Persephone : A Short Story

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.

After reaching the island, the time has come for him to reach his ultimate boon, to kill Medusa. With the help of Athena Perseus “cuts through her neck and… seized the head.” (Hamilton 204). With that one slice, Perseus is now known as a hero, and can even rescue his mother. The head also allows Perseus to get revenge on Polydectes, and bring Dictys to

Perseus commences the quest ignorant to the perils and tribulations that lie ahead. Luckily, Hermes and Pallas Athena decide to

King Acrisius was king of Argos. He had an amazingly beautiful daughter, but he wished deeply for a son, so he prayed to the gods for them to give him a son. Apollo,the god of culture and prophecy, told him that he will never have a son in all his days and that the son of his daughter will slay him. Acrisius thinks of just killing his daughter,Danae, to prevent his prophecy, but fears of the punishment he will receive from the gods for this act, so he instead locks his daughter in an entirely bronze house and guards it closely. What he did not expect is for the king of the gods Zeus to come directly to his daughter and impregnate her. From this comes a son named Perseus. When Acrisius learns of his daughter's offspring, he puts both Perseus and Danae in a trunk and sets it off into the ocean. By luck or by the will of Zeus Perseus and Danae wash up onto a small island, where a kind hearted fisherman named Dictys takes in the two strangers. They live contently with Dictys until Dictys' brother, King Polydectes, fell in love with Danae. He decides to construe a plot to get rid of her son,Perseus, so that he can have her. The plan he comes is to convince Perseus to go and slay the woman-beast Medusa. He thinks this feat impossible by a mortal man, because any man who lays eyes upon her turns to stone. To aid him on his quest Hermes gives him a sword stronger than that of Medusa's scale. He also told him he would need equipment from the nymphs of the north, who's location was unknown by all except the Gray Women who are ray and live in gray.The three sisters share one eye between them all and

Another literary element that presents the story’s theme is the plot. According to Routledge (2013) the Hades is an ancient Greek that means a place where the wicked dead reside and are punished. The Hades

     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).

The underworld seemed to be getting colder and I couldn’t tell if it was because I’d fled the room that was lit or because Hades’s heart had been nearly ripped out. I was weeping pretty hard by now, feeling awfully betrayed and as lonely as my injurer. I felt my way around in the darkness for a while, thankful to the slight bluish glow that seemed to at least partially lighten ones way down in the underworld.

There are many analogies between this short story and the myth of Persephone and Hades. When Persephone was taken by Hades she was admiring a beautiful narcissus flower, and during her first few months in the underworld she cried and wailed because she was unhappy. Hades gave her pomegranate seeds to make her happy, just as the man gave the girl alcohol to sooth her nerves. The man, practically begging the girl to go through with the abortion, saying it will make them happy again because they wouldn’t have to worry about it any longer. The man, in many ways resembles Hades, because he is stopping at nothing to have this beautiful youthful maiden to be his not

Innocence and maturation are two key aspects of the human experience. The innocent mind allows you to live with less doubt and worry but it leaves you vulnerable to manipulation and people taking advantage of you. Thomas Hart Benton’s Persephone portrays the myth of Persephone and Hades. The Rape of Persephone goes as so; Zeus gives Persephone to Hades to have as his wife. Persephone is out and about and Hades takes her to the Underworld. A heartbroken Demeter, goddess of harvest and agriculture, Persephone’s mom, refuses to grow anything until Persephone returns. Persephone is allowed back but Hades tricks her, making her unable to leave the underworld permanently. Demeter compromises that Persephone can be in the Underworld part of the year but that nothing will grow while her daughter is away, forcing Persephone’s return and creating the seasons. Taking a new turn on the ancient myth, Benton sets the painting in a rural scene and illustrates a bare Persephone lying leisurely, surrounded by greenery with Hades and his chariot lurking behind her. The juxtaposition between the foliage, Persephone’s nude figure, and the wrinkled Hades in the background creates an imbalance between maturation and sexuality with a blithe young woman caught in the middle. Overall, Benton’s Persephone accentuates the bliss of naivete coinciding with the overwhelming malevolence and sexualization present in the world.

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

Duality occasionally results as the cause for suffering, while it is a product of the mind, it can often revolve around condemnation and the fear of judgement. Sylvia Plath’s poem, “Two Sisters of Persephone” illuminates the idea of the duality that exists within a woman’s personality. The title “Two Sisters of Persephone” suggests that there are two sisters being described in this poem, when in reality, Plath allures the reader by revealing that the two designated qualities actually deal with the two lives that Persephone endured as the Goddess of the Spring and the Queen of the Underworld. Plath conveys the concept of dualism through the purposeful use of structure, and depicting imagery to illustrate the contrasting lives of the renowned deity, Persephone.

Within the myth of Perseus, the plot generally follows the structure of the archetypal hero’s journey. These aspects can be clearly identified throughout the lifetime of Perseus.

Here they awaited passing ships and with their lovely music enticed sailors to their doom. The meadows of the Sirens home island were said to have been layered with the rotting corpses of their helpless victims. The Sirens were the companions of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, also the daughter of goddess Demeter. Yet, the Sirens song was beautiful, yet sad melody, eternally calling for Persephone’s return. They had beautiful singing voices and were gifted lyre players.

Unfortunately, Hades was not too concerned about casualties. Hades had impaled Perseus’ family’s boat and Perseus was the only one left to breath again. In this film Perseus’ fuel to defeat the gods lied with the death of his adoptive mother, father, and little

While Hades is leaving, he labels Perseus as a demigod. Then, Hermes informs Zeus that his son Perseus is alive and is in Argos. Zeus refuses to protect his son since he is residing in enemy territory.