Demeter
Harrison Prow
Motion and Rest: The Demeter of Knidos
In Works and Days, Hesiod wrote: “strip to sow and strip to plough and strip to reap, if you wish to get in all Demeter's fruits in due season” (Hesiod, 392). This brief line of advice summarizes several millennia of agriculture study: a great deal of work and meticulous timing goes into profiting during each growing season and surviving each harsh winter. The continuous cycle of movement and rest is reflected in the appearance of this statue, known as the Demeter of Knidos, as well as in the mythic narratives and domains associated with Demeter.
On the southeast edge of modern-day Turkey, the headless statue was originally observed in 1812 by the Society of Dilettanti, an organization founded to sponsor the study of Ancient Greco-Roman art. In 1857, Sir C.T Newton located the head and shipped the entire statue back to the British Museum (Ashmole 13).
The statue exhibits several interesting characteristics and is a stunning example of Hellenistic marble carving from 330-350 B.C (Ashmole 17). Demeter’s head is incredibly calm, and she is seated in a throne as if she is resting. The grand size of the statue impresses serenity and the calm, stable power of a matron goddess. Her extended hands, presumably resting on the lost armrests of the throne, would have been extended and maybe holding a votive plate or a torch (“Demeter Von Knidos”). However, while from afar she seems stilled, much movement can be found within her. Her gaze is off center, as if she is looking for someplace to go. While her lower legs are missing, the knees are both offset and angled against each other which implies her legs may have been crossed or she was in the process of moving. Where her chiton is visible, it is ruffled by movement. From one point of view, there is stillness, but from another the statue is almost moving.
The statue of Demeter was most likely placed near a statue of Persephone or Kore, as the mother and daughter deities were often worshipped together. This further connects the intertwining of motion and rest seen in the statue to some of Demeter’s mythic narratives. After her daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades, she searched ceaselessly for nine days. She carried torches, which lends to the theory the statue may have been holding a torch. It is the abduction, or movement, of Persephone that drives Demeter to action. Once Demeter learns that Persephone was taken with the permission of Zeus, an order she cannot overrule, she resigns herself to a life of misery (La Fond 4:13-5:20). In this case, it is the sealing of Persephone in Erebus, stopping her from moving, that causes Demeter to stop moving. Different retellings of the myth have variation, but Demeter sometimes spends time unmoving in a cave or wanders to Celeus where she takes on the life of a mortal, later establishing the Eleusinian mysteries (Morford). Those mystery rituals are often associated with undergoing a period of “death”, after which the initiate is reborn as someone within the society. Death, of course, is associated with stillness, but the life that comes afterwards is full of movement and celebration, even more so for those who have become initiated into the Eleusinian Mystery.
The visible instances of utter stillness and also potential movement observed in the Demeter of Knidos also connect back to Demeter’s primary domain, as the goddess of all agriculture. For the winter months of the year, no growing is done, and both man and earth are still, as the statue is. Hesiod reminds man to work with urgency to reap the benefits of the goddess when she is active, before preparing for her to go dormant again. And while the carved head of the Demeter of Knidos is still and serene, those making sacrifices to her in ancient Greece would have certainly hoped the goddess would uncross her knees, stand up, and bless them with a bountiful harvest.
Claire Reiger
Greek mythology has been an inspiration for art throughout history. The perspective of each artist plays an important role in how they choose to portray the gods. Different interpretations of Demeter can be seen in Demeter of Knidos and in drawings by Giuseppe Maria Rolli and Angelica Kauffman. Through these pieces of art, we see a dialog about the perception of Demeter and her myths, and of the changing role of power between gods and mortals.
Demeter was a powerful goddess in Greek mythology. Her domain was agriculture (La Fond), which would have touched the lives of everyone in ancient Greece. Without Demeter’s goodwill, harvests would fail. Having that much control over the prosperity of mortals made her an important figure in myth and worship. Her status was solidified further in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. As she grieved for her abducted daughter, Demeter refused to do her duties (Morford et al. 336). Without crops, a famine began killing mortals and the other gods had to intervene. No one was able to get Demeter to stop the famine until Zeus finally stepped in and had to partially go back on his decision to give Persephone to Hades (Morford et al. 336). Zeus having to be the one to stop Demeter sends a strong message about where Demeter stands in the pantheon. She was powerful enough to challenge the will of Zeus, which is no small feat. Her statue Demeter of Knidos tells us about her influence from a human perspective. It depicts Demeter atop a throne, her posture straight and she’s elegantly draped. Her calm expression makes her look regal. All are deliberate choices that pay respect to Demeter’s high status. They also acknowledge the gods' power over mortals. The artist’s perspective shows Demeter as an ethereal, regal figure. Her indifferent but not unkind expression reminds us of the pressure on the people of ancient Greece to stay within the goodwill of the gods. Demeter is not smiling, she is not caring to mortals by default, it is a reminder that her goodwill is conditional. The need for formality and seriousness in Demeter’s statue is a reminder that even in art, the gods hold the power.
This reverent depiction of Demeter is in contrast with her depictions in 17th century drawings. In the unnamed drawing by Angelica Kauffman, Demeter is not presented as seriously. Both her posture and dress are more relaxed. Her expression is not as regal. These factors suggest a balancing in the perception of power between the artists and the gods. It also shows a shift in what artists were focusing on in Greek myth. Before art served to respect Demeter’s power and influence, now Demeter is presented in the midground. The nymphs are the main focus of the drawing, demonstrating a more human focused perspective is being taken. We see this again in the unnamed drawing by Giuseppe Maria Rolli. The drawing depicts Demeter cutting corn with a sickle. She is leaning forward, working with her hands opposed to just presiding over her domain. The peaceful look on the face of Demeter of Knidos is replaced by one of concentration. Showing Demeter at work is not untruthful to myth, as she is seen working in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter when she worked as a caretaker for Demophoön (Morford et al. 334). However, choosing to focus on this is a departure from depictions like Demeter of Knidos. The depiction focuses on the humanity of the gods, painting them in mortal situations, with more human body language. Representations of her power and status are absent.
Examining how people’s art is influenced by what connects them to myth can spark conversations about the relationship between power, gods, and mortals. For people in ancient Greece, art of Demeter was an important reminder about her power. Later artist interpretations are not constrained by the same relationship. The artists now hold the power and are free to interpret and be inspired by myth without the fear of repercussion from the gods. Art dedicated to Demeter highlights these different perspectives. Her art tells the story of her myth, her power and influence, and about our own shifting perception of the world.
Works Cited
Ashmole, Bernard. “Demeter of Cnidus.” The Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. 71, 1951, pp. 13–28. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/628181.
“Demeter Von Knidos”. Collection for Christian Archaeology and Ecclesiastical Art, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 2012. sammlung.theologie.uni-halle.de/demeter/?lang=de.
Hesiod. Theogony; and, Works and Days. Oxford [Oxfordshire]; New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
La Fond, Marie. “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle: Demeter.” Greek and Roman Myth. University of Washington, June 2021, https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1782337/pages/lesson-5-video-lectures?module_item_id=22454092 Accessed 20 February 2025.
Morford, Mark, et al. Classical Mythology. Available from: Oxford University Press, (12th Edition). Oxford University Press Academic US, 2023.