~Persephone~

Most people know about the story of how Persephone came to the under world, but it is stil a good story. It may differ from the one you know though, there are a lot of different versions to this tale.

It was said that Hades was the consort of Persephone (some say she was willing others say otherwise). Zeus grew tired of Demeter killing the earth with her sadness and forced Hades to return Persephone(because Demeter was the Goddess of Seasons she could kill the earth by having a never ending winter). Persephone was returned to Demeter making Demeter happy again.

But Hades who was said to have loved Persephone, stole her back when she was in the field playing with the nymphs (Demeter later turned them into Sirens for not helping to protect her). It was told that the earth opened up and she fell into the Underworld.

Life came to a standstill as Demeter searched for her daughter, a never ending winter came over the earth. The people started praying to any god that would listen to them, begging they stop the never ending winter. Zeus finally heard them and sent Hermes down to the Underworld to force Hades to let Persephone go home. But as I said earlier Hades was said to be in love with the Goddess of Spring and had her eat six pomegranate seeds (the number varies in different versions).

So Hermes brought Persephone to Demeter and all was well except for the pomegranate seeds. The six pomegranate seed Hades had made her eat (depending on the version she had eaten them by accident, not knowing what they would do. The other version is that she wanted to eat them for she knew the affects, that the one I like) made her come back to the Underworld six months a year

So every year she comes back during spring and leaves in the fall. That is why flowers grow in spring and summer, why everything starts dying in the fall, and why the earth dies in the winter. But because Persephone ate the six pomegranate seed she could not stay the whole year. That is also why you will often see Persephone holding a pomegranate in her hand in all the paintings of her.

So that is Persehone. She is the only known goddess that lives and dies. For when she goes to the underworld she dies. While her mother controls the seasons and the elements, Persephone dies in Fall and come back to life in Spring. That alone makes her special and different from all the rest. During the Spring and Summer she lives with her mother. When Fall hits she returns to her husband.