The Greek Mythology is the body of the myths and teachings in the ancient greek religion. It is concerning the gods and heroes, nature and the origin of their own culture and ritual practices (Cotterell). Many of the greek myths are an explanation for things that happened in nature. The myth of Persephone was an attempt to explain the changing of the seasons. The story of the loss of a child repeats very often in the history of humanity. This myth is the greek take on the topic (Cahill 235).
Persephone is a figure in the Greek Mythology. Her symbols are the pomegranate, seeds of grain and flowers. Persephone’s parents are Demeter, the Goddess of Harvest and Fertility, and Zeus, the King of Gods, who also happens to be Demeter’s brother. Persephone is the Goddess of Spring and Vegetation, but she is also the Queen of the
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Zeus was afraid that humankind would die and tried to come up with a solution for the problem (Wickersham).
No one, who is in the Underworld and wants to return to earth, is allowed to eat anything while being there. Persephone spent a long time starving but after one week her hunger became so strong that she ate six pomegranate seeds. That was the reason that she could not completely return to her mother but had to spend six months of the year as Queen of the Underworld (Gill).
This is the explanation for the seasons: whenever Persephone returns to her mother in spring, all the flowers and plants begin to bloom because Demeter’s pain, of not having her daughter, is over. When Persephone has to go back to the Underworld to stay with Hades, all the crops die, because Demeter’s grief, of losing her daughter again, returns (Cahill 235).
There is not a lot of evidence what Persephone did in her life after the agreement but in most myths she appears as the Queen of the Underworld. There are almost no stories about her life with her mother (Tripp
Hades fell in love with Demeter’s daughter, Persephone. Persephone loved to live about in the fields that her mother made. Hades wanted Persephone as his bride. Zeus, the father of Persephone, did not deny but warned that Demeter would be furious. He captured her and forced her to stay in the underworld. To capture her, he arose from the depth with a chariot of horses. He stole her from the flowery field and took her to a dungeon of darkness. Persephone gained the name “core”. This was symbolizing her loss of girlhood. Demeter went looking for her daughter. She could not find her, and she almost came to the extent of barring the whole earth of the vegetation. Zeus could not let this happen, so he sent for Persephone to be received. Persephone would not eat, but Hades would not let her leave until she ate at least one thing. Hades gave her a forbidden fruit. Any fruit that was to be eaten in the underworld, the eater of that fruit must stay in the underworld. Her eating the fruit meant she had to stay in the underworld forever. A compromise was made between Demeter and Hades. Four months of the year Persephone had to stay with Hades and be the queen of the underworld. During this time the Greeks entered a cold and barren time called winter. The other eight months, Persephone spent her year with Demeter. During this time crops and vegetation would be abundant (Peterson and Dunworth 143). These were the times of spring and summer. When it was time for Persephone to rule the underworld, she was in charge of watching the special prisoners. The prisoners were the defeated titans (Calame, 266).
‘Demeter’ is a poem about the story of Demeter. "Demeter was the goddess of harvest and Persephone was the goddess of springtime. Hades, the lord of the underworld, kidnapped Persephone. Hades fell in love with Persephone and asked Zeus to help him kidnap her so she could become his bride. The crops started to wilt and humans couldn't grow crops anymore. However Zeus told Hermes to bring back Persephone and to make sure she didn't eat any food from the Underworld. Hermes fetched Persephone. But before she left, Hades convinced her to eat 6 pomegranate seeds. Hermes made a compromise and said Persephone had to stay in the Underworld as Hades wife for six months. That's why there are seasons. In the fall and winter, Persephone goes down into the Underworld and Demeter mourns. In the summer and spring, she comes back and Demeter rejoices. " (1)
In the Hymn to Demeter, the rape of Persephone starts with her picking flowers and she comes across the hundred headed narcissus which "Gaia made grow as a trick for the blushing maiden" (HHDem. 8-9). This trick is set into motion by Zeus, but since Gaia plays the role of protecting the youngest generation, this is a foreshadowing that Persephone's ordeal will be for a good cause. Hades moves in to take Persephone when the grounds gapes open and she begins to cry aloud. Demeter hears her daughters screams but she is powerless against Hades, hence the separation of distance between them. The grief stricken Demeter goes through an experience which plays out the role of a symbolic death. this is because the relationship between the mother and daughter ends at a wedding.
... participants did not wear crowns or eat pomegranate seeds that had touched the ground because Persephone had been stolen while gathering flowers, and because she had eaten the pomegranate seeds in the underworld (Foley, 72/Taylor 1995).
First, he is called to an adventure in which he is assigned to complete an impossible task. Then he is mentored by Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and assisted by the magical gifts given by the nymphs to overcome a monster. Using the advice and tools he has received on his journey, Perseus kills the monster with his wits by using the reflection of his shield instead of relying on brute force. On his road back home, Perseus commits a good deed by saving a damsel in distress by slaying another monster. Finally, Perseus arrives home and is arguably the only Greek hero with a happy ending.
In two amazing poems, both poets make allusions to the myth of Persephone. The myth of Persephone tells of her kidnap by Hades, the God of the Underworld. She is then fated to spend one-third of the year in the underworld as Hades’ bride because she consumed pomegranate seeds. This myth appears frequently as a metaphor not only in “The Pomegranate” and “The Bistro Styx,” but in many others as well. In both poems, the myth of Persephone is used to symbolize the mother-daughter relationships.
This leads him to be more confident and will give others confidence too. For Zeus’ replacement, people need a god who is fair and makes good decisions. Hades is a prime example, he judges the people who die and makes punishments for them. He makes the dead go through five stages in order to determine their punishment. Hades makes fair decisions because he has experience on choices that are hard to make.
The parallels between the protagonists, Laura and Persephone, are quite evident. First and foremost, Laura’s mother, Mrs. Sheridan, stands as a counterpart for Demeter, Persephone’s mother. Mrs. Sheridan chose to pass down her black hat to Laura, the youngest of all of her children (Masfield 251). Laura and her mother share an intimate relationship that mirrors that of Persephone and Demeter. This display of affection expresses how comfortable mother and daughter are around each other. Mrs. Sheridan thinks highly of Laura, she sees her as a mature young lady. In comparison, when Persephone is whisked away to the Underworld without her consent, Demeter is overcome with grief and depression. Demeter’s life was centered on Persephone; she had the sensation that something was the matter. When he daughter vanished, Demeter lost her sense of direction. In addition, bot...
In Persephone’s underworld there is an infamous river by the name of Styx, which dead men must journey across its toxic waters in order to enter the land of the dead. “Water is connected to the ocean which is the source of livelihood, transportation, and death for the seafaring people like the Greek; and water is a mysterious force that brings up vegetation from the earth. Thus it is not coincidental that the ocean borders Hades and other subterranean lands of the dead; the ambiguity of water is a perfect component of the dual nature of the underworld—a source of danger as well as fertility and wealth,” (Taylor 397). Water is very symbolic of rebirth and is often associated with the sacrament of baptism. The ancient cultures viewed the life bringing and death-dealing waters as a form of mysterious rebirth into the underworld (Taylor 397-399). Persephone herself was reborn in the underworld as a queen. After crossing the river Styx, Persephone became one of mythologies most notable queens. She also symbolizes the same aspects of water through her dual nature as life giver in the springtime and death incarnate during her reign in the underworld. Her personification in the Styx explores the journey between life and death that all mortals
She was told not to eat anything, for then she would have to remain in the underworld. While in the underworld, Persephone consumed six pomegranate seeds. Her mother Demeter, goddess of agriculture, threw a fit. Demeter complained to her brother, Zeus. To be fair, Zeus stated that Persephone would have to remain in the underworld one month per seed each year.
Perseus is later found by soldiers who take him to the city of Argos, where he is brought before King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia during their celebration of the war against the gods. King Cepheus makes arrogant statements towards the gods, and the Queen Cassiopeia compares their daughter Andromeda to Aphrodite. When Zeus finds out about the destruction of a statue of him and the celebration of war by Cepheus and Cassiopeia, he becomes furious. Hades then appears before his Zeus on Mount Olympus and argues that the gods must retaliate against the revolt, and convinces Zeus that he be allowed to destroy Argos. Hades appears in a courtroom in Argos, kills the so...
The novel Persepolis, written by Marjane Satrapi, portrays a diverse amount of symbolism throughout the novel which contributes to the protagonist developing into a young women. The main character, Marji Satrapi flourishes at an early age in her life due to the setting of the novel. Satrapi acquires knowledge about different insights of the Iranian government which constitutes her self judgement. Satrapi reckons that the individuals that make up the population of Iran should all support the idea of the government before the ministry of Iran can commence a war. “For a revolution to succeed the entire population must support it" (Satrapi 17). Marji expresses that the revolution will vanish due to many individuals not supporting
In the earlier Greek source, the Homeric Hymns to Demeter illustrated Persephone as a youthful innocent goddess picking flowers with her youthful playmates “the girl was playing with the deep-bosomed daughters of Okeanos picking flowers, roses, and crocus, and beautiful violets” (HHDem. 4-6). In parallel, in Ovid’s text, features and characteristics of the youthful goddess were still retained. Proserpine, the equivalent Greek goddess of Persephone, was also found playing and picking flowers “Here Proserpine was playing in a glade of flowers… filling her basket and her lap to gather more than the other girls” (Met., p. 111). In Ovid Metamorphoses, Proserpine’s sphere of influence was still retained with equivalent Greek goddess of Persephone, the goddess of spring, si...
My favorite myth is Cetus. Cetus is the sea monster that was sent out to destroy the shore of the region, a couple even sent their beloved daughter as a sacrifice just to appease the god. Pretty cool right? Yeah, yeah now I bet just from the little snippet you just heard now it's your favorite myth too but where did this myth originate from?
In conclusion, myths reflect show us the Greeks view on the world, religion, and nature. Their understanding of the world is both similar and different compared to modern society. Myths also reflect the importance of gods in the Greek society and how each god represented something different. In addition, we can see the role of monsters in myths, what they represent and how were they important. Myths also show us the role of women in society and whether they were as important as men or not.