Demeter

"I warned you, daughter. This scoundrel Hades is no good. You could've married the god of doctors or the god of lawyers, but noooo. You had to eat that pomegranate."

- Demeter

Demeter is the Greek goddess of the harvest and agriculture, who presided over grains, the fertility of the earth, the seasons, and the harvest. Demeter's Roman counterpart is Ceres. Demeter is portrayed by Stefanie von Pfetten in The Lightning Thief.

History
Demeter was swallowed upon her birth by her father Kronos along with Hestia, Hades, Poseidon, and Hera, who were later saved by Zeus in order to help defeat the Titans. After the war, both Zeus and Poseidon tried to marry her, but Demeter instead devoted herself to her duties as the goddess of the harvest. Though Zeus was married to Hera, Demeter had a relationship with him that resulted in a daughter, Persephone. Though the affair ended, Demeter was very happy as she had a beautiful daughter all to herself. Persephone grew up without want, always staying close to her mother and sharing some of her power over the earth.

Demeter is most notable for the abduction of Persephone by Hades. One day while Hades was outside of the Underworld, he saw Persephone picking flowers and fell in love with her instantly. Hades confided this secret to his brother Zeus, where the two then began devising a plan where they would trap her. One day while Persephone was playing with her companions, the earth beneath her split open. When she slipped beneath the earth, Hades took her and made Persephone his wife.

Demeter came to find her beloved daughter missing and began an epic tale of searching for the young goddess, even said to have told the earth to not reproduce until the girl was returned to her. Helios, the sun god who saw everything, eventually told her of what happened. Zeus, seeing the hunger and anguish of the mortals eventually forced Hades to return Persephone.

Hades complied with his brother's wish, but before Persephone was taken back up by Hermes, the only god who can go freely between the underworld, was given a Pomegranate. Since she ate six of the seeds, she has to stay within the Underworld for six months out of the year, since the Fates decreed that anyone who ate or drank in the Underworld must live there for all eternity.

She also presided over the foremost of the Mystery Cults which promised its initiates the path to a blessed afterlife.

The Titan's Curse
She is at the winter solstice council meeting, having no known speaking role, but one of the first few, along with Aphrodite, to vouch for Percy Jackson's safety.

The Last Olympian
She and Persephone make an appearance in the Underworld as a guest in Hades's realm due to her daughter's presence. She nags Persephone about marrying Hades, displaying a character similar to that of elderly mothers in modern Western pop culture. She meets Percy Jackson and Nico di Angelo when they go down to talk to Hades before visiting the River Styx, this time curiously displaying no particular affection for either. After Nico convinces Hades to reinforce Olympus at a desperate moment and help his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon with the other Olympian gods, against their Titan father, Kronos, both Demeter and her first daughter joined with him, turning an entire army of giants into a wheat field while in battle and later joining the other gods on Olympus when they reward the heroes after the Battle of Manhattan has ended.

The Mark of Athena
Demeter was mentioned by Jason when her counterpart Ceres was mentioned by Bacchus, saying that Demeter is the Greek counterpart of Ceres.

The House of Hades
Hecate mentions that she helped Demeter find her daughter, Persephone. Triptolemus mentions that he was made a god by Demeter.

Personality
Demeter is somewhat fussy and very overprotective, but seems to be absent-minded, which goes far into explaining how Persephone could have been kidnapped by Hades. A stereotypical mother in-law, Demeter takes every opportunity to chastise and criticize Hades' work and marriage to her daughter. Possessing a caring nature and an obsession for cereal, Demeter insists upon advising eating healthy and hard work as every mother would (as shown when she talks to Nico).

Appearance
Demeter has long, wavy black hair with large brown eyes. She wears a wheat golden dress and has dried grass braided in her hair. According to Percy, she is an older and sterner version of Persephone. In her youth she is said to have been very beautiful. Percy also said that if somebody lit a match next to her she'd be in serious trouble.

Abilities

 * She has the standard powers of a goddess.
 * Chlorokinesis: As the goddess of agriculture and harvest, she has divine authority and absolute control over plants. She can also grant fertility to the earth, allowing plants to grow where they could not grow before. Also, she aids plants in growing simply by being near them.
 * Seasons: She can control the seasons by transforming winter into spring.
 * She can transform things into plants. She can turn multiple things at once as shown in the Battle of Manhattan when she transforms many Dracaenae into barley.

The Lightning Thief
Demeter briefly appears among the Olympian council when Percy presents the Master Bolt to Zeus. She is portrayed by actor Stefanie von Pfetten.

Trivia

 * After Hestia stepped down from the Olympian Council, Demeter is the oldest Olympian to have a throne in Olympus. Although this is not entirely true; as Aphrodite was created out of Ouranos' remains and therefore, older than any of them.
 * Out of her and her sisters (Hera and Hestia), she is the only one to have demigod children.
 * Ceres, a dwarf planet in the asteroid belt, is named after Demeter's Roman aspect.
 * Demeter is one of the twelve Olympians who doesn't make a major appearance in a book, aside from her minor role in The Last Olympian.
 * Only two of her demigod children, Katie and Miranda, are mentioned in the series.
 * In The Last Olympian, Demeter kept on telling Persephone to eat more cereal, which is named after her Roman counterpart, Ceres.
 * She appears to have chosen her lovers for humorous reasons as both of her known children—Miranda Gardiner and Katie Gardner—both have names that sound like gardener for she is goddess of nature and farming.
 * 1108 Demeter, a main belt asteroid 26km in diameter, is named after her.
 * Hades, her own brother, is also her son-in-law.