Persephone (deity)
Persephone, also known as Kore, is a significant deity in ancient Greek mythology, revered as the queen of the underworld and the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of the harvest. Her myth intricately intertwines themes of life, death, and rebirth, symbolizing the seasonal cycles of nature. Persephone's story begins when Hades, the king of the underworld, abducts her while she is gathering flowers, leading to her dual existence—spending part of the year with her husband in the underworld and the other part with her mother on earth. This cyclical journey explains the changing seasons; when Persephone is with Hades, the earth becomes cold and infertile, while her return heralds the arrival of spring and new growth.
The Eleusinian Mysteries, ancient religious rites, centered around her myth, celebrating her abduction, her mother’s search for her, and her eventual return. Persephone’s Roman counterpart is Proserpina, who embodies similar themes of fertility and rebirth. In art and literature, she is often depicted as a complex figure, transitioning from the innocent maiden to a powerful queen associated with death, highlighting the duality of her nature. Her story not only reflects agricultural cycles but also resonates with broader concepts of change and transformation in human life.
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Subject Terms
Persephone (deity)
Symbol: Pomegranate; seeds of grain; torch; deer; flowers
Culture: Greco-Roman
Mother: Demeter
Father: Zeus
Siblings: Aphrodite; Apollo; Areion; Ares; Artemis; Athena; the Charites; Dionysus; Eileithyia; Enyo; Eris; Hebe; Helen of Troy; Hephaistos; Heracles; Hermes; the Horai; the Moirai; the Muses; Perseus; Plutus
Children: Melinoe; Zagreus
Persephone is a deity from ancient Greek mythology, who is also known as Kore. She is the wife of Hades, the king of the underworld, and she serves as the queen. Persephone became one of the rulers of the underworld when Hades abducted her and brought her to his home. Due to a series of circumstances, she lived there with him for part of the year and above ground the remaining time.
Persephone is the daughter of Zeus, the king of Olympus, and Demeter, the goddess of the harvest. Persephone herself is associated with spring and the planting and growth of crops. She also is known as a vegetation goddess. When she appears, plants grow. When she disappears into the underworld, they wither and die. Her myth not only relates to the cycle of the harvest, it also connects to the themes of life, death, and rebirth.
In Mythology
The story of Persephone helped explain the changing seasons. At the beginning of the myth, it was eternally springtime in the world. One day, a young maiden named Persephone was out gathering flowers in a field. Eros decided to play a prank and shoot one of his arrows at the first person to appear, making him fall in love with her. Hades, the king of the underworld, soon arrived, riding on a chariot on a rare trip to the surface of the earth. Struck by Eros’s arrow, he became taken with Persephone’s beauty and instantly fell in love. In other versions of the story, Persephone was wandering by herself through the field when she encountered Hades. Her beauty alone was enough to ensnare him, without the aid of Eros’s arrow.
Hades decided to claim Persephone as his bride. He kidnapped her, and brought her to the underworld to live with him. Upon discovering the loss of her daughter, the harvest goddess Demeter became distraught. She stopped tending to the earth. The ground became cold and infertile as a result. Nothing grew, and the humans suffered from a great famine.
Zeus decided this could not continue. He knew the only way to resolve the problem was to find Persephone and return the girl to her mother. Helios, the personification of the Sun, had seen the abduction take place. Some versions of the story indicate that Hecate, the personification of the moon, also witnessed Persephone’s kidnapping. Helios told Zeus that the missing girl was in the underworld. So the king of Olympus sent his messenger Hermes to rescue her.
Hades met with Hermes and reluctantly agreed to allow Persephone to leave. However, he gave the young maiden a pomegranate as a parting gift. As she consumed the seeds of the fruit, it bound her to the underworld forever. Zeus negotiated a compromise that allowed Persephone to live with Hades part of the year and with her mother the rest of the time. During the months that Persephone was away in the underworld, Demeter was overcome with sadness. She made the ground infertile and winter began. When her daughter returned from the underworld, the air became warmer, soil became fertile, and crops could grow once more.
During her months living with Hades, Persephone was feared as the queen of the underworld. In this role, she placed curses on the souls of the dead. This depiction of an older Persephone stands in contrast to her younger, more innocent self. It reflects the dichotomy between life and death, winter and spring, which her story represents. In some versions of the myth, the younger version of the goddess goes by the name Kore, while the older version is known as Persephone.
Origins & Cults
The myth of Persephone and her mother Demeter originates with the Eleusinian Mysteries, named after the ancient town Eleusis. The mysteries were a set of secret rites held by an agriculturally based cult that dated back to the Mycenean period (1600–1000 BCE). These rites were used to tell the three parts of Persephone’s story: her abduction by Hades, the search for her, and Persephone’s eventual return to her mother. Each year, the rites, or mysteries, were held when it was time to plant crops. Those who were initiated into the cult believed the mysteries would not only provide a bountiful harvest, they would also grant rewards in the afterlife.
Persephone’s Roman counterpart is named Proserpina or Proserpine, which means "to emerge." She represents the growth of grain and its emergence from the earth. Proserpina was introduced to the Roman culture around 200 BCE. Over time, she became equated with Libera, the native Roman goddess of fertility. Proserpina’s mother was called Ceres.
In ancient art, the character of Persephone often was depicted wearing a robe and holding either a sheaf of wheat or a flaming torch. Her abduction by Hades was the part of the myth that was most often illustrated. For example, in 2014, Greek archaeologists discovered an ancient mosaic inside a tomb that was about 2,300 years old. The mosaic seems to show Hades kidnapping Persephone and carrying her away in his chariot. In the image, she looks back at her home with a wistful expression, as she stretches out her arm longingly.
Persephone also has been depicted in literature, often in her role as the queen of the underworld. She typically is described as an entity to be feared. The ancient Greek poet Homer referred to her as "grim" in The Iliad and as "dread" in The Odyssey. The myth of Persephone and the story of her abduction is told in the Homeric "Hymn to Demeter." It is one of thirty-four ancient Greek poems created for the gods and goddesses and was written by an unknown author between 650 and 550 BCE.
Bibliography
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Pringle, Heather. "Queen of the Underworld Sheds New Light on Greek Tomb." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 19 Oct. 2014. Web. 18 Feb 2016. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141018-amphipolis-tomb-persephone-mosaic-greece-archaeology-alexander-great/>.