In antiquity, two large Caryatids from the Lesser Propylaea adorned the sanctuary of the Greek goddess of agriculture Demeter at Eleusis in Greece as architectural support taking the place of columns. Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire, one of the Caryatids was dubbed Saint Demetra by the locals and worshipped as patron saint of agriculture and crops. The Caryatid was removed from Eleusis in 1801 by Englishman Edward Daniel Clarke, who later donated it to the University of Cambridge; it remains on display in the Fitzwilliam Museum.

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although Demeter is mostly known as a grain goddess, she also appeared as a goddess of health, birth, and marriage, and had connections to the Underworld. She is also called Deo. In Greek tradition, Demeter is the second child of the Titans Rhea and Cronus, and sister to Hestia, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. Like her other siblings except Zeus, she was swallowed by her father as an infant and rescued by Zeus.