MoonOwl Observations

The Goddess Persephone

The Goddess of the Underworld is also known as Proserpina and she is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. The symbols of her are bats, pomegranate, seeds of grain and deer––+. The Greek world was divided into three different parts. The first is Hecate, the moon goddess, who wandered through the sky. The second is Demeter, who rules the surface of the earth, and the third is the queen of the afterlife, Persephone.

Now, how did Persephone become the queen of the underworld? She was abducted by her uncle, Hades. One day, Persephone was picking flowers when the chariot of hades appeared and the god of death took her through a crack in the earth, which immediately closed after them. Her mother went searching for her, and with each step she took all agricultural ground turned to desert and stopped all growth. To restore the natural order, Zeus arranges his daughters release by negotiating a settlement between Demeter and Hades. But, Persephone had already eaten a pomegranate seed, which causes a living person to be able to exist in the underworld but never fully being allowed back into the world of the living. So, because of this Persephone is compelled to spend her time between both lands.

While Persephone is in the land of the living, her mother Demeter is happy and allows everything to blossom again (spring) but, when she is forced to go back to the underworld, Demeter’s sadness causes everything to wither and die (winter).

Even though Persephone is torn between these worlds and was in a difficult spot she accepted her role and life and still lives a gracious and gentle queen of the underworld. She is the queen of the underworld, springtime, vegetation and maidenhood.