Like many myths, the story of Hades does more than account for a natural phenomenon such as the seasons. This story shows the emotional complexity of Demeter; she is a god who suffers. Persephone too suffers, for every year she must return to the Underworld. The story of Hades reveals a trend in Greek mythology in which different gods represent different aspects of the natural world. Persephone comes to represent spring, and Demeter represents summer. Zeus permitted Hades, who was in love with the beautiful Persephone, to carry her off as her mother Demeter was not likely to allow her daughter to go down to Hades. When Hades kidnapped Persephone, she ate a pomegranate in the underworld, forced her to stay in the underworld for 6 months and
