In ancient Roman religion, '''Ceres''' was a goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships. She was originally the central deity in Rome's so-called plebeian or Aventine Triad, then was paired with her daughter Proserpina in what Romans described as "the Greek rites of Ceres". Her seven-day April festival of Cerealia included the popular Ludi Ceriales (Ceres' games). She was also honoured in the May lustration (lustratio) of the fields at the Ambarvalia festival: at harvesttime: and during Roman marriages and funeral rites. She is usually depicted as a mature woman.

Ceres is the only one of Rome's many agricultural deities to be listed among the Dii Consentes, Rome's equivalent to the Twelve Olympians of Greek mythology. The Romans saw her as the counterpart of the Greek goddess Demeter, whose mythology was reinterpreted for Ceres in Roman art and literature.

The complex and multi-layered origins of the Aventine Triad and Ceres herself allowed multiple interpretations of their relationships, beyond the humanised pattern of relations within the Triad; while Cicero asserts Ceres as mother to both Liber and Libera, consistent with her role as a mothering deity, Varro's more complex theology groups her functionally with Tellus, Terra, Venus (and thus Victoria) and with Libera as a female aspect of Liber. No native Roman myths of Ceres are known. According to interpretatio romana, by which Roman deities were identified with their Greek counterparts, she was an equivalent to Demeter, one of the Twelve Olympians of Greek religion and mythology; this made Ceres one of Rome's twelve Di Consentes, daughter of Saturn and Ops, sister of Jupiter, mother of Proserpina by Jupiter and sister of Juno, Vesta, Neptune and Dis. Ceres' known mythology is indistinguishable from Demeter's.

Ovid likens Ceres' devotion to her own offspring to that of a cow to its calf; but she is also the originator of bloody animal sacrifice, a necessity in the renewal of life. She has a particular enmity towards her own sacrificial animal, the pig. Pigs offend her by their destructive rooting-up of field crops under her protection; and in the myth of Proserpina's abduction on the plains of Henna (Enna), her tracks were obscured by their trampling. If not for them, Ceres might have been spared the toils and grief of her lengthy search and separation, and humankind would have been spared the consequent famine. The myth is also a reminder that the gift of agriculture is a contract, and comes at a price. It brings well-being but also mortality. Enna, in Sicily, had strong mythological connections with Ceres and Proserpina, and was the site of Ceres most ancient sanctuary. Flowers were said to bloom throughout the year on its "miraculous plain".

Ceres is worshiped either alone or in association with the earth goddess Tellus. At an early date her cult was overlaid by that of Demeter (q.v.), who was widely worshiped in Sicily and Magna Graecia. On the advice of the Sibylline Books, a cult of Ceres, Liber, and Libera was introduced into Rome (according to tradition, in 496 bc) to check a famine. The temple, built on the Aventine Hill in 493 bc, became a centre of plebeian religious and political activities and also became known for the splendour of its works of art. Destroyed by fire in 31 bc, it was restored by Augustus. The three chief festivals of Ceres’ cult all followed Greek lines.

All published appearances of Ceres from before January 1, )-(95)}} are public domain in the US.

Notable appearances are listed below:

* De Mulieribus Claris
* The Brothers Karamazov: A misanthropic poem recited by Dmitri (part 1, Book 3, chapter 3) reflects on Ceres' heartbroken search for her lost daughter, and her encounter with the worst and most degraded of humanity.
* “The Queen of the Underworld,” by Charles H. Sylvester (1909)

* William Shakespeare's The Tempest: Ceres appears briefly to bless the wedding of Ferdinand and Miranda, in a masque at the ending.
* The Trojans by Hector Berlioz: An aria in praise of Ceres is sung in Act 4 of the opera.

* In 1801, a newly discovered dwarf planet or asteroid was named after her. Two years later, the newly discovered element Cerium was named after the dwarf planet.

Demeter MKL1888.png|Fresco depicting Ceres (Demeter), found in Pompeii in the Casa del Naviglio, now in the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.

* Wikipedia
* [https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blaschke_-_Ceres_in_search_of_Proserpina_-_1786.jpg Wikimedia Commons]
* [https://comicvine.gamespot.com/ceres/4005-19847/ Comicvine]
* Myths in Media Wiki
* Myth & Folklore Wiki
* [https://www.giantbomb.com/ceres/3005-48596/ GiantBomb]
* Religion Wiki
* Gacha Games Wiki
* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ceres-Roman-goddess Britannica]
* DC Wiki
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