Demeter, Persephone, and Hades

By: Jason Chapman, Kevin Chiang

Back Story

• Demeter is the goddess of the harvest. If she is upset, then all of the world's crops would die. Her source of happiness comes from her daughter, Persephone. Persephone's parents are Zeus and Demeter.

Demeter

• Persephone radiated beauty. One day whilest picking flowers, Hades, her uncle, noticed her and fell in love instantly. Soon after he kidnapped her and brought her to the deepest reaches in the underworld, and locked her up.

Hades

• Persephone refused to talk to Hades, and refused to eat. This was especially important because if you ate anything from the underworld, you would be bound there for eternity. But, after a week in Hades room, the hunger overwhelmed her and she ate pomegranate seeds.

Persephone

• Meanwhile, Demeter was in dismay. As a result of Hades actions, Demeter was unable to care for the crops, so the Earth's population began to diminish. Zeus noticed this and was worried. If there were no people, no one could worship him, so he sent his youngest son, Hermes, to strike a deal with Hades.

• When Hermes arrived, he saw how heavily Hades was in love with Persephone, and to make things worse, Persephone had eaten the food. Hermes thought fast and made a deal. The deal stated that Hades could marry Persephone and be the queen of the underworld, but only for half of the year. The other half she could return back to her mother.

• Hades, Zeus, and finally Demeter agreed. Each spring, Demeter readies her daughter's return with blooming flowers.

The End

• When Persephone has to leave and return back to the underworld, Demeter lets all of the crops wither away, thus giving us the four seasons.

Symbols and Themes

Jason Chapman, Kevin Chiang

The Innocent: Persephone was Demeter’s daughter who

was forced into the Underworld to be Hades’ wife, out of her control. There are many versions of the story, but in the end she was either unable to resist her hunger or tricked into eating the pomegranate seeds, which showed her purity and innocence in this situation.

The Caregiver: Demeter here was obviously shown to be caring and loving, showering her motherly love on Persephone, her joy. When her daughter disappeared, she was fearful, afraid, and was indeed in great sorrow to the point that Zeus himself has to intervene in the form of Hermes. The loss and the return of Persephone each year clearly demonstrates Demeter’s love and great maternal care for her daughter.

Archetypes - Characters

The 4 Seasons: This myth was the ancient

Greek’s explanation to the seasons of the year, intertwining the joy of Demeter produced by the temporary presence of her daughter to the amount of life there is in each season.

The Sun: Described as the Titan Helios, was a symbol of knowledge. In the story, when Persephone disappeared, Demeter asked Helios to tell her what became of her daughter, for “he sees everything on earth.”

Archetypes - Others

Light vs. Darkness: An important concept

that is even more magnified in this particular myth, is the existence of the “Overworld” and the “Underworld.” The world above the ground was filled with light, symbolizing hope, life, and renewal. The world below the ground was tied to death and despair. Both of these characteristics were found in this myth, and we can also place Demeter and Hades into the categories of light and darkness respectively.

Archetypes - Others

Love can separate people: Persephone was

the medium in which the theme acts on, for she is separated between two different people, Hades and Demeter. Because of their love towards Persephone is contradictory to each other, the young goddess is split among two people. Neither side’s love can be justified in this situation, and thus we can say that Demeter and Hades are neither in the right nor the wrong.

Themes

Conclusion

Summary 　 　 In the story, Demeter is the god of the

harvest, Persephone is Demeter’s daughter. She is beautiful. Hades noticed her and kidnapped her. Demeter found out and was very upset. This resulted in the crops withering away. Zeus found out and sent his youngest child, Hermes. Hemes then struck a deal with Hades that Persephone go back to her mother for six months but, she has to return back to the underworld for six months, thus giving us the four seasons of the year.