Persephone in the Underworld
Persephone’s mother, Demeter, begged her brother, Hades to allow Persephone to
come back to the livings, denoting that the young Persephone was not supposed to
live in the underworld. Hades consulted with Zeus; and they both decided to allow
Persephone to live on earth for six months each year, while the rest of the time she
would be on his side in the Underworld.
Before leaving the underworld, Persephone had been persuaded to eat four seeds of
a pomegranate. In ancient mythology, to eat the fruit of one’s captor meant that one
would have to return to that captor or country, so Persephone was destined to return
to the underworld for four months of the year. But she was allowed to spend the
remaining two-thirds of the year with her Earth Mother, Demeter.
The myth of Hades and Persephone is linked with the coming of Spring and Winter:
When Persephone comes to the Earth, it’s springtime. When she goes down to stay
with Hades, it is winter.