Then abruptly, Hermes, the messenger of the Gods, appeared before her. But that morning, Persephone was so hungry, she took the pomegranate and ate six of its seeds. Up until that point, Persephone had resisted eating anything offered to her–she knew that if she ate any food from the Underworld, she would be bound to it forever. One morning Persephone went into the Underworld’s garden, and was offered a pomegranate by the gardener. She was beginning to fall in love with him. She missed her mother, but Hades was the only person who’d ever treated like an adult. It was called Elysium–the Underworld’s heaven. When Persephone suggested that another realm be made for the best mortal souls to go to, Hades made it for her. He treated her not as property, but as someone who could eventually become a friend. He put Persephone’s thrown right next to his and, unlike the other Gods, allowed her equal rule along side him. Hades was saddened, but he was also patient. Hades was kind to her and showered her with gifts, but she missed her mother and the world above. Eventually she found a farmer who had witnessed all of it, and Demeter grew livid, vowing that the ground would never produce a stalk of wheat until Persephone was returned.ĭown in the Underworld, Persephone was distraught. Demeter quickly noticed her daughter was gone and searched frantically for help.
Hades leaned over the side and scooped Persephone up, and before the girl could even scream, plunged back into the earth. One day when Persephone was alone in her fields, the ground suddenly split open, and out sprung a huge chariot being pulled by black horses. However, Hades knew Demeter would never allow the union, so he decided to spirit Persephone away. Zeus was pleased with this turn of events: Hades was the richest and most stable of all the Gods, not to mention powerful. Finally he roused himself to go to Olympus and ask Zeus for Persephone’s hand in marriage. He ended up going back to watch her every so often, feeling his old heart soften each time. But as he observed Persephone, he was struck immediately by her beauty and her tenderness towards the nymphs. Hades was a just god, but he grew lonely and cold as he carried out his duties over the centuries. The other gods had grown to fear him, and the mortals hardly dared to utter his name.
Now, the underworld was a dark, isolated place, and since it was Hades’ job to judge the souls of all the dead, there was so much work to be done and he hardly ever was able to see his family up above. One day Hades, the God of the Underworld, happened to glance up at the world above and noticed Persephone playing with a group of nymphs in her fields. She meant to keep her innocent and virginal forever, always by her mother’s side. Demeter was very protective of her daughter, keeping her naive to the ways of the world and dressing her as a child, even as she grew into a women.
They conceived a beautiful goddess named Persephone, who was loved by all for her lighthearted kindness. Once upon a time, Zeus, the King of the Gods, was having an affair with the goddess of the harvest, Demeter. Sorry this is long, but I had to tell it right. Because the myth of Hades and Persephone, sometimes referred to as the “Abduction” or “Rape” of Persephone is a love story… just not necessarily a happy one. It’s also one of the most famous love stories ever told. Greek mythology has probably always been my favorite mythology, and this might be my favorite stories of all time.
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