THE MY TH OF
P E R S E P H O N E
G r a c e Griffith 2 0 1 6
THE MY TH OF
P E R S E P H O N E
Wr i t te n, p h oto g ra p h e d a n d d e s i g n e d by G rac e G r i f f i t h
THE MYTH Persephone was the daughter of Zeus and the only child of Demeter, goddess of harvest and agriculture. She was a kind, caring and sweet natured young girl whose smile was dazzling and charming. Warmth and light seemed to follow her. Consequently, she was loved by all, especially her adoring mother. Persephone’s beauty, grace and radiance did not escape the watchful eye of Hades, King of the Underworld. He fell in love with her immediately, and desired more than anything to make her his bride. Knowing he would never obtain Demeter’s approval, Hades sought out his brother, Zeus, to assist him with his plan of abducting Persephone. Zeus agreed to keep his brother’s proposal a secret in order to prevent conflict within his family.
O
ne day, as Persephone was strolling
through the meadows with Artemis and Athena gathering flowers, she caught the scent of something most delightful. She followed the pleasant perfume, leading her away from her friends. The aroma was narcissus, which Persephone stopped to admire.
S
uddenly, a deep rumble echoed through the air
and the ground shifted beneath her feet. The earth began to crack and give way as a great chasm appeared before Persephone. Out of the earth rose Hades driving his horse drawn chariot. In astonishment and fear, Persephone froze, allowing Hades to easily capture her and disappear back into the earth once more.
“...her heart softened towards her captor, who offered her endless adoration & luxurious gifts.” In the beginning Persephone was devastated and missed her mother dearly. She refused to eat and cried often. As time passed, her heart softened towards her captor, who offered her endless adoration and luxurious gifts. Eventually she allowed Hades to show her his kingdom, and she took quickly to helping the lost and bewildered souls there. Before long, Persephone began to enjoy Hade’s company and the idea of being his Queen.
D
emeter, however, was so severely grief stricken that she roamed the countryside endlessly looking for
her daughter. Helios, God of the Sun, whom had seen what had happened to Persephone relented and told Demeter the truth. Demeter was furious, declaring to Zeus that she would never again allow the ground to be fruitful and yield its crops unless Persephone was returned to her. Her rage and grief radiated across the land, leaving death and destuction . Zeus knew if he did not return Persephone, everything, including the humans, would wilt and die, and without them, there would be no one to worship him and to make sacrifices to him. Hurriedly he sent his messenger, Hermes, to the underworld to make a deal with Hades.
“Persephone had willingly eaten 4 seeds of the pomegranate...binding her to the underworld for 4 months of the year.�
H
ermes arrived too late, however. Before his arrival, Persephone had willingly
eaten 4 seeds of the pomegranate Hades has given her, binding her to the underworld for 4 months of the year. Knowing that she must return to him, Hades reluctantly agreed to Persephone returning to her mother for the other months of the year.
“Demeter...she would neglect the trees and the plants and the flowers... as she lamented for her only daughter� And thus it was settled. Every year, before Persephone’s arrival, Demeter would make the flowers blossom and the earth thrive to welcome back her daughter. And, when it was time for Persephone to return to her husband, Hades, Demeter would leave the earth to decline. She would neglect the trees and the plants and the flowers, making them wither and decay as she lamented for her daughter until 4 months later, when she would return again.
E X P L A N AT I O N OF THE MYTH When Persephone would go back to the underworld, Demeter would be overwhelmed with pain, which are the months of Autumn and Winter when the land declines and is not fertile. Once Persephone would return to live with her mother, Demeter’s joyousness would shine on the land and make it fertile once more, this being the months of Spring and Summer. This myth acted as a way for the Ancient Greeks to explain the change of seasons and nature’s cycle of birth and death.
PERSEPHONE A POEM
Everything is the opposite to what I knew, Contrasting, different. I was good. I lived my life under the sun, in the fields, amongst the flowers. I was innocent, naive, sheltered. And then You. You seized me and shut out the light and the warmth. I am troubled by this blackness, this ever-present death. No blossoms grow here. You took my innocence from me. You showed me things I can never forget.
You taught me things I cannot ever erase. I am no longer pure or good. I blame you. I blame you for taking me away from my family, my contented existence, my virtuousness. I blame you for showing me this way of life. But I resent you most of all because, as hard as I fight it, as ashamed as I am of it, I enjoy it here, I enjoy You. I cannot resist You any longer. I give in to You, my King of the Underworld.
“You taught me things I cannot ever erase. I am no longer pure or good.�
“But I resent you most of all because... I enjoy it here, I enjoy You. “
HADES A POEM Your light, your youth and your splendour caught me off guard, Your laughter broke through my armour And softened my heart. I had seen beauty before, I have known lust, But this was unlike anything I had ever felt. I had to have you. I had to make you mine, and mine alone. I knew you would not come willingly at first. You needed help. Persuasion. You needed a teacher. A few seeds of the pomegranate and you would be mine. But did I really cheat? Are you as naive as you insist? Did I force your hand to take the seeds, force them down your throat? Or did you take them willingly, you poor, conflicted child? Your secrets are safe with me, here in the dark. Your mother will never know. You won’t always hate me as you do now, My Queen of the Underworld.
“I had seen beauty before, I have known lust, But this was unlike anything I had ever felt.�
PERSEPHONE A POEM
I long for the comfort of my mother, Her warm embrace, her doting touch, her sweet amusement. But what I knew as my mother is long gone. Her love, laughter and light was replaced with rage, revulsion, revenge. She will never understand. She will only criticize and hate. She judges me harshly for my decision to stay, She blames me for my abduction, Yet pretends a similar fate did not befall her. She too was a victim of trickery, taken against her will. She has spiralled into insanity with this pain, Plunged the world into a cold, dark winter, Watching as all around her wilt and die. She has lost what it is to love. She has abandoned all responsibility, a woman driven mad with rage. I love her, but hate her destruction.
I miss her, yet I know she will never accept me. And with this distance, this added foresight, I can truly see what she is, and what she was before. Her love was a snake, coiling around me Providing me warmth, sheltering me, But constricting me and depriving me of what I needed. I am tormented by this woman, this woman who gave me life And loved me, Conditionally. Who loved me until I dared to love someone else. I love her still, but I love him more.