Persephone



Persephone is the goddess of springtime and the queen of the Underworld. She is the daughter of Demeter and Zeus, and the wife of Hades.

[edit] Appearance
In 'The Demigod Files' she was decribed as a young woman with pale skin and black hair wearing a white dress, and although she was beautiful, it seemed like she would be more so during Spring. Her eyes were said to be multicolored, but washed out, as if the underworld had sapped her life force.

[edit] History
Unlike Zeus' other children, Persephone has no stable position at Olympus. Persephone used to live far away from the other deities, a goddess within Nature herself before the days of planting seeds and nurturing plants. When Persephone reached marriageable age, the gods Hermes, Ares, Apollo, and Hephaestus had all wooed Persephone; but Demeter rejected all their gifts and hid her daughter away from the company of the Olympian deities. Thus, Persephone lived a peaceful life before she became the goddess of the underworld, which did not occur until Hades abducted her and brought her into it.

Persephone's uncle, Hades was lonely, and wanted a wife. He spied Persephone in the fields one day, and entranced by her purity and beauty fell in love with her at first sight.

Persephone was innocently picking flowers with some nymphs in a field in Enna when Hades came to abduct her, bursting through a cleft in the earth. Later, the nymphs were changed by Demeter into the Sirens for not having interfered. Life came to a standstill as the devastated Demeter, goddess of the Earth, searched everywhere for her lost daughter. Helios, the sun, who sees everything, eventually told Demeter what had happened. She then stopped caring for the Earth, and the land didn't flourish.

In some stories it is said that Eros, the god of love shot a golden arrow into Hades' heart while he was riding in his black chariot. When Hades rode across the field and saw Persephone, thus he fell in love with her.

Most versions agree Hades first obtained the permission of Zeus to kidnap her.

Hades was determined to make Persephone love him, and tried in many ways. She hated him at first, for snatching her away from her mother, but she soon reveled that her mother wasn't around, as she had never been away from her before. He very much wanted her love and tried to buy it with many gifts at first, but then took to spending all of his day with her, trying to make her happy. Hecate, the Goddess of Magic, came down to the Underworld and befriended Persephone, and Hades was very appreciative towards her, because Persephone was not depressed or unhappy when her friend was around.

Finally, Zeus, pressed by the cries of the hungry people and by the other deities who also heard their anguish, forced Hades to return Persephone. However, it was a rule of the Fates that whoever consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there. Before Persephone was released to Hermes, who had been sent to retrieve her, Hades tricked Persephone into eating four pomegranate seeds, which forced her to return to the underworld for a season each year. In another version she ate the pomegranate off of a tree not knowing the results, but a servant of Hades testified against her forcing her to return.

When Demeter and her daughter were united, the Earth flourished with vegetation and color, but for some months each year, when Persephone returned to the Underworld, the earth once again became a barren realm.

[edit] Relationship with Demeter
During her early life, Persephone only knew her father, her mother, and the nymphs that accompanied them. She grew up very close to her mother (she rarely saw her father Zeus) and her mother in turn became dependant upon her. When Hades kidnapped her, she did not want to stay with him, and wanted to be rescued, but over time, she fell in love with him and was relieved to be free from her mother's bossiness, nagging, and smothering for a time. She was tricked into eating the six pomegranate seeds, wanting to stay with her mother, but came to value the time away from her mother. Demeter's relationship with her daughter is slightly unhealthy, as Demeter is only happy when she is with her daughter, but they both love each other dearly, despite the problems between them.

[edit] Relationship with Hades
When Hades kidnapped her, she did not want to stay with him and wanted to be rescued. He was very kind, and he didn't ever nag, boss, or smother her. He very much wanted her love and tried to buy it with many gifts at first, but then took to spending all of his day with her, trying to make her happy. He tricked her into eating the pomegranate seeds forcing her to stay with him part of the year. At first she despised Hades, but in time she grew to respect him if not love him and value her position as queen of the dead. It gave her a chance to get away from her mother.

[edit] Children
Hades - Macaria, In some traditions also Plutus, Zagreus and Melinoe

Zeus - Melinoe

David Lilharr - Odyssey Lilharr