Put off, taking yours truly to be a deity (7)
I believe the answer is:
demeter
'a deity' is the definition.
(I know that Demeter is or was a goddess)
'put off taking yours truly' is the wordplay.
'put off' becomes 'deter' (both can mean to discourage).
'taking' indicates putting letters inside.
'yours truly' becomes 'me' (the person who set this crossword).
'deter' going around 'me' is 'DEMETER'.
'to be' is the link.
(Other definitions for demeter that I've seen before include "Greek goddess of agriculture" , "Ancient Greek deity of fertility" , "Divine female" , "Greek goddess of fertility - metered (anag)" , "Olympian" .)