I believe people are familiar with the traditional story of Persephone. She was out minding her own business one day in a meadow when her attention was drawn by a narcissus. The earth opened up and Hades kidnapped her to take her to the Underworld to be his Queen (with the agreement of her father, Zeus). Her mother, Demeter was beside herself, and fell into a great depression, causing a famine on Earth, which would lead to wiping out the human race.
Zeus tried to plead with Demeter both himself and through various other Gods and Goddesses, but Demeter refused to return the Earth to its normal estate until she saw her daughter with her own eyes. So Zeus sent Hermes down to the Underworld to speak to Hades with an order than Persephone be reunited with her mother. Persephone jumps at the chance to leave, but before she does is tricked into eating pomegranate seeds meaning she is forced to return to the Underworld for part of the year.
This is a fairly depressing tale, and had never sat very well with me given that Persephone is Queen of the Underworld and this traditional telling makes her out to be an innocent child with no personal power.
Iāve done a fair bit of studying on Persephone recently, as alongside Hecate Iām very much drawn to her.
As I said above I watched a video on YouTube that shed a very different light on Persephoneās story, and suggests that she may have even predated Hades in her own right, a nameless Goddess, a force to be reckoned with whose true story and background was only known to those initiated, so the version that ended up in the Eleusinian Mysteries was very much watered down. It was of course easy to blame Hades.
Iāve also been reading a lot and have added three books on Persephone to my collection. The first of which is from the Pagan Portals series and is called āPersephone: Practicing the Art of Personal Powerā by Robin Corak.
The story is retold in the first person from Persephoneās own point of view, reclaiming her personal power (the following is paraphrased or it would have gone on for several pages).
Persephone describes how she was out playing and picking flowers with friends, one of the rare times she got to do as she wished as her mother felt it was safe. She didnāt mind her mother wanting to keeping her near when she was younger, but approaching womanhood it felt suffocating and she was tired of being treated like a child. She couldnāt discuss things like her future or marriage, and was aware of two marriage proposals from Apollo and Hermes being turned down by her mother on her behalf. This made her angry not because she wanted to marry them, but because her mother deemed her incapable of making her own decisions.
She glimpsed a flower off in the distance that attracted her by its otherworldly beauty. As she reached out to grasp the narcissus, the ground opened up and a golden chariot emerged with a tall man with long dark hair. Before she could protest, the man grabbed her and they descended back into the earth.
Persephone screamed as it was the natural thing to do, but she knew his intent wasnāt to harm her and she was drawn to seeing a land outside her motherās domain. When they got to the Underworld and Hades introduced himself she was shocked, she became quiet and her eyes turned to ice. Hades explained that he was enchanted by her and wanted to make her his wife. Whilst he respected Demeter, both he and Zeus felt it was time for her to grow up and live her own life.
The irony of this made Persephone angry and she lashed out, but he didnāt move. Both of them were astonished and she ran off into the maze of hallways in Hadesā palace until she found a small room, falling a heap, exhausted. She was prepared for a fight but Hades gave her a tender look and left her to her solitude.
Persephone missed her mother, but the tension between her and Hades lessened and she began to appreciate him. She found him to be gentle and thoughtful, and they were able to engage in adult conversation. He listened, wanted to hear her opinions, and treated her as an equal. As Queen of the Underworld she was expected to have her own thoughts and opinions and not to be afraid to share them. Persephoneās confidence grew and she began to cherish the time spent with Hades, due to both love and freedom sheād not before experienced.
As she learned more about the Underworld she began to feel sad for the lost souls she encountered and Hades told her she had power to make changes in her own realm.
Eventually, Hermes came to speak with her and Hades, explaining what was happening on earth and that Zeus had ordered her return. This saddened Hades, and reluctantly he took her to speak privately in a courtyard where pomegranates had somehow managed to thrive. He told her he knew of her desire to reconcile with her mother and that he could never fill that void. But he pleaded with her to stay and rule as his Queen, defying her fatherās request. He then left her to decide for herself what to do.
*Persephone could see two paths before her, each involving spending time with a person she loved but sacrificing the love of the other. So she decided to take a third path. Spying a ripe pomegranate, Persephone decided to take a risk. Knowing that if she ate something in the Underworld she would be condemned to remain there, she tore it open and slipped a few seeds under her tongue. *
Hermes came looking for her and she embraced Hades before getting into Hermes chariot, to be reunited with her mother as soon as it emerged from the ground. Demeter knew something was wrong, and asked if sheād eaten anything in the Underworld. Persephone was tempted to lie and say she was forced, but her time in the Underworld had changed her. She was now a woman capable of holding her own and admitted that she had willingly eaten the pomegranate seeds.
Demeter gasped and Zeus sighed, seeing the predicament he was in. Persephone spoke up and said she had no intention of remaining in one place or the other, asking if there was any reason she couldnāt spend time in both realms. Zeus considered the possibility, and decreed that she would spend part of the year with her mother on Earth, and part of the year with her husband Hades in the Underworld.
Persephone found for herself a third way that didnāt require her to sacrifice the people she loved. She also took charge of her own destiny.
There is much of Persephoneās story that resonates with me. I too have an overbearing mother, but I wasnāt able to reconcile with her and keep my marriage (long story there, not for now).
This alternative version of her background makes her sound far more bad ass and is empowering. Iām planning to try and write a devotional to Persephone but Iām not sure Iāll have time to get that done before the challenge closes. Iām working on it though.