Piazzi named Ceres after the Roman goddess of grain and patron goddess of Sicily, thereby starting a tradition that continues to the this day: asteroids are named by their discoverers (in contrast to comets, which are named for their discoverers).
In Roman mythology, Ceres was the goddess of growing plants (particularly cereals) and of motherly love. She was the daughter of Saturn and Ops, wife-sister of Jupiter, mother of Proserpina by Jupiter and sister of Juno, Vesta, Neptune and Pluto. She was also patron of Enna, Sicily.
Ceres