Hymn to Demeter of Eleusis
Demeter · Persephone · DionysusA hymn to Demeter of Eleusis, and it is composed by stages of work.
Spermeiē, of the seed, at sowing; sōritis, at the heap of threshed grain; alōaiē, of the threshing floor; chloökarpe, green-fruited. The goddess is called in turn by the names of every stage, from sowing to the granary. These are not poetic synonyms but an inventory: each season of the year has its own name for her, and the full list of names is the full list of tasks.
Ἡ πρώτη ζεύξασα βοῶν ἀροτῆρα τένοντα — the first to yoke the ploughing neck of oxen. The same argument as in Ovid's Calliope: "Ceres was the first to part the clod with the curved plough" (ovid-ceres-001). Invention is the ground of cult; a god is worshipped for what he thought of.
Εἰρήνῃ χαίρουσα καὶ ἐργασίαις πολυμόχθοις — rejoicing in peace and in laborious works. Peace and hard labour are joined by "and", as things of one order: for a farmer, peace means the possibility of working.
Βρομίοιο συνέστιος — sharing a hearth with Bromios. Demeter and Dionysus under one roof: bread and wine, the two Eleusinian powers, housed together.