Persephone, Queen of the Underworld - Greek Myths | Greeka (2024)

The story of Persephone, the sweet daughter of goddess Demeter who was kidnapped by Hades and later became the Queen of the Underworld, is known all over the world. It is actually the way of the ancient Greeks to explain the change of the seasons, the eternal cycle of the Nature's death and rebirth. Persephone is understood in people's mind as a naive little girl who flows between the protection of the mother and the love of her husband. The myth of Persephone was very popular in the ancient times and it is said that her story was represented in the Eleusinian Mysteries, the great private and secret celebrations of ancient Greece.

Discover the myth of Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld

The abduction from Hades

According to Greek Mythology, Persephone, the queen of the underworld, was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of harvest and fertility. She was also called Kore, which means "maiden" and grew up to be a lovely girl attracting the attention of many gods. However, Demeter had an obsessed love for her only daughter and kept all men away from her.

The most persisting suitor of Persephone was Hades, the god of the Underworld. He was a hard, middle-aged man, living in the dark, among the shadows of the Dead. But his heart softened when he saw Persephone and was amazed by his youth, beauty and freshness. When he asked Demeter to marry her daughter, Demeter got furious and said there wasn't the slightest chance for that to happen. Hades was heart-broken and decided to get Persephone no matter what.

One day, while the young girl was playing and picking flowers along with her friends in a valley, she beheld the most enchanting narcissus she had ever seen. As she stooped down to pick the flower, the earth beneath her feet suddenly cleaved open and through the gap Hades himself came out on his chariot with black horses. Hades grabbed the lovely maiden before she could scream for help and descended into his underworld kingdom while the gap in the earth closed after them.

Desperately looking for Persephone

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.

Trying to find a solution

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.

The final solution

The crafty Hades learned this agreement and tricked his reluctant bride, who was crying all day and night from despair, to eat a few seeds of the pomegranate fruit. This was the food of the Underworld and every time someone ate even a few seeds of this, then, after a while, he would miss life in the Underworld. When the gathering in front of Zeus took place and Persephone was asked where she would like to live, she answered she wanted to live with her husband. When Demeter heard that, she got infuriated and accused Hades that somehow he had tricked her daughter.

A great fight followed and Demeter threatened that she would never again make the earth fertile and everyone on Earth would die. To put an ed on this quarrel, Zeus decided that Persephone would spend half months with her husband in Hades and half months with her mother on Olympus. This alternative pleased none of the two opponents, nevertheless that had no other option but accept it.

The explanation of the myth

Thus the lovely maiden Persephone became the rightful wife of Hades and Queen of the Underworld. During the six months that Persephone spent in the Underworld, her mother was sad and not in the mood to deal with harvest. Thus she would leave the Earth to decline.

According to the ancient Greeks, these were the months of Autumn and Winter, when the land is not fertile and does not give crops. Whenever Persephone went to Olympus to live with her mother, Demeter would shine from happiness and the land would become fertile again and fruitful. These were the months of Spring and Summer. Therefore, this myth was created to explain the change of the seasons, the eternal cycle of the Nature's death and rebirth.

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Persephone, Queen of the Underworld - Greek Myths | Greeka (2024)

FAQs

Persephone, Queen of the Underworld - Greek Myths | Greeka? ›

According to Greek Mythology, Persephone, the queen of the underworld, was the daughter of Zeus

Zeus
Zeus (/zjuːs/, Ancient Greek: Ζεύς) is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. His name is cognate with the first syllable of his Roman equivalent Jupiter.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Zeus
and Demeter
Demeter
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (/dɪˈmiːtər/; Attic: Δημήτηρ Dēmḗtēr [dɛːmɛ́ːtɛːr]; Doric: Δαμάτηρ Dāmā́tēr) is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Demeter
, the goddess of harvest and fertility
. She was also called Kore, which means "maiden" and grew up to be a lovely girl attracting the attention of many gods.

What is the story of Persephone Queen of the Underworld? ›

Persephone was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. Persephone was picking flowers one day when Hades saw her. He was so captivated by her beauty that he took her by force to the underworld. Demeter, goddess of the harvest and fertility searched for her daughter when Persephone went missing.

Did Persephone have a child with Hades? ›

Who were Hades and Persephone's children? Persephone and Hades had two children; one daughter, Melinoë,and one son, Zagreus. Melinoë became the goddess of nightmares and madness. Zagreus was a minor Greek god.

What does Persephone symbolize? ›

Persephone is the Goddess of the Underworld as well as goddess of vegetation. Her return above the earth each spring symbolizes immortality. Her symbols are the pomegranate, seeds of grain, flowers and the deer.

Did Hades abuse Persephone? ›

Contrary to (modern) belief, their relationship was really good. Sure, He kidnapped her, but there is no clear evidence of rape, and she came to love him dearly. My guess is Persephone is one of the only people who understood Hades.

Did Hades cheat on Persephone? ›

Persephone doesn't exhibit the classic blind faith in Hades typical of Stockholm syndrome: when Hades cheats on her, she cruelly punishes his lover, turning her (Minthe) into a plant, hence the mint plant.

What is Persephone's most famous myth? ›

There are many myths about Persephone but the most famous and the one we will focus on here is the story of how she was abducted by and subsequently married to Hades. This marriage resulted in her living with him in the underworld for half of each year, spending the other half with her mother Demeter.

Why did Hades choose Persephone? ›

But his heart softened when he saw Persephone and was amazed by his youth, beauty and freshness. When he asked Demeter to marry her daughter, Demeter got furious and said there wasn't the slightest chance for that to happen. Hades was heart-broken and decided to get Persephone no matter what.

Who got Persephone pregnant? ›

Demeter then hides Persephone in a cave; but Zeus, in the form of a serpent, enters the cave and rapes Persephone. Persephone becomes pregnant and gives birth to Zagreus.

Did Zeus sleep with Persephone? ›

Zeus disguised himself as Hades and slept with her, and as a result gave Persephone children. Zeus also didn't want children with Persephone. When Melinoe, daughter of Persephone and Zeus and goddess of ghosts, was born, Zeus tried to hide her, even kill her, but did not succeed.

What does Hades call Persephone? ›

Most variations make it clear that initially Persephone was not happy about her kidnapped status, but she came to love her new hubby and actually enjoyed her life in the underworld–possibly because her mother was famously domineering and Hades had given Persephone power and called her his queen, which was a big deal in ...

What was Persephone's nickname? ›

As we wrote above, some called her “The Maiden” and others “The Mistress.” She was also known as “The Pure One,” “The Venerable One,” and “The Great Goddess.” Persephone was so closely associated with her mother that the pair was often referred to as “The Two Demeters” or, simply, “The Two Goddesses.”

What flower did Persephone pick? ›

As she began to pick flowers, she glimpsed a beautiful narcissus flower. When she plucked it the flower, the ground began to quake and tremble. From beneath the earth, Hades, King of the Underworld and brother of Zeus, emerged on a fiery chariot.

What is Persephone's weakness? ›

Her one glaring weakness was her emphatuation with the handsome Adonis. She vied with Aphrodite for his love. When he was killed by a wild boar, Persephone transformed him into an anemone or wind flower.

What is the true story of Hades and Persephone? ›

Hades Abducts Persephone

According to mythology, Hades, god of the Underworld, fell in love with beautiful Persephone when he saw her picking flowers one day in a meadow. The god then carried her off in his chariot to live with him in the dark Underworld.

Why did Persephone marry Hades? ›

One day, while Persephone was picking flowers (allegedly on the island of Sicily), Hades, the god of the Underworld, saw her and was overcome by her beauty. He kidnapped her and took her into the Underworld to be his wife. Some versions of the myth imply that Persephone's father, Zeus, was complicit in the abduction.

What is the love story of Persephone and Hades? ›

The love story of Hades and Persephone is one of separation and longing, followed by reunion. Bound by an agreement that requires Persephone to spend half of the year in the underworld and the other half on earth, the couple's love is marked by periods of intense longing followed by passionate reunions.

Why did Pluto kidnap Proserpina? ›

According to myth, Proserpina was picking flowers one day with her mother, Ceres (Demeter), and caught the welcome or unwelcome attention of Pluto (or Hades), the God of the Underworld. Emerging from the ground in a fiery chariot, Pluto abducted Proserpina and carried her back to The Underworld to be his queen.

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