BAUBO figures in the myth of the ancient Greek goddess Demeter as the perpetrator of an obscene spectacle that causes the goddess to laugh and that marks the end of her long period of mourning. The myth of Demeter tells of her inconsolable grief at the loss of her daughter Persephone (or Kore) and of her wanderings in search of her. The aged Demeter finally comes out of mourning in the town of Eleusis, where she suddenly bursts into laughter. A double tradition relates how obscene words and gestures diverted and comforted this holy mother.

In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter (192–211), it is the maiden Iambe who cheers up the goddess with dirty jokes. The hymn says nothing about the specific content of these obscenities, but the effectiveness of Iambe's words is certain. Indeed, Demeter laughs, comes out of mourning, and ends her fast by accepting and drinking...