Thesmophoria was a
festival held in
Greek cities, in honor of the goddesses
Demeter and her daughter
Persephone. The name derives from
thesmoi, or laws by which men must work the land. The Thesmophoria were the most widespread festivals and the main expression of the cult of Demeter, aside from the
Eleusinian Mysteries. The Thesmophoria commemorated the third of the year when Demeter abstained from her role of goddess of the harvest and growth; spending the harsh summer months of Greece, when vegetation dies and lacks rain, in mourning for her daughter who was in the realm of the
Underworld. Their distinctive feature was the sacrifice of pigs.