[154], This article is about the Greek goddess. On the one hand, she was Persephone, wife of Hades and goddess of the Underworld, and thus a chthonic figure closely associated with the inevitability of death. Persephone was conflated with Despoina, "the mistress", a chthonic divinity in West-Arcadia. These rituals, which were held in the month Pyanepsion, commemorated marriage and fertility, as well as the abduction and return of Persephone. Another alternate name, Despoina (Mistress), focused on Persephones role as the wife of Hades and queen of the Underworld. In some accounts, Zeus had given his consent to the abduction, the location of the crime being traditionally placed in either Sicily (famed for its fertility) or Asia. For other uses, see, Empedocles was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher who was a citizen of, In art the abduction of Persephone is often referred to as the ". London: Methuen, 1929. Zuntz, Gnther. old engraved illustration of pluto carrying off proserpina (proserpine). At Eleusis, worshippers reenacted Demeters search for Persephone at night by torchlight. These include Persephassa () and Persephatta (). Demeters terrible rage was ended only through the intervention of Zeus, who sent the messenger god Hermes to persuade Hades to return Persephone to Demeter. in the Arcadian mysteries. The Greek and Roman festivals honoring her and her mother, Ceres, emphasized Proserpine's return to the upper world in spring. Persephone - Wikipedia Hades, living alone in the dark underworld, happened to glimpse up one summer day to see Persephone frolicking in the fields with her friends and fell instantly in love. The most detailed account of her myth comes from the second Homeric Hymn, also known as the Homeric Hymn to Demeter.. [70] Alternatively Adonis had to spend one half of the year with each goddess, at the suggestion of the Muse Calliope. Gntner, Gudrum. Her mythology tells of how she was abducted by her uncle Hades one day while picking flowers. She became the queen of the underworld after her abduction by and marriage to her uncle Hades, the king of the underworld.[6]. [134] In the Orphic religion, gold leaves with verses intended to help the deceased enter into an optimal afterlife were often buried with the dead. Thanks to the finds that have been retrieved and to the studies carried on, it has been possible to date its use to a period between the 7th centuryBC and the 3rd centuryBC. On the other hand, she was Kore, the maiden daughter of the agricultural goddess Demeter, an alternate guise that brought her into the sphere of agriculture and fertility. In return, she nursed their sick child, known as Demophon in most versions of the myth,[19] and tried to make him immortal. Theognis, Elegiac Poems 1.70112; cf. [98] In Classical Greek art, Persephone is invariably portrayed robed, often carrying a sheaf of grain. The most detailed account of her myth comes from the second Homeric Hymn, also known as the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Her name has numerous historical variants. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1961. Persephone Facts and Information on the Goddess Persephone Please donate to our server cost fundraiser 2023, so that we can produce more history articles, videos and translations. Sourvinou-Inwood, Christiane. Zeus, however, did not care for Persephone, and left them both. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the story is told of how Persephone was gathering flowers in the Vale of Nysa when she was seized by Hades and removed to the underworld. In another myth, Hades took a nymph named Minthe as his lover. More than 5,000, mostly fragmentary, pinakes are stored in the National Museum of Magna Grcia in Reggio Calabria and in the museum of Locri. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization. The cult was private and there is no information about it. Cf. The surnames given to her by the poets refer to her role as queen of the lower world and the dead and to the power that shoots forth and withdraws into the earth. This is the site of the annual Eleusinian Mysteries and an early temple to Demeter and Persephone, built around the 7th century BCE. Exclusive to women, it was held annually before the sowing period when sacrifices were made and putrefied pig's remains were mixed with the seeds. Corrections? Smith, William. [21], Persephone also featured in the myths of a handful of heroes and mortals who descended to and returned from the Underworld. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. A Visual Who's Who of Greek Mythology. In this guise, she was seen as a protectress in the after-life, although Hesiod repeatedly describes her as 'dread Persephone' in his Theogony. One of the most popular versions of the story claimed that Zeus was her father, although others did not name him. Her central myth served as the context for the secret rites of regeneration at Eleusis,[29] which promised immortality to initiates. Please support World History Encyclopedia. The Thesmophoria was a Greek-wide celebration of the goddess and her mother. Submitted by Mark Cartwright, published on 24 March 2016. Nowadays, Persephones name is often thought to have Indo-European origins. Sisyphus (or Sisyphos) is a figure from Greek mythology. Our publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education, Internet Scout (University of Wisconsin), Merlot (California State University), OER Commons and the School Library Journal. The cult of Persephone in the Greek religion was especially strong in Sicily and southern Italy, and besides the Eleusinian Mysteries at Eleusis there were sanctuaries to the goddess across the Greek world, most notably at Locri Epizephyrii, Mantinea, Megalopolis, and Sparta. In Orphic myth, Zeus came to Persephone in her bedchamber in the underworld and impregnated her with the child who would become his successor. Altes Museum, Berlin, Germany. Persephone is featured in several of the Orphic Hymns (ca. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1907. She was her mother's greatest . Published online 2006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e914950. Pinakes, terracotta tablets with brightly painted sculptural scenes in relief were founded in Locri. Locrian pinakes represent one of the most significant categories of objects from Magna Graecia, both as documents of religious practice and as works of art. The matter was brought before Zeus, and he decreed that Adonis would spend one third of the year with each goddess, and have the last third for himself. [h] Nysion (or Mysion), the place of the abduction of Persephone was also probably a mythical place which did not exist on the map, a magically distant chthonic land of myth which was intended in the remote past.[115]. Learn more about our mission. [137] In Orphic myth, the Eumenides are attributed as daughters of Persephone and Zeus. 30 Apr 2023. [40] The Homeric hymn mentions the Nysion (or Mysion) which was probably a mythical place. A Handbook of Greek Mythology. According to one source, she was the one who allowed Orpheus to bring his dead wife Eurydice back from the Underworld, provided he did not look back while leading her up (a condition that Orpheus failed to meet). The Roman author Gaius Julius Hyginus also considered Proserpina equivalent to the Cretan goddess Ariadne, who was the bride of Liber's Greek equivalent, Dionysus. [112][k], Some information can be obtained from the study of the cult of Eileithyia at Crete, and the cult of Despoina. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Persephone Mosaic, AmphipolisNot Specified (Public Domain). He asked Zeus for his daughter's hand in marriage. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Upon discovering that Hades had Persephoneand that Zeus himself had helped him kidnap herDemeter was justifiably furious: But grief yet more terrible and savage came into the heart of Demeter, and thereafter she was so angered with the dark-clouded Son of Cronos that she avoided the gathering of the gods and high Olympus, and went to the towns and rich fields of men, disfiguring her form a long while.[18]. According to Greek Mythology, Persephone, the queen of the underworld, was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of harvest and fertility. In some Sicilian cities[45] and in the Locrian colony of Hipponion,[46] there were festivals celebrating Persephones wedding.