Myths and Legends: The Return of Persephone

The Return of Persephone. To find out more about Persephone, the daughter of the goddess Demeter, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

This famous painting by Frederic Lord Leighton shows Persephone being return from the underworld to spend part of the year with her mother Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, who lives in the upper world. Persephone is being conveyed out of the underworld by Hermes, who is the "psychopomp," the "soul-sender" who in this case is conveying someone out of the underworld rather than the other way around!

You can also find more myths and legends for the week of October 21-27 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.

Myths and Legends: The Abduction of Persephone

The Abduction of Persephone. To find out more about Persephone, the daughter of the goddess Demeter, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

Here you see Hades, lord of the underworld, abducting Persephone, the daughter of Demeter. You can see more images of Persephone here.

You can also find more myths and legends for the week of April 1-7 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.

Myths and Legends: The Abduction of Persephone

The Abduction of Persephone. To find out more about Persephone, the daughter of the goddess Demeter, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

This marble statue by Bernini shows a famous scene from Greek mythology: the abduction of Persephone, daughter of the goddess Demeter (Ceres) by the god of the underworld, Hades (Pluto). Even though this is a marble statue, notice how Bernini has shown Pluto's fingers sinking into Persephone's flesh - so dramatic! Persephone eventually was able to return to the land of the living, but for several months each year she must depart again into the realm of the dead, as the seasons cycle year and year.

You can also find more myths and legends for the week of February 5-11 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.