In ancient times, our ancestors believed in the existence of higher forces that control the elements, nature, productivity and other life phenomena. Giving these forces a human appearance and giving them names, people tried to propitiate the gods so that they were favorable to them.
Since then everyone lived off farming, and the result of their work depended entirely on weather conditions and the "grace of the gods", ancient people often turned to heavenly and underground deities with prayers and gifts, so that they, in turn, took pity on mortals and gave them a bountiful harvest. That is precisely what the goddess of fertility directed her powers to.
Each nation at first had its own goddesses, but later the
Greek religion had a great influence on many
. By intertwining various religions and legends, people began to identify their idols with the Greek, creating new myths, substituting their names for analogues of Greek, Etruscan and other deities. So, among the Slavs, the
goddess of fertility, spring, life and birth was called Alive. She controlled the life-giving forces of nature, spring waters, young shoots, and also patronized young virgins and young wives.
Among the Greeks, the goddess of fertility and agriculture was called Demeter, which means “mother earth”. In rituals, she was called by different names, such as Chloe (sowing, foliage), Karpofora (fruitful), etc. Demeter was a great female goddess who gave fruitful power to people, animals and the earth. It was believed that she loved people, helped them in their work, taught crops and plowing, and filled their barns with supplies.
Ceres is the Roman goddess of fertility, which corresponds to Demeter. She is responsible for the growth of cereals, the
productive forces of the earth and the Underworld. Ceres manages the
change of seasons and the sequence of agricultural work, is the keeper of the villages, their inhabitants and the harvest. In addition, she is also the goddess of marriage and motherhood. In general, the image of Ceres can be called collective, because due to the ingenuity and patronage of the laws, it can be compared with the goddesses Uni and Minerva, the defenders of the tsarist government and crafts.
Akkadian mythology highlights Ishtar as the main female deity. This is the goddess of fertility, war, carnal love personifies the
planet Venus. Without it, love, plant and animal life disappear on earth. Ishtar in West Semitic mythology reflects Astarte, and in Sumerian it is called Inanna.
Ancient Egypt revered Isis, who was the embodiment of fidelity, motherhood, fertility, mistress of the elements of wind and water. She was portrayed as a woman with cow horns on her head.
As you can see, all the goddesses mentioned have the features of the Great Mother, and therefore to find the primary source of belief and understand the cause of cult differences is not easy. However, it is safe to say that the goddess of fertility was revered among all nations, holidays and rituals with sacrifices were held in her honor, temples were erected for her by architects, and beautiful statues were created by sculptors - masterpieces of art.