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Cant_think_of_shz t1_jea4rh3 wrote

This is slightly different from what I learned.

Hades had basically kidnapped Persephone (the daughter of Demeter), which made Demeter cause fall and winter, where crops died and refused to regrow.

Around the “start” of spring, Persephone returns bearing news. She says after spending time with Hades, she fell in love, and both Hades and Persephone agreed to Persephone spending a few months of the year with Demeter (spring and summer), and a few months with Hades (fall and winter).

This is apparently why the seasons change. Demeter is overwhelmed with joy during spring and summer, which causes bountiful greenery. During fall and winter, she falls into a depressive state, which causes plants to die and trees ti lose their leaves.

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Ibalegend t1_jea4z9p wrote

theres a lot of versioms of the myth, there is no one "true" version. most people learn slightly different verions just by chance

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Cant_think_of_shz t1_jea5jn6 wrote

I kind of enjoy that property of myths. They can share a similar plot, but small differences can change the story drastically.

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Ibalegend t1_jebnjoz wrote

yeah my favorite detail that changes with the hades and persephone myth is the context for it, it can be drastically different between versions and its interesting to see

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Dawnawaken92 t1_jeaf3ge wrote

Roman and Greek versions of the mythos perhaps

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Ibalegend t1_jeaiyq3 wrote

no, as in there were multiple versions in Ancient Greece because it was a living religion that changed by region and time

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Dawnawaken92 t1_jef1b49 wrote

I wasn't saying yes or no. And you basically just affirmed my statement. I was saying there are multiple versions across the entire hellenistic period. And not one version is the true or original that we can absolutely say for a fact is the first.

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Ikimasen t1_jeakovv wrote

Persephone has to stay down there 6 months out of the year because of the 6 pomegranate seeds she ate when she got kidnapped.

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MisterCortez t1_jeb884i wrote

I like your version because she's in love, but brother you still gotta remember not to eat anything in the event you find yourself in the Hellenic Greek underworld

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ryschwith t1_jeajxgh wrote

I think the “Persephone is cool with it” angle tends to be a somewhat more modern take on the myth.

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gentlybeepingheart t1_jecu1xb wrote

the first time it shows up framed as an actual version of the myth is in the 1970s from a book called “Lost Goddesses of Early Greece” by Charlene Spretnak. Spretnak does not cite any sources.

All ancient sources (Homeric Hymn, Apollodorus, Diodorus Siculus, even Ovid) have her taken unwillingly and tricked/forced into consuming the pomegranate seeds.

She does, ultimately, come to love Hades, as evidenced by other myths, but she never chooses to stay in the first place.

Alongside being a myth about the seasons changing, it would also be relatable to mothers and daughters in ancient Greece. Because daughters were essentially property of their fathers, neither they nor the mother had true legal control over who she would marry. I'm sure that there were plenty of men who did care about the wishes of their wives and daughters, but there was really no recourse if someone decided "Hey, we're marrying you off to this older man."

So, it's also a myth about marriage. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Helios tells Demeter that she should be happy that, out of all the people Zeus gave Persephone to, he chose someone so very rich and well respected. Persephone is frightened and distressed in the underworld, but later learns that it's not all that bad, and she enjoys an immense amount of power and respect. So, Greeks are told

  • Your new husband may seem scary, but with time you will grow to accept and enjoy your role as a wife.
  • You may be sad about the loss of your daughter, but she will be much more fortunate with a good husband.
  • You can decide unilaterally to give your daughter to someone, but things go much more smoothly if your wife is consulted about it beforehand.
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Falconstorm1 t1_jedr03l wrote

The idea that Persephone fell in love with Hades is actually pretty modern and really recent. Most Greek tellings put absolutely no epmpehsis on how Persephone felt because it wasn't important. Back then all marriages were basically a buiness agreement between the father of the bride and the groom and Women had no say at all in who they married.

The only version I know of that actually does put details on how persephone felt was Homer and that telling actually says that Persephone had no interest in Hades at all and that Hades forced her to eat the pomagranate so she could never fully leave the underworld.

Persephone and Hades are actually really minor figures in the myth and it's most just modern revisions that put more focus on it. Classical Greek myths put more focus on Demeter herself going on a quest to find her daughter

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