<Persephone> http://www.coolshowcase.com/picture/1386/PersephoneCreation of the Seasons Myth.
Persephone, the goddess of flowers was taken by Hades, the Lord of the Underworld to be his eternal Queen (with Zeus's permission). When Persephone's mother, Demeter, goddess of the harvest, discovered that her daughter had been taken, she allowed all the crops on the Earth the wither and die. Zeus sent Hermes, the messenger god, to the Underworld to remove Persephone from Hades and bring her back to her mother, however, Persephone was tricked by Hades into eating seven seeds of a pomegranite. Though the Fates had ordained that once someone eats or drinks in the Underworld, they are forced to remain there eternally, Zeus bent the rules so that Persephone only had to stay in the Underworld for seven months out of the year, during which there are no flowers, and Demeter does not allow any crops to grow.
This myth answers a question that the Greeks clearly were unable to answer with their scientific capabilities at the time. They were puzzled by why the earth changed as the year progressed, and wished to discover the origin of these changes, or seasons. Because they were unable to answer this question with logic, the Greeks chose to answer it with faith and passed on a myth involving several gods and goddesses. This myth effectively was able to serve as an adequate explanation until the existence of a pantheon of gods was questioned later on in history.
From this myth, one can tell that lustful love was frowned on while familial love was championed by the Greeks. Hades is the bad guy in the story because he fell in love with Persephone and kidnapped her from her mother. However, Demeter is a hero in the story because her love for her daughter leads her to go to extraordinary lengths to get her back.
From this myth, one can also tell that perserverance was very important to the Greeks. When Demeter lost her daughter, she did not mope around and give up. Instead she went around asking other gods until she discovered the location of her daughter and then stopped fulfilling her godly duties until her daughter was returned to her. One moral of the story is that you should never give up when it comes to the people that you love.
This myth answers a question that the Greeks clearly were unable to answer with their scientific capabilities at the time. They were puzzled by why the earth changed as the year progressed, and wished to discover the origin of these changes, or seasons. Because they were unable to answer this question with logic, the Greeks chose to answer it with faith and passed on a myth involving several gods and goddesses. This myth effectively was able to serve as an adequate explanation until the existence of a pantheon of gods was questioned later on in history.
From this myth, one can tell that lustful love was frowned on while familial love was championed by the Greeks. Hades is the bad guy in the story because he fell in love with Persephone and kidnapped her from her mother. However, Demeter is a hero in the story because her love for her daughter leads her to go to extraordinary lengths to get her back.
From this myth, one can also tell that perserverance was very important to the Greeks. When Demeter lost her daughter, she did not mope around and give up. Instead she went around asking other gods until she discovered the location of her daughter and then stopped fulfilling her godly duties until her daughter was returned to her. One moral of the story is that you should never give up when it comes to the people that you love.
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