Classical Mythology
- What the Hell? Adventures in the Underworld
- Hades Takes a Wife: Persephone
- The Cunning Rogue: Sisyphus
- The Not-So-Heavenly Host: Tantalus
- Undying Love: Orpheus
The first living visitor to the Underworld, though an unwilling one, was the goddess Persephone. The only daughter of Zeus and Demeter (the goddess of grain, agriculture, and fertility), Persephone was an innocent maiden, a virgin who loved to play in the fields where eternal springtime reigned.
But Hades had other plans for Persephone: He would steal her innocence and virginity and turn her into the dreaded goddess of the Underworld.
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
Hades, god of the Underworld, fell in love with Persephone and wanted her as his bride. His brother Zeus consented to the marriage—or at least refused to oppose it. Yet he warned Hades that Demeter would never approve this coupling, for she would not want her daughter spirited off to a sunless world. At Zeus's suggestion—or with his tacit understanding—Hades resolved to abduct the maiden.
Persephone was gathering flowers one day on a plain in Sicily. Hades suddenly appeared, thundering across the plain in his four-horse chariot. The god swooped down upon Persephone, scooped her up with one arm, and literally and figuratively deflowered her—leaving the plain scattered with blossoms of every color.
The appearance, abduction, and disappearance happened so swiftly that none of Persephone's companions witnessed the kidnapping. And though she called out to them—and plaintively called for her mother—no one heard her pleas. The earth opened up before Hades' chariot and the god drove the jet-black horses down into the chasm. As Hades and Persephone disappeared into the depths, the hole closed up behind them.
The Long Winter of Her Discontent
Demeter soon came to collect her daughter, but could not find a trace of Persephone. Distraught and desperate, Demeter searched high and low for her daughter. She traveled to the farthest corners of the earth, searching for nine full days and nights without ever stopping to eat, drink, bathe, or rest. Demeter was in a fury. She destroyed lands, crops, and livestock as she bewailed the loss of her daughter.
She threatened to make the earth barren forever and thus destroy all of humankind if she did not find Persephone.
The More Things Change ...
The painful separation of mother and daughter has been a common theme in mythology from Greece to Indonesia. Carl Jung, the pioneering psychologist and scholar of mythology, saw in such tales the universal pain of this ordeal—for example, when a daughter marries. Recognizing this universality gave rise to Jung's notion of “archetypes.”
Finally, on the tenth day, the goddess Hecate told Demeter that Persephone had been carried away, but she did not know by whom. The two goddesses went to Helius, the god of the sun, who saw everything that happened on Earth. Helius did tell her what had happened, but also tried to persuade Demeter that Hades—as Zeus's brother and ruler of one third of the universe—was not an unfit husband for Persephone.
Demeter refused to accept Hades as a suitable mate for her precious daughter. Enraged by the news of Persephone's abduction (and Zeus's possible complicity), she refused to return to Mount Olympus. Instead she roamed the earth in the guise of a mortal, forbidding the trees to bear fruit and the earth to nurture vegetables and herbs.
After a full year of famine had plagued the earth, Zeus realized that if he allowed Demeter to persist, all of humankind would starve—leaving no one to honor and make offerings to the gods. Zeus sent a parade of gods and goddesses to Demeter to beg her to come back to Olympus and to restore fertility to the earth.
But Demeter refused to budge until her daughter stood by her side. Zeus had no choice: He relented, promising to bring Persephone back to her mother.
The Renewal of Spring
Hermes, summoned by Zeus, raced down to Hades to fetch Persephone. Hades shrugged compliantly and agreed to let her go. Persephone had not eaten a single thing—whether from sorrow, loss of appetite, or stubbornness—since her arrival in the Underworld. But before she left, Hades urged Persephone to appease her terrible hunger by eating a single pomegranate seed. Sadly, this apparent act of kindness was a trick: Anyone who tastes the food of Hades must remain in the Underworld.
Mythed by a Mile
In another version of this story, Persephone innocently plucked some fruit from the trees in the gardens of Hades herself. To fight off her terrible hunger, she secretly ate seven pomegranate seeds. But a gardener of Hades had seen her and ratted her out to Hades. Persephone punished him for his indiscretion by turning him into a screech owl or Demeter punished him by burying him under an enormous rock.
The deed having been done, Rhea—the mother of Zeus, Demeter, and Hades—proposed a compromise that her children reluctantly accepted: Since Persephone had eaten there, she had to dwell at least part of every year in the Underworld. Rhea suggested that Persephone spend six months (or, according to some, three or four months) as Queen of the Underworld and the rest of the year with Demeter.
After agreeing to the deal, Demeter restored Earth's fertility and returned to Olympus with Persephone. But when the time came for Persephone to return to the Underworld, the earth became colder and less fertile until her reemergence months later.
Since the abduction of Persephone, spring and summer have given way to autumn and winter, and the earth's fertility has followed the progression of seasons. In the fall, seeds—like Persephone herself—were buried underground. But in the spring, Persephone and the earth's crops came out into the sun once more.
Queen of the Underworld
Although she spent only half of her life in the Underworld, little is known of Persephone's life above ground after her abduction. Below ground, however, she was dreaded forever afterward as the goddess of the Underworld. So feared was she that mortals often invoked her name in curses.
Despite her forbidding image, Queen Persephone did sometimes show a capacity for mercy. When Alcestis offered her own life in place of her dying husband's, Persephone sent her back from the Underworld and spared them both. Persephone also exhibited strong maternal feelings when Aphrodite entrusted her with safeguarding the infant Adonis (see The A Team: Olympians All). Indeed, she became so enamored of the baby that she refused to give him back. (Zeus ultimately ruled that Adonis would spend one third of his life with Persephone, one third with Aphrodite, and one third with whomever he wished.)
Read All About It
An alternative version of the story of Alcestis and her husband Admetus can be found in Alcestis by Euripides. In this drama, Heracles restores Alcestis to life by wrestling with Thanatos (Death).
Persephone had no children by Hades, but she remained faithful to him—and saw that he remained faithful to her. When Hades attempted to seduce Minthe, Persephone transformed the nymph into a fragrant mint plant. Similarly, she thwarted her husband's attempt to seduce Leuce by changing that nymph into a white poplar tree.
Hades returned the favor when Peirithous journeyed to the Underworld in an attempt to abduct Persephone and bring her back to Earth as his bride. When Peirithous arrived with his friend Theseus and announced his intentions, Hades graciously offered the visitors a seat. The two sat down in the Chairs of Forgetfulness: stone seats that enveloped and intertwined with their naked flesh. Though Theseus was later freed by Heracles (see The Labors of Heracles), Peirithous remained in the Underworld forever.
Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Mythology © 2004 by Kevin Osborn and Dana L. Burgess, Ph.D.. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by arrangement with Alpha Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
To order this book direct from the publisher, visit the Penguin USA website or call 1-800-253-6476. You can also purchase this book at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.
FAQs
Classical Mythology: Hades Takes a Wife: Persephone? ›
Hades then snatched Persephone from the earth and dragged her into the underworld with him. In Ancient Greek and Roman texts it is clear that Hades kidnapped Persephone against her will, and forcibly made her his wife.
How did Hades get his wife Persephone? ›According to mythology, Hades, god of the Underworld, fell in love with beautiful Persephone when he saw her picking flowers one day in a meadow. The god then carried her off in his chariot to live with him in the dark Underworld.
Why did Hades take Persephone? ›Persephone was abducted by Hades when he saw her in a meadow picking wildflowers. He was completely enamored in her beauty and chose to abduct her by opening up the earth to the underworld where she was picking flowers.
What was Persephone doing when Hades took her? ›Persephone was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. Persephone was picking flowers one day when Hades saw her. He was so captivated by her beauty that he took her by force to the underworld. Demeter, goddess of the harvest and fertility searched for her daughter when Persephone went missing.
What is the real story of Persephone and Hades? ›The story of Persephone, the sweet daughter of goddess Demeter who was kidnapped by Hades and later became the Queen of the Underworld, is known all over the world. It is actually the way of the ancient Greeks to explain the change of the seasons, the eternal cycle of the Nature's death and rebirth.
Has Hades ever cheated on Persephone? ›Persephone's jealousy suggests she might have loved Hades
In Ovid's famous text Metamorphosis, Hades has an affair with a young Nymph named Minthe. Persephone, now in her later years, was so incensed with jealousy that she turned Minthe into a mint plant.
Persephone's abduction by Hades is mentioned briefly in Hesiod's Theogony, and is told in considerable detail in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Zeus, it is said, permitted Hades, who was in love with the beautiful Persephone, to abduct her as her mother Demeter was not likely to allow her daughter to go down to Hades.
Does Hades hate Persephone? ›Hades loved her, and according to some versions of the myth, she loved him back. In the end, with that sort of love so often taken for granted in Greek mythology, maybe Hades wasn't such a villain after all. His methods were heinous, and no one would blame Persephone for hating her circumstances.
Why is Hades weakness Persephone? ›Hades is not an evil God but not a friendly one either; his strength were wealth and riches. His weaknesses was Persephone because he cared deeply for her,she was his wife,and his passion towards her.
What is the moral of the story of Persephone? ›A new cycle of life and death
Persephone's eating of the pomegranate seed means that a compromise is set up, in which the world changes forever. Whereas she might have expected an immortal existence with her mother on Olympus, Persephone becomes the central figure in a new cycle of life and death.
Who freed Persephone from Hades? ›
Zeus therefore intervened, commanding Hades to release Persephone to her mother. Because Persephone had eaten a single pomegranate seed in the underworld, however, she could not be completely freed but had to remain one-third of the year with Hades, and spent the other two-thirds with her mother.
Did Hades only love Persephone? ›Hades, god of the Underworld, fell in love with Persephone and wanted her as his bride. His brother Zeus consented to the marriage—or at least refused to oppose it. Yet he warned Hades that Demeter would never approve this coupling, for she would not want her daughter spirited off to a sunless world.
Did Hades treat Persephone well? ›In the Underworld, Persephone had grown to love Hades, who treated her with compassion and loved her as his Queen. As she would have up in Olympus, she remained eternally beautiful in the Underworld. Hades admired her kind and nurturing nature.
Did Hades and Persephone have a child? ›Persephone and Hades had two children; one daughter, Melinoë,and one son, Zagreus. Melinoë became the goddess of nightmares and madness. Zagreus was a minor Greek god. What were Persephone's other names?
How many wives Hades had? ›Hades had a couple of consorts outside of Persephone. They included Leuce, a nymph daughter of Oceanus, and Minthe, a nymph of the River Cocytus.
Does Persephone sleep with Hades? ›Hades and Persephone sleeping together. In Episode 110, after a brief argument over Persephone going to the beach to give coins to the shades, Hades admits to Persephone that he wants her and the two share a passionate kiss. However, Persephone unintentionally turns into butterflies and leaves him.
Why did Persephone turn evil? ›Persephone no longer wanted to live because of the fact that she married a man she did not love, she was living a life she did not want, and that she was betrayed by the very gods who called her their own.
What did Persephone do wrong? ›Persephone was ruthless to those who had wronged her
In the myth of Adonis, both Persephone and Aphrodite had fallen in love with the mortal man. Zeus order was to split his time between the two goddesses, but when Adonis decided that he did not wish to return to the Underworld, Persephone sent a wild boar to kill him.
Some Greeks feared her even more than Hades, reportedly using her name to curse enemies. She was in no way weak and was one of the few who personified duality by being able to hold the roles Queen of the Underworld and a Spring Goddess.
What is the sad story of Persephone? ›Hades had fallen head over heels for Persephone. So, one day when Persephone was picking flowers in a field, he jumped at the chance to abduct her. Hades came up from the depths of hell in his chariot and snatched Persephone, taking her back down to the underworld and forcing her to be his wife.
What is Persephone's Stockholm syndrome? ›
Stockholm syndrome is foremost defined by “a severely uneven power relationship”. Yet Persephone rules the Underworld as Queen, alongside Hades. He is willing to share power, with her, and isn't overcontrolling of her: he let her go for half the year on request, not because he had to.
Did Hades and Persephone have a happy ending? ›Persephone slipped beneath the Earth and Hades stole her to the Underworld where he made her his wife. The myth says that Persephone was very unhappy, but after much time, she came to love the cold-blooded Hades and lived happily with him.
Who got Persephone pregnant? ›Zagreus is the son of Persephone and her father Zeus. As with Melinoe, Zagreus was born after Zeus, Persephone's father, raped her while disguised as a drakon. The infant boy was taken to Zeus's throne, but Hera, Zeus's wife, was furious and had the boy sliced to pieces by a group of Titans.
Was Hades a good husband? ›Hades: The Most Loyal Greek God
The Greek god Hades is comparatively a better husband than his peer gods. Whilst Zeus and Poseidon – Hades' brothers – are widely known for their affairs, Hades remained loyal to Persephone.
Why did Zeus and Persephone have children together? Now, let me get this straight: Persephone did not romantically love Zeus or wanted children with him. It was Zeus who thought she was pretty and beautiful so he slept with her.
How many children did Persephone have with Zeus? ›Persephone's Children
Though a maiden goddess, zealously defended by her mother for a long time, Persephone did eventually have two children, a daughter named Melinoe and a son called Zagreus.
Hades, Greek Aïdes (“the Unseen”), also called Pluto or Pluton (“the Wealthy One” or “the Giver of Wealth”), in ancient Greek religion, god of the underworld.
Who made Hades fall in love with Persephone? ›Aphrodite makes Hades fall in love with Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, goddess of the crops. He snatches her while she is picking flowers in a meadow with a nymph and takes her down to the Underworld.
Why did Zeus give Persephone to Hades? ›Because Hades had deceivingly tricked the young Persephone into eating the pomegranate, he was commanded to allow Persephone to visit her poor mother above his domain. In return, Zeus promised a binding deal that allowed Hades to have Persephone a month for each seed she had eaten.
Which God made Persephone his wife? ›Summary. Persephone/Kore (Περσεφόνη/ Κόρη) is a goddess, Demeter's daughter by Zeus, wife of Hades, and queen of the underworld.
Did Hades really love Persephone? ›
Hades loved her, and according to some versions of the myth, she loved him back. In the end, with that sort of love so often taken for granted in Greek mythology, maybe Hades wasn't such a villain after all. His methods were heinous, and no one would blame Persephone for hating her circumstances.
Did Persephone marry Hades willingly? ›Hades, god of the Underworld, fell in love with Persephone and wanted her as his bride. His brother Zeus consented to the marriage—or at least refused to oppose it. Yet he warned Hades that Demeter would never approve this coupling, for she would not want her daughter spirited off to a sunless world.
Does Hades sleep with Persephone? ›Hades and Persephone sleeping together. In Episode 110, after a brief argument over Persephone going to the beach to give coins to the shades, Hades admits to Persephone that he wants her and the two share a passionate kiss. However, Persephone unintentionally turns into butterflies and leaves him.
How did Zeus seduce Persephone? ›In the Orphic myths, the maiden goddess Persephone was seduced by Zeus in the guise of a serpent. She bore him a son, the godling Zagreus, who, when Zeus placed him upon the throne of heaven, was attacked and dismembered by the Titanes.
Is Persephone good or bad? ›Persephone is the main antagonist of God of War: Chains of Olympus. She is the ancient Greek Goddess of Spring and Innocence who was cursed to be both the wife of Hades and the Goddess of the Underworld. She was voiced by the late Marina Gordon.
Why was Persephone feared? ›As their leader, Persephone could instruct the Erinyes to torture souls condemned to Tartarus, the most feared dungeon of the Underworld. Persephone also unleashed the Erinyes on those who dared to utter curses in her name, earning her a reputation as, “she who must not be named,” and the goddess of curses.
Why is Hades and Persephone romanticized? ›This myth originates in the Hymn to Demeter, which is the only full account we have of it. Persephone is referred to as the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She's historically beautiful and kind, one of the most popular gods in the pantheon. Hades catches sight of her one day and falls immediately in love with her beauty.