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Persephone – the Rising Goddess

© Linda Casselman

Here we are at the end of March and the cycle of nature is turning from the old crone of winter to the fresh young maiden of spring. The birds are filling the air with music, the sun is spreading its warmth, the days are growing longer, and the nights are getting shorter. Little buds are peeking from the treetops and the colourful flowers are unfurling their splendor. Ah, the goddess Persephone must indeed be rising from the underworld.

What? You don't know about the myth of Persephone? Or you can't quite remember it? Well then, let me tell you about it.

In Greek mythology, Persephone is the daughter of the supreme father god Zeus and the earth goddess Demeter. When she was just a girl her father, Zeus, promised her in marriage to his brother Hades, god of the underworld, without telling her mother, Demeter.

One day while Persephone was out gathering flowers, she stopped to admire a beautiful narcissus that was planted by Gaia, the earth mother, for Hades. Meanwhile, Hades, who was growing ever impatient waiting to claim his bride, seized this opportunity. He rose out of the ground and snatched Persephone, taking her down to his underworld realm and away from the living.

Upon realizing that Persephone was missing, Demeter fell into deep grief. She traveled the world in search of her beloved daughter but she could not find her. Lost in her sorrow, and involved in her search, Demeter neglected her duties as earth goddess. As a result of this, the land became cold, dark, and barren. Plants withered and nothing new would grow. The animals would not multiply and the people feared death. Zeus had to intervene, and indeed he did.

Zeus decreed that Persephone could spend half of the year on earth with her mother. But since she had eaten while she was with Hades, this proved that she did not wholly reject him, so Zeus ruled that she must spend the other half of the year in the underworld with her husband.

This then, is how Persephone became known as the queen of the dead and goddess of the underworld. It is also how she is connected to spring. While Persephone is on earth with her mother, the land is lush and fertile. Nature is in its spring and summer cycles. When Persephone descends to the underworld, however, her mother mourns for her. Thus the land is cold and barren and nature is in its autumn and winter cycles. This is how the ancients explained the reason for the cycles of their seasons. They knew that Persephone would rise again in the spring bringing them the promise of renewed warmth and fertility.

The copyright of the article Persephone – the Rising Goddess in Mythology is owned by Wayne Kreger. Permission to republish Persephone – the Rising Goddess in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.