2 Demeter and Persephone

CHAPTER 2 Demeter and Persephone Most of the gods lived happily on Mount Olympus. One goddess did not. Her name was Demeter. She was the goddess of the corn, summertime, and harvest. When Demeter was happy, the world was filled with golden light. The stalks in the cornfields grew thick and tall. Everyone in the world had enough to eat. But every year after the corn harvest, Demeter became sad. A frost would blanket the fields. The ground became hard and frozen. Every bit of life was squeezed out of

the earth. This is why it happened. Demeter had a daughter. Her name was Persephone, the maiden of spring. Throughout the world, she was known as the most beautiful girl. A golden glow of sunlight surrounded her. Persephone's hair was the pale yellow color of freshly cut corn. Her cheeks were rosy pink. Her voice was like a bird's song. Persephone's musical laughter could be heard everywhere. Her laughter even reached down to where Hades ruled as lord of the underworld. I wish Persephone was my wife. If she lived here with me, she would bring light and music to this lonely, terrible place, Hades thought. But he knew that Demeter would never allow Persephone to marry him. He had asked the goddess once before and was

refused. So he came up with a plan. Hades had to wait for just the right moment. Then he would take Persephone as his bride. One day, Persephone was out with her friends in the meadow. A perfect flower had caught her eye, and she wandered far away. Persephone wanted to give the flower to Demeter to put in her hair. Suddenly the earth beneath Persephone's feet began to shake. The ground cracked in half at her feet. Hades burst up from the underworld. He rode a dark chariot drawn by four coal-black horses. He grabbed Persephone by the hand. Before she could call out, he pulled her close to him. Hades raced the chariot back to the underworld. Persephone wept and shouted for her mother. Persephone's cries echoed throughout the world. Her sobs were heard from the highest

hills to the deepest parts of the sea. Demeter heard Persephone weeping. She flew like a bird over land and sea to find her daughter. "Where is Persephone?" she asked everyone she met. "Have you seen her? Where has she gone?" No one would tell Demeter what had happened. The truth was just too terrible. Demeter searched for Persephone for nine days. She refused to eat or drink. At last Demeter went to Mount Olympus. She wanted to speak with Apollo, the sun god. He saw everything and would know where her daughter was. Apollo told her everything. "Persephone is down in the underworld. She will live there among the shadows forever," he said to her. Demeter's heart filled with sorrow. She flew away from Mount Olympus. For one whole year, Demeter grieved for

Persephone. She disguised herself as a human and wandered the Earth. Without her daughter, there was no happiness for Demeter. The goddess then decided there would be no spring, summer, or harvest. That year was dreadful and cruel for humankind all over Earth. Nothing grew anywhere. Everyone nearly died of hunger. Zeus sent the gods from Mount Olympus to plead with Demeter. They asked her to stop punishing the world with her sorrow. They begged her to allow the fruits and vegetables to grow again. But Demeter said she would not do it. The world would remain this way until she could see Persephone again. Finally, Zeus sent Hermes to the underworld with a message to Hades: "Return Persephone to Demeter." When Hermes arrived, he found Persephone curled up in a dark corner. She

was small and thin. Since being kidnapped to the underworld she had eaten nothing. She knew not to eat anything while she was there. If she did, she would never be able to return to the Earth and to her mother. Persephone heard Hermes's message to Hades. She sprang up joyfully, and was eager to leave. Hades knew he had to obey Zeus. But there was one thing he could do to make Persephone return to him. "Dear Persephone, think kindly of me when you return to Earth. Please, take this pomegranate to eat on your way." Hades slipped the pomegranate into the hand of Persephone. Then he ordered his chariot to return both Hermes and Persephone to the world above. Persephone forgot that she wasn't supposed to eat anything from the underworld. She was too excited, and the