Persephone, a Greek goddess known in her childhood by the name Kore (or Cora, meaning young maiden), was the only child of the union of Demeter, Goddess of the bountiful harvest, and Zeus, the mighty king of the Olympians. Persephone was born during the time that Demeter was Zeus' consort, long before his marriage to the goddess Hera.
By all accounts, Persephone had an idyllic childhood, being raised by her nurturing mother and playing with her father's other daughters, the Greek goddesses Athena and Aphrodite. Always a cheerful and compliant child, the little goddess Persephone was a parent's dream.
According to Greek mythology, Persephone's life was soon to change. As signs of womanly beauty began to shine through her childlike innocence, the adolescent goddess Persephone unwittingly attracted the attention of the Greek god Hades, brother of Zeus and ruler of the Underworld. One can hardly blame Hades because the Underworld, in Greek mythology, was the realm of the sleeping and the dead. It surely needed some "brightening up", and the young goddess Persephone's radiance would definitely liven up the place.
The god Hades, however, did not bother to woo the young Persephone, and win her heart and approval. After asking for, and receiving, her father's approval for Persephone's hand in marriage, Hades simply abducted her one bright sunny day. When she stooped to pluck a narcissus from a field of wildflowers near her home, the meadow was suddenly torn open, and Hades simply reached up from the Underworld and snatched Persephone away, taking her to his Underworld kingdom and making her his queen.
Although the young goddess did grow to love Hades, she remained homesick for her mother and the life she'd known on earth.
Her mother, the goddess Demeter, had heard Persephone's screams when Hades grabbed her and began an intensive search for her daughter. After learning how Zeus had betrayed their daughter, Demeter, consumed by grief and sorrow, demonstrated her outrage by withholding her blessing from the earth until Persephone was returned to her. Droughts ensued, and the earth lay barren. Mankind suffered as the unprecedented famine continued. Zeus finally relented and sent the god Hermes to bring the young goddess Persephone back to her mother.
Part of Persephone missed her mother terribly, but another part of her had grown rather fond of the god Hades, and she was really enjoying her role as Queen, even if it was in the Underworld. While preparing to return to the earth with Hermes, Persephone accepted a pomegranate offered to her by Hades. She knew full well that anyone who had eaten while in the Underworld would not be allowed to return to the world above, even a goddess, yet Persephone went ahead and ate six or seven of the seeds.
She was soon reunited joyfully with her mother, but her choice to eat the seeds prevented her from ever being fully restored to Demeter, but it did open up the possibility of a compromise. Hermes was able to negotiate an agreement on her behalf between Hades, a god who was usually rather cold-natured and self-centered, and Demeter, because they both were invested in Persephone’s happiness.
Persephone would be allowed to stay with Hades in the Underworld for four months each year during the winter months (some versions say it was 5 or 6 months, Autumn and Winter) and then she would return to the earth with her mother the remaining months of Spring and Summer.
Each year as Persephone left to join her husband in the Underworld, Greek mythology tells us that the goddess Demeter would begin to grieve, bringing on the cold and barren winters. But a few months later Persephone, the goddess associated with awakening, would return to bring spring and its verdant growth in her wake . . . thus were the seasons established.
In no way did the goddess Persephone neglect any of her responsibilities as the Queen of the Underworld. Persephone was much more than a Mama’s girl. Having made the decision to consume the seeds of the pomegranate while in the Underworld, Persephone was able to somehow always return to the Underworld when others came visiting, ready to receive them and to serve as their hostess and guide.
The goddess Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, was willing to help the goddess Psyche pass a test set by Aphrodite, Greek Goddess of Love, so that Psyche could be reunited with her beloved husband. Psyche had been assigned to go to the Underworld and return with some of Persephone's famous youth and beauty ointment. It was actually a sleeping potion, but hey, we all know what a bad night's sleep can do to our appearance! While Psyche was in the Underworld, she found Persephone to be both a gracious and generous hostess.
The Greek goddess Persephone also helped Heracles (Hercules), by loaning him Cerberus, the ferocious three-headed dog that guarded the entrance of the Underworld, so that he could complete the Twelve Labors he'd been assigned as recompense for the death of his wife. The goddess Persephone was also at home in the Underworld when Odysseus (Ulysses) arrived. She rewarded him with a legendary tour of the souls of women of great renown.
In another intriguing story, Persephone agreed as a favor to Aphrodite to hide Adonis, one of Aphrodite's mortal lovers, from Aphrodite's jealous husband, Hephaestus, Greek God of Fire and Metalworking. Upon seeing the beautiful Adonis, Persephone, receptive goddess that she was, also fell for his charms and refused to give him back to Aphrodite. Remember, these Greek goddesses were the original "wild women", refusing to yield to convention!
Eventually, Zeus had to step in to settle the argument. He ruled that Adonis should spend a third of the year with Persephone and a third with Aphrodite, then be left to his own pursuits the remainder of the year. Unfortunately, Adonis chose to spend his free time hunting and was killed in a hunting accident a few years later.
The Greek goddess Persephone represents both the youthful, innocent, and joyous maiden aspect of a woman as well as the more womanly self who, when innocence is lost and family attachments are loosened, can begin to consciously mature and create a life for herself.
In Greek mythology, Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld, is the possessor of its dark and frightening wisdom. But Persephone is also the Goddess of Innocence and Receptivity, the harbinger of spring . . . and a reminder of all the growth and hope that it brings.
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