sunt Cereres; semper desunt mihi panes
~eri,of hwæte
quercus erat veterum nutrix fidissima patrum; / successit Cereris lautior usus ei
➳ gén. arch. Cererus : CIL 1, 679.
- 1. godin v.d. landbouw en het huwelijk, dochter v. Saturnus en Ops, moeder v. Proserpina; — adj. Cereālis en Ceriālis, e (a) aan Ceres gewijd [nemus]; (b) van Ceres [munera brood]; — Cereālia, ium n Ceresfeest op 12 april;
- 2. (meton.) zaad, graan, koren, brood; — adj. Cereālis en Ceriālis, e graan-, brood-.
Fœmina, quæ vestris laribus vicina, calenti Triticeam furno Cererem tractura, canistrum Fert humero, etc.
- the daughter of Saturn, goddess of agriculture, V., H., O.: Deserta, secluded, V.— Meton., bread, fruit, corn, grain, food: fruges Cererem appellamus, C., T., V., H., O.
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…atque asportatio perdifficilis videbatur. insistebat in manu Cereris dextra grande simulacrum pulcherrime factum victoriae ; hoc iste e signo Cereris avellendum asportandumque curavit. qui tandem istius animus est nunc in recordatione scelerum suorum, cum ego ipse in commemoratione…
Cicero, in Verrem
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…est modus in ornatu orationis et saepe sumendus ; ex quo genere haec sunt, Martem belli esse communem, Cererem pro frugibus, Liberum appellare pro vino, Neptunum pro mari, curiam pro senatu, campum pro comitiis ,…
Cicero, de Oratore
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…liberos, quorum patres tantum labore suo frumenti exarabant ut populo Romano totique Italiae suppeditare possent, eosne in insula Cereris natos, ubi primum fruges inventae esse dicuntur, eo cibo esse usos a quo maiores eorum ceteros quoque frugibus…
Cicero, in Verrem
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…ea non solum diligi sed etiam incoli custodirique videatur. nec solum Siculi, verum etiam ceterae gentes nationesque Hennensem Cererem maxime colunt. etenim si Atheniensium sacra summa cupiditate expetuntur, ad quos Ceres in illo errore venisse dicitur frugesque…
Cicero, in Verrem
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…sum designatus aedilis ; habeo rationem quid a populo Romano acceperim ; mihi ludos sanctissimos maxima cum cura et caerimonia Cereri, libero, Liberaeque faciundos, mihi Floram matrem populo plebique Romanae ludorum celebritate placandam, mihi ludos antiquissimos ,…
Cicero, in Verrem
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…Romae, qua in ceteris locis, qua prope in toto orbe terrarum. in eo sacrario intimo signum fuit Cereris perantiquum, quod viri non modo cuius modi esset sed ne esse quidem sciebant ; aditus enim in id sacrarium…
Cicero, in Verrem
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…annis, Mavors quia magna vertit, Minerva quia minuit aut quia minatur, Venus quia venit ad omnia, Ceres a gerendo. quam periculosa consuetudo. in multis enim nominibus haerebitis quid Veiovi facies quid Volcano quamquam, quoniam…
M. Tullius Cicero, de Natura Deorum
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…consulatu meo, aut exponenda narratio, quae plus dignitatis desiderat quam doloris, ut in quarto accusationis de Hennensi Cerere, de Segestana Diana, de Syracusarum situ diximus. Saepe etiam in amplificanda re concessu omnium funditur numerose et…
M. Tullius Cicero, Orator
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…futtilitatis summaeque levitatis. Sed tamen is fabulis spretis ac repudiatis deus pertinens per naturam cuiusque rei, per terras Ceres per maria Neptunus alii per alia, poterunt intellegi qui qualesque sint quoque eos nomine consuetudo nuncupaverit. Quos deos…
M. Tullius Cicero, de Natura Deorum
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…fiunt, a C. Verre ex suis templis ac sedibus esse sublatam. qui accessistis Hennam, vidistis simulacrum Cereris e marmore et in altero templo Liberae. sunt ea perampla atque praeclara, sed non ita antiqua. ex…
Cicero, in Verrem
(from the √ kr of creare). An old Italian goddess of agriculture. The Ceres who was worshipped at Rome is, however, the same as the Greek Demeter. Her cult was introduced under the Italian name at the same time as that of Dionysus and Persephoné, who in the same way received the Italian names of Liber and Libera. (See Cic. N. D. ii. 24, 2.) It was in B.C. 496, on the occasion of a drought, that the Sibylline Books ordered the introduction of the worship of the three deities. This worship was so decidedly Greek that the temple dedicated on a spur of the Aventine in B.C. 490, over the entrance to the Circus, was built in Greek style and by Greek artists; and the service of the goddess, founded on the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephoné, was performed in the Greek tongue by Italian women of Greek extraction. The worshippers of the goddess were almost exclusively plebeian. Her temple was placed under the care of the plebeian aediles, who, as overseers of the corn market, had their official residence in or near it. The fines which they imposed went to the shrine of Ceres, as did the property of persons who had offended against them or against the tribunes of the plebs. Just as the patricians entertained each other with mutual hospitalities at the Megalesian Games (April 4-10), so did the plebeians at the Cerealia, or games introduced at the founding of the Temple of Ceres. Those held in later times were given by the aediles from the 12th to the 19th of April, and another festival to Ceres, held in August, was established before the Second Punic War. This was celebrated by women in honour of the reunion of Ceres and Proserpina. After fasting for nine days, the women, clothed in white, and adorned with crowns of ripe ears of corn, offered to the goddess the first-fruits of the harvest. After B.C. 191, a fast (ieiunium Cereris) was introduced by command of the Sibylline Books. This was originally observed every four years, but in later times was kept annually on the 4th of October. The native Italian worship of Ceres was probably maintained in its purest form in the country. Here the countrymen offered Ceres a sow (porca praecidanea) before the beginning of the harvest, and dedicated to her the first cuttings of the corn (praemetium). See Demeter.