Death and the Maiden...and her Mother

Demeter was the goddess of the harvest, much revered and beloved in the world of men. She wasthe granddaughter of Gaia, the great Earth Mother who gave birth to all of the gods. Through Demeter's blessings, the crops in the fields grew tall and the land bloomed with fertile plants.

Demeter had many children, but she was especially devoted to her daughter Persephone. The two were inseparable.

As she grew, Persephone's radiant beauty and gentle, lovely nature drew many admirers among the gods. But her mother Demeter would not allow any of them to pay her suit.

One day, Persephone was picking flowers in a meadow with some of her friends when she became entranced by an unfamiliar bloom. Wandering away from the other girls, she came upon a rocky gully cut by a clear slow stream. Beside the bank, she knelt to pluck one of the beautiful blossoms.

It was then that she was spied by Hades, king of the Underworld. Hades had long been smitten with Persephone, and seeing her without her ever-present mother, he was overcome with love. In a great rumbling that split the rocks in two, he burst out of the ground in his three-horse chariot, swept up the girl and carried her back to his realm, under the earth.

Persephone was terribly frightened. Hades sought to calm her with kind words, offering her a comfortable room in his gloomy palace. "I long only for your bright company," he said gently, patting her hand, and though she flinched at his touch there was a sadness in his eyes that pulled at her sympathy. But she refused to speak, and turned away.

Demeter was frantic at the disappearance of her daughter. She questioned Persephone's friends, but none of them had seen where she'd gone. She asked the rocks and the streams, but received no reply. She pleaded with the flowers and the grasses, but heard only the soft chuckle of the wind.

In her despair, Demeter wandered from place to place, asking every living thing where her daughter had gone. None had seen her: not man, not beast, not tree. And with every empty reply her despair grew, until her grief consumed her.


Demeter stopped blessing the land. Leaves fell from the trees, crops withered and died. Famine spread through the world of men. They cried out to their great goddess, pleading for her good favor, but so great was her sorrow and apathy that Demeter was deaf to their prayers.

Persephone was lonely. Though Hades had been unfailingly kind, seeking in every way to win her favor, she longed to return to the living. She missed her mother and she missed the bright warmth of Helios as he passed across the sky. She missed the flowers in the fields and their sweet perfume.

Yet Persephone soon grew restless in her new home, and reluctantly roused herself from mourning. Hades wished to escort her about his realm. She found herself touched by the despairing plight of the souls, so sad to have left the living, and gave her sweet smile and blessing to all she saw. In her wake, even the spirits of the dead were left content.

Hades, too, brightened in her presence. He was a solitary god, the only one of his siblings without a seat on Olympus. Solemn and quiet, he took his duties seriously and did not often leave his realm, preferring to allow the Fates to send him fresh company in their own time.

Persephone saw that for every smile she bestowed upon a soul they encountered, the gloom of both Hades and his realm was lifted. She began to recognize the strange beauty of the Underworld, and the earnest charm of her companion. She found herself turning her smile not only upon the souls in his care, but upon him, more and more,

When Hades asked her to be his Queen, she was torn. She still missed her mother, the waters and the flowers and the light of Helios, but she had grown attached to her new home. She had made many friends. Even Hades' fearsome three-headed dog Cerberus loved her so much he ate from her hand. She had to admit the idea of being Queen of the Underworld was intriguing.

Persephone missed her home, but the land of the living was hardly recognizable. As the plants died, so too did the animals, and the world of men suffered greatly. Demeter, lost in her grief, cared nothing for their prayers.

At last Zeus responded to their pleas with a directive to his messenger, Hermes: go and fetch Persephone from the Underworld, and return her to her mother. For from his throne on Olympus he had seen the truth, that his brother Hades had taken the girl. So too had he seen how happy his brother was with Persephone. Thus Zeus he neglected to tell his sister Demeter what had happened to her daughter.

Hermes arrived in the Underworld and demanded to see Persephone. "Demeter your sister is distraught," he rebuked.

Hades did not protest. He knew his love could not agree to a life away from the mother she missed so dearly. "If you must return, I will not prevent it," he said heavily. "But first, I beg you, take some small sustenance for the journey." And he presented her with a dish of pomegranate seeds.


"My lady," protested Hermes. "You must not eat of the fruit, lest you bind yourself to this realm forever."

Persephone contemplated the bowl. Though she longed for her mother and her home, she had grown exceeding fond of Hades. She had not missed the sadness in his eyes when he gave her leave to go, nor the spark of hope that lit them as he offered her the fruit.

"I must return to my mother," she said at last.

Hades cast down his eyes, concealing his disappointment. Cerberus whined.

Persephone placed a hand into the bowl and picked out six plump seeds. "I must return to my mother," she repeated, "for she is unhappy and sick with grief. And truth be told, I wither away from the bright light of Helios. I long for the green fields and warm breezes. I will refresh there, and restore myself to myself.  And then I will return, and be your Queen."

She lifted a seed to her lips. "For each seed, I will dwell with you one full turn of bright-haired Selene in her moon chariot. Then I will return to my mother and the bright world above. So it will be as long as Helios and Selene pull their charges across the sky: do you accept?"

Hades' delighted smile was all the reply she needed.

Demeter had finally learned the whereabouts of her daughter. Bright Helios had taken pity on her grief and shown her the great split in the rock where Hades had whisked her away. Furious, she went to her brother Zeus to demand justice. There in the great hall on Olympus she found Persephone, beaming with joy, and Hermes, whose long face told a different tale.

"What's this?" she rounded on Hermes, after hearing of Persephone's arrangement. "How could you let this happen?"

"Do not upbraid Hermes, Mother. The choice was mine," Persephone chided. "I was not deceived. Hades is just and kind. I will be both his Queen and your bright star; you see?"

Demeter was unhappy, but had no choice but to agree to the plan. For six turns of Selene, crossing the inky night sky in her silver chariot, she and Persephone were reunited and the land bloomed more fruitfully than ever under her joyful blessings.

But after the six moons were complete, her daughter returned to Hades, and Demeter once again fell into sadness. Again she neglected the land, caring not for sweet-smelling flowers and waves of grain. No, the barren fields reflected her loneliness and eased the pain in her heart.

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Yet the world of men suffered from the lack of food. Demeter took pity upon them, and sent her son Philomelos to teach them agriculture. Thus did men learn to sow and harvest crops.

Demeter then sent her daughter Chrysothemis to teach them to store food away, so they might not starve during the months of Demeter's sorrow.

In joyful gratitude, men raised temples to Demeter, and offered her the first fruits of their harvests. In the autumn when Persephone returned to her husband, they held great rites in her honor, and prayed for her daughter's return.

Persephone and Hades rule the Underworld together, dispensing justice to the wicked, bringing comfort and peace to the virtuous.