Demeter & Persephone

Main Characters:

• Demeter- the goddess of corn and agriculture; her mood affects the seasons; mother of Persephone
• Persephone- goddess of spring; young maiden; daughter of Demeter
• Hades- god of the underworld; ruler of the dead
• Zeus- supreme ruler of all the gods

Persephone

Demeter

Setting:

• Nysian- the region of the Nysa mountain in Ancient Greece
• Eleusis- agricultural town that houses Demeter's temple

Pomegranate

Main Plot:
Persephone is by herself in a meadow in Nysian and is about to pluck a narcissus when suddenly the ground splits open and Hades snatches her. Demeter then begins looking for her for nine days. On the tenth day, she discovers that Zeus had given Hades permission to take Persephone as his bride. Demeter becomes depressed and unmotivated to do anything; she takes her emotions out on the crops and agriculture of the mortals, which results in no harvests. This prevents the immortals from receiving their tributes. Demeter says she refuses to produce a single fruit until she saw Persephone. Zeus then orders Hermes to retrieve her for Demeter. Hades reluctantly gives Persephone to Hermes but offers her six delicious pomegranate seeds which she devours. After reuniting with her daughter, Demeter realizes that Persephone had eaten from the Underworld which meant she must return to Hades for part of the year. This explains why when Persephone returns in the spring, flowers blossom and when she leaves in the fall and winter to the Underworld, the crops die. 

Main Conflict:

The main conflict of the story is that Persephone is snatched by Hades and taken into the Underworld. She is deeply missed by her mother, Demeter.

Attempt to Explain:

The Four Seasons

This myth attempts to explain the seasons of the year. When Persephone is on earth during spring and summer, Demeter is happy so the agriculture thrives; however, when Persephone is away in the Underworld for the rest of the year, Demeter is extremely sad so the plants wither away and die.