hello and welcome to ancient history
encyclopedia my name is Kelly and today
I'm going to be talking to you about the
goddess of the harvest and the wife of
the underworld
in Greek mythology Persephone Persephone
also known as Cora or Proserpina was the
Greek goddess of vegetation and grain
daughter of the goddess of agriculture
and fertility of the earth Demeter
Persephone was the wife of the god of
the underworld Hades and she also have
played a very important part in the
Eleusinian mysteries a festival in which
most of the happenings are still a
mystery to us today the only thing we
know for sure is that Persephone and her
mother were both worship during the
festival when Persephone was worshiped
in a cult alongside her mother she was
often signified as Cori which means both
daughter and maiden in Greek mythology
Persephone was the wife of Hades and
known as the protectress of the
afterlife
in other versions of the myth she was
the mother of Dionysus with Zeus who was
also her father and squabbled with
Aphrodite over the attention of the
handsome Adonis Persephone and Aphrodite
decided to share Adonis with split ships
in Roman mythology Persephone was known
as Proserpina according to mythology
Persephone was picking flowers in a
meadow when Hades the god of the
underworld fell in love with her and
flew down in his chariot and took her
away to live with him
in some accounts Zeus gave permission
for the abduction while Persephone was
in the underworld
her mother Demeter searched the earth
for her and did not give up even when
she was told of her daughter's fate by
either Helios or Hermes she wandered
aimlessly until she reached a lusus here
Demeter disguised herself as an old
woman and took care of a child this
child differs between versions of the
myth as either demo phone or trip Thomas
who would later give the gift of corn to
humanity and teach Barney this boy was
the only son of meta naira who was the
wife of the king of Lucis Helios to
thank this family for their kindness and
hospitality Demeter decided to make
their son
Mortal to achieve immortality demo phone
had to be put into a burning fire every
single night but when Metin era
he raised the alarm which forced ammeter
to reveal her true identity Demeter
demanded a temple to be built in her
honor Atta looses and thus began the
sanctuary Appaloosas Demeter with the
drew from the world and lived in the
temple after its completion
I'm created a drought to force the other
gods to help release Persephone from
Hades grasp as the drought got worse
Zeus made Hermes visit the underworld
and help persuade Hades to give
Persephone back to her mother in one
version of the myth Hades made
Persephone eat a pomegranate seed in
hopes that the divine taste would compel
her to stay with him in other versions
Persephone would have been able to leave
the underworld
if Hades hadn't given her a pomegranate
seed to eat which binds her to the
underworld now a compromise was struck
we're depending on the version of the
myth that you're hearing Persephone
either has to live one half of the year
in the underworld and half of the year
with her mother or she lives with Hades
for just one third of the year the story
of Persephone and Demeter may have been
used as a symbolic explanation of the
changing of the seasons this cyclical
narrative became essential in one of the
rituals of the other Simeon mysteries
and the symbols of the cult became the
ear of corn and a torch which signifies
Demeter search for the Sevigny all
initiates were bound by oath to never
disclose the details of the mysteries
and the Eleusinian rituals have stayed a
mystery to this day the myth may have
also symbolized the Greeks of their
storing of their grain underground to
keep it out of reach from the summer
heat furthermore the myth may also
reference the practice of Greek girls
being married to older men when they
were in their young teens and the loss
this was to their mothers Persephone had
other cults dedicated to her primarily
the women only celebration called the
Thesz beforeö which was held annually
and sacrifices of putrified pig remains
were made and mixed together with the
seeds that were about to be sown
Persephone is rarely represented in art
before the 6th century BCE but when she
was shown she was usually with her
mother wearing a crown and holding
either a torch or stalks of grain
alternatively on bread figure pottery
throughout the Classical period
Persephone was often depicted sitting on
her throne in Hades this video was
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