Daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Sister of Hades, Hestia, Hera, Poseidon and Zeus. The goddess of agriculture. Do you know my name? Do you know of this grief and anger burning inside me? I have a daughter, Persephone — maiden of the spring. But her uncle took her to the underworld. That wretched, HATEFUL, damn Hades! He stole my beloved daughter from me! I didn’t know what happened at first but I knew that cry. Persephone’s cry that echoed in the high hills to the depths of the sea! I searched everywhere.
I looked for Persephone everywhere but I couldn’t find her! I wandered for days. I was distraught. No mortal, no god not even a messenger would tell me what happened! So I approached the sun. He told me what happened.. My daughter was taken beneath the Earth. She was among the shadowy dead in the Underworld. The sun told me that Persephone was collecting some flowers with some companions at the vale of Enna. And she saw an exquisite flower. It had a lovely bloom of PURPLE & SILVER.
A Narcissus flower, it was called. Do you know where that flower came from? That flower, the reason why Persephone is now in the Underworld. Do you know who called that flower into being? ZEUS! Zeus, king of all gods, my brother, Persephone’s own father no less! Until Persephone is returned to me, the lands will be a frozen desert. No leaves will grow on trees, no seeds shall spring, humans won’t harvest anything. I am Demeter, after all. I don’t care if the humans died. I just want Persephone back.
And because of this, Zeus ordered Hermes to go to Hades and tell him to return Persephone to me because his humans were dying. Finally, I saw her. My Persephone. You could imagine just how happy I was! But life is never so pleasant. Persephone and I exchanged stories about everything while the other was away. I found out that… that Hades, that DEVIL, that low-life! He gave Persephone pomegranate seeds! And Persephone ate it. Even though I’ve told her that if she ever eats anything from the Underworld, she can never leave permanently.
So, I stayed at the temple the people of Eleusis made for me. Then my mother Rhea came to me. She told me that Zeus bids me to go back to Olympus. “ Very well. ” I said. But even if I go back there, nothing will comfort this grief. Not the sweet nectars, not even ambrosia can comfort me of the fact that my daughter is now the wife of the king of the Underworld. Until Persephone returned to me again, the lands remained dead. I withdrew all my earthly gifts from the humans and only gave them back when Persephone was with me.
