Persephone

The maiden

As a girl, Persephone was known simply as Kore, the maiden. One day, while she gathered flowers in a meadow, the earth split open and Hades burst out in his chariot and carried her down to his kingdom, with the approval of Zeus.

Queen of two worlds

Her mother Demeter’s grief stopped all growth on earth until Zeus agreed to bring Persephone back. But she had eaten pomegranate seeds in the underworld, and anyone who tasted the food of the dead had to return. So she spent part of the year with Hades as queen of the underworld and the rest with her mother above, bringing the spring with her each time she came back.

Key myths

• Her abduction by Hades
• The pomegranate seeds and the cycle of the seasons
• Allowing Orpheus to lead Eurydice back toward the light
• Her rivalry with Aphrodite over the beautiful Adonis

Worship

With her mother she was at the heart of the Eleusinian Mysteries. As queen of the dead she was a stern and respected figure, and many Greeks prayed to her for a kind welcome in the afterlife.