Kore Magazine

Origin

of Persephone

The abduction of Persephone is a natural aetiological tale that originated in Ancient Greece to explain the reason behind the changing of the seasons. The story largely centres around Demeter, Goddess of agriculture and fertility, and her grief upon the abduction of her daughter, Persephone, by Hades, God of the underworld. The legend was the catalyst for the introduction of the Eleusinian Mysteries, a series of secret rituals to honour the story of Persephone and Demeter.

“Persephone was the embodiment of

youth and beauty ”

“

In this guise she encapsulatespurity and innocence

”

Kore

the maiden

The

ABDUCTION

Demeter’s daughter, Persephone, was the embodiment of youth, beauty and purity. She drew the attention of many admirers, “However, Demeter had an obsessed love for her only daughter and kept all men away from her. The most persisting suitor of Persephone was Hades, the god of the Underworld. He was a hard, middle-aged man, living in the dark, among the shadows of the Dead” (“Persephone, Queen of the Underworld”, 2019).

“

Upon her approach to the flower, a chasm formed beneath her feet ”

Ultimately, Hades’ desire overwhelmed him and drove him to abduct Persephone by luring the maiden with the narcissus flower. Upon her approach to the flower, a chasm formed beneath her feet and Hades emerged with his chariot and stole her, then returned to the Underworld where no one could follow him.

White 1914). Upon the realisation of the loss of her daughter, Demeter becomes distraught and leaves Mt Olympus to search the earth for Persephone.

According to the Homeric Hymns, the Goddess “wandered over the earth with flaming torches in her hands” (Unknown, trans. Evelyn White 1914). In her grief-stricken state Demeter neglects her divine duties and causes widespread famine. After days upon days of catastrophic weather, loss of crops and severe famine, Goddess of death Hecate informed Demeter as to the whereabouts of her daughter.

Persephone “cried out shrilly, calling upon her father [Zeus]. But no one, either of the deathless gods or mortal men, heard her voice, nor yet the olivetrees bearing rich fruit: only tenderhearted Hekate (Hecate), heard the girl from her cave” (Unknown, trans. Evelyn

HADES’

DECEIT

Demeter, being unable to enter

the underworld and retrieve her daughter, “vowed that she would never set foot on fragrant Olympos nor let fruit spring out of the ground until she beheld with her eyes her own fair-faced daughter” (Unknown, trans. Evelyn White 1914). At which point, Zeus intervenes to prevent the extinction of life on earth. Zeus commands Hades to release Persephone if she wishes to return to her mother, consequently he sends Hermes the messenger God to the Underworld to rescue Persephone. However, Hades hatches a plan to trap his newfound bride in the Underworld forever by tempting her with food and drink that would cement her bond to the realm of the dead and prevent her from ever leaving. In particular, Persephone is enticed by a pomegranate and proceeds to eat 6 seeds. When Hermes arrives Hades confirms that Persephone cannot leave due to her ingestion of the pomegranate.

However, Zeus rationalises that since the Goddess only ate 6 seeds she should only reside in the Underworld for 6 months of the year. As a result, Persephone would spend half of each year with Demeter, during which life would flourish and the other half with Hades, whereby Demeter’s grief caused unpleasant weather and infertile conditions on earth. These cyclical changes became known as the seasons, whereby Summer and Spring were a result of Persephone’s time with her mother and Winter and Autumn were caused by Persephone’s time with Hades.

‘

Hades traps his newfound bride in the Underworld by tempting her with forbidden food ’

Queen

Goddess

Some versions of the myth claim that during Demeter’s search on earth for her daughter she stopped in the city of Eleusis. During which time it was said that “disguised as an old woman, she cared for the queen’s son, baptizing him nightly in fire so that he would be immortal” (Mark, 2019). However, upon finding the old nursemaid throwing her son into a fire the queen became understandably angry. At which point the elderly woman revealed her true form and demanded the city build her a temple for their insolence. This ignited the establishment of the Eleusinian mysteries. Not much is known about the rituals hence why they are mysteries, however it is thought that the story of Persephone brought hope to the people for a life beyond death unlike any of the other ancient Greek myths, which is why these rites became so significant.

As a consequence of Persephone’s ordeal, she became a dual Goddess and held the contradictory status as both the Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Underworld. Prior to Persephone, it was exceedingly rare if not impossible for people to return from the Underworld, for this reason Persephone became symbolic of rebirth, as her resurrection to the world of the living signifies the rebirth of life on earth, hence why she becomes the Goddess of Spring. Moreover, Change and duality are major themes throughout the narrative, for example the change from life to death to life, the changing seasons, and the dual characters of Demeter and Persephone. Demeter can be perceived as a dual character due to her annual role in life and death on earth. Likewise, Persephone’s duality is demonstrated in her positions as both Goddess of rebirth and queen of death. Consequently, due to the dichotomy within these characters life on earth is forced into an eternal cycle of duality.

A dramatic tale whereby an unrequited love and a mother’s sorrow lead to an eternally cyclical nature

“ ”

The myth of Persephone demonstrates strong parallels to the story of Adam and Eve, whereby female greed and temptation have major negative repercussions for humanity. Temptation is a recurrent theme throughout the narrative, the myth begins due to Hades temptation and desire to wed Persephone, and the seasons are established due to Persephone’s inability to resist her temptation of the pomegranate. Similarly to the story of Eve, a red fruit is used to symbolise temptation, desire, and the loss of an eternal paradise.

Ultimately, there are many varying versions and interpretations of the myth of Persephone and Hades. However, they all seek to explain the origin of the seasons in a dramatic tale of unrequited love and a mother’s sorrow over the abduction of her daughter. A sorrow that causes infertility upon the earth during her daughters annual time in the Underworld with Hades and rebirth during Persephone’s time with her mother. The message behind the myth reasons that the exchanging of Persephone between Demeter and Hades is the catalyst behind the cyclical nature of the seasons. Due to the popularity of the myth, it had a strong impact on Greek and Roman culture and has continued to be a significant aspect of Greek mythology to this day.