ORIGIN: Greek
TYPE: Chthonic goddess of death
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP: Circa 1200 BCE to circa 400 CE.
SYNONYMS: Kore; Persephassa; Pherrephatta (Attic); Proserpina (Roman)
CENTER(S) OF CULT: Eleusis; temple to Demeter and Persephone in Syracuse.
ART REFERENCES: sculptures and reliefs
LITERARY SOURCES: Hymn to Demeter, Illiad(Homer); Theogony (Hesiod)
INFORMATION: The daughter of Zeus and the grain goddess Demeter, Persephone's persona is intricately entwined with that of her mother; the two may be seen as aspects of each other, though Persephone's name suggests an earlier, independent identity as a major goddess in prehistory. Persephone is perceived as Kore, the immature daughter, or aspect of the grain mother, but also specifically as mistress of the dead and ill-fated consort of the underworld god Hades-Aidoneus or Aides.
According to tradition Persephone leaves her mother's house to pick flowers with a group of girls, the Okeanides. As she bends to collect a particularly beautiful bloom, the earth suddenly opens and the god of the underworld rides out in a chariot drawn by black horses to seize her and take her to Hades, where she is to reign as its queen. The flower meadow is traditionally believed to lie on the island of Sicily close to the Lado di Pergus at Enna, though other sites, including one near Syracuse, contest the claim. Subsequently, Demeter wanders the earth in fruitless search for her child. Eventually she locates Persephone and Hermes is allowed to bring her back to the upper world but, because Persephone has tasted the pomegranate of death, she may return only for two thirds of the year. When Persephone returns to her mother as Kore, the girl, nature flourishes, but when she returns to Hades as its queen, Demeter is distraught and angry and the living world shrivels and dies.
According to one legendary source, Zeus in the form of a snake raped Persephone and sired Dionysos, though Dionysos's mother is more generally regarded as Semele.