What is "demeter"

goddess of agriculture, mother of Persephone, from Greek Demeter; the second element generally given as mater (see mother); the first element possibly from da, Doric form of Greek ge "earth" (see Gaia), but Liddell & Scott find this "improbable." The Latin masc. proper name Demetrius means "son of Demeter."

In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, Demeter (; Attic: Dēmḗtēr; Doric: Dāmā́tēr) is the goddess of the harvest and agriculture, who presided over grains and the fertility of the earth. Her cult titles include Sito , "she of the Grain", as the giver of food or grain, and Thesmophoros (, thesmos: divine order, unwritten law; , phoros: bringer, bearer), "Law-Bringer," as a mark of the civilized existence of agricultural society.

Though Demeter is often described simply as the goddess of the harvest, she presided also over the sacred law, and the cycle of life and death. She and her daughter Persephone were the central figures of the Eleusinian Mysteries that predated the Olympian pantheon. In the Linear B Mycenean Greek tablets of circa 1400–1200 BC found at Pylos, the "two mistresses and the king" may be related with Demeter, Persephone and Poseidon. Her Roman equivalent is Ceres.

Demeter is usually the Greek grain goddess. It may also refer to:

Astronomy:

• Demeter, name formerly used for Lysithea (moon), satellite of Jupiter, from 1955 to 1975
• 1108 Demeter, asteroid

Literature:

• Demeter , an elegy by Philitas of Cos
• "Demeter" (1999), a sonnet by Carol Ann Duffy

Other:

• Demeter (surname)
• Demeter (cat), character from the musical Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Demeter (satellite) French micro-satellite launched 2004 with a 2-year planned lifetime, for developing earthquake prediction
• Demeter Fragrance Library, fragrance company
• Demeter International, certification organization for biodynamic farming
• Demeter, brand of electric guitar and bass guitar amplifier
• Demeter, terrain bot in Windows game Activeworlds
• Law of Demeter, software development design guideline ("Only talk to your immediate friends").
• USS Demeter (ARB-10), USS battle damage repair ship
• Demeter, the fictional Russian ship which brought Count Dracula to England in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.
• Demeter, a freighter vessel in Egosoft's 4X video game series, including X²: The Threat and X³: Terran Conflict

DEMETER (Detection of Electro-Magnetic Emissions Transmitted from Earthquake Regions) is a French micro-satellite operated by CNES devoted to the investigation of the ionospheric disturbances due to seismic and volcanic activity.

It was launched on June 29, 2004 on a quasi Sun-synchronous circular orbit with an inclination of about 98.23° and an altitude of about 710 km. The altitude was changed to about 660 km in December, 2005.

Due to the specific orbit, DEMETER is always located either shortly before the local noon (10:30 local time) or local midnight (22:30 local time). The satellite performs 14 orbits per day and measures continuously between -65° and +65° of invariant latitude.

DEMETER observed an increase in ultra low frequency radio waves in the month before the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

During the 2010 eruption of Mount Merapi, DEMETER noted anomalies in the ionosphere.

Scientific operations ended December 9, 2010.

Demeter is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

• Christine Demeter (died 1973), murder victim
• Don Demeter, American baseball player
• George Demeter, author of Demeter's Manual of Parliamentary Law and Procedure
• Peter Demeter, Christine Demeter's husband, convicted in her death
• Steve Demeter (1935–2013), American baseball player and scout

Demeter is a main character in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats. Her name is given in "the Naming Of Cats".

Demeter, as costumed in the filmed production, is black and gold with a few patches of white and red or orange, and wears gloves instead of arm warmers, giving her a more elegant touch. In other productions she has larger patches of red. She has a few tabby markings around her face and legs. Demeter is one of the main queens, and her role is considered a major one in the show.

Demeter is the cat who unmasks Macavity when he tries to disguise as Old Deuteronomy.

She is very skittish and cautious of Macavity. Some believe she had a past with him and is now paranoid as she always seems to know when he is around. This seems to be confirmed by Cats Choreographer Gillian Lynne in behind the scenes footage seen in on the Cats special edition DVD. Actress Lena Hall, who played Demeter in the original Broadway production, stated that she was told that Macavity may have raped Demeter, causing the skittishness. In most productions, she is portrayed as the mate of Alonzo. In far fewer, Munkustrap is seen as her mate, and this pairing is really only well known because the pair nuzzle after Macavity's attack on the Junkyard in the movie version of the show. Demeter sings in the backing group in "The Gumbie Cat" with Bombalurina, with whom she is very close, and also with Jellylorum. Her biggest part is in "Macavity", which she sings with Bombalurina.

She is one of the few adult queens to attempt to welcome Grizabella and sings part of Grizabella the Glamour Cat, but cannot bring herself to fully accept her until the show is almost over. She seems to know Grizabella and may have been good friends with her in the past, or simply identifies with her remorse. Many fans have speculated that Grizabella at some point also became involved with Macavity, which might explain the look of disgust on Demeter's face in the recorded version of the show. She usually runs off to Bombalurina in uncomfortable situations, such as when Grizabella or Macavity are nearby. It is possible that their time spent with Macavity simply overlapped. Demeter has little or no interest in the Rum Tum Tugger. She shows no interest in the outgoing, vain toms; this may explain her interest in Macavity. In an interview with Broadway.com, Lena Hall, who played Demeter in the Broadway production, revealed that the story behind Demeter includes that she was raped by Macavity and may suffer from Stockholm Syndrome.

She is usually played by a mezzo-soprano singer.

Demeter's dance takes on some complicated movements in the Jellicle Ball along with the Rum Tum Tugger, Alonzo, Munkustrap, Rumpleteazer and Bombalurina.

The part of Demeter was originated by Sharon Lee-Hill in the West End production and by Wendy Edmead in the original Broadway production. In the Cats video she is played by Aeva May.

Vicki Noon appeared as Demeter in Cats during a Washington (state) tour.

At this moment in the worldwide tour she is played by Lisa Kuhnen.