Persephone
Queen of the underworld and goddess of spring, whose return each year symbolizes rebirth.
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Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter in ancient Greek mythology and religion.[1] Her myth represents her functions as the embodiment of spring and the personification of vegetation, especially grain crops.[1] After Hades, her uncle and the king of the underworld, abducted her, Persephone became the queen of that realm and later married him.[1]
Key facts and history
Plato used the forms Pherepapha in his work Cratylus and Phersephona in Meno.[2] The wide variety of name forms indicates that the Greeks struggled to pronounce the word, pointing to a possible Pre-Greek origin.[1]
What the cited sources add
The Hellenic Museum account states that the myth of the Abduction of Persephone by Hades explained the seasons to the ancient Greeks.[3] According to that account, spring and summer signified the six months when Persephone returned from the Underworld and her mother Demeter made the earth bloom.[3] The same source notes that while Persephone was gathering flowers in a meadow, Hades burst from the Underworld on his black chariot and abducted her.[3] Aelian wrote that Adonis' life was divided between two goddesses: one who loved him beneath the earth, and one above.[4]
The ToposText source reports that Persephone and Hades took pity on two maidens and made their bodies disappear, sending them up out of the earth as heavenly bodies.[5]
References
- Wikipedia, "Persephone" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Persephone" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Plato, Meno, 81b (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Craig, Sarah, "Persephone and the Seasons", Hellenic Museum, September 1, 2017. facts only, no text reused. hellenic.org.au
- http://www.attalus.org/translate/animals9.html#36. facts only, no text reused. attalus.org
- https://topostext.org/work/216#25. facts only, no text reused. topostext.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Persephone (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
More in Greek Myths
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Persephone (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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