Deities of Sexuality and Fertility Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Deities of Sexuality and Fertility - Essay Example She was meant to titillate and goad men to fight each other over her beauty. A certain element of carnal and sexual lust is associated with her and her sculpture shows her bare-chested, playing and fondling her breasts. Among her stories and practices was the prostitution ritual practiced in her temples. In the Roman temple on Acrocorinth, intercourse with the high priestess, after paying the required offerings, was the accepted method of worshipping Aphrodite (Walter, 1985). Demeter on the other hand nourished earth and called the earth mother or the Goddess of life, fertility and grain. She is portrayed as demure, mother like figure, fully clothed and with a staff in hand. Demeter has given corn and barley to mankind and the skill to till the land and make ti fertile. There is no symbolism of carnality or sexuality but only that of fertility and give rise to life. She has been portrayed with images of harvest, flowers and of life. She was the enemy of Aethon the famine god and put him in the stomach of Erysichthon. Demeter however was not demure but had a number of husbands such as Zeus from whom she obtained Persephone; Poseidon from whom she got Despoina and Arion and many others (Walter, 1985). Persephone was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus and was the consort of Hades.