Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1985. She becomes the queen of the underworld through her abduction by Hades, the god of the underworld. Other gold leaves describe Persephone's role in receiving and sheltering the dead, in such lines as "I dived under the kolpos [portion of a Peplos folded over the belt] of the Lady, the Chthonian Queen", an image evocative of a child hiding under its mother's apron. Guthrie, W. K. G. The Greeks and Their Gods. [64], It was said that while Persephone was playing with the nymph Hercyna, Hercyna held a goose against her that she let loose. Robert Beekes and others have connected it to two Indo-European roots: *perso- (sheaf of corn) and *-gn-t-ih (hit, strike). [59], In the Orphic "Rhapsodic Theogony" (first century BC/AD),[60] Persephone is described as the daughter of Zeus and Rhea. It establishes the relationship of Hades and P. Hades found himself madly in love with her. The goddess of nature and her companion survived in the Eleusinian cult, where the words "Mighty Potnia bore a great sun" were uttered. https://www.worldhistory.org/persephone/. Helios, the Sun, who sees everything, eventually told Demeter what had happened and at length she discovered where her daughter had been taken. 340330 BCE). This also explains why Persephone is associated with Spring: her re-emergence from the underworld signifies the onset of Spring. He caught her and raped her. Fossum, "The Myth of the Eternal Rebirth," pp. H. G. Evelyn-White. In Homer's epics, she appears always together with Hades and the underworld, apparently sharing with Hades control over the dead. But in some Roman sources, she divided the year equally between her two homes (Ovid, Fasti 4.614, Metamorphoses 5.564ff; Hyginus, Fabulae 146). Hades and Persephone: The Abduction Goddess of Spring and Queen of the Persephone was characterized by several attributes and symbols, most notably torches, stalks of grain or ears of corn, and scepters. [73] In another variation, Persephone met Adonis only after he had been slain by a boar; Aphrodite descended into the Underworld to take him back, but Persephone, smitten with him, would not let him go until they came to an agreement that Adonis would alternate between the land of the living and the land of the dead each year. Persephone was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. [9][b] Persephon (Greek: ) is her name in the Ionic Greek of epic literature. Related Content For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. The Gods of the Greeks. Article. Her name has numerous historical variants. Pausanias, Description of Greece 8.37.9. [98] In Eleusis, in a ritual, one child ("pais") was initiated from the hearth. Eventually, Zeus determined that Adonis would spend part of the year with Aphrodite and part of the year with Persephone.[26]. [93][h] Demeter found and met her daughter in Eleusis, and this is the mythical disguise of what happened in the mysteries.[95]. [99][100] The idea of immortality which appears in the syncretistic religions of the Near East did not exist in the Eleusinian mysteries at the very beginning. Last modified March 24, 2016. Persephone becomes pregnant and gives birth to Zagreus. In some versions, Persephone eventually allowed Heracles to bring Theseus and Pirithous back with him when he came to the Underworld to fetch Cerberus (as part of his final labor). Orphica frag. [43], Another festival, called the Chthonia, was celebrated annually at Hermione, a city in the Argolid. The site of Persephones abduction varies considerably in the ancient sources. Eventually, Demeters wanderings brought her to Eleusis, a town in the region of Attica, just northwest of Athens. Vulci, c. 440-430 BCE. Persephone. Mythopedia, 9 Mar. 30 Apr 2023. The Greek Myths. All Rights Reserved. [98][96] Kerenyi asserts that these religious practices were introduced from Minoan Crete. [49] A festival called the Koreia appears to have also been celebrated in Arcadia[50] and Syracuse[51] (though the Syracusean Koreia was likely simply the equivalent of the Thesmophoria). Persephone was an important element of the Eleusinian Mysteries and the Thesmophoria festival and so the goddess was worshipped throughout the Greek world. Corrections? Persephone, Latin Proserpina or Proserpine, in Greek religion, daughter of Zeus, the chief god, and Demeter, the goddess of agriculture; she was the wife of Hades, king of the underworld. Rhea-Demeter prophecies that Persephone will marry Apollo. Vol. He pursued the unwilling Rhea, only for her to change into a serpent. Persephone frequently appears in all forms of Greek art and literature. According to several strands of Orphism, Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and his mother, the Titan Rhea (rather than Demeter). 306307. The city of Epizephyrian Locris, in modern Calabria (southern Italy), was famous for its cult of Persephone, where she is a goddess of marriage and childbirth in this region. However, Demeter had an obsessed love for her only . Cartwright, Mark. However, Pausanias distinguishes this Despoina from the Persephone who was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter (writing that he dared not disclose this goddesss true name). Persephone was an important element of the Eleusinian Mysteries and the Thesmophoria festival and so the goddess was worshipped throughout the Greek world. Zagreus; Suda, s.v. Demeter, distraught, wandered the entire world in search of her daughter. This Macaria is asserted to be the daughter of Hades, but no mother is mentioned. Persephone & Hades (Illustration) - World History Encyclopedia Hades and Persephone: Discover the Real Story (Updated 2022) [35] The Greek god Poseidon probably substituted for the companion (Paredros, ) of the Minoan Great goddess[58] [70] Alternatively Adonis had to spend one half of the year with each goddess, at the suggestion of the Muse Calliope. So lovely was the music he played that it charmed Persephone and even stern Hades. In the hymn, Persephone eventually returns from the underworld and is reunited with her mother near Eleusis. A recent spectacular find is the large pebble mosaic, measuring 4.5 by 3 metres from the Hellenistic tomb at Amphipolis, which again depicts the god Hades abducting Persephone in a chariot led by Hermes. This belief system had unique characteristics, particularly the appearance of the goddess from above in the dance. [125] Representations of myth and cult on the clay tablets (pinakes) dedicated to this goddess reveal not only a 'Chthonian Queen,' but also a deity concerned with the spheres of marriage and childbirth. Mark is a full-time author, researcher, historian, and editor. Persephone is a Mount Olympus character in Greek Mythology. Stockholm: Swedish Institute in Athens, 1992. Pausanias: There are references to Persephones mythology and cult in the Description of Greece, a second-century CE travelogue and, like Strabos Geography, an important source for local myths and customs. Her attribute was poppy and pomegranate fruit, so she was also associated with spring, flowers, life, and vegetation before becoming queen of the underworld. In this guise, she was seen as a protectress in the after-life, although Hesiod repeatedly describes her as 'dread Persephone' in his Theogony. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library. When Demeter at last located Persephone in the Underworld, she demanded that her daughter be returned. [80][81], Once, Hermes chased Persephone (or Hecate) with the aim to rape her; but the goddess snored or roared in anger, frightening him off so that he desisted, hence her earning the name "Brimo" ("angry"). Persephone was known by numerous cult titles, including Steira (Savior) and Brim (Angry). [43] With the later writers Ovid and Hyginus, Persephone's time in the underworld becomes half the year. Persephone was not slow to notice, and in jealousy she trampled the nymph, killing her and turning her into a mint plant. As the drought claimed ever more victims, Zeus finally sent Hermes to persuade Hades to release his ill-gotten bride.
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