Demeter / Ceres Goddess of Grain. Perhaps the most human goddess, Demeter represents the powerful bond between mother and daughter. She was worshiped in Greece as early as 1500 BCE. Stolen by Hades, Persephone was mown down and torn from her mother exactly as the sheaf in grain goddess Demeter's hand is reaped from the bosom of Mother Earth. The highest mystical truths regarding time, suffering and spiritual regeneration were embodied in Demeter's mystery religion, which was widely influential in the Roman Empire. Much of this symbolism was subsumed by Christianity.