She was usually portrayed robed, carrying a sheaf of grain and smiling with the " Archaic smile " of the Kore of Antenor. The Romans called her Proserpina. She was an innocent goddess who was abducted by Hades while she picked flowers in a field with Nymphs , at the behest of Zeus who advised and helped Hades kidnap Persephone.
Demeter searched everywhere for her daughter for nine days, until she was informed by Helios of what happened. Cries from the mortals' hunger forced the gods who heard their anguish to confront Zeus and Demeter. With Demeter telling them she would not give life to the crops and vegetation unless her daughter was returned, Zeus asked Hades to return Persephone, sending Hermes to retrieve her. Demeter begins to mourn that her daughter is going to Hades which creates Autumn, she griefs which creates winter, she is happy to have her daughter back which creates spring and finally she enjoys her daughter on earth which creates summer.
Some stories claim that Persephone never loved Hades, but a more popular story states that Persephone ended up falling for Hades and in one story, Proserpina Persephone turned the nymph Minthe into a plant out of jealousy and anger for the poor nymph that tried to seduce Pluto Hades. However, this never occurred in Ancient Greek mythology.
Persephone was the Queen of the Underworld and was the one responsible for orchestrating the events throughout the game. She had become bitter from caring over the fallen as well as her forced marriage with Hades and allied herself with the Dream God Morpheus and the mighty Titan Atlas , in hopes of destroying the world along with herself.
While chasing his deceased daughter, Calliope , in the Underworld, Kratos, the gods' servant, was met by Persephone and demanded to see his daughter. Persephone explained to Kratos that if he were to see his daughter, who fled to the Elysium Fields, he would need to prove himself worthy by giving up his power and weapons. Only then would he be granted passage into the Elysium Fields as well.
As he finally reunited with his daughter, Kratos realized he had been tricked by Persephone when she revealed her plot to destroy the world. Slowly, gently night unfurls its splendor Grasp it, sense it, tremulous and tender Turn your face away from the garish light of day Turn your thoughts away from cold, unfeeling light And listen to the music of the night. The plea of Hades to Persephone is quite different in the Hymn, but the desperate loneliness of the two males in their dark realms is something that they have in common.
This again shows how significant the myth of Demeter and Persephone was in the lives of women and girls in Greek antiquity. Portsmouth Climate Festival — Portsmouth, Portsmouth. Edition: Available editions United Kingdom. Become an author Sign up as a reader Sign in. Wikimedia Commons. Chris Mackie , La Trobe University. Ancient Greece Greek mythology Zeus Greek gods. Hera, as the goddess of marriage, wanted a husband who would honor his vows, but Zeus was nothing if not the playboy go constantly seducing anyone that crossed his fancy.
Meanwhile, Hades was loyal to Persephone and never loved another. Additionally, throughout the mythologies, Zeus and Hera were constantly fighting with each other while Hades and Persephone were always noted to live happily together.
Not many other gods or goddesses were capable of such feats. Though a maiden goddess, zealously defended by her mother for a long time, Persephone did eventually have two children, a daughter named Melinoe and a son called Zagreus. Melione , also called Melaina, was the goddess of ghosts and spirits.
She was said to bring nightmares to whomever she visits. Most ancient sources stated that she was conceived by Persephone and Hades. However, some stories claimed that she was created after Zeus, disguised as Hades, visited Persephone.
His birth was the result of a tryst between the goddess Persephone and Zeus when the god disguised himself as a serpent and seduced the Queen of the Underworld. Once he was born, Zeus placed Zagreus on the throne of heaven and gave the child his lightning bolts, unknowing that the Titanes would trick and dismember the boy once Hera poisoned their minds against him. Because she was the Goddess of Spring, Persephone was often associated with many spring-themed symbols.
Wreaths of flowers, reeds, lilies, and precious gems were all associated with her in various forms. Any form of vegetation, animal, or even scent representing new life was related to Persephone in some way or another because it was only upon her return to Earth that life could go on each year. Asphodelus is a type of flower that grows across Europe and the Middle East, though it can be found in other places. It was associated with Persephone because, in Greek mythology , it was the flower of the dead and the Underworld.
The other girls had not seen anything because everything happened very quickly. They didn't have a clue for the sudden disappearance of Persephone.
The whole incident, however, had been witnessed by Zeus, father of the maiden and brother of the abductor, as well as by Helios, god of the Sun.
Zeus decided to keep silent about the whole thing to prevent a fight with his brother while Helios wisely thought it better not to get involved in anything that didn't concern him. A distraught and heartbroken Demeter wandered the earth looking for her daughter until her good friend Hecate, goddess of wilderness and childbirth, advised her to seek for the help of Helios, the all-seeing Sun god, in order to find her daughter.
Helios felt sorry for Demeter, who was crying and pleading him to help her. Thus she revealed her that Persephone had been kidnapped by Hades. When she heard that, Demeter got angry and wanted to take revenge but Helios suggested that it was not such a bad thing for Persephone to be the wife of Hades and queen of the dead.
Demeter, however, could not let it gone. She was furious at this insult and deeply believed that Hades, who after all had only dead people for company, was not the right husband for her sweet daughter. She also got angry at Zeus for not having revealed this to her. To punish gods and to grief, Demeter decided to take a long and indefinite leave from her duties as the goddess of harvest and fertility, with devastating consequences.
The earth began to dry up,harvests failed, plants lost their fruitfulness, animals were dying for lack of food and famine spread to the whole earth, resulting in untold misery.
The cries of the people who were suffering reached Olympus and the divine ears of Zeus. The mighty god finally realized that if he wouldn't do something about his wife's wrath, all humanity would disappear. Thus he tried to find another solution to both calm Demeter and please Hades. He promised Demeter to restore Persephone to her if it can be proved that the maiden stays with Hades against her will.
Otherwise, Persephone belongs to her husband.
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