In Greek mythology, Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter as well as the goddess of spring who rules the Underworld alongside her husband Hades.
In Greek mythology, Persephone is celebrated as the goddess of agriculture. However, she’s perhaps best known as the wife of Hades and the queen of the Underworld.
The most famous myth about Persephone tells how Hades abducted her from a field one day and dragged her to the Underworld, forcing her to become his wife. Her mother, Demeter, became so depressed that she neglected her duties as the goddess of the harvest, sending the world into famine.
Public DomainJ. W. Waterhouse’s 1912 painting depicts Persephone the moment before Hades carried her away.
As the story goes, Zeus then intervened, forcing Hades to allow Persephone to return to the land of the living for part of the year. The ancient Greeks may have used this myth to explain the changing of the seasons, as the Earth was bountiful when Persephone was with her mother but became barren when she returned to the Underworld each year.
Persephone also had a life outside of Hades, though. Other stories about the goddess tell of her empathy, jealousy, and lust. She has been depicted in countless works of art over the centuries, from Classical Greek pottery to Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s famous statue, The Rape of Proserpina. She even inspired an ancient cult.
This is the story of Persephone, one of the most revered Greek goddesses.
The Origin Story Of The Greek Goddess Persephone
In the Greek worldview, every aspect of existence was the work of gods, and each deity had their place in a vast family tree. Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and his sister Demeter, two of the most important of the Twelve Olympians. The most famous version of how Persephone came into the world is from the 495-line Homeric “Hymn to Demeter.”
When Zeus had just become the king of the cosmos, his mother, the Titaness Rhea, forbade him from marrying in an attempt to control his Olympian lust. In response, Zeus threatened to rape her. Rhea transformed into a snake to escape him, but he did the same and caught her. After violating his mother, Zeus went on a sexual spree.
Metropolitan Museum of ArtPersephone (far left) depicted on ancient Greek pottery from c. 440 B.C.E.
As noted in Robert Graves’ The Greek Myths, he fathered “the Seasons and the Three Fates on Themis; the Charites on Eurynome; the Three Muses on Mnemosyne… and, some say, Persephone, the Queen of the Underworld” with Demeter, the goddess of the harvest.
Persephone was so beautiful that the other Olympians called her simply “Kore” or “the Maiden.” It wasn’t long before many had asked to marry her, but her protective mother kept her hidden. However, one god refused to take no for an answer.
The Disturbing Myth Of Hades And Persephone
Hades, the king of the Underworld, fell in love with Persephone, the maiden “with the delicate ankles.” He asked his youngest brother, Zeus, for permission to marry her. Zeus knew that Demeter would be furious if he agreed, so he said that he could neither give nor withhold his blessing. Hades took that as a “yes.” Soon, Persephone would be Hades’ wife.
Wikimedia CommonsThis statue by the legendary sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini depicts the Rape of Proserpina (the Romans’ name for Persephone), a popular subject for artists for thousands of years.
One day, while she was out picking flowers with friends, Persephone got lost when she wandered off to chase butterflies. She suddenly heard a roaring sound from beneath her feet. The Homeric “Hymn to Demeter” reads:
And the earth, full of roads leading every which way, opened up under her.
It happened on the Plain of Nysa. There it was that the Lord who receives many guests made his lunge.
He was riding on a chariot drawn by immortal horses. The son of Kronos. The one known by many names.
He seized her against her will, put her on his golden chariot,
And drove away as she wept.
Demeter, wracked with grief, had no idea where her daughter had gone. She searched every corner of the Earth for days on end for her missing child. While she grieved, the crops and plants began to wither as the goddess neglected her duties, and famine spread across the globe.
Demeter was about to give up in despair when Helios, the sun god, mentioned that he knew what had happened to Persephone. Zeus, hoping to save humanity, sent his messenger Hermes to the Underworld “so that he may persuade Hades, with gentle words” to “allow holy Persephone to leave the misty realms of darkness… and be brought up to the light.”
Public DomainPersephone’s return to the world above was cause for celebration for her mother and humankind alike.
Hades couldn’t disobey his brother. But before he let Persephone leave, he invited her to share some pomegranate seeds with him. By eating them, she was bound to return to the Underworld for part of each year.
Demeter was so overjoyed to have her daughter back that she overlooked Hades’ trickery. Persephone would come home for part of the year, her old happy self — but she would also return to her husband to reign over the Underworld, where she mothered gods and goddesses of her own.
Who Was Persephone To The Ancient Greeks?
The tale of Persephone, the wife of Hades, is likely the story ancient Greeks told to explain the changing seasons. For two-thirds, one-half, or three-quarters of the year (depending on the version of the myth), she made the Earth bright and bountiful. The rest of the time, it was barren and cold.
Part of the legend tells how Demeter, in the form of a grieving old woman, visited the city of Eleusis, where she was hosted by the king and queen, Celeus and Metaneira. To repay them, Demeter granted their son, Demophon, eternal youth, burning his mortality away over a fire.
When Metaneira interrupted, Demeter revealed herself and ordered the Eleusinians to build a temple, the Telesterion, for her as an apology. The rituals performed there to honor her — and, by extension, her daughter — were called the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Louvre Museum/Wikimedia CommonsThe Eleusinian Mysteries were not only the most prominent rituals associated with Persephone and her mother but some of the most famous in the ancient Greek world.
However they got their start, the Eleusinian Mysteries were real, and among the oldest, most famous, and most revered religious events in the ancient Greek world. They began around the 7th century B.C.E. and continued for over 1,000 years. Every year, thousands of initiates into the Mysteries would gather in the city of Eleusis, northwest of Athens, during the final summer month of Boedromiōn, between September and October, according to an entry in Oxford Research Encyclopedias.
The Mysteries were appropriately named — little could be known for certain about them, then or now. It’s thought that initiates would bathe themselves in the sea, fast, and take part in rituals meant to reflect Demeter’s search for her daughter and her despair when she could not find her, all in hopes of securing a blessed afterlife.
The rituals were divided into two main parts: the Lesser Mysteries, held in the spring, and the Greater Mysteries, held in the fall. The Greater Mysteries, in particular, were kept so secret that no one knows what they involved to this day. Some scholars have suggested initiates took a psychoactive drug to explore questions of life, death, and existence in the darkened Telesterion. Others have theorized that the Mysteries involved the actual rape — and possibly ritual murder — of a young maiden representing Hades’ wife Persephone.
Carole Raddato/Wikimedia CommonsThe ruins of the Telesterion today. Less than 2,000 years ago, Persephone’s worshippers would gather here annually.
The Mysteries were immensely popular and attracted participants from all over the Mediterranean world. They were celebrated until the late 4th century C.E. when they were suppressed by the Christian Roman emperor Theodosius I.
However, despite the end of the Eleusinian Mysteries, Persephone remains a famous figure in Greek mythology today.
The Millennia-Spanning Legacy Of Persephone
The myth of Hades’ wife Persephone continues to grip the human imagination through its themes of motherhood, female solidarity, loss, and reunion, which have appealed to many people across cultures and time.
Psychological and symbolic interpretations view Persephone as an archetype of transformation, representing the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Her descent into the Underworld and subsequent return are seen as metaphors for personal growth and the journey into the unconscious.
Public DomainWhen she learned her daughter was missing, Demeter was so distraught she allowed the world to come to the brink of disaster.
Moreover, it’s an immensely popular tale, and it’s been a common topic and source of inspiration in art and literature for centuries. Persephone’s story was told in a 1934 episode of Walt Disney’s highly successful classic Silly Symphony. A character sharing her name and background, played by Monica Bellucci, featured in the Matrix franchise.
This myth, like many others handed down by the Greeks, has inspired countless works of art in other fields, from Percy Jackson and the Olympians to English artist J.W. Waterhouse’s instantly-recognizable painting of Persephone. Even today, the mystery and terror of this beloved myth continue to captivate minds and preserve the story of Persephone across centuries.
After learning the tragic and fascinating story of Persephone, the wife of Hades, take a look at the story behind the Minotaur, the fearsome bull-headed monster of Greek myth. Then read about six of mythology’s most terrifying gods.
