Persephone is a significant figure in Greek mythology. She is the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility, and Zeus, the king of the gods.
Seven islands sacred to Persephone
Proclus, a prominent 5th-century Neoplatonist philosopher, referenced seven islands sacred to Persephone in his commentary on Plato’s Timaeus. He attributes this idea to Marcellus, an earlier source who wrote about Atlantis.
Abduction by Hades
Hades, the god of the Underworld, abducted Persephone while she was gathering flowers in a meadow.
He took her to the Underworld to be his wife, sparking grief and outrage from her mother, Demeter.
Demeter’s sorrow over Persephone’s disappearance caused her to neglect her duties, leading to famine and a halt in natural growth on Earth.
Zeus intervened and arranged for Persephone’s partial return to the surface.
Before Persephone left the Underworld, Hades tricked her into eating pomegranate seeds, binding her to the Underworld for part of the year.
Persephone spends a third of the year with Hades (representing winter) and the rest with Demeter (spring and summer).
Persephone was worshiped in the Eleusinian Mysteries, a set of secret religious rites in ancient Greece that promised initiates a better afterlife.
Full Siblings
Persephone’s only full sibling (sharing both Zeus and Demeter as parents) was Despoina, a lesser-known deity in Greek mythology associated with mysteries and fertility. Despoina’s name, meaning “mistress,” reflects her connection to secretive rites similar to those of Persephone and Demeter.
Half-Siblings
Since Zeus had numerous consorts, Persephone had many half-siblings through him. Some notable ones include:
- Athena: Born from Zeus and Metis (wisdom personified), Athena is the goddess of wisdom, war, and crafts.
- Apollo and Artemis: Apollo: God of the sun, music, prophecy, and healing, born of Zeus and Leto. Artemis: Goddess of the hunt, wilderness, and childbirth, also born of Zeus and Leto.
- Ares: God of war, born of Zeus and Hera.
- Hermes: God of travel, trade, and communication, born of Zeus and Maia.
- Dionysus: God of wine, revelry, and ecstasy, born of Zeus and Semele.
- Hebe, Eileithyia, and Hephaestus
- Hebe: Goddess of youth, born of Zeus and Hera.
- Eileithyia: Goddess of childbirth, also born of Zeus and Hera.
- Hephaestus: God of blacksmithing and fire, sometimes said to be a child of Zeus and Hera (or only Hera, depending on the myth).
- Heracles (Hercules): A mortal hero who became a god, born of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene.
- The Muses: Goddesses of inspiration for the arts, born of Zeus and Mnemosyne.
- Perseus: Another mortal hero, born of Zeus and the mortal Danaë.
