Demeter in Mourning

Demeter, goddess of grain, appears in this Parthenon frieze (447–438 BC) mourning her daughter Persephone’s abduction. Seated with a missing hand once raised to her chin, she embodies classical expressions of grief. Her torch symbolizes the search for Persephone. Although the frieze depicts the Panathenaic procession—Athens’ great civic festival for Athena—its inclusion of gods like Demeter links divine presence to the city’s ritual identity.