The Princess Who Stopped the Harvest
Why does the harvest only grow six months out of the year? According to ancient Greeks, there is always a myth for that. Demeter is the goddess of harvest and her daughter, Persephone, had lived life the most blissfully. With not a care in the world nor responsibilities to worry about, she truly lived freely. Her mother had sheltered Persephone from all the men who wanted to pursue her in marriage. So Persephone spent her days frolicking in flower fields. Until the day her world changed forever. Until the day that Hades captured her and locked her in the underworld. This is the ancient Greek myth of how one young princess can cause the change in the course of nature.
Persephone loved to spend her days …show more content…
The consequences were devastating as the earth began to dry up. Harvests failed, plants died, animals began to die from lack of food, and famine spread to the whole earth, leading to untold misery. The cries of the suffering people reached Olympus and the ears of Zeus. The god realized that if he didn't do something about his wife's wrath, all of humanity would disappear. He came up with a solution: Persephone could return to her mother if it was proven that Hades was holding her against her will, otherwise, she belonged to her husband. Hades, having learned of this agreement, decided he needed to trick his bride, who cried all day and night from despair, to eat the fruit of the underworld. For once someone ate the fruit of the underworld they would forever be tied to the underworld. So when the gathering in front of Zeus took place and Persephone was asked where she wanted to live, she said she wanted to live in the underworld. Upon hearing this, Demeter knew that Hades had tricked her daughter. Demeter, furious, threatened that she would never resume her duties as the goddess of harvest and fertility and that she would let all of humanity die off. Zeus decided that the only way to end this quarrel was to allow Persephone to spend six months with Hades in the underworld and six months with her mother, Demeter. Neither of the two opponents were pleased with this alternative, but nevertheless with no other option, were forced to accept
Why does the harvest only grow six months out of the year? According to ancient Greeks, there is always a myth for that. Demeter is the goddess of harvest and her daughter, Persephone, had lived life the most blissfully. With not a care in the world nor responsibilities to worry about, she truly lived freely. Her mother had sheltered Persephone from all the men who wanted to pursue her in marriage. So Persephone spent her days frolicking in flower fields. Until the day her world changed forever. Until the day that Hades captured her and locked her in the underworld. This is the ancient Greek myth of how one young princess can cause the change in the course of nature.
Persephone loved to spend her days …show more content…
The consequences were devastating as the earth began to dry up. Harvests failed, plants died, animals began to die from lack of food, and famine spread to the whole earth, leading to untold misery. The cries of the suffering people reached Olympus and the ears of Zeus. The god realized that if he didn't do something about his wife's wrath, all of humanity would disappear. He came up with a solution: Persephone could return to her mother if it was proven that Hades was holding her against her will, otherwise, she belonged to her husband. Hades, having learned of this agreement, decided he needed to trick his bride, who cried all day and night from despair, to eat the fruit of the underworld. For once someone ate the fruit of the underworld they would forever be tied to the underworld. So when the gathering in front of Zeus took place and Persephone was asked where she wanted to live, she said she wanted to live in the underworld. Upon hearing this, Demeter knew that Hades had tricked her daughter. Demeter, furious, threatened that she would never resume her duties as the goddess of harvest and fertility and that she would let all of humanity die off. Zeus decided that the only way to end this quarrel was to allow Persephone to spend six months with Hades in the underworld and six months with her mother, Demeter. Neither of the two opponents were pleased with this alternative, but nevertheless with no other option, were forced to accept