In Greek mythology, Persephone (also called Kore) was the Queen of the Underworld, the kore (or young maiden), and a daughter of Demeter and Zeus. In the Olympian version, she also becomes the consort of Hades when he becomes the deity that governs the underworld.
The figure of Persephone is very well-known today. Her story has great emotional power: an innocent maiden, a mother's grief over her abduction, and great joy after her daughter is returned. It is also cited frequently as a paradigm of myths that explain natural processes, with the descent and return of the goddess bringing about the change of seasons.
In Greek art, Persephone is invariably portrayed robed. She may be carrying a sheaf of grain and smiling demurely with the "Archaic smile" of the Kore of Antenor. Her Roman equivalent is Proserpina.
APPEARANCE: Persephone appears as a beautiful young maiden, just on the edge of womanhood.
SYMBOL OR ATTRIBUTE: The pomegranate. The narcissus, which Hades planted in a meadow to entice her to pluck it; pulling on the flower opened up the Underworld and Hades sprang out, carrying her off.
STRENGTHS: Loving and lovely.
WEAKNESSES: Beauty so ravishing it attracts Hades' unwanted attention.
SPOUSE: Hades, with whom she must stay part of each year because she ate a few pomegranate seeds in the Underworld.
SOME MAJOR TEMPLE SITES: The spooky Nekromanteion, still visitable today.
BASIC STORY: Hades springs out of the earth and captures Persephone, dragging her off to be his queen in the Underworld; her dad Zeus told him it was okay to take her as his bride, and Hades took him a bit literally. Hades was also her own uncle, which didn't make this exactly a myth of good family mental health. Her distraught mother Demeter searches for her and stops all foods from growing until she is returned. Even Zeus has to give in and help work out a deal - one myth says Persephone stays one-third of the year with Hades, one-third of the year serving as a handmaiden to Zeus, and one-third with her mother Demeter-... an interesting ancient balancing of family, spouse, and career. The better-known tale equally divides her time just between hanging out with Mom and then ruling the underworld with Hades.
INTERESTING FACT: Persephone is also sometimes known just as Kore, or the Maiden. She was sometimes called "the maiden of the beautiful ankles". While most sources indicate Persephone was not happy to be "married" by Hades, others assert that she ate the pomegranate seed (or seeds) deliberately, as a way of breaking free from Mom, and that she was actually content with the final arrangement.
Sources: Wikipedia, About.com
Art by Corina Chirila
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"MEDB" (SHE WHO INTOXICATES) ALSO KNOWN AS MAEV, MAEVE, MAEBH IS A CELTIC/IRISH GODDESS OF INTOXICATION. HER BODY WAS THE EARTH; HER BODY PROCESSES WERE THE EARTH AS IT CREATED. SHE WAS THE FORCE OF THE RUSHING WATERS, THE WINDSWEPT MOUNTAINS, AND THE FERTILE PLAINS. AND, LIKE MANY OTHER DEITIES, MEDB IS ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH DEATH AS WELL AS FERTILITY AND INEBRIATION.
IN THE IRISH MYTHOLOGICAL CYCLE, IT WAS MEDB WHO WHO WHO NOT ONLY SET THE CONDITIONS FOR KINGSHIP, BUT ALSO CHOSE AND TESTED HER PARTNERS... TEMPORARILY MARRYING THOSE WHO PASSED HER TESTS. NO KING COULD EXCEPT THE TITLE UNLESS SHE OFFERED HIM THE "CUP OF SOVEREIGNTY. SHE DESTROYS THOSE KINGS WHO SPURN HER AND HAS BEEN KNOW TO SEND THEIR WARRIORS TO THEIR DOOM.
MEDB IS A TRIUNE GODDESS WHO, IN ONE OF HER AVATARS, WAS ABLE TO ASSUME HUMAN FORM AND LIVE AMONG US MORTALS AS A WARRIOR QUEEN; IN FACT, MEDB IS THE MOST FAMOUS QUEEN OF IRISH LITERATURE. SHE IS OFTEN PORTRAYED AS A PALE WOMEN WITH LONG FLOWING HAIR; SHE WEARS A RED CAPE AND CARRIES A SPEAR, WHILE A RAVEN AND A SQUIRREL ARE PERCHED ON HER SHOULDER.
SHE HAD A REPUTATION FOR DESTRUCTIVE AND WANTON BEHAVIOR AND WAS THE DOMINANT PARTNER IN ALL OF HER SEXUAL AFFAIRS. IT IS SAID THAT SHE NOT ONLY INCITED MEN TO FIGHT, BUT FOUGHT ALONGSIDE THEM. SHE WAS SEXUALLY PROMISCUOUS AND INSATIABLE, AND IT TOOK MANY MEN TO SATISFY HER.
SHE LIVED BY VIOLENCE AND SHE DIED BY VIOLENCE. HER REIGN ON EARTH EVENTUALLY CAME TO AN END AS THE RESULT OF HER MURDERING HER PREGNANT SISTER, CLOTHO. THE BABY MANAGED TO SURVIVE, AND WHEN HE GREW UP, HE REVENGED HIS MOTHER BY KILLING MEDB.
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EUDORA (pronounced you-DOR-uh) is the Greek Goddess of heavy rain. She is one of the Okeanides, the 3000 daughters of Tethys and Okeanos, Goddess and God of the oceans. The Okeanides were responsible for fresh water sources, whether from the earth (such as springs and rivers) or from the sky (such as clouds and rain). Eudora's name means "good gifts."
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"HINA", ONE OF THE MOST BELOVED DEITIES OF THE POLYNESIAN PEOPLE, APPEARS AS ONE OF THE GREAT GODDESSES OF POLYNESIAN LEGENDS. SHE IS KNOWN ALL OVER POLYNESIA AND THE PACIFIC. LIKE OTHER MAJOR DIVINITIES, "HINA" WAS ASSOCIATED WITH MANY ASPECTS OF LIFE, AND HER ATTRIBUTES WERE MANY, INCLUDING RULING OVER THE MOON, THE OCEAN, HEALING, AND BEING A FIERCE PROTECTRESS OF WOMEN. IT IS HER ROLE AS THE BRINGER OF LIFE, DEATH, AND RENEWAL THAT CONNECTS HER WITH THE WAXING AND WANING OF THE MOON. SHE ALSO PRESIDES OVER FERTILITY AND BIRTH. THE HAWAIIAN WORD FOR THE MOON IS "MAHINA."
"HINA", THE DAUGHTER OF THE SUN AND THE MOON, WHO WAS CONSIDERED SO BEAUTIFUL THAT NO ONE COULD LOOK AT HER. SHE IS, IN HER MANY FORMS--CORAL REEFS, MARINE LIFE, OCEAN CAVES, THE TIDES, THE MOON--A PRINCIPAL COSMIC FORCE. "HINA" IS, IN FACT, THE FEMALE FORCE OF THE UNIVERSE WHILE HER HUSBAND, "KU", IS THE MALE FORCE. IT IS SHE WHO CREATED ALL LIFE IN THE REEFS, AND SHE IS CALLED UPON TO BLESS THE GATHERING OF SEAFOOD.
IT IS SAID SHE DWELLS IN THE SKY WORLD AND THAT THE CYRRUS CLOUDS THAT ARE SEEN IN THE SKY ARE THE TERRACES OF HER HOUSES. SHE TRAVELS BY FOLLOWING THE PATH OF RAINBOWS.
"O HINA, O HINA OF HEAVENLY SONG","INCREASE THE POWER OF THE LAND".
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