Persephone was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. She loved the springtime, flowers, and running outdoors with her friends. One day, while she was picking lilies and violet, she heard a deafening roar, and the Earth opened up. Hades reached and abducted her, bringing her into the Underworld. The Earth closed up behind them. Demeter, who heard the cries of her daughter, searched everywhere, but could not find her. Finally, on Hecate's advice, she consulted with Helios, a Sun God who reputedly saw all things. He told Demeter that, with Zeus's permission, Hades had taken Persephone to the Underworld, to make her his wife.
Demeter then went to Zeus and pled for Persephone's return, but Zeus wouldn't hear of it. In despair, Demeter left Olympus and, disguised as an old woman, wandered about the Earth until she eventually retired to her temple at Eleusis preparing to take revenge on the Gods and mankind by preventing all crops from growing for a year.
Zeus had no choice but to listen to her demands after this. He sent Iris (daughter of Thaumus and a messenger of the Gods) and Moirae (the fates; daughters of Zeus) to plead with her, but Demeter wouldn't listen. When the Earth continued to die, Zeus gave in and sent Hermes to the Kingdom of Hades where he obtained Hades promise that Persephone would be returned. But, Hades 'really' didn't want to return her so he gave her a pomegrante to eat. This became the symbol of their marriage, and she was bound to him.
Persephone was returned to her mother, who upon discovering that Persephone had eaten in the Underworld, knew that her daughter was going to have to return to Hades. She once again threatened to prevent the crops from growing if this were the case. Rhea (the Earth) suggests a compromise. Persephone was to spend two-thirds of the year with her mother and the remaining portion with Hades in the Underworld. Demeter agreed and every year that Persephone returns to Earth, she brings the spring with her.
"Persephone is the goddess of the unconscious, of intuition and mystery. Her Underworld journey acquaints her with death and suffering. Symbolically, the myth is teaching us about the process of individuation, the process of coming into wholeness within the self and the life, death, and rebirth cycle that is inherent in all transformational processes. "
"Prayer to Persephone" Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, and daughter of Demeter, give leave for me to speak. I, too, have been to the land of the dead, and now I live. Ensure that my perceptions are not limite merely to what I hear, see, touch, and taste; but extend into the other realms."Make my intuition accurate and true as I deal with life"and all its permutations. Help my spirit find its path in life as I fulfill my destiny.
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