Persephone, << puhr SEHF uh nee, >> was a beautiful goddess in Greek and Roman mythology. The Greeks also called her Kore. The Romans called her Proserpina. Persephone was the daughter of Demeter (Ceres in Roman mythology), the goddess of agriculture and fertility. Persephone’s father was Zeus (Jupiter), the king of the gods. An important myth describes Demeter’s search for Persephone after the girl was kidnapped by Hades (Pluto), god of the dead.
One day, while Persephone was picking flowers in a meadow, the earth opened up. Hades seized Persephone and carried her to his underworld kingdom to become his wife. Demeter was heartbroken at the loss of her daughter and wandered the world looking for her.
Demeter became angry with the gods for allowing Persephone to be carried off. In revenge, Demeter refused to let crops grow. To return fertility to the earth, Zeus ordered Hades to return Persephone to her mother. But while in the underworld, Persephone had eaten seeds of the pomegranate, a fruit that symbolized marriage. By eating the seeds, she entered into a marriage with Hades that could not be ended.
Zeus arranged a compromise between Demeter and Hades. Persephone would spend two-thirds of each year with her mother and the remaining third with Hades. While Persephone lived with Hades, the earth became dry and barren, reflecting Demeter’s unhappiness. But while Demeter and Persephone lived together, crops flourished. The myth of Persephone was used to help explain the cycle of fertility in nature.
