Greek mythology is full of fabulous characters that never cease to amaze us. One of them is the beautiful maiden Persephone, who was originally the queen of vegetation and later became the goddess of Hades. It is difficult to recognize that her sweetness and innocence became her worst sentence.
Today I want to tell you about the story of this young descendant of Zeus. You will be excited to know his life both on earth and in the underworld. I will tell you about his origin, how his life was and what it is its relationship with the seasons of the year. You will see that you will like this adventure.
Origin of Persephone
According to legend, this young girl she was the daughter of Zeus, the god of the Olympian gods and king of earthly men. Demeter, his motherShe was goddess of the lands, she had dominion over agriculture, she was in charge of the fertility and protection of all kinds of crops and their crops. However, both parents did not live together; Zeus lived with Hare on Olympus, while Demeter lived on Earth with her daughter.
Mother and daughter made the perfect team to maintain green harmony on the planet. The mother made the seeds of the earth sprout and her daughter, Persephone, was in charge of maintaining balance in the plants. His presence supported all the vegetation and made the fields flourish.
They led a very quiet and fascinating life, then, they were in charge of giving life to flora, far from Olympus and all its gods. Until one bitter day everything changed between them, the darkest day of Persephone's life. From then on its existence was divided between the world of the living and the dead and nature was never the same again. What happened to get to this situation?
Persephone is kidnapped by Hades
Persephone and her mother used to go on nature walks to appreciate closely the works of its attributes. With them they felt great happiness and motivated them to continue creating more vegetation, full of passion for the benefit of all the inhabitants of the Earth. They always roamed the fields, streams and fields.
A sunny day like so many others, Persephone goes for a walk through the forest with her mother and some nymph friends who always accompanied them. In the middle of the flowery gardens was the sweet maiden, contemplating the multicolored beauties with her companions, however, her mother had distanced herself to visit other areas.
This small separation between mother and daughter cost them dearly, since someone was very attentive to her and only waited the slightest carelessness to snatch her and take her with him by force. This malefactor was none other than Hades, the god of hells.
The dark character guarded her stealthily, sowing in her heart a deep desire to have this innocent creature with him. She is bright, cheerful, life-giving. He is an infernal being, a lover of gloom and death. Who could believe both personalities were ever to combine? His thoughts took more and more force until he gave in to his low desires, took his carriage and left the underworld in search of the little girl.
His delusion for Persephone led him to kidnap her and take her to hell. Her nymph friends couldn't help it. When everyone realized what had happened, they were punished for negligence, while her inconsolable mother continued searching desperately for her without having an answer, because she did not know what was happening and had no idea of her whereabouts.
Helios, the sun god, moved by his pain, he told her the facts of the kidnapping. It was when she was outraged, loaded with sadness and helplessness, decided to go to the same underworld to look for her daughter, leaving the abandoned fields. These stopped blooming, the rivers dried up from their origins, the breeze no longer blew and nature died under the concerned gazes of all the inhabitants.
Demeter suspected that Zeus had complicity in what happened and he had to intervene in the case. Zeus talks to Hades to return to Persephone with his motherHowever, Hades refuses her request because the innocent princess had no turning back. He had to live in hell forever. The only thing that Zeus could achieve was to negotiate his would be between both worlds, a few months on Earth and others with him in that place, Hades agreed.
Persephone returns to Earth
Trapped and with no way out, poor thing Persephone had to share her old life of happiness and joy with the one of being queen of the underworld, both, totally contradictory. She along with Hades had the domain of the dead preventing them from roaming other territories. Another with her mother where she danced, laughed, sang and gave life to the infinite floral fields.
In this way it continued to exist between life and death. People say that had two daughters of Hades: Makaria, God of Death; and Melinoe, goddess of ghosts. The Greeks also tell that Orpheus helped to recover his deceased wife, although his intensity was frustrated by a mistake.
This cartoon shows the vulnerability of innocence and the importance of protecting oneself from fierce people. Like Hades, there are many and Persephone could be any innocent princess. The life of these characters from Olympus is a clear example of the reality that exists among humans.