Research Paper On Persephone

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.

Zeus’s role in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter has him being shown as someone who can be seen as thoughtless, but still highly regarded. While Zeus is being put in the spotlight for giving Persephone to his brother, Demeter is wreaking havoc on the mortal world trying to find Persephone with Hekate. Demeter is Persephone’s mother and Zeus has given her to Hades to be his wife. Zeus’s prominence is being displayed as he is shown to be an important figure in both Persephone’s rape and the Hymn itself, but he is also being showed in a light that allows the reader to see that even the almighty Zeus can make mistakes. Zeus is being shown as someone who does not think before acting, allowing him to give his own daughter to his brother as his wife without

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

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

Her sadness was shown to Helios and he told her the truth of her daughter. She was furious and said that zeus would be angry aswell but actually zeus agreed to the union from the start. She Then told zeus she would never again give harvest to people until she got her daughter. Zeus the became worried he didn't want his people to starve I f they did they wouldn't worship him anymore. He then sent Hermes to sort things out for him. But once he got there he saw Persephone Hades sitting on a couch and by then Persephone began to fall for Hades as well. Then he saw Persephone eat six pomegranate seeds and then he realized he was too late. Hermes then persuaded Hades to let her go but Hades said for six months of every year she was to be with him and the other six she could be with her mother. It was agreed and now every spring Persephone is with Demeter and during winter she is with Hades. So now today when fall comes and the weather becomes colder Persephone is in the underworld while Demeter is on earth alone. And when spring comes Persephone is home with her mother to bring us

     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,

Innocence, desire, and obsession are all facets in the story of Persephone and Hades. The arranged abduction broke a divine mother’s heart enough to affect the course of life on Earth forever. Persephone, or commonly called Kore meaning “the maiden,” was sought after by Hades, ruler of the underworld (Persephone 1). Hades enlisted Zeus’s help to abduct his daughter with Demeter, Persephone. Those events would become known as The Abduction of Persephone. This myth would become one of the most iconic and widely known in Greek history because it would explain one of earth’s most important cycles, reinforce the idea that the gods and goddesses have control of the earth, and fostered an agrarian cult’s religious rites.

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

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.

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.

Hades grudgingly agreed, but before she went back he gave Persephone a pomegranate, that later bound her to underworld forever. The death of Persephone’s virginity in this myth, explains the inevitable cycle of human life in nature.