From Myth to Cult: Demeter, Persephone and the Thesmophoria
The topic of my poster is ‘From Myth to Cult: Demeter, Persephone and the Thesmophoria’, which presents the journey of a story from mythical events to ritualistic cult.
Due to the fact that there are actually two topics closely connected to each other I chose to part the focus of the poster in two parts, the myth of Demeter and Persephone and the Thesmophoria, although still showing the similarities between them. For the myth part, in the first column I portrayed the storyline of the legend, while in the second column I listed the key features of the story, with their corresponding significance. However, for the Thesmophoria part, in order to display the connection between the two parts, I listed in the first column the key features of the cult, which are almost identical as the myth’s features. For the second column I presented the Thesmophoria festival and cult and its significance to the women that were part of it. In the overview I chose to display the importance of both the myth and the cult for the Athenian and Greek society. Additionally, the table at the bottom of the poster portrays the daily program of the Thesmophoria festival with its mythical counterpart, through it trying to bring to life the importance of the three days.
For the visual part of the poster, for the background of the poster and the columns I decided to use light shades of gold and orange to symbolise grain and harvest as well as to highlight femininity. For the top left corner I chose to display a map of Ancient Greece in order to indicate the part of the world where the myth and the cult were highly regarded. For the part of the poster dedicated to the myth I attached figure number two which depicts the return of Persephone to her mother by Hades. In my opinion this picture reveals the strength of the relationship between a mother and her daughter even in the ancient Greek society where men were in control. For the part dedicated to the Thesmophoria I chose a picture that portrays a young woman at the festival throwing a piglet into a crevice, later to be retrieved by appointed ‘bailer’ women. This ritual, considered one of the most important parts of the festival, was performed in order to recreate the descent and ascent of Persephone from the underworld. Additionally, for the purpose of putting the emphasis on the crucial role that women played in agricultural procreation by performing these rituals, I decided to add on both sides of the poster images of wheat that symbolise fertility of the land.
Both the myth and the Thesmophoria represent a major part in ancient Greek society. While the myth was deeply rooted in Greek identity, the festival and cult were significant for both the general population and, more importantly, for the female community.
