Persephone's Fate

There was a goddess named Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, that lived in a castle in a kingdom that was known for its abundance of vegetation. While beautiful and often sought after by men, she worked hard to keep her land beautiful. All of the vegetation and grains on the earth were gifts from her mother, Demeter, the goddess of harvest. Demeter and Persephone prided themselves on the fertility of the land, so Persephone looked after the land while her mother resided on Mount Olympus.

Persephone was a very happy girl, full of youth and charisma. Her parents saw her as the perfect daughter, as did all of her friends and neighbors. Persephone, however, had somewhat of a dark side. As she grew older, she remained compassionate, but she became more disobedient. She had gotten to the age where she needed to find a god to become her husband, and Demeter reminded Persephone of this almost every day. Demeter made the soil very fertile for the harvesting season in preparation for Persephone’s eighteenth birthday party. The abundance of food grown from the fertile soil would be used at Persephone's birthday party in the hopes that she would find a husband.

Persephone found herself working a lot more in the fields around her castle in order to keep up with the overwhelming amount of food being grown, and she enjoyed being away from her mother. Persephone quickly grew tired of working and listening to her mother, so she ran away. After a few days, Persephone looked around and saw that she was lost in the forest. She grew thirsty and found a deep pool of water behind a thick nest of ivy. The pool was called Pergus, and its water was so clear that Persephone could see the fish below as well as her reflection. As she drank from the pool, she saw in the reflection a man approach from behind the ivy.

She turned around slowly, as to appear brave and confident. When Persephone saw his face, she immediately recognized him to be her father’s brother, Hades, god of the underworld. They walked around the forest for a while and talked. Hades listened to Persephone complain about how she was not close with her father since Zeus had an affair with Demeter. Persephone suspected that Hades was quite fond of her and since she did not want to go back to her mother, Persephone agreed to become Hades’ wife, as she found him dashingly handsome and very easy to talk to.

Demeter quickly began searching for Persephone, fearing that she had been kidnapped. Persephone’s neighbors admitted she ran away on her own, but Demeter did not believe them. She searched every kingdom for her daughter. She grew tired and thirsty on her quest, so Demeter drank from Pergus. A nymph saw Demeter at the pool of water and told her where she could find Persephone. Believing that Persephone had been kidnapped and raped by Hades, Demeter became incredibly furious. From her anger, she created a massive storm and wreaked havoc on the beautiful kingdom, making the soil infertile so that food would be unable to grow..

Demeter knew she could not bring her daughter back since no one is allowed to leave the underworld once they enter, so she went back to Mount Olympus to seek help from Zeus, who was powerful enough to bring Persephone back. Zeus went to the edge of the underworld and called for his brother, Hades. Zeus was ready to take back Persephone, but Hades told him that they were in love. Persephone told her father that she was very happy and ecstatic to have found a husband. Zeus found himself sympathizing for his brother, for Hades had finally found love, and it seemed that Persephone was happy. When Zeus told Demeter of the happy couple’s fortune, Demeter yelled at Zeus and made him go back for her another time. In order to please both Demeter and Hades, Zeus decided to allow Persephone to switch between worlds, but only for a few months at a time.

This pleased everyone, but Persephone found herself missing her husband during the months she lived on Mount Olympus with Demeter. When she missed her husband, Persephone would go to the garden on Mount Olympus and tend to the grains and vegetables, but would actually sneak away to the pool of Pergus to send messages to Hades using vibrations in the water that connected to the underworld's entrance. Although Persephone missed her husband while she was away from him, she was glad that her mother was happy.

Author’s Note:

My story is based off of the Unit Ovid II, Part A (translated in English by Tony Kline). In this story, Cupid strikes Hades (Dis) with an arrow that makes him fall in love with Persephone (Proserpine), the daughter of Demeter (Ceres) and Zeus (Jupiter).

In the original story, Hades abducts Persephone near the pond, Pergus. Demeter searches everywhere for her daughter, and when she hears that Persephone’s ribbon is near the pond, Demeter immediately knows that her daughter had been abducted and assumes that she had been raped. Demeter makes the land infertile and produces a massive storm, and then she seeks help from Zeus. Zeus had actually made a marriage agreement that gave Persephone to Hades, but Zeus did this without consulting Demeter first.

Zeus allowed Persephone to come back, but only as long as no food had touched her lips when she was in the underworld. Since she had eaten pomegranate seeds in the underworld, the agreement was void, and Persephone has to return to the underworld. In order to ease Demeter's pain, Zeus allows Persephone to live both on Mount Olympus and in the underworld for only a few months at a time.

I liked the idea that Persephone could fall in love with Hades, so I made sure to add that component. I hope you all enjoy!

Cover Image: The Return of Persephone