Greek Myth Of Persephone

A Hero And His Journey To Victory Heroes are born by following a journey that leads them to greatness. They are people that can persevere through their struggles and make it out even stronger. Perseus from the story Perseus and Medusa followed his own path into becoming a hero. This young boy makes a plan to capture Medusa’s head to show his strength and give a gift to the king Polydectes. Through his journey, Perseus mirrors Joseph Campbell’s monomyth by following his own hero quest.

As the myth goes, Demeter, the goddess of harvest, had a daughter named Persephone with the greek god Zeus (“Persephone”). Originally their daughter was called Kore, meaning Beautiful Maiden (“The Original Persephone”). She was so beautiful that it caught the attention of many gods, including Hades himself. This was a problem for Demeter, since she wanted to keep all men away from

Perseus an important character in Greek mythology because he shows many traits valued by Greek culture.What is exactly a hero in ancient Greek mythology and culture, and what role does fate play in myths? A hero is one extraordinary individual who represents the values greatly admired and sought after in ancient Greek society. Perseus showed the epic traits of ;family,perseverance,and couragesness. These were all very valued in ancient Greek culture. I will be; summarizing Perseus' story, how he demonstrates the values of ancient Greek society, and explaining his cultural significance and how fate plays a big role.

     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.

In many versions of this myth, it is said that as Persephone was about to leave the underworld with Hermes, Hades tricked her into eating several pomegranate seeds. By eating the pomegranate, which is the food of the underworld, Persephone was forced to return to Hades for several months during the year.

What is a hero? We all have our own ideas as to what makes a hero, whether they be a superhero, a war hero, or a personal idol. The one thing these heroes all have in common is that they are all respected and looked up to for something they have done. In Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis, there are many heroes. The graphic novel is Satrapi’s autobiography of her childhood in Iran, during and after the Islamic revolution. Throughout her novel Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi utilizes powerful graphic and textual elements on pages 61 and 146 to show how Marji’s original optimistic and whimsical belief about heroes changes as she realizes that there is pain and suffering behind every hero.

Heroes have existed in society for centuries and have been presented in many forms. Whether they were personal idols, literary figures, or real people, heroes represent hope and victory against the evils of the world. People look for heroes in their everyday lives, or often, as characters in tales of extraordinary circumstances. Some of the most renowned literary heroes of all time come from Greek myths. Within these stories about heroic idols, it is common for many main plot points to overlap. Across different genres, locations, languages, and eras the progression of the hero’s journey remains relatively uniform. Generally, it contains three broad components: departure, initiation, and return. The tale of Perseus is a popular tale of an ostracized son of Zeus. Perseus and his mother Danae were nearly killed by Acrisius, Danae’s father, when he sent them out to sea in a chest. They were rescued by a kind fisherman, Dictys, and lived peacefully with him until his brother, Polydectes, decided he wanted Danae for a wife. He tricked Perseus into setting out on a venture to kill the deadly monster Medusa. These events essentially align with the progression of the hero’s journey. Therefore, throughout the myth of Perseus, the character’s quest follows the conventional pattern of the hero’s journey.

Heroes are those who have gone above what the average person would do to ensure the welfare of others. Natural disasters, terrorism, poverty, and war are some of the many things that destroy and end people’s lives. Throughout history, many people have made a difference. However, as history progresses, what we consider to be socially normal changes along with our definition of a hero. In Ancient Greece, Theseus, Hercules, and Perseus were considered heroes, but today only Theseus and Perseus would be considered heroes because Hercules would be shunned by society.

In Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Persephone’s fate has an effect of her mother’s actions. She was known as a young women who did not know what she expected out of life and was unsure of her capabilities within life. Due to Persephone eating the pomegranate seeds, it protected the promise to spend one third of each year with Hades, in which she would live with him, taking the role of his consort and the other two thirds of each year with Demeter, her mother. This also allowed Persephone to be worshiped as the queen in the Underworld and as the maiden, having the task of guiding the living that continued to visit the Underworld. In addition, Persephone knew the religion of the Greeks, learning about the beginning of Christianity and their Eleusinian Mysteries. Because of her return to the Underworld, the Greeks were able to encounter the renewal of afterlife.

Then Zeus demanded Hades give Persephone back to her mother, but before leaving Hades feeds pomegranate seeds to her, so she’ll have to come back. Upon finding this information out, Demeter was upset that she’d have to see her daughter go again. Reason being that Persephone had to go back to the Underworld every year for 4 months. In anger and sadness Demeter always restricted plants from growing, creating winter. However, whenever she was with Persephone, Demeter was happy, creating spring.