Persephone and Hades

Artist:  Glenn Austin

The Myth

The Myth of the descent of Persephone into the Underworld is at the core of what is known as the Eleusinian Mysteries which actually very little is known about. 

The myth is primarily a very elaborate allegory for a seasonal cycle which is related to agriculture.  It is in psychological terms also an allegory for a very profound psychological process.  The fascinating thing about this myth really is that it crosses many boundaries and speaks to many different levels of  reality both internally and externally. 

As the story goes, one day Persephone the beautiful and naive young maiden is wandering alone through the woods while her mother Demeter (goddess of grain and corn) is attending to agricultural business somewhere off in the distance.  In her wandering away from her mother's sight, she stops to admire a lovely Narcissus flower.   At that moment a great chasm in the Earth opens and the Lord of the Underworld, Hades, emerges, kidnaps her, and whisks her off into the land of the dead by pure brute force, to be his bride.   

Hades is considered for the most part a loveless and feared being, but on conspiracy of Cupid it was decided that Hades should learn the meaning of love.  Cupid shot him with an arrow and it was so that Hades would then fall in love with the first woman he saw.  That of course happened to be Persephone walking through the forest alone. 

The abduction in many art depictions is usually titled: "The Rape of Persephone" and some images show Hades emerging from the underworld with a mighty team of black raging horses, dragging her off kicking and screaming to her fate down below. 

At first Persephone is not a willing bride.  With time however she does come to love Hades in her own way. 

After Persephone's disappearance, Demeter's grief is so deep that she refuses to make anything on the earth to grow until her daughter is returned to her.   Only an act of law from Zeus can finally end the plight of starvation and barreness of the earth when he sends Mercury to the Underworld with a message to Hades giving orders to release Persephone at once.  This he does but not before he tricks her into eating half of a pomegranate fruit.  This seals their marriage forever.  Because of this Persephone is allowed to return half of the year to be with her mother Demeter above ground who rejoices and makes green things grow on the earth again initiating  the beginning of spring.  The other half of the year she must dutifully descend as Bride to Hades and Queen of the Underworld to fulfill her obligation at his side in the netherworld.  This half of the year marks the onset of winter when Demeter's grief again refuses to make things grow. 

In much of my reading up on this myth from various sources I've come across some interesting insights.  For one, it was written by one source that Persephone eventually developed the capacity to be a great deal more cruel and cold hearted to wrong doer's in Tartarus (The Greek name for purgatory) then Hades ever was. 

Hades was indeed the Lord of the Underworld realm and Kingdom of the Dead, but Persephone was the personification of death and rebirth itself.  She is a powerful necromancer and Queen well versed in the art of death, as well as a patron Goddess of marriage and of children according to some.   

One recently published book,  (The "Narcissus and the Pomagranate" by Ann Suter) concerning the origins of this goddess suggest that she was an autonomous deity much older then Demeter.  She argues her theories that Persephone in fact was the original Deity of the Eleusinian Mysteries known by an older name, and that Demeter was a later Goddess who usurped her power.  She makes a case for the fact that originally Persephone may have stayed in the underworld all year round and in Sicily their are stories and myths about her that suggest this by those who worship this Goddess.  Ann Suter also theorizes that perhaps Persephone is associated with an older serpent Goddess, The Minoan Snake Goddess being the most likely candidate in her opinion.  It is an interesting book only recently published and I wish that the author had made some stronger cases for her arguements.  Her ability to back up those arguments are actually very weak at this time.   It would seem that she is possibly breaking some new ground on the origin of this Great Lady which has possibly been very veiled over the centuries.   I am now personally intrigued to follow up on these new ideas. 

 According to the Golden Bough (Robert Graves), It was to Persephone, not Hades that travelers through the underworld made offerings in order to ensure safe passage.  The Golden Bough ( a tree branch ) was left at her door as the most sacred offering to this dark Goddess by hero's of the Greek sagas who wished to pay their respects to the Great Lady of death. 

It is also of interest to note that Persephone has some very mysterious association with Aphrodite.  In some of the older engravings, Aphrodite is depicted among her entourage in the underworld and some say that possibly Aphrodite is associated with Persephones "light aspect".  It could be that this has some relation to the story of Cupid and his arrow hitting Hades as well. 

This association is of especial interest to me in regards to any grail connections that Persephone clearly has.  This will be covered in other articles found elsewhere on this site.  Aphrodite is associated with Venus and by way of other associations one is led to contemplate the Stella Maris Mysteries of that ancient Goddess who rises from the  underworld Sea in grail traditions which are linked to the Cult of the Black Madonna indirectly. 

It is also highly fascinating that Persephone is said to be the mother of Bacchus (associated with Dionysos) the God of the Vine.  Vine symbolism runs rampant in all of grail tradition as well especially with regards to the underworld tree symbolism and those mysteries concerning ancestral memory.  It would almost lead me to believe on a hunch that the Eleusinian Mysteries have a great deal more to do with Grail mysteries then possibly anyone ever thought, considering the meaning of the  Eleusinian Mysteries have been so incredibly guarded.  That is however only speculation on my part. 

For those who have any magical affinities for this archetype,  below is a list of traditional magical symbols and or offerings which can be used for purposes relating to this Goddess

Names

Symbols

Sacred Sites