As you know, the pagan Greek pantheon included 12 gods. Persephone is the goddess of the kingdom of the dead. According to legend, she is forced to spend a third of the year underground, with her husband Hades, and two-thirds on the ground, with her mother Demeter. Further in the article we will examine in detail who Persephone is and what myths exist about her.
Birth of Persephone
Unfortunately, Greek mythology is very stingy in explaining how, in fact, this goddess was born. It is only known that she is the daughter of Zeus himself and the goddess Demeter. Persephone was their only child. About why and how a love relationship arose between the two gods, the myth is not mentioned. It is only known that Zeus seduced his older sister, turning into a snake. Persephone mother was revered by the Greeks as the patroness of farmers. Demeter is the goddess of fertility, plowmen and reapers. According to mythology, she was the daughter of Rhea and Kronos. Like all children of this formidable god, she was once swallowed by him, and then removed. In Roman mythology, Ceres corresponds to her, also considered the goddess of fertility.
Hades Abduction
Persephone was a very beautiful and cheerful girl. Once she was noticed by her native, half-mad uncle - the god of the underworld Hades. Once, the unsuspecting Persephone walked in the meadow with her friends, having fun and picking flowers. Suddenly a chariot drawn by four horses rode out of one crevice in the ground. Hades himself ruled it. Of course, the weak girl could not do anything and was taken to the realm of darkness and death, where she was to become the wife of an underground god. According to the myth, her grief knew no bounds. The abduction of Persephone (previously called Bark) was approved by Zeus himself.
Scientists have found many ancient Greek artifacts with drawings in which the abduction of Persephone by Hades is presented in full detail. This story is also described in the Homeric "Anthem of Demeter." And in our time, this interesting myth often attracts the attention of artists, musicians and poets.
The appeal of Demeter to Zeus
Persephone’s mother, of course, could not accept the loss of her daughter. Inconsolable, she turned to Zeus himself with a request to return Persephone. The Supreme God was touched by the tears of Demeter, and he ordered Hermes to descend into the kingdom of Hades and take away the young goddess. However, the cunning god of the dead, before releasing Persephone, suggested that she eat a few pomegranate seeds. Apparently, the young goddess was not so upset, because she did not refuse. So the old god of the underworld received a guarantee that Persephone he liked would return to him herself. So it subsequently happened.
Goddess return
Finally, Demeter and Persephone met. Suspecting Aida in treachery, the mother asked her daughter about whether she had eaten anything in the underworld. The young goddess had to admit that she was seduced by pomegranate seeds. However, while Persephone lied, saying that Hades forced her to eat them by force. We add that pomegranate grains in Greece are considered a symbol of marital fidelity. According to legend, the first grenade was planted by Aphrodite on the Greek island of Crete.
Demeter realized that her daughter had not returned to her forever. So, having eaten pomegranate seeds of Persephone, she is forced to spend two-thirds of the year with her mother, and one-third with Hades. However, Greek legends describing the exploits of heroes and the deeds of the gods associated with the underworld never describe his goddess of mourning or sadness. Rather, she is represented in them by the sovereign mistress of this gloomy place. Becoming the wife of Hades, Persephone no longer appears as a young girl, but as a young, strict and at the same time loyal to the living woman goddess.
Goddess in the starry sky
Some sources say that, returning from the kingdom of Hades, Persephone - the goddess of the underworld - sometimes rises to heaven in the form of the constellation Virgo. She does this so that her bored mother can see her from everywhere. There are also legends according to which the constellation Virgo is associated with Demeter herself.
Symbolism of Myth
Of course, Persephone (the Greek goddess), or rather the myth of her, symbolizes nothing more than a change of seasons. Two thirds of the year in warm Greece, summer reigns, one third - winter. When Hades abducted Persephone, her mother in grief ceased to fulfill her duties. As a result, grass and trees stopped growing, animals had nothing to eat, and a terrible famine happened on the ground. When Zeus returned Demeter to her young daughter, the joy of the goddess taught the agricultural crafts a whole detachment of all kinds of heroes. After that, she turned from a hypothetical goddess of fertility into the goddess of a particular stratum of Greek society engaged in the cultivation of fields.
If we talk about archetypes, then the pair of Demeter and Persephone is a single mother-daughter scheme in which the latter is too close to the first and is in a position dependent on it. Persephone herself acts simultaneously as a symbol of a woman-child (Cora), spring (return from the kingdom of Hades) and a guide to the world of the dead.
Persephone in the work of the ancient Greeks
Persephone is the goddess that is mentioned in many myths of this ancient country. For example, it was Persephone, who was touched by the mountain of Orpheus and his beautiful music, who released Eurydice from the kingdom of the dead. However, the last sunlight was never seen, and it was through the fault of her beloved. According to legend, Orpheus was given the condition not to look back when leaving the kingdom of death. However, he could not resist the temptation.
Describes Persephone and in the "Odyssey" of Homer. The protagonist of this epic also once descended to the underworld, where his mistress showed him the souls of dead righteous women.
Another myth tells how Persephone - the goddess of the underworld - competed with Aphrodite for the love of Adonis. The latter was an ordinary mortal, but a very handsome young man. The most beautiful goddess in the pantheon put him in a basket and sent Persephone to hide it. Seeing Adonis and falling in love, the goddess of the underworld refused to give him back to Aphrodite flatly. This argument lasted a long time. Allowed he was Zeus. By his decree, Adonis was forced to spend a third of the year with Persephone, a third with Aphrodite, and the rest of the time was left to his own devices.
In one of Persephone's myths - the goddess of the underworld - appears also as a formidable jealous wife. Aida's mistress, nymph Mint, she turns into a plant (mint). The nymph of the river Kokid (Kokitida) for the same reason was trampled by her to death. Meanwhile, according to mythology, Persephone herself had two official lovers - Dionysus and Adonis.
The roots of the myth
Persephone - the goddess (judging even by name) was originally not Greek. The myth about her was not invented at all in this country. It is believed that he was borrowed from the settlers of the Balkans, where he was popular in the Mycenaean era.
Compliance in Roman Mythology
A myth similar to the abduction of Persephone by Hades exists among the ancient Romans. In it, this goddess corresponds to Proserpine. She was also the daughter of the fertility goddess, whose name was Ceres. Stole her god of the kingdom of the kingdom - Pluto. Like Persephone, Proserpine is forced to spend a third of the year in his kingdom because of the pomegranate seeds that were once eaten.
So you now know who Persephone is. This is a young goddess abducted by Hades and became his wife. The myths telling about it are eventful and very interesting.