Myths & Legends: The Goddess Persephone and Her Abduction
Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, was the goddess of springtime. She was a young, beautiful and radiant maiden who caught the eye of Hades, god of the underworld. One sunny day, when the goddess stooped down to pluck a narcissus flower from the ground, a large crevice appeared in the ground. From that crevice, Hades came in on a golden chariot and took Persephone with him to the Underworld where she became his wife and Queen of the Underworld. Though she grew to love Hades and her position of queen, she missed her mother. Because she ate pomegranate seeds while in the Underworld she wasn’t able to fully leave it when Zeus allowed her to return to the above world. Thus, she was able to spend part of the year with her husband, Hades and the other part with her mother, Demeter.
