Symbol or Attribute: The pomegranate. The narcissus, which Hades planted in a meadow to entice her to pluck it; pulling on the flower opened up the Underworld and Hades sprang out, carrying her off.
Strengths: Loving and lovely.
Weaknesses: Beauty so ravishing it attracts Hades' unwanted attention.
Spouse: Hades, with whom she must stay part of each year because she ate a few pomegranate seeds in the Underworld.
Some Major Temple Sites: The spooky Nekromanteion, still visitable today.
Basic Story: Hades springs out of the earth and captures Persephone, dragging her off to be his queen in the Underworld; her dad Zeus told him it was okay to take her as his bride, and Hades took him a bit literally. Hades was also her own uncle, which didn't make this exactly a myth of good family mental health. Her distraught mother Demeter searches for her and stops all foods from growing until she is returned. Even Zeus has to give in and help work out a deal - Persephone stays one-third of the year with Hades, one-third of the year serving as a handmaiden to Zeus, and one-third with her mother Demeter- ... an interesting ancient balancing of family, spouse, and career.
Interesting Fact: Persephone is also sometimes known just as Kore, or the Maiden. She was sometimes called "the maiden of the beautiful ankles". While most sources indicate Persephone was not happy to be "married" by Hades, others assert that she ate the pomegranate seed (or seeds) deliberately, as a way of breaking free from Mom, and that she was actually content with the final arrangement.
Persephone Clip Art: Demeter and Persephone
Hades Clip Art:Hades
More Fast Facts on Greek Gods and Goddesses:
The Olympian Gods and Goddesses - Greek Gods and Goddesses at Home - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Artemis - Athena - Demeter- Hades - Hephaestus- Hera - Hercules - Hermes - Pan- Persephone - Zeus.
