Abduction Of Persephone Essay

The Ancient Greeks believed in many gods and heroes during their time. Each one had a sole purpose in a mortal’s lifetime. Greek mythology had a huge impact on religion in Ancient Greece. The Greeks performed rituals in order to honor their gods. Mythology affected the Ancient Greeks in many ways. The origins of mythology, the influences of mythology through a human’s lifetime and lessons taught in the ancient myths will be examined.

The Homeric Hymn to Demeter tells the story of Demeter, the goddess of fertility of grain. Demeter has a daughter with Zeus by the name of Persephone. The hymn explains the strong bond between Demeter and Persephone and how distraught Demeter is when her daughter is abducted. This traumatic event causes Demeter to live among mortal men disguised as an old woman and withdraw the fertility of the earth. In this paper, I will examine how the Homeric Hymn to Demeter operates as a charter myth, or narrative that explains modern practices, and how successful the hymn is in conveying the modern practice.

Together, the two patriarchal figures conspire to kidnap and force Persephone to marry Hades. This is done behind Demeter’s back, intentionally removing her from her role as mother. Their actions directly diminish or outright remove the will of Demeter, a symbol of women in Greek culture (The Homeric Hymn to Demeter 29-30). This theme of a removal of female autonomy is mirrored later in the text when Hades tricks Persephone into eating pomegranate seeds. This action is a deliberate attempt to remove Persephone’s ability to choose for herself, condemning her to spend the winter months in the underworld with him. Not only does this subjugate Persephone to Hades’ will, but it also lends justification to the subjugation of women by men (372-400). By removing the sovereignty of the female mind, the myth promotes male authority.

In the Demeter and Persephone myth, Demeter is represented as a quite powerful goddess of nature, she possess the ability to bring down her full wrath and vengeance among mankind when she threats Zeus to get her daughter back. The Greeks recognized women’s ultimate connection to the earth and the power that arose from it however they also display significant amounts of an inferiority complex towards women. While the Greeks exemplify their fear towards the powerful Demeter they turn the tables and force their controlling views onto Persephone and she then becomes a rag doll and taken against her will. Persephone represents the beauty of nature and how the Greeks saw nature as two sided, both good and bad. Hades represented death and decay while Persephone represented vitality and life. However, they were threatened by woman’s connection nature and the power to create new life, similarly to Demeter’s connection with growing new crops both represent birth and regeneration. Even though Demeter did have control over whether or not mankind would starve it would not make a difference since Persephone still ate that pomegranate seed and was forced to go back to the underworld. This poses the idea that men had to control women as men had to control nature, similarly to the Norse Mythology. However the Greeks unlike the Norse recognized women’s power but are

The Goddess Persephone was a very beautiful and well worshiped goddess, she was loved by all, do to how she was very kind and caring as well as being able to bring warmth to the earth also known as spring. Persephone is the daughter of Zeus the king of all gots and the daughter of Demeter the goddess of the harvest. Indeed she was very beautiful, or at least enough to catch the eye of the ruler of the underworld. He then fell instantly in love with her and knew he had to have her. So he devised a plan to take her as his own. One day Persephone was picking flowers for her mother Demeter when she noticed a beautiful scent and decide to follow it. After wandering off from the field she looked up at birds fluttering and suddenly the sky began to

     Hades is one of the brothers of Zeus. He is the unlucky one who got to rule the underworld. He is cruel and unforgiving. Only two have ever gone to Hades domain and returned, Hercules and Odysseus. Hades fell in love with Zeus’s daughter and devised a plan to abduct her. With Zeus’s help they succeeded in the capture of Persephone. Her mother Demeter was so enraged she cursed the Earth. She continued the curse even after she was released. It was only after her mother Rhea was allowed to see her that she let the Earth prosper (message).

In the myth “Persephone”, as retold by Anne Terry White, Hades falls instantly in love with the Goddess of harvest and takes her to the underworld with him. Have is all the sudden alarmed by the heaven, fire breathing beasts that had been buried underground, so he comes up to the land. Anthradite, Goddess of love, spots Hades and commands her son, Eros, to shoot with an arrow of love, hoping it would make Hades release the beasts kindly. Hades suddenly gets shot and his heart slowly begins to soften. Suddenly, in the distance, Hades sees Persephone, goddess of harvest, gracefully working in the meadows and he instantly falls in love with her. As a result, he decides to practically kidnap he and takes her down to the underworld with him.

“Go in peace” she replied, “and be happy in your daughter; I have lost mine.” (Bulfinch’s Mythology, pg 54, para 1). The farmer and his daughter sat with Demeter and cried with her. They invited her to stay for the night and introduced her to the sick son of the farmer. Demeter healed the boy and tried to make him immortal, but was stopped by the farmer’s wife. Demeter left the farm still searching for Persephone. Demeter came across a river nymph that knew what happened to Persephone. She dared not to tell, because she fears Hades. The nymph did give Demeter the girdle that Persephone dropped. Demeter sure her daughter was dead blamed the earth. Blaming the earth Demeter stopped fertilizing the land. The cattle died, the crops weren’t growing, there was too much sun and rain. Seeing this the nymph told the goddess what she saw. The goddess Demeter heard this and rode her chariot to meet Zeus. Zeus agreed to help,

The Rape of Persephone began as a simple story of peace and unchanging atmosphere. Demeter, goddess of the earth, agriculture and fertility in general, withheld her gifts from the earth in an act of isolation and depression once she lost Persephone. Before tragedy struck, she was loved by all for providing a climate for crops to flourish year round.Persephone held the sweetest disposition and was admired by all who knew her- including the God of the dead, Hades. However, unbenounced to her and her mother, her father Zeus had agreed to the turmoil that would soon ensue. As Persephone quested for the most enchanting flower, Hades, “the lord of the dark underworld, the king of the multitudinous dead, carried her off underneath the earth, driving a

In Ovid Metamorphoses, the Roman literature described the ruthless act of Pluto of rape, to seize and carry away Proserpine without the consent of Ceres and in parallel in the Homeric Hymns of Demeter; Persephone was seized and carried away by Hades without the consent of Demeter. The invariant theme that was identified in both the Greek and Roman literature was the loss of innocence of Persephone/Proserpine. Despite the various differences the story was presented, it reinforced the innocence that was stolen from the god of the underworld, Hades or also known as Pluto. Throughout this paper, it will discuss the similar characteristics of the two myths such as the motive that led and encouraged the god of the underworld to kidnap

The Homeric Hymn to Demeter addresses the fate of Persephone is in the hands of others and is removed from freedom of choice as she is portrayed as a minor. In effect, it is symbolic of the power family holds as the actions of her mother, her father Zeus and her husband Hades determine her path. The text accustoms nickname Persephone throughout the passage as the ‘Core’, the ‘Girl’, or ‘Virgin’. These nicknames assume her role as an underage girl not responsible for her life decisions. The Hymn begins with highlighting the role of the patriarch in a family Zeus as both the head of the family and the other gods who must defer to him as he arranges Hades to take Persephone against her will. As Demeter struggles with the mourn and loss of her child she begins to abandon her reproduction responsibilities and Persephone is ordered to go to the side of your dark robed mother. However, Hades persuades Persephone to eat pomegranate seeds, representing the loss of her innocence as it spiritually bounds her to Hades. Zeus accustomed to be acknowledges as the father of justice and good government rectifies the issue with the arrangement that Persephone remains with Hades however returns to her mother and the Gods for 2 thirds of the year. The Fate of Persephone portrays the common marriage cycle that pertained in Ancient Greece whereby it held the connotation of death for the maiden and submission and adaptation into their Fathers orders.

(AGG)The greek goddess Demeter had a daughter, Persephone, who was kidnapped by Hades, she was brought to the underworld, “Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and brought down to the underworld. Demeter searched desperately everywhere for the maiden but could not find her”(Cartwright), Demeter’s loss of her daughter gave her a goal, but she was impacted and she became sad because she did not have her daughter by her side every day.

(AGG)The greek goddess Demeter had a daughter,Persephone, who was kidnapped by Hades,she was brought to the underworld, “Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and brought down to the underworld. Demeter searched desperately everywhere for the maiden but could not find her”,Demeter’s loss of her daughter gave her a goal but she was impacted and she became sad because she did not have her daughter by her side everyday.

One day Hades and Persephone had a boy ,named Conselius. As Conselius grew up he didn't feel like he belonged in the underworld. Every six months his mother would go away to the upper world.Now Conselius always wondered where Persephone,his mother used to go for six months of the year.So one day he followed his mother to the upper world. As he stepped into the bright fields,the beauty caught his attention.The upper world also called Earth was full of with bright flowers,The sun shined upon everyone with its happy smile.There were colors he had never seen before.He saw sparkling rainbows and clean water.A beautiful apple tree caught his eye. Conselius ran to the apple tree plucking a beautiful red apple,and chomped on it. Conselius knew the upper world was where he belonged,but also knew his father was waiting for him. Conselius knew his father would let him stay in the upper world.

Ideologies are crucial and meaningful in the culture. This myth has etiology because of the second religious rights that celebrated Demeter and Persephone which for any reason allowed happiness in the underworld, if we're Hercules were to die during the fight with Cerberus (54C.E:146-147). The myth provides the fact that it is true, based on a faith's structure.