Persephone's Kidnap
Persephone had grown into a
beautiful young woman, with a smile for everyone. One day, while picking
flowers in the fields, Hades, her uncle, the god of the underworld, noticed
her.
Hades was normally a gloomy
fellow. But Persephone’s beauty had dazzled him. He fell in love instantly.
Quickly, before anyone could interfere, he kidnapped Persephone and hurled his
chariot down into the darkest depths of the underworld, taking Persephone with
him.
Locked in a room in the Hall
of Hades, Persephone cried and cried. She refused to speak to Hades. And she
refused to eat. Legend said if you ate anything in Hades, you could never
leave. She did not know if the legend was true, but she did not want to risk it
in case someone came to rescue her.
Nearly a week went by.
Finally, unable to bear her hunger, Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds. It
seemed her fate was sealed. She would have to live in the Underworld forever.
Meanwhile, back on earth,
Zeus was worried about the crops. The people would die if the crops failed. If
that happened, who would worship Zeus? He had to do something. Zeus did what he
often did. He sent Hermes, his youngest son, the messenger, to crack a deal,
this time with Hades.
Even as a baby, Hermes was
great at making deals. Everyone knew that. But this deal might be the challenge
of his life. His uncle Hades, king of the underworld, was really in love. This
was no passing fancy.
When Hermes heard that
Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds, he had to think quickly. The deal
he made with Hades was that if Persephone would marry Hades, she would live as
queen of the underworld for six months out of the year. However, each spring,
Persephone would return and live on earth for the other six months of the year.
Hades agreed. Zeus agreed. Persephone agreed. And finally, Demeter agreed.
Each spring, Demeter makes
sure all the flowers bloom in welcome when her daughter, Queen of the
Underworld, returns to her. Each fall,
when Persephone returns to Hades, Demeter cries, and lets all the crops die
until spring, when the cycle starts again.
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