Demeter (Greek)/Ceres (Roman)
Greek goddess of vegetation and fruitfulness of the land, also identified as Mother Earth.
Demeter was the daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Her brother was Zeus, who became the father of her daughter, Persephone. She was a very devoted mother who cared about her daughter very much. Without telling Demeter, Zeus agreed with Hades that Hades could marry Persephone. When Hades thought the time was right he came up from the underworld in his chariot and stole Persephone, bringing her back to the underworld with him. Demeter, not knowing this arrangement had been made, was very upset when she could not find her beloved daughter, so she went on a quest, searching for her. She did not eat or bathe during her search.
When Demeter had lost all hope in finding Persephone, the sun god Helius told her that Persephone was the queen of the underworld. Demeter was so upset by this news that she cast a famine over the whole world, threatening to obliterate all mankind. Zeus tried to make her sister feel better by attempting to arrange for Persephone to come and stay with her mother. In the end, it was decided that Persephone would stay with her in the spring and go back to Hades in the winter.