Persephone

By Eva

Persephone is a Greek goddess with two faces: she is the queen of the underworld (The Maiden), and she is also a graceful, dancing goddess on earth. Persephone is the daughter of Demeter and Zeus and wife of Hades. Demeter, Persephone’s mother, is the goddess of the harvest and controls the growth of crops. Her mother loves her so much that Persephone is always with her, even sitting on her mother’s lap. Persephone’s father, Zeus, is king of the gods. Hades, the dark, evil, and dreadful god of the underworld, is Persephone’s husband. Persephone is mostly responsible for the changing of the seasons. In the myth “Persephone and the Pomegranate Seeds” Hades god of the underworld kidnapped Persephone and took her unwillingly to be his bride. Demeter was so distraught that she stopped all plants from growing until her daughter was returned. Zeus ordered Hades to return Persephone to earth; however, before The Maiden left the land of the dead, Hades tricked her into eating a few seeds from a pomegranate. Persephone returned to earth, but as a punishment Zeus declared that three months every year she must live with Hades in the underworld. It is because of the abduction of Persephone that we have our changing seasons today. When Persephone is in the underworld, her mother is grieving, no plants are growing, and it is fall and winter on earth. When Persephone is with Demeter, however, her happiness causes flowers to bloom and trees to burst into bud. It is spring and summer. Even today, many people pray to Persephone and her family members, hoping she won’t stay down in the underworld for too long. This shows that we, like the ancient Greeks, look forward to the long, hot, sunny days of summer.