Mythology · Premium
The rape of Persephone: the Queen of the Underworld
Hades, god of the Underworld, abducted Kore, daughter of Demeter, while she was picking flowers, taking her with him to the Underworld. Demeter, desperate, wandered the world and, when she discovered the truth, punished the earth with famine and barrenness. Zeus intervened and asked Hades to return her, but Persephone, for this was now her new name, had eaten some pomegranate seeds, food of the dead, which bound her forever to the realm of Hades. A compromise was reached: Persephone would spend part of the year on earth with her mother and part in the Underworld with Hades. From then on, when she was with Demeter, the earth flourished; when she returned to Hades, the earth died. The myth explained the seasons and inspired the famous Eleusinian Mysteries.
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