Introduction
Greek mythology discusses the stories and tales of gods, goddesses, heroes, and kings of ancient Greece. The norms, mores, values, conventions, rituals, and traditions prevailing in their culture and civilization have been elaborated in an epic form where gods, goddesses, and kings look engaged in different conflicts, competition, and conspiracies. Every god maintains his domain and has complete and exclusive power over it.
For example, Venus was the goddess of love, and her son Cupid was considered as the god of love; Pan was the god of the jungle, while Hymen was attributed to the domain of marriage, Apollo as the god of sun and Mars was the god of thunder, violence, and war. Zeus was stated as the king of gods, who resided on Mt. Olympus and had married her sister Hera. Similarly, Demeter is the Greek goddess of seasons, fertility, harvest, agriculture, and grains, whose Roman cognate is thought to be Ceres out of which the word cereal has been derived. Demeter was responsible for the growth, fertility, and bloom of the earth.
Demeter’s Love
She had unabated love for her beautiful daughter Persephone, the Maiden of Spring, who was abdicated by Hades, the god of the underworld, while she was gathering the buds and flowers. Hades intended to make the exceptionally charming Persephone his bride and the queen of the underworld. Since Demeter found her beloved daughter mislaid, she started the search for her on the whole earth, but it was quite disappointing and dispiriting to note that Persephone was nowhere on the surface of the earth. Demeter also consulted the Olympic gods including Apollo, though none of them could help out the dejected mother. In a state of utter sorrow and grief, she caused famine everywhere on the earth. There was everything green and blossoming and people were happy and prosperous. But the anger of Demeter turned greenery into futility and barrenness and people became sad.
The situation remained the same for one year and the population started dying of starvation. Consequently, Zeus had to interrupt the situation to save the people from turmoil and destruction. He forced Hades to let Persephone meet her mother on the surface of the earth so that Demeter could let the earth grow trees, shrubs, vegetables, fruits, grass, leaves, and flowers making it pageant and gorgeous again. “Finally Zeus sent Hermes, the messenger god, to demand that Hades return Persephone to her mother. But through much cajoling during the past year, Hades had managed to persuade the miserable girl to eat seed from a pomegranate–the food of the dead.” (Demeter and Persephone: quoted in pa.essortment.com/demeterpersepho_rupu.htm)
Hades complied with Zeus’s instructions but forced Persephone to eat one seed of pomegranate from the food of the dead, which could compel her to return after meeting her mother. Demeter was overjoyed to find her daughter with her and was ready to remove all disasters from the earth; but on coming to know that she had tasted the food of the dead, all her rejoiced dashed to the grounds. When Zeus asked Demeter to fulfill her responsibility regarding harvesting, blooming, and fertility, she refused to do so stating she would have to live without her daughter. Here Zeus interfered again and assured Demeter that Persephone would stay with her for half of the year while the remaining part of the year would be spent with Hades in the underworld.
Link with the Culture
Culture is the identity mark of a social setup and contains the traditions, values, and norms of the population. Cult and religious beliefs are also part of the culture. The myth of Demeter and Persephone contained a direct link with their culture. The changing seasons, growing and defoliation of trees, harvest and cultivation of crops, and blossoming of colorful and beautiful flowers—all portray the cultural traits and alterations in the objects of nature. Persephone’s arrival brings the message of the beginning of spring, while her departure spreads autumn and winter on the world.
Since Demeter is unhappy in her absence, she does not allow any cultivation, harvest, and growth of crops and flowers as well. On the other hand, the arrival of spring fills the hearts and the face of the earth with joy and mirth. Moreover, the myth reflects the powers and activities of the gods and their actions, reactions, rivalries, and conflicts on even trivial and petty matters. The arrow was thrown by the love-god Eros (Cupid in Roman) at the heart of Hades while his encounter with the Maiden of Spring i.e. Persephone reveals the gods’ lust of showing their strength and waging mischief against one another also depict the cultural traits. In addition, Persephone’s abduction at the hands of the underworld-god Hades clarifies the intentions of the gods that they could inflict their own will upon anyone by making him their prey.
Hades desired to make Persephone his bride as well as queen of the dead. He did not consider for a single moment what consequences it might create in the world at large. In the same way, Demeter expressed her wrath in the form of famine and devastation on all the areas under her domain, which put the population into a sorry state of utter disturbance and starvation. The myth also revealed the very fact that the gods had the least care of either the population or the fellow gods. Thus, the constant conflict situation prevailed in their culture. Even Zeus was not free of it at all as he once seduced Leda, the Queen of Sparta, in a swan’s guise on the one hand and abducted a beautiful Trojan prince Ganymede for his purposes.
The same was the case with Hebe, Aphrodite, Adonis, the seven Muses, and other gods and goddesses. Homer’s Iliad also presented the same that how gods, goddesses, and heroes were accustomed to waging wars and jumping into great risks by putting their souls in jeopardy and stake. They had the least care of the miseries their actions, reactions, and deeds caused on the earth. In addition, they were not familiar with the miseries and suffering of the individuals they underwent after the rivalries and conflicts of gods, as the earth had to experience and forbear famine for one year because of the anger of the harvest-goddess Demeter due to the loss and disappearance of her beloved daughter Demeter.
References
- ESSORTMENT: Demeter and Persephone
- On Campus. Richmond: Demeter and Persephone. Web.