The story of Persephone is very enlightening and explains a lot about seasons and various events. Persephone’s tale is important in explaining the spring and innocence. Persephone’s situation is measured in three different ways. One is naturally, which is the big picture the physical and universal. There is also the social, which is more of the local community. Then there is psychological that relates to the problems from the inside, the personal and individual.
Persephone represents spring, or rather, she is spring. It started with her kidnapping. Hades was lonely; he wanted a fair maiden to be with him as his queen. So Hades rose from the underworld and abducted Persephone. The land grew very dark and cold because Demeter was sad that Persephone was gone. When Persephone spent the year with Hades, Zeus did not appreciate what had happened to the land. So Zeus struck a deal with Hades. Zeus’s proposal was that Persephone had to be on earth for eight months and Hades could have her for four months. Hades, in fear of what Zeus would do to him if he refused, agreed to the deal. To seal this deal, Hades made Persephone eat a pomegranate. The power of the pomegranate was that it made whoever ate it was forced to return to the place where it was eaten. The returning of Persephone sprung the earth back to life. This is the transformation from winter to spring. The year that Persephone was gone and the earth was deceased of life was the time of the ice age.
Persephone was also the symbol of purity. As the goddess of everything nice, she did not do anything wicked or devilish. She was even known as the virgin goddess. Once Hades kidnapped Persephone, he raped her. Persephone was never the same after being raped and kidnapped for a year. She was no longer known as the virgin goddess. Also, Persephone was no longer the goddess of purity.
The experience that Persephone went through not only changed her, but also changed the earth and the very things she stood for. Persephone was more aware of the dangers of life; she was no longer naïve. The earth was no longer perfect with one season. The earth had changed; it is lively and warm in the summer; it starts to fade in the fall; and it dies in the winter. After winter, the earth starts to go back to its warmth in the spring. Then the seasons revolve around again repeating themselves.
So the story of Persephone explains many events. It explains the seasons and their change, the ice age, and why flowers do not survive the winter. So if you consider learning about myths, read the tale of Persephone. It is very enlightening, fun, dramatic, and it is easy to understand.
