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Thymiaterion of Demeter

Take a closer look at this censer, preserved in the museum at the Ensérune archaeological site, which takes on the features of the goddess Demeter...

An ancient metonymy

A few examples of this type of molded ceramic incense burner, also known as a thymiaterion, are known from Languedoc and Provence. Mostly found in Iberia, they date from the 4th-2nd centuries BC.The representation of this female head wearing a basket(Kalathos or modius) is attributed to Demeter, Kore-Persephon, goddess of fertility and harvest.
Encensoir en terre cuite à l'aspect d'un buste de femme généralement identifiée comme Déméter ou Coré.
Encensoir en terre cuite à l'aspect d'un buste de femme généralement identifiée comme Déméter ou Coré.

© Laurent Lecat / Centre des monuments nationaux

Thymiaterion de Déméter
Profil du Thymiaterion de Déméter
Vue de haut trois-quart du Thymiaterion de Déméter

Daughter of the titans Cronos and Rhea, goddess mother of food, Demeter, you who taught us agriculture, do not turn away from the harvest.

So, in this incense burner in your image, burn a thousand and one prayers in your honor, so that tomorrow, Ensérune's silos, by the hundreds, will be brimming with the cereals that make it rich and prosperous!