Torchbearer

Demeter (Δημήτηρ) Searches for Persephone with burning torches; central to the Eleusinian Mysteries

Persephone (Περσεφόνη) Associated with torches in Eleusinian iconography, particularly her return from Hades

Hekate (Ἑκάτη) Carries sacred light and guides Demeter; strongly associated with torches and passage between realms

Triptolemos (Τριπτόλεμος) Eleusinian figure associated with Demeter's sacred mission; torches occur in his iconographic context

Medea (Μήδεια) priestess of Hekate, Carries torches while riding her serpent chariot.

The Δᾳδοῦχος (Dadouchos) was the priestly torchbearer who handled sacred illumination during the mysteries, but the carved crossed torches symbolize the goddesses themselves, rather than exclusively his office.

Eleusis

Demeter: Explicitly carries burning torches in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter (lines 48–50), searching for Persephone.

Persephone: Depicted holding torches in Eleusinian art, often in connection with her return from Hades and her role alongside Demeter in the mysteries.

Hekate is also a torchbearer, explicitly described in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter (line 52) as holding light in her hands.

Ceres

Roman Republican denarius - M. Volteius M.f., Crawford 385/3.

• Obverse: Liber (Bacchus), wearing an ivy wreath.
• Reverse: Ceres holding two burning torches, riding a chariot drawn by two serpents.
• Date: Approximately 78–75 BCE.

The coin is documented in the Museums Victoria collection, inventory NU 2293