Myth of persephone and hades full#
Myth of persephone and hades series#

Victorian poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson (maybe you know him from 'The Lady of Shalott '?) retold the myth in a poem called 'Demeter and Persephone.' Videos Here's Ovid's famous version of the myth from his Metamorphoses.

Myth of persephone and hades series#

Persephone and Hades show up in the God of War video game series as bosses. Learn more, and check out some great art, at this website. The myth of Persephone, Demeter, and Hades is considered the original 'death and the maiden' story, which inspired a ton of European artwork. Persephone, Demeter, and Hades Resources Websites Explore around, but be sure to return your brain to the 21st century before science class. Now that that's all squared away, you're ready to learn about how the family drama of the gods causes the seasons. (Check out the stories of ' Apollo and Daphne' and ' Venus and Adonis' for other examples.) A story that explains the origin of something (like natural events, names, traditions, or plants and animals) is called an etiological myth or origin myth, and the ancient Greeks had plenty of those. The ancient Greeks were pretty darn creative and they made up a story: the myth of Persephone, Demeter, and Hades. The earth is flat and it does not move.) Can you create a story that explains the seasons? Now tell us, where do the seasons come from? Why does it get cold in the winter? Why don't your crops of wheat and olives and lentils grow in the winter? (Uh, uh, uh – no bogus stories about the tilt of the planet and the orbit of the earth around the sun. Step 4: Repeat after us: 'I do not need to bathe every day. There are no grocery stores, so you'll have to grow your own food. Step 3: Get in touch with your inner farmer.

Let that sink in for a minute, and be careful when sailing around the seas you might fall off this flat planet. Step 1: Remember how you've been told to forget that Pluto was ever considered a planet? Now you need to forget that the earth orbits the sun. Now you need to get yourself into the right mind frame to fit in with the ancients: So, grab a snack, strap on your seatbelt, and turn your Shmoop Time Machine to the 'Ancient' setting, which is located somewhere in between the 'Dark Ages' and 'Dinosaurs.'

That's because this myth isn't just a story of a girl being forced to marry her uncle (gross), but also about how the ancient Greeks explained the changing of the seasons. (We're not going to spoil the story for you here.) This story makes even Lifetime movies look like light dramas.īut, dear 21st century Shmooper, drama aside, we think it's hard to really understand the story of Persephone, Demeter, and Hades without embarking on a time-traveling adventure.

Demeter is so mad when she finds out what happened that she won't allow anything on earth to grow. One day Persephone is minding her own business frolicking and picking flowers, when her Uncle Hades, god of the underworld, kidnaps her and drags her to the land of the dead to be his wife. Persephone is the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Demeter, goddess of agriculture.

Myth of persephone and hades full#

As you know, Greek myths are crammed full of drama, and the story of Persephone, Demeter, and Hades is no different.