| Description | Persephone (Greek: Περσεφόνη) was the Greek goddess of the Underworld, and daughter of Zeus and Demeter. In Greek mythology, Persephone (/pərˈsɛfəni/ pər-SEF-ə-nee; Greek: Περσεφόνη), also called Kore (/ˈkɔːriː/ KOR-ee; Greek: Κόρη; "the maiden"), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Homer describes her as the formidable, venerable, majestic queen of the underworld, who carries into effect the curses of men upon the souls of the dead. She becomes the queen of the underworld through her abduction by and subsequent marriage to Hades, the god of the underworld. The myth of her abduction represents her function as the personification of vegetation, which shoots forth in spring and withdraws into the earth after harvest; hence, she is also associated with spring as well as the fertility of vegetation. Persephone as a vegetation goddess and her mother Demeter were the central figures of the Eleusinian Mysteries, which promised the initiated a more enjoyable prospect after death. The origins of her cult are uncertain, but it was based on very old agrarian cults of agricultural communities. Persephone in Wikipedia |
