Persephone Research Paper

Persephone’s Abduction
Persephone is the Greek Goddess of the blooming spring and the wife of Hades, the God of the Underworld; and daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the God of thunder and the sky, and the Goddess of the earth and grain. Persephone was said to be beautiful and kind, so much so that Hades kidnapped her to make her his bride, with the permission of Zeus of course. When Demeter found out about this, she went berserk, killing off all of the plants and nature around her until her daughter was returned to her. Meanwhile in the Underworld, Persephone had eaten the seeds of a pomegranate, tying her to the Underworld. Although Hades loved Persephone and allowed her to return to her mother for two thirds of the year and spend the last third …show more content…
Thus, giving mortals winter and spring. When Persephone was first kidnaped, she was playing in a field with some nymphs, what happened to them has different interpretations; one is that they prayed for wings so that they could search across the seas for Persephone. Another is that as a punishment for allowing Persephone to be taken Demeter cursed them with wings and a desire for human death. But no matter the story, they always end up as the fabled sirens of sailor’s lore. Demeter is always seen as one of the kindest Goddesses, but in the story of Persephone’s kidnapping she becomes cruel and very angry. When Demeter realised that the nymphs did not know what happened to Persephone she went to Helios, the god of the sun, who knows all that happens on the earth during the day. He informed Demeter that Zeus had been involved in her abduction and had actually helped with it, she just up and left Mount Olympus to wander the earth in grief and in search of her beloved daughter. She had been betrayed by her brother and still had no idea where Persephone was. Zeus, in an effort to calm Demeter down, and get the earth to give food again, made Hermes, the messenger God, go to Hades in the Underworld …show more content…
Although Demeter did teach her worshipers who attended the temple her rites, which then became the Eleusinian Mysteries. Zeus, at this point decided to intervene because of the cries from his worshippers and the cries of the other gods and goddesses and their worshippers. Zeus knew that if he did not do something soon his worshippers would blame him or die, and he can’t stand losing followers. So, he sent Hermes down to the Underworld to strike a deal with Hades, as Hermes was the messenger god and fixing Zeus’s messes and being his auspistice was all just part of his job. When Hermes went to the Underworld to retrieve Persephone, he saw her in Hades garden with Hades which is where the fateful deal is rumoured to have taken place. Because Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds each seed would represent one month that she would have to stay in the Underworld with Hades every year. And the rest of the year would be spent on the surface world with her mother. After all, Hades may be the God of the Underworld, but he’s not completely heartless. Demeter creates flowers and makes the world green and beautiful in preparation for Persephone’s return. And then kills of the