{"id":4280,"date":"2026-04-27T10:35:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T10:35:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/persephone\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T14:25:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T14:25:38","slug":"persephone","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/persephone\/","title":{"rendered":"Persephone"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"4280\" class=\"elementor elementor-4280 elementor-1963 elementor-bc-flex-widget\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-10fdade e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"10fdade\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\" data-settings=\"{&quot;background_background&quot;:&quot;classic&quot;}\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-herohlft0 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"herohlft0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c3ceb64 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"c3ceb64\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-96ae5e1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"96ae5e1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Persephone, Goddess of the Greek Tradition<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e45238a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e45238a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Daughter of fertility, queen of the underworld, embodiment of change. Persephone (also called Kore) is the daughter of Demeter and the link between earth and underworld.<\/p><p>Her abduction by Hades shapes the understanding of death, rebirth and the annual cycle in Greek culture. She rules as a dignified consort at Hades&#8217; side, a goddess who unites severity and compassion within herself.<\/p><p>Persephone is a goddess of the Greek <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The passing on of knowledge and narratives across generations.\" tabindex=\"0\">tradition<\/span>, daughter of Demeter and queen of the underworld.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-klsbdg01 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"klsbdg01\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-klshtm01 elementor-widget elementor-widget-html\" data-id=\"klshtm01\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"html.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"iwg-pill-row\"><span class=\"iwg-klasse-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"God \/ Goddess: Personified highest power in the pantheon of a culture, with clear responsibilities: forces of nature, fate, war, fertility. Worshipped through cults, sacrifices and temple institutions.\">Goddess<\/span><a href=\"\/en\/greece\/\" class=\"iwg-kultur-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Religion and mythology of ancient Greece from the Mycenaean period to late antiquity.\">Greece<\/a><a href=\"\/en\/death-deities\/\" class=\"iwg-tradition-badge\" tabindex=\"0\" data-tooltip=\"Gods of the underworld and of death, rulers of the afterlife, judges of the dead, guides of souls.\">Deity of the Dead<\/a><\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f74855 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3f74855\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1c30362 elementor-toc--minimized-on-tablet elementor-widget elementor-widget-table-of-contents\" data-id=\"1c30362\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;exclude_headings_by_selector&quot;:[],&quot;no_headings_message&quot;:&quot;Es wurden keine \\u00dcberschriften auf dieser Seite gefunden.&quot;,&quot;headings_by_tags&quot;:[&quot;h2&quot;,&quot;h3&quot;],&quot;marker_view&quot;:&quot;bullets&quot;,&quot;minimize_box&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;icon&quot;:{&quot;value&quot;:&quot;fas fa-circle&quot;,&quot;library&quot;:&quot;fa-solid&quot;,&quot;rendered_tag&quot;:&quot;&lt;svg class=\\&quot;e-font-icon-svg e-fas-circle\\&quot; viewBox=\\&quot;0 0 512 512\\&quot; xmlns=\\&quot;http:\\\/\\\/www.w3.org\\\/2000\\\/svg\\&quot;&gt;&lt;path d=\\&quot;M256 8C119 8 8 119 8 256s111 248 248 248 248-111 248-248S393 8 256 8z\\&quot;&gt;&lt;\\\/path&gt;&lt;\\\/svg&gt;&quot;},&quot;minimized_on&quot;:&quot;tablet&quot;,&quot;hierarchical_view&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;,&quot;min_height&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_tablet&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]},&quot;min_height_mobile&quot;:{&quot;unit&quot;:&quot;px&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;sizes&quot;:[]}}\" data-widget_type=\"table-of-contents.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-toc__header-title\">\n\t\t\t\tTable of Contents\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--expand\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__1c30362\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Open table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-down\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M207.029 381.476L12.686 187.132c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941l22.667-22.667c9.357-9.357 24.522-9.375 33.901-.04L224 284.505l154.745-154.021c9.379-9.335 24.544-9.317 33.901.04l22.667 22.667c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941L240.971 381.476c-9.373 9.372-24.569 9.372-33.942 0z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__toggle-button elementor-toc__toggle-button--collapse\" role=\"button\" tabindex=\"0\" aria-controls=\"elementor-toc__1c30362\" aria-expanded=\"true\" aria-label=\"Close table of contents\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"e-font-icon-svg e-fas-chevron-up\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M240.971 130.524l194.343 194.343c9.373 9.373 9.373 24.569 0 33.941l-22.667 22.667c-9.357 9.357-24.522 9.375-33.901.04L224 227.495 69.255 381.516c-9.379 9.335-24.544 9.317-33.901-.04l-22.667-22.667c-9.373-9.373-9.373-24.569 0-33.941L207.03 130.525c9.372-9.373 24.568-9.373 33.941-.001z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div id=\"elementor-toc__1c30362\" class=\"elementor-toc__body\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-toc__spinner-container\">\n\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"elementor-toc__spinner eicon-animation-spin e-font-icon-svg e-eicon-loading\" aria-hidden=\"true\" viewBox=\"0 0 1000 1000\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M500 975V858C696 858 858 696 858 500S696 142 500 142 142 304 142 500H25C25 237 238 25 500 25S975 237 975 500 763 975 500 975Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-herorght0 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"herorght0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-heroimg00 iwg-hero-image elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"heroimg00\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"683\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/goetter_griechenland_persephone-683x1024.webp\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-4281\" alt=\"Persephone - Gods from the Greek tradition, historical-illustrative\" srcset=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/goetter_griechenland_persephone-683x1024.webp 683w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/goetter_griechenland_persephone-200x300.webp 200w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/goetter_griechenland_persephone-768x1152.webp 768w, https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/goetter_griechenland_persephone.webp 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 683px) 100vw, 683px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-32917199 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"32917199\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-26e916cb e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"26e916cb\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-253a40d4 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"253a40d4\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1200c304 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1200c304\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Persephone<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-159dcf9a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"159dcf9a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-48cee66f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"48cee66f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Quick Overview: Persephone<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3f50d82c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"3f50d82c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Type:<\/strong> Greek major <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A being venerated as divine within a religion.\" tabindex=\"0\">deity<\/span>, goddess of the underworld and vegetation<br><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the gods of a religion or culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">Pantheon<\/span>: Greece (Olympus and underworld)<br>Function: Queen of the underworld, growth and dying of vegetation, mysteries<br>Main attributes: pomegranate, torch, wreath of grain<br>Main <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration for a deity or sacred figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> sites: Eleusis, Lokroi Epizephyrioi, Sicily (Enna)<br>Roman equivalent: Proserpina<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-18613602 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"18613602\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-262b8a9f elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"262b8a9f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Context<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-46dcb7d e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"46dcb7d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-61d3ab3 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"61d3ab3\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-117c166 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"117c166\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Period of the Texts<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-73997a0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"73997a0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Persephone myths are attested in literature from Homer onward (8th century BC); the main <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A transmitted narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span> (abduction by Hades) is recounted in detail in the <em>Homeric Hymn to Demeter<\/em>.<\/p><p><span data-nosnippet>The Eleusinian Mysteries, one of the most important mystery cults of the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Epoch of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BC to 600 AD.\" tabindex=\"0\">ancient<\/span> world, centred on the mother-daughter story of Demeter and Persephone. They ran continuously for almost 2000 years, until Theodosius closed them in 392 AD.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d47b156 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d47b156\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-ff38c2b elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"ff38c2b\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Area of Distribution<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4e49fcc elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4e49fcc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Most important cult site: <strong>Eleusis<\/strong> near Athens (the most famous mysteries). In addition: Sicily (Enna as the setting of the abduction), Lokroi Epizephyrioi (a southern Italian special <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration for a deity or holy figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> with pinakes), Corinth, Thebes. In the Hellenistic-Roman period, the identification of Persephone as Proserpina spread throughout the Mediterranean region.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-db03c39 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"db03c39\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-229a87b e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"229a87b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-1f471fc elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"1f471fc\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Source Situation<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-36b1201 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"36b1201\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Central sources: the <em>Homeric Hymn to Demeter<\/em> (the longest <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Epoch of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BC to 600 AD.\" tabindex=\"0\">ancient<\/span> account of the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A traditional narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span>), Hesiod&#8217;s <em>Theogony<\/em>, the Hesychius glosses on the Eleusinia rites, the Lokroi pinakes (clay <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A representation worked in raised relief out of a surface.\" tabindex=\"0\">relief<\/span> tablets), Pausanias&#8217; <em>Description of Greece<\/em> (Eleusis chapter).<\/p><p>Secondary literature: Burkert, <em><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Epoch of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BC to 600 AD.\" tabindex=\"0\">Ancient<\/span> Mystery Cults<\/em>; Foley, <em>The Homeric Hymn to Demeter<\/em>; Clinton, <em>The Eleusinian Mysteries<\/em>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3ae0637c e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"3ae0637c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-31d07739 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"31d07739\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Name<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-b7642947 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"b7642947\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a086266 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a086266\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Persephone is depicted as a dignified woman, often with a crown or diadem, frequently enthroned beside Hades. Her attributes are the pomegranate (<span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sign that stands in place of an idea or meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">symbol<\/span> of her bond to the underworld), the torch (Demeter searched for her with a torch), poppy and grain.<\/p><p>In the underworld she wears regal garments; during her stay on earth she is depicted as young and blooming.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-709a44a8 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"709a44a8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2f585873 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2f585873\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Characteristics<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-70621c12 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"70621c12\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-4296eb49 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"4296eb49\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Persephone reigns together with Hades over the underworld. She is not cruel but just; she hears the petitions of the deceased and urges her consort toward kindness.<\/p><p>At Eleusis, mystery rites were performed that re-enacted Persephone&#8217;s descent and return and promised believers hope of redemption in the afterlife. Persephone&#8217;s return from Hades to the earth heralds spring; her departure into the depths heralds autumn. Her story interprets suffering as necessary and transforms it through dignity.<\/p><p><strong>Appearance and Symbolism<\/strong><\/p><p>Persephone is depicted as a beautiful, elegant woman, sometimes young and adorned with flowers (as Kore), sometimes more mature and crowned with a tiara (as queen of the underworld).<\/p><p>The pomegranate is her primary attribute, the fruit whose seeds she ate and which sealed her bond to Hades. The torch (like Demeter&#8217;s) symbolizes her journeys of return between the worlds.<\/p><p>Grain and poppy are <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to the divine and thereby withdrawn from everyday use.\" tabindex=\"0\">sacred<\/span> to her, as is the narcissus (the flower she was picking when Hades abducted her). Her colour varies: white or cream as a maiden, dark red or black as queen of the underworld. She embodies transformation itself, not loss or restoration, but the experience of both states.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-44e71476 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"44e71476\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3c1fc3f0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3c1fc3f0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Profile: Persephone<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-84f33b8e e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"84f33b8e\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-hqkdc67p elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"hqkdc67p\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The most important aspects of Persephone at a glance. The following fields summarize origin, function, appearance, veneration, symbols and parallels.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-pemmx7c5 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"pemmx7c5\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-pemmx7c1 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"pemmx7c1\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-qh9oavvu iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"qh9oavvu\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-awzx8k2k elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"awzx8k2k\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Persephone's Origin<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-x6rowhv0 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"x6rowhv0\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. In the central <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A traditional narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span> she is forcibly abducted by <em>Hades<\/em>, the ruler of the underworld; her mother Demeter searches for her in despair and lets the vegetation wither.<\/p><p>Eventually a compromise is brokered: Persephone spends one third of the year with Hades (winter) and two thirds with Demeter (summer). The pomegranate she eats in the underworld binds her to Hades.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8e3o4kxs iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"8e3o4kxs\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-08rkdgov elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"08rkdgov\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Related To<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-uwjelx8s elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"uwjelx8s\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Queen of the underworld (Kore aspect vs. Persephone aspect, maiden and ruler). In the Eleusinian tradition, a mediator between life and death; the mysteries promised the initiated a happy afterlife under her patronage.<\/p><p>Connection with the fertility cycle: the growth and withering of the plant world through her presence and absence on earth. In Sicily, protective goddess of maidens.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-jm2n74ec iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"jm2n74ec\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-8vufse4c elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"8vufse4c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Depiction<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-mwb9u015 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"mwb9u015\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Young woman, often with a pomegranate in her hand, a wreath of grain or a torch. In her underworld form, enthroned beside Hades, often with a serious facial expression.<\/p><p>On the Lokroi pinakes she is frequently depicted in the scene of the wedding with Hades. As Kore (maiden) with a polos crown (tall cylindrical headdress). Frequently accompanied by Hecate (with a torch) and Hermes (as escort back to the upper world).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-pemmx7c2 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"pemmx7c2\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-37ss2yr6 iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"37ss2yr6\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3v0wp3wx elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"3v0wp3wx\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Function<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-w3247g2m elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"w3247g2m\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Area of effect:<\/strong> Persephone was central to the Eleusinian Mysteries; initiates from across the Mediterranean travelled to Eleusis to experience the nine-day secret <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A fixed, recurring religious act.\" tabindex=\"0\">rite<\/span>.<\/p><p>In personal <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration for a deity or holy figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> she was <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The petitioning or invoking address to a deity or power.\" tabindex=\"0\">invoked<\/span> by women before marriage (the aspect of the maiden passing into a new phase of life). In the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration for a deity or holy figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span> of the dead, she was patroness of the deceased; grave goods with pomegranate symbolism are common in Greek graves.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0qpjal9w iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"0qpjal9w\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6ndoih0o elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6ndoih0o\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Protection<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6684tyh9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6684tyh9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Pomegranate (the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sign that stands in place of an idea or meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">symbol<\/span> of the bond to the underworld), torch (Demeter&#8217;s search), wreath of grain (vegetation aspect), polos crown, asphodel (the flower of the underworld), sword (Lokroi tradition). Plants: pomegranate, ears of grain, asphodel, poppy. Sacred animals: snake.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3lfi7x32 iwg-steckbrief-card e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-child\" data-id=\"3lfi7x32\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0kg99ga1 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"0kg99ga1\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Related Beings<\/div>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-n0fum6kp elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"n0fum6kp\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><em>Proserpina<\/em> (Rome, a nearly identical adoption), <em>Inanna\/Ishtar<\/em> (Mesopotamia, descent to the underworld), <em>Ereshkigal<\/em> (Mesopotamia, queen of the underworld), <em>Hel<\/em> (Germanic, ruler of the underworld), <em>Sita<\/em> (Hinduism, connection to the earth, disappearance into the earth), <em>Izanami<\/em> (Japan, creator goddess trapped in Yomi).<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7533bc7a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"7533bc7a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2447d18d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"2447d18d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Practical Defence<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d5d0260c e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d5d0260c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-341be2ac elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"341be2ac\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Rituals of Defence<\/strong><\/p><p>Persephone, the ruler of the underworld, was the object of conciliatory rather than defensive rites. Because her name was spoken with caution in everyday life, she was often referred to euphemistically as Kore, &#8220;the maiden&#8221;, a linguistic form of reverence toward the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Belonging to the earth or the underworld; in ancient religion the gods and spirits of the depths (Hades, the Erinyes, Demeter chthonia).\" tabindex=\"0\">chthonic<\/span> powers.<\/p><p>In the Eleusinian Mysteries, the focus was not on defence but on the hope for a good lot in the afterlife.<\/p><p>A markedly <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Warding off evil: of signs and objects intended to keep harmful influences away.\" tabindex=\"0\">apotropaic<\/span> tradition is formed by the Orphic-Bacchic gold tablets: thin, inscribed gold leaves placed in the graves of the deceased, containing instructions for the path through the underworld as well as addresses to Persephone. They were meant to secure the deceased&#8217;s passage, a protective object in the literal sense.<\/p><p><strong>Invocations<\/strong><\/p><p>The Eleusinian Mysteries offered the most important cultic way of standing on good terms with Persephone and Demeter: initiates hoped to gain a better lot after death from them. In addition, the Orphic gold tablets contain formulas that put the correct address to the queen into the mouth of the soul in the underworld, so that it will be received graciously. The myth of the pomegranate, whose seeds bound Persephone to the underworld, also served as a warning to be wary of food from the realm of the dead.<\/p><p><strong><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A worn object to which a protective, misfortune-averting effect is attributed.\" tabindex=\"0\">Amulets<\/span> and Protective Symbols<\/strong><\/p><p>This section will be filled with further material from the history of <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The academic discipline that studies religions comparatively and without confessional commitment.\" tabindex=\"0\">religion<\/span>.<\/p><p><strong><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration for a deity or holy figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">Cult<\/span> and Veneration<\/strong><\/p><p>Persephone was central to the Eleusinian Mysteries, perhaps even more so than her mother Demeter. Her abduction and return were dramatically re-enacted, and initiates experienced this journey in <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"An ordered sequence of symbolic actions with religious or cultural meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">ritual<\/span> form. The Anthesteria, a festival for Persephone and the gods of the underworld, was a time when the boundary between life and death became thin.<\/p><p>Women prayed to Persephone during puberty and marriage, as patroness of the transition into womanhood. The Kore depiction was venerated as patroness of virginity; the Hades queen as patroness of marriage and motherhood. Priestesses conveyed her duality, not as contradiction, but as integration.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5a584676 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"5a584676\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6d0757bf elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"6d0757bf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Persephone, Parallels in Other Cultures<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-60563f68 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"60563f68\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5a93fdd6 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5a93fdd6\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Similar underworld goddesses are found in other cultures: Inanna\/Ishtar (Mesopotamia) likewise passes through the underworld; Izanami (Japan) rules over the realm of the dead. Persephone&#8217;s pomegranate episode recalls Celtic underworld enchantments and Indian abduction myths. The annual-cycle aspect connects her with vegetation deities such as Osiris or Dionysus.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp8742374 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cp8742374\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp23b39fb elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp23b39fb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">The Abduction of Persephone in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp4da9781 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cp4da9781\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp9c8ea7c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cp9c8ea7c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The most detailed <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Epoch of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BC to 600 AD.\" tabindex=\"0\">ancient<\/span> account of Persephone is found in the so-called Homeric Hymn to <a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/demeter\/\">Demeter<\/a>, a text that probably originated in the 7th or 6th century BC. It describes how the maiden, mostly called <em>Kore<\/em> in the hymn, meaning simply the maiden, is picking flowers in a meadow.<\/p><p>As she reaches for a particularly beautiful narcissus, the earth opens and <a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/hades\/\">Hades<\/a> abducts her on his chariot into the underworld.<\/p><p>Demeter searches for her daughter across the whole earth for nine days and finally learns from Helios, the all-seeing sun god, what has happened.<\/p><p>Out of anger and grief she withdraws from the gods, lets the fields become barren and threatens to let the human race starve. Only this forces Zeus to relent and to send Hermes into the underworld to bring Persephone back.<\/p><p>The episode with the pomegranate seed is decisive. Before Persephone leaves the underworld, Hades gives her a pomegranate seed to eat. Whoever has tasted the food of the dead is bound to the underworld. Thus arises the compromise that Persephone must spend part of the year with Hades and part with her mother.<\/p><p>The hymn thereby connects the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A traditional narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span> directly with the change of the seasons and with the growth and decay of vegetation. At the same time it forms the foundation myth for the Eleusinian Mysteries, whose establishment the text attributes to Demeter herself.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpfe3dad8 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cpfe3dad8\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp24a098d elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp24a098d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Queen of the Underworld<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp198d44d e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cp198d44d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpe43e879 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cpe43e879\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>As much as the abduction myth shapes the image of Persephone, in lived Greek religion she is above all the ruler of the realm of the dead.<\/p><p>At Hades&#8217; side she reigns over the deceased, and in this role she appears more frequently and more reverently than in the figure of the abducted maiden. The Greeks sometimes spoke her name only reluctantly and referred to her in circumlocution, for instance as the <em>Hagne<\/em>, the Pure One, or simply the goddess.<\/p><p>In this function Persephone appears in numerous literary scenes. In the <em>Odyssey<\/em> it is Persephone who sends up the hosts of the dead to Odysseus and drives them away again.<\/p><p>In the Orpheus myth it is she who is moved by the singer&#8217;s song and grants the return of Eurydice. In <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A verbal formula intended to inflict misfortune on a person or thing.\" tabindex=\"0\">curse<\/span> tablets, the so-called <em>defixiones<\/em> placed in graves, she is invoked as a power that commands the shades.<\/p><p>This dual role, daughter of the vegetation goddess and mistress of the dead, has long occupied scholarship. In his <em>Greek Religion<\/em>, <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"German scholar of religious studies (1931 to 2015); principal work Greek Religion (1977).\" tabindex=\"0\">Walter Burkert<\/span> emphasized that both aspects belong together: the grain must go into the earth, down into the dark, so that new life can arise.<\/p><p>Persephone thus embodies not two unconnected functions but the connection between death and fertility, which was directly experienced in agriculture. The dignity with which the Greeks approached her in her underworld role shows that she was understood less as the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A gift to a deity, to express thanks, a request or veneration.\" tabindex=\"0\">victim<\/span> of a crime than as a serious cosmic power.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp9b8f38d e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cp9b8f38d\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2bff7ff elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp2bff7ff\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Persephone in the Eleusinian Mysteries<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp7292d98 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cp7292d98\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp6de0ebe elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cp6de0ebe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>The <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sacred place dedicated to the veneration of a deity.\" tabindex=\"0\">sanctuary<\/span> of Eleusis near Athens was the most significant place of Persephone and Demeter veneration in the Greek world.<\/p><p>There, the Eleusinian Mysteries were celebrated over more than a thousand years, an <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A ritual transition through which someone is admitted into a new status or community.\" tabindex=\"0\">initiation<\/span> cult that promised the initiated, the <em>mystai<\/em>, a better prospect for their fate after death. The Hymn to Demeter traces the foundation of this cult back to Demeter&#8217;s search for her daughter.<\/p><p>Little is known about the precise course of the secret rites, because the initiates were sworn to silence and adhered to it remarkably consistently.<\/p><p>The outer framework is certain: a <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A solemn religious procession.\" tabindex=\"0\">procession<\/span> from Athens to Eleusis along the Sacred Way, periods of fasting, a special drink, the <em>kykeon<\/em>, and nocturnal celebrations in the Telesterion, the great initiation hall. At the centre stood, apparently, the presentation or re-enactment of the fate of the two goddesses, from separation to reunion.<\/p><p>Scholarship has long debated what was actually promised to the initiates there and what the experience consisted of. <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Epoch of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BC to 600 AD.\" tabindex=\"0\">Ancient<\/span> testimonies from Pindar to Christian authors suggest that the mysteries offered consolation in the face of death.<\/p><p>Persephone&#8217;s return from the underworld served as an image for the hope that human death, too, is not the final word.<\/p><p>Sober assessment requires admitting that we do not know the central act of display. All modern interpretations, from rationalist ones to those that suspect a plant-based intoxicant in the <em>kykeon<\/em>, remain hypotheses that work against a deliberately incomplete source situation.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp60fe985 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"cp60fe985\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp75c4864 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"cp75c4864\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Iconography and Cult in Sicily and Southern Italy<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cp2b58f9b e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"cp2b58f9b\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-cpbe4c059 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"cpbe4c059\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In the visual arts, Persephone appears in two basic types. As Kore she is a youthful female figure, often with ears of grain, a torch or flowers, scarcely distinguishable from other young goddesses.<\/p><p>As queen of the underworld she is enthroned beside Hades, often with a sceptre, sometimes with the pomegranate as attribute. Vase paintings of the 5th and 4th centuries BC repeatedly show the abduction by Hades, the chariot, the open earth and the searching Demeter.<\/p><p>Veneration was especially dense in Sicily and in the Greek cities of southern Italy. Sicily was regarded as the preferred setting of the abduction; the area around Lake Pergusa near Enna was identified with the flower meadow.<\/p><p>In Lokroi Epizephyrioi in Calabria, a large number of clay tablets were found, the so-called pinakes, which show scenes from the Persephone myth and her <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of religious acts of veneration for a deity or holy figure.\" tabindex=\"0\">cult<\/span>. They provide a rare insight into the world of ideas of a local community and there also connect Persephone with marriage and married life.<\/p><p>The importance of Persephone in this region is connected with the economic structure. Sicily was one of the great granaries of the ancient world, and a goddess responsible for grain and for the realm beneath the earth had a firm place here.<\/p><p>In his speeches against Verres, Cicero reports at length on the famous <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sacred place dedicated to the veneration of a deity.\" tabindex=\"0\">sanctuary<\/span> of the goddess near Enna and on the sacrilege of the Roman governor against it. Such testimonies show that Persephone was not merely a figure of poetry but a power whose <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sacred place dedicated to the veneration of a deity.\" tabindex=\"0\">sanctuaries<\/span> still possessed prestige and wealth in Roman times.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-36dd7469 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"36dd7469\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-13760ab4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"13760ab4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Further Links<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-28c87796 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"28c87796\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5d6538df elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"5d6538df\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/demeter\/\">Demeter, mother<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/iwell-guard.com\/en\/hades\/\">Hades, consort in the underworld<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/hecate\/\">Hecate, companion in the myth<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/proserpina\/\">Proserpina, Roman equivalent<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/greece\/\">Greece, pantheon overview<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/en\/gods\/\">Gods, class overview<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-grl4kl40 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"grl4kl40\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bzsbfrmh elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"bzsbfrmh\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Sources and Literature<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2c13224a e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"2c13224a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0eymh9ub elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0eymh9ub\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<footer class=\"iwg-literatur\" data-nosnippet=\"true\"><ul><li><span data-nosnippet>Burkert, Walter: <em><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"Epoch of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BC to 600 AD.\" tabindex=\"0\">Ancient<\/span> Mystery Cults. Functions and Content<\/em>. Munich 1990.<\/span><\/li><li><span data-nosnippet>Burkert, Walter: <em>Greek Religion of the Archaic and <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The era of Greek and Roman culture, roughly 800 BCE to 600 CE.\" tabindex=\"0\">Classical<\/span> Epoch<\/em>. Stuttgart 2011.<\/span><\/li><li><span data-nosnippet>Foley, Helene P.: <em>The Homeric Hymn to Demeter<\/em>. Princeton 1994.<\/span><\/li><li><span data-nosnippet>Clinton, Kevin: <em>Myth and Cult. The <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The study of pictorial content and its meaning.\" tabindex=\"0\">Iconography<\/span> of the Eleusinian Mysteries<\/em>. Stockholm 1992.<\/span><\/li><li>Walde, Christine (ed.): <em>Der Neue Pauly<\/em> (entry &#8220;Persephone&#8221;).<\/li><li>Pausanias: <em>Description of Greece<\/em>, Book I (Eleusis).<\/li><\/ul><\/footer>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgkw2-add-persephone e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"iwgkw2-add-persephone\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-iwgkw2-add-persephone-t elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"iwgkw2-add-persephone-t\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In Greek <em><span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the transmitted divine narratives of a culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span><\/em>, Persephone embodies the change of the seasons: as daughter of Demeter and consort of Hades, she divides her year between the upper world and the underworld and is venerated as Kore in the Eleusinian Mysteries.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c678c54 e-con-boxed e-flex e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"c678c54\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c343e0f elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c343e0f\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Frequently Asked Questions about Persephone<\/h2><div class=\"iwg-faq-q\"><h3>Who is Persephone in Greek <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the transmitted divine narratives of a culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span>?<\/h3><p>Persephone (Roman Proserpina) is the daughter of Demeter (goddess of the harvest) and Zeus. The central <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A traditional narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span>: Persephone is abducted by Hades, the ruler of the underworld. Demeter grieves so deeply that the earth becomes barren.<\/p><p>Zeus mediates, and Persephone may spend two thirds of the year with her mother (spring, summer, autumn) and one third as queen of the underworld (winter). This <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A traditional narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span> is the religious explanation of the annual cycle and the basis of the Eleusinian Mysteries.<\/p><\/div><div class=\"iwg-faq-q\"><h3>What were the Eleusinian Mysteries?<\/h3><p>The Eleusinian Mysteries were the most important mystery cult of ancient Greece, practised over almost two thousand years (roughly 1500 BC to 392 AD).<\/p><p>In the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sacred place dedicated to the veneration of a deity.\" tabindex=\"0\">sanctuary<\/span> of Eleusis near Athens, initiates experienced the drama of Demeter and Persephone as <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A ritual transition through which someone is admitted into a new status or community.\" tabindex=\"0\">initiation<\/span>, as a promise that even death does not mean the end. The exact rites were the strictest secret (Eleusinian vow of silence). Famous initiates included Sophocles, Plato, Cicero, Augustus and Marcus Aurelius.<\/p><\/div><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"Who is Persephone in Greek <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"The totality of the transmitted divine narratives of a culture.\" tabindex=\"0\">mythology<\/span>?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Persephone (Roman Proserpina) is the daughter of Demeter (goddess of the harvest) and Zeus. The central <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A traditional narrative about gods, origins and the order of the world.\" tabindex=\"0\">myth<\/span>: Persephone is abducted by Hades, the ruler of the underworld. Demeter grieves so deeply that the earth becomes barren. 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In the <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A sacred place dedicated to the veneration of a deity.\" tabindex=\"0\">sanctuary<\/span> of Eleusis near Athens, initiates experienced the drama of Demeter and Persephone as <span class=\"iwg-fachbegriff\" data-tooltip=\"A ritual transition through which someone is admitted into a new status or community.\" tabindex=\"0\">initiation<\/span>, as a promise that even death does not mean the end. The exact rites were the strictest secret (Eleusinian vow of silence). Famous initiates included Sophocles, Plato, Cicero, Augustus and Marcus Aurelius.\"}}]}<\/script>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Persephone, Goddess of the Greek Tradition Daughter of fertility, queen of the underworld, embodiment of change. Persephone (also called Kore) is the daughter of Demeter and the link between earth and underworld. Her abduction by Hades shapes the understanding of death, rebirth and the annual cycle in Greek culture. She rules as a dignified consort [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4281,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_focuskw":"Persephone","_yoast_wpseo_title":"Persephone: Goddess of the Underworld in Greek Mythology","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Daughter of Demeter, queen of the underworld, pomegranate and Eleusinian Mysteries. Symbol of death, rebirth and the annual cycle in Greek tradition.","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_angie_page":false,"gefaehrdungsstufe":"","wesen_kultur":"","wesen_klasse":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[79,86,88],"class_list":["post-4280","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultures","category-gods","category-greece"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.7 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Persephone: Goddess of the Underworld in Greek Mythology<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Daughter of Demeter, queen of the underworld, pomegranate and Eleusinian Mysteries. 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