Comparison Between Isis And Osiris And Hymn To Demeter In Goddesses And Culture In Mythology



Comparison Between Isis And Osiris And Hymn To Demeter In Goddesses And Culture In Mythology

Demeter is considered as the goddess of agriculture in the Greek mythology. She was one of the daughters of Kronos and Rhea, the popular gods in the Greek mythology. The Greek myth of Persephone and Demeter tend to portray the traditional roles of females as the mother, wise crone and the maiden (Lemming and Page, pp. 66). A number of variations were formed related o the myths of Persephone and Demeter in the 675 to 625 B.C. Three of the versions of these myths are found in the “Myth of Isis and Osiris”, “Homeric Hymns” and the Hymn to Inanna. This paper compares the similarities and differences between the Isis and Osiris myth and the Hymn to Demeter myth with respect to the goddesses and the culture in mythology.

In Hymn to Demeter included in the Homeric Hymns, it has been identified that Demeter gave birth to Persephone who is also popular as Persephone. One day she finds a shining flower while playing outside and it was considered as a wonder for everyone who sees it (Shelmerdine, p. 34). Persephone was instantly attracted to it. Eventually, the god of the under- world named Hades came to the earth and confiscate her against her will (Shelmerdine, p. 35). Due to it, Persephone cried for help but nobody listened to her except for Helios and Hekate who listened her scream. Although they did not interfere in the matters. After sometime, Persephone was made her wife and the queen of the under- world. On the other hand, Demeter was eagerly and desperately finding her daughter Persephone and she was also mourning due to her absence. Meanwhile, the goddess Demeter confronted with Metaneira in Eleusis. In order to fill the gap that has been caused by the missing of her daughter, Demeter started to nurse the child of Metaneira named Demophoon. Demeter nurses Demophoon as a god because she was herself a goddess. She buried him like a fire- band in the force of the fire (Shelmerdine, p. 46). Eventually, Demeter again gets caught in the story and left her home to return back to her sorrows and mourning of losing her daughter (Shelmerdine, p. 49). She left the home and longed for finding her daughter again. In hymn to Demeter, the concepts of birth and death are focused. Demeter brought up the child as god but disguised herself as nursemaid. In order to make him like god, she put him n the fire to make him immortal. Metaneira catches her up and snatched him from Demeter.

The similar theme has been found in the myth of Isis and Osiris such as the myth of hymn to Demeter. Isis and Osiris tend to love each other as wife and husband (Colum, pp. 3). The brother of Osiris tends to loath him and attempted to annihilate him ...