Greek Myth: The Rise Of Persephone

In the myth “Persephone”, as retold by Anne Terry White, Hades falls instantly in love with the Goddess of harvest and takes her to the underworld with him. Have is all the sudden alarmed by the heaven, fire breathing beasts that had been buried underground, so he comes up to the land. Anthradite, Goddess of love, spots Hades and commands her son, Eros, to shoot with an arrow of love, hoping it would make Hades release the beasts kindly. Hades suddenly gets shot and his heart slowly begins to soften. Suddenly, in the distance, Hades sees Persephone, goddess of harvest, gracefully working in the meadows and he instantly falls in love with her. As a result, he decides to practically kidnap he and takes her down to the underworld with him.

The Rape of Persephone began as a simple story of peace and unchanging atmosphere. Demeter, goddess of the earth, agriculture and fertility in general, withheld her gifts from the earth in an act of isolation and depression once she lost Persephone. Before tragedy struck, she was loved by all for providing a climate for crops to flourish year round.Persephone held the sweetest disposition and was admired by all who knew her- including the God of the dead, Hades. However, unbenounced to her and her mother, her father Zeus had agreed to the turmoil that would soon ensue. As Persephone quested for the most enchanting flower, Hades, “the lord of the dark underworld, the king of the multitudinous dead, carried her off underneath the earth, driving a

“Go in peace” she replied, “and be happy in your daughter; I have lost mine.” (Bulfinch’s Mythology, pg 54, para 1). The farmer and his daughter sat with Demeter and cried with her. They invited her to stay for the night and introduced her to the sick son of the farmer. Demeter healed the boy and tried to make him immortal, but was stopped by the farmer’s wife. Demeter left the farm still searching for Persephone. Demeter came across a river nymph that knew what happened to Persephone. She dared not to tell, because she fears Hades. The nymph did give Demeter the girdle that Persephone dropped. Demeter sure her daughter was dead blamed the earth. Blaming the earth Demeter stopped fertilizing the land. The cattle died, the crops weren’t growing, there was too much sun and rain. Seeing this the nymph told the goddess what she saw. The goddess Demeter heard this and rode her chariot to meet Zeus. Zeus agreed to help,

Demeter is Persephone's mother and wanted her back. Persephone had eaten a pomegranate seed, anyone who ate food in the underworld could not go entirely back to the world of the living. Hades had a interesting family because his wife was his niece, not that he cared.

Hades manipulates Persephone before he lets her go by forcing her to eat a seed of the pomegranate, which causes an eternal bond with her and the underworld. Due to this she is only able to leave the underworld for a short period of time and then must come back. The portrayal of male dominance within this narrative gives us insight into the way of life found in ancient Greece. Although Demeter gained her daughter back in part, she does not fully reverse the arrangement by Zeus and Hades. The myth continues even in its conclusion to illustrate the battle of the sexes which is a theme of this hymn.

The Homeric Hymn to Demeter addresses the fate of Persephone is in the hands of others and is removed from freedom of choice as she is portrayed as a minor. In effect, it is symbolic of the power family holds as the actions of her mother, her father Zeus and her husband Hades determine her path. The text accustoms nickname Persephone throughout the passage as the ‘Core’, the ‘Girl’, or ‘Virgin’. These nicknames assume her role as an underage girl not responsible for her life decisions. The Hymn begins with highlighting the role of the patriarch in a family Zeus as both the head of the family and the other gods who must defer to him as he arranges Hades to take Persephone against her will. As Demeter struggles with the mourn and loss of her child she begins to abandon her reproduction responsibilities and Persephone is ordered to go to the side of your dark robed mother. However, Hades persuades Persephone to eat pomegranate seeds, representing the loss of her innocence as it spiritually bounds her to Hades. Zeus accustomed to be acknowledges as the father of justice and good government rectifies the issue with the arrangement that Persephone remains with Hades however returns to her mother and the Gods for 2 thirds of the year. The Fate of Persephone portrays the common marriage cycle that pertained in Ancient Greece whereby it held the connotation of death for the maiden and submission and adaptation into their Fathers orders.

Together, the two patriarchal figures conspire to kidnap and force Persephone to marry Hades. This is done behind Demeter’s back, intentionally removing her from her role as mother. Their actions directly diminish or outright remove the will of Demeter, a symbol of women in Greek culture (The Homeric Hymn to Demeter 29-30). This theme of a removal of female autonomy is mirrored later in the text when Hades tricks Persephone into eating pomegranate seeds. This action is a deliberate attempt to remove Persephone’s ability to choose for herself, condemning her to spend the winter months in the underworld with him. Not only does this subjugate Persephone to Hades’ will, but it also lends justification to the subjugation of women by men (372-400). By removing the sovereignty of the female mind, the myth promotes male authority.

In the reading from “The ‘Theology’ of the Mysteries,” in The Homer Hymn to Demeter Foley states how Demeter and Persephone create a new relationship between earth, Olympus, and Hades as a result of their deep engagement in human existence. The narration of the hymn seems to occur in both the divine and human spheres, bringing the gods and mortals together through the intersection of their experience that results in the Mysteries. Demeter and Persephone divinity becomes embedded with mortal struggles on the issues of marriage, sacrifice, death, and agriculture. After the abduction of Persephone, Demeter becomes consumed in her powerlessness and ignorance, characteristics of the human condition, and attempts to seek revenge while refusing to eat.

     Hades is one of the brothers of Zeus. He is the unlucky one who got to rule the underworld. He is cruel and unforgiving. Only two have ever gone to Hades domain and returned, Hercules and Odysseus. Hades fell in love with Zeus’s daughter and devised a plan to abduct her. With Zeus’s help they succeeded in the capture of Persephone. Her mother Demeter was so enraged she cursed the Earth. She continued the curse even after she was released. It was only after her mother Rhea was allowed to see her that she let the Earth prosper (message).

This passage is related to the myth of Persephone because it also involves two people who want different things. Similarly, Atticus wants his kids to have a happy independent childhood and not dictate how they should behave, but Aunt Alexandra has a different opinion for her niece and nephew. Aunt Alexandra wants her niece and nephew to be a little lady and gentleman. In the myth Persephone two gods, Demeter and Hades, both wanted Persephone to live with them. Persephone was Demeter’s daughter and Persephone was Hades’ wife.

In the Greek myth “Demeter” retold by Bernard Evslin Demeter and Zeus both have different parenting ways towards Persephone. Persephone was raised living with Demeter, her mother, and Zeus her father. One day Persephone was out naming the flowers and she pulled on a bush that a man came out of and pulled her down to Hades. Zeus had made a deal with Hades and Persephone was supposed to be with him. Demeter got extremely angry that Persephone was gone and with Hades, so she stopped the plants from growing till Zeus returned Persephone.

The myth about Persephone was about how she became the rightful queen of the underworld and the wife of Hades. During the six months that Persephone was not with her mother that she spent in the underworld her mother was sad and depressed and did not want to deal with harvesting for others, therefore, she would leave the world to decline(Greeka). According to the Ancient Greeks, these were the months of autumn and winter, for when the land is not fertile and crops will not grow(Greeka).But when Persephone was living with her mother at Olympus she would be happy and the land would be fertile and fruitful again. During that time, that is considered to be known as spring and summer. So, in conclusion, the myth about Persephone was created to better explain and understand the seasons and the cycle of the death and rebirth of nature. Persephone is a great example of how stories can be used to share life lessons for many

Many films in the modern era have taking inspiration from Greek Mythology. Greek Mythology is a good source for script writers because it includes ancient engaging stories which relates to human life. Hence, through the anthropocentrism of myth human feelings, emotions, and philosophical ideas are expressed which can be captivating to the film audience. One of such myths is the myth of Persephone. The re-telling of this usually depicts Persephone with her counterpart, Hades, the God of the underworld, who had an infatuation with her. Per Hesiod, he kidnapped whilst playing in a meadow and brought her to the underworld to be the Queen. Demeter’s, Persephone’s mother, quest to save her

When Hades took Persephone away to the Underworld, Demeter was filled with sorrow. She started to neglect her duties as a god.(Menelaos, 12) As a result, the crops stopped growing and there was a famine and drought. This began to worry Zeus. He sent a plea to Hades to release Persephone. They reach an agreement.

Innocence, desire, and obsession are all facets in the story of Persephone and Hades. The arranged abduction broke a divine mother’s heart enough to affect the course of life on Earth forever. Persephone, or commonly called Kore meaning “the maiden,” was sought after by Hades, ruler of the underworld (Persephone 1). Hades enlisted Zeus’s help to abduct his daughter with Demeter, Persephone. Those events would become known as The Abduction of Persephone. This myth would become one of the most iconic and widely known in Greek history because it would explain one of earth’s most important cycles, reinforce the idea that the gods and goddesses have control of the earth, and fostered an agrarian cult’s religious rites.