Hello and welcome to a series I will be running! In these various articles over the school year, I will be discussing the different gods, goddesses, and thrilling lore that make up Greek mythology and its pantheon. In the spirit of Halloween which is just around the corner, my first subject will be the goddess of spring, the queen of the underworld, and the deity who has caused controversy, due to the many different tellings of her story. Yes, my friends, today we will be talking about Persephone!

In the rich and vast world that is Greek mythology, where gods and goddesses ruled the heavens and meddled in the affairs of mortals, there are few figures that are as captivating and enigmatic as Persephone. Her story, a haunting blend of beauty, darkness, and transformation, transcends the boundaries of time and culture. As we delve into the realm of this ancient goddess, we will be drawn into a world where the seasons themselves are moving to the beat of Persephone’s fate, and where the duality of life and death finds itself embodied by the daughter of Demeter and the queen of the Underworld.

Persephone was born to Demeter and Zeus, but she was raised solely by Demeter (because Zeus had to rule over the gods and cheat on his wife with everything that lived), as the goddess of Spring. Persephone was given two names, the one most commonly known being Persephone and the other being Kore (Core) as the maiden and goddess of Spring’s bounty. She spent most of her days in the various fields tending to the flowers, crops, and her nymph companions before she became the queen of the Underworld.

There are a few variations of the story to how she became the queen of the Underworld, I will be focusing on the two I am most familiar with. There is the version where she and Hades fall in love, and she is taken to the Underworld to be his wife, because her mother would never let it happen otherwise. There is the version where Hades took her from the fields where she was hanging out with her nymphs, because he got permission from Zeus. In the version where Persephone was kidnapped, Hades had seen Persephone a few times before and thought she was one of the most beautiful women around. He went to Zeus and asked if he could have Persephone. Without consulting Demeter, because Zeus knew she would never allow it, he told Hades to just go take her. And so, one day while Persephone was enjoying a flowery meadow, Hades came and kidnapped Persephone. After Persephone’s disappearance, Demeter became frantic and extremely upset as any mother would be, and began neglecting her duties to search for her daughter with the help of another goddess called Hekate.

Demeter eventually found out that her daughter was in the Underworld; taken by Hades with the permission of Zeus. She was furious. Demeter’s anger and sorrow caused her to neglect her duties to the point that the crops and plants that the humans needed to survive were all dying,  so were the humans. Therefore, the worship which the gods and goddesses needed to continue to be gods was also depleting. Zeus asked Demeter to go back to her duties in exchange for her daughter Persephone back. Demeter agreed and Persephone was returned to her. But all was not well, because Hades had a plan. He made Persephone eat a pomegranate seed while she was in the Underworld which meant she had to return to it.  A deal was made Persephone would spend half of the year in the Underworld with her husband Hades and the other half of the year with her mother Demeter. Due to this, the seasons we all know were born, Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. Spring comes when Persephone first goes back to her mother, followed by Summer when she has gotten settled into being away from the Underworld, followed by Fall where Persephone first goes back to the Underworld and Hades, and everything begins to die, which is followed by Winter when Persephone is settled back into the Underworld, Demeter is at her lowest point of despair, and everything from the previous seasons that Persephone brought to life is completely dead. This version of the story always makes me kind of sad, considering Persephone was forced into all of it.

I enjoy the second version much more. In the second version, Persephone and Hades meet one day in her fields and begin to talk and become friends. Hades and Persephone find themselves in each other’s company more often than not, and they eventually fall in love.  Hades wants to have Persephone as his wife, but after Persephone and him have conversations, they come to the conclusion that Persephone’s mother Demeter would never let it happen. So they devise a plan, in said plan Hades gets permission from Zeus to take Persephone to his domain and Zeus agrees.

Hades takes Persephone to his domain of the Underworld and they are happy, until Persephone hears about the sadness and grief that Demeter is experiencing at the loss of her daughter. Persephone’s guilt leads her to tell Hades she needs to be able to visit her mother, and Hades reluctantly agrees. Hades gives Persephone a pomegranate seed that will make her have to return to the Underworld, so that Demeter can not keep Persephone away from Hades. She eats it and goes to her mother, once her mother learns about the arrangement that was made she is furious, and tries to get Zeus to make it so Persephone stays with her- away from Hades and his domain. After much debate, Demeter was forced to accept that she could only have her daughter for one half of the year, as the other half she would have to spend with her husband. Isn’t that one at least a little nicer to think about, since it’s more a story of forbidden love rather than kidnapping and attempted Stockholm Syndrome?

In either version of Persephone’s story, I find myself enthralled in its magic and I hope I were there too. Which version of the story you like better? See you next edition!