Persephone Research Paper

The myths in ancient Greece were commonly used for entertainment, life lessons, and to explain natural phenomenons. One of the strangest myths in Greek mythology is, oddly enough, a marriage story. Once Demeter had a daughter named Persephone. Persephone was graced with happiness and great beauty. She was so beautiful that she caught the eye of Hades. Hades was so enamored with her he decided to court and marry her. Sadly it was less dating and more Hades splitting the earth riding up in a chariot and kidnapping her to the underworld. Because of the loss of her child Demeter began to weep in mourning. In her mourning Demeter, goddess of the harvest and agriculture, abruptly stopped providing for her domain and crops began to die. Eventually …show more content…
This very unromantic romance exemplifies how the Greeks saw their gods. The Greek gods were very human like people with very human like emotions. The difference is that the gods had power over the natural world. Greek myths display their gods as emotional, easily slighted, and almost irresponsible beings. Though they hold great power, they are not omniscient, omnipotent, nor omnipresent, and they certainly are not omnibenevolent. Persephone’s myth puts on display how the Greek gods had the power, whether it be unintentional or not, to change and affect the Greeks livelihoods. The gods can act on a whim, and their actions have the capacity to affect every mortals lives. Hades forcing Demeter to return to him yearly causing Demeter to mourn yearly destroys 2 seasons worth of harvests. People's livelihoods are at stake, but the Greeks see this myth as a justifiable reason. Why would the Greeks still worship gods that are this irresponsible. A less obvious lesson someone may extrapolate from Persephone and other even Greek myths, is that for something to be justifiable to the Greeks it does not have to fair or equal. For something to be justifiable it could just have to be done by someone with