ABSTRACT
One goddess cult of ancient Greece that belonged to the great mystery religions, and was particularly popular with women, though not exclusively so, was that of Demeter. The mysteries of this great cult were celebrated by Athenians at Eleusis as well as in the ancient Greek colonies of, for example, and southern Italy. This religion remained limited, in the main, to the religious experience of Greeks and Greek colonists possibly because the central myth and ritual of the cult reflected so closely the lives and expectations of women in Greek society. This feature is illustrated by the Homeric Hymn to Demeter composed most probably in the later seventh or early sixth century BCE at Eleusis which describes a young girl’s journey from puberty to womanhood.
