demeter

-MOTHER LOSES HER CHILD TO THE UNDERWORLD-
Demeter is the queen of seasons and their treasures, and also the loyal mother of Persephone who fights hard without persuasion to get her beloved daughter back when she is stolen by Hades, Zues's brother and taken to the underworld. No one can tell her anything that will keep her from retreiving her daughter from the underworld.

In the beginning of the story of Demeter, the writer proclaims he will sing, which is is an invocation of the muse. Without the muse, this story wouldn't be possible.

As the child was being kidnapped she yelled for the help of her father Zeus who was aware of the events taking place, but indifferent at the same time.

The child didn't give up hope of seeing the world above again, her Demeter was aware of her daughter's feelings, and therefore made the recovery of Persephone vital. She is so shattered by the loss of her daughter, so she leaves Mount Olympus and goes to grieve in the humans' cities and their rich fields.

With the absence of Persephone, Demeter takes a human child and watches over him making him devine by depriving him of food just as if he were a god's child. However a human woman spies on Demeter and without knowledge of her being a god, protests the acts and with that Demeter is enraged.

She sheds her rags and for a year makes the land horrible for mortals, which makes Zeus re-evaluate his decision to keep Persephone in the underworld.

In the end of the story, it is decided that Persephone will spend 2/3 of her year with her mother, and the other 1/3 with the devil, and after this "The whole wide earth was heaped wiht leaves and flowers"(line 472).
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I think this story shows that although women might be weaker than men (in mythology of course), women still play an important role on Mount Olympus in the decisions made for mortals below.