While the word mētēr nestles at the very heart of her name, Demeter also receives a whole series of epithets that make up her onomastic landscape, whether in poetry or prose, in texts from the manuscript tradition or in inscriptions. Yet this type of attribute is a powerful tool for classifying divine skills, ritual addresses that use them to achieve their purpose, and the networking of divine figures according to context. A systematic analysis of the lists of onomastic attributes of Demeter in all types of texts from the Archaic and Classical periods supports the profile of the goddess as " cereal farmer ", provider of the fruits of the earth and nurturer, but also as the grieving, angry mother who searches for her daughter and receives additional honors at the end of her quest.
At the heart of this landscape of names is the epithet thesmophoros, absent from hexameter poetry, but present in force in the other lists. The earliest epigraphic attestations date back to the end of the 6th century, in Géla, Sicily, and Arcadia. In addition, the name of the month formed on the name of the Thesmophoria festival is attested in Asia Minor and Crete, while new inscriptions enrich some of the hitherto fragmentary calendars with this name. Herodotus'Enquiry is an equally fertile reservoir of attestations, as he attributes the origin of the Thesmophoria to readings given by the Danaids from Egypt to the wives of the Pelasges (II, 171), thus enriching the imaginary festival with the violent past of murderous wives. The Investigator also delivers a series of anecdotes rooted in the Median wars, in which Demeter, and particularly Thesmophoros, plays a significant role. The episode of the siege of the island of Paros by the Athenian Miltiades (VI, 134-135) is a particularly interesting development, as it provides an insight into certain aspects of the sanctuary and its ritual prohibitions. The importance of the sanctuary of Demeter in Paros - already sung by theHomeric Hymn to Demeter - is confirmed by the cult data surrounding the Thesmophoros in Thasos, a city founded by Parians. It's no coincidence that Polygnotus of Thasos, painting a descent into the underworld at Delphi, opened his fresco on Charon's boat carrying Kleoboia, a Parian woman holding a Demetriac casket on her lap. This signature " thasienne " attests that in the middle of the5th century BC, Demeter's orgia were associated with the first moments of the city's foundation.
