Women and Goddesses in Myth and Sacred Text An Anthology Edited by Tamara Agha-Jaffar Kansas City Kansas Community CollegeChapter 4 Demeter and Persephone Gtossany OF NAMES AND TERMS ‘AoNEUs Another nae For Hades (re TAMBE Patneopasl ede who bes telow) ihe plc at lee. CGmmiows Gieeksword fr-anderthe ——— KALLIDIE On of he four ders a etwas Keloe Darren Coder the Cri sien of Zs re of kre esepbone a rfeed ot Deo eso" Onr al he oe dagen ‘trend Keo DinonNeos So of Metra elon Euros Asstt of Abt fe Ihe Elwnoin tees euros Mveremer Sir es pr Tormed anal potable ce anesthe Jbren04 Another nie forth Under Tec els ore Hades Manes Uderwul:nd fhe desta tina rte Gao the nero ‘eleredto Aone Has Man: beter of Dente wel Zoe unde ad ubdctor of Pesepinne rxarr Goes ofthe Crosrad: sade ite treed bowen the undeewek (iver oct th rants rts Sea Gad ass Atestengeef te God ae wore eas the Shyerol Ar airnoe Ose ofthe far agers of Meta ea elo Keuior Kinga Hews: bacandof ues One ofthe for deere of Minit nd Kokes Kore Persephone pt he dna ad ape: gener nae Tomales Kaonot SimofGissel Uia Twat Ri ero Ze [Donete tes Mecawems Queen of Elusic eof Keon ‘Persernone Sor die af Dente hd Zee ken ane porte asp tdrpe sa Sstevgonse of Kms ee 1 ye an Dever rer of Peso “eS oh the Olypian po nets of Demeter aro ‘eefBonephne ‘One of the earliest known accounts of the myth of Demeter and her daughter Persephone celebrate ithe Homeric fy to Demeter composed in appros- nately 650 8.6. lathe hymn, Homer llth wary oF Mi ire owe later ken 4: PEREGROFRT. who is innocently picking Howers when she Is abducted to the tmnderworld, raped, and held eaptive hy her uncle and lord of the dead, Hades “The Greek Pantheon’ aan oma Uranus, HEA Kronos ZEUS HERA POSEIDON OEMETER HADES PERSEPHONE Tis Groat pana tas boon ampere papas song ‘tevanonenp of pay ees appest ne Moen peer Hertabets, + ca bo nor ripe re Upon easing her daughters fate sera fr help se is being swallowed by the eath, Demeter embarks on desperate pura olary frst of her ders ‘whoreabout ant then Te obtA Bet release fromthe clutches af death. She with “aie Fo che company ofthe gos on Mowot Olympus and, disguising hersell ass ina see compa TiEleis, Demeter becomes a aren ote apie, Denapoon She engages ina secret ital to prge Demophoon of his ty by pling hi the fir a night One evening, Denophoons saber, Meta, interop ber ths at, whereupon Demeter revels er vine Wen ad ones the people ‘less to bul temple nf oner to apes Hr sngee Upp completion Demeter eaters engl ad efletvely decors wir on he gals OME. A the gaUIES a Te fain eho is responsible ore poh vegetation al pla . es her power to he age: se wld er lsigs fo the eat unl her daughters release fom ets n he underwodl i flags fae yee wreaking bye on plants anials 7 il the gods. Wen the station becoves intolerable, Ze “Tet ot pas de word to hirer, Hades, to have ron tHe Unferwrko eOnE WET er tothe Before be dons, hiever, Had: offers " pemegate seed. Terephond’s swallowing of the see ure her ea orto fourmont ofthe eae Here ron the underord and ssbxoysetreuniitan Wl her woter has the coming ofepring‘The myth bearsanabions conection withthe agzaran eee of ear wine, wath ts comesponding death satire ses Deters morning fr he dag ter spring wth ts bourgeonin of new Bie sige the Joyous teunieston of amather and daughter. The mtr abo has cithanie overtones since Demeter ag an at godess is nk 0 the nota of an arr er tne he hc pep SGT or Callas vin ern cid waksciene dee ya of es 8 et rps ort yd In addon to contain nae of the mth the Homeric Hy to Dene ‘er conmenones the Eleni Metres sce es pefomved annually foe near tole bunded aR THe HH Ts eorrespong tal spe the asia wa ane Tore center oF rose fr many cots vl orthodox Cristian feng tr pser a ern. nie the esa he eno the fou centr Since prtputs weve sworn toserey we he sea what actualy transpired dur the performace ofthe lesan Mysteries But vedo thatthe sites were pend nto phases the apr Mote sich were held annul pong Athens an de Greater Noster oki sere performed in fal Eleusi. Te Leswr Mistres prep the inate ough pure the Creer Mtr onsite of ater puro, ae eer and concede id, stsenanesperee ‘We now tht ptcption ithe a ont ch petal atin ative experience that the Elesinian Mestre held unite positon inthe Sek and Roma wor for ny centres, Since desertion of te als as face schol canon spc lata tasted. There igen) scent that some sof reenact the nth once wth teat obs pling the rae of Dente hart fr ho dnghtes ih the Ba ‘Ben ening he niet ter ad ger td wah he don huling with the emergence af chi rent crying sneer of ral tat Sn solized the new life * : ‘een * Because apts the case kl lore the emer f reigns Me oso many etre, the th el itl mst hae oe the eased word tore then «single remutent af the seasonal et of nat bubs seve ‘The mysteries il seh fay gunn ne hight into the meaning of fe. loss, gre. suffering, death, and weevil, snd faliated the movement from tilt fo wholeness. fiom separation to renin, aad fon alienation to untegraton withthe fe sree oe spurred considerabledebate. Her belusior is most ile with Setanta and Demapioan in whic she het the young el nf ser cag th a agai Hades malsalke until she gets i or her stubborn eis to bt the nae hee ove set fhe Ob go A nese ‘tne econ at ets shorten be ges mye st Sangre dee Seed fr vscang edgier he thea Genk Crna Deviter ay De gated sie By the Inne ta steethe sth polis ef rere whe fear tp reat et Wescpne dow he etanpy aang inure vl ke of re [2b we ol sua! Btu supers toe ner tana post "mth hat eu Beon tert ata forte pres of py toed “Seta ecw There we sing pls beeen Denes jure one erg nd he sop he eg pees Dene eames sg ed den capes nde Wyse ae Suncare ic soa iet Poseptone dw come wena her recat tite ond tition tase erage Sar pea ane dr bree Peeples oten ener ant ego! wth “ator” io uo ener fam cn Se prope Ap phe pcs of ston, hg celeritete Iedlugadess Juergence aan ambivalent Bg be & bth rapist and age for. sel UASVERa prchologia iuaTE” wo propels Persephone on ber journey ‘tao Dr evesing the ula connecton saith he tier, rom or ey sia Dente a Fepelone bec aftuuor pegpeT te Tec ponen The soy ans ete teapot Deer psig marge ba fer ger Teh abdcton waa Te yom present teams terete in vary of haan ltonips eta duh Tater taal dean male Teale“ era Tele Ang te daes ovo the tens of the ovale La a ich Tapestry of fvle network, the myth Mstates [Mae WoRIME-wo Iclp other women, women sharing howler wth other [women and women Irina the expres of oer women although subvert ime cm atin, pm ta othe central concer of the naan, Te Dente and Persephone ith focuses on fea iermas of erate tonsa thy ae aad 9X f the female sphere of influence, “The my adreses «vary of topes hat continue to hive weaet rele cave, dng an aula of geared sudes of conduct nd section. “eos and Helo ape to denenatate waseline was of cog an interacting the female chiractersincuing Hekate, Maney, hr fur daughters, an lane; agpetr to deninsinte feminine ways of Inowing ud intenting, Since the a come of the central ont consis of sompronise whereby Persephone den ter te between fe an dath i ces able to negtt space fr ell tween the matcinerealia represent by Zovs and Helos td the feminine real represented y ber other an the other emaes, the mth of Deter ndPersephone appears to ke un claguent statement forthe importance of muita ing gendered balan in perspective, in sus, and in interaction wath others “The Homere Hymn to Demeter below is wansted by Helene P Foley. The own iscited its entire REFERENCES Aghifllr Tomar Deveter ad Peron: Lessons Prom 0 Myth, North Carin ‘MeFi, 2002 Brute, Bestrie, “The Unknown Godless” The Caddess Re-Awakening: The Feminine Principle Tadoy, BAL Shiey Nicholson. Minos: Quest, 1989. 08-90. Carson. Kates fn Her Tnage: The Unhald! Daughtes Search For Her Mother Boston: Shambhala, 1980. Lies DanghteviDeats Bride: Inner Tensformations Through the God dss DemeteePersephone. Boston: Shanbhal, 19: Downing, Christine. Te Gadde: ytholoyea mages ofthe Feminine. New Yorks ‘Crosioud, 1981 AL Tv Lang Journey Home: BeXsloning the Myth of Demeter and Perse- phone for Our Tone. Boston: Shanblal, 1994 Edinger, Edvard F: The Eternal Denn: The faner Meaning of Greck Mythology a. Deborh A, Wesles Boston Shambhala, 1994. Foley. Helene P tans and ed, The Homeric Hyna to Demeter: Translation, Com ‘neitory, and Dnterprtice Exams. Princeton: Princeton UP, 1984, Kereny. Cart Elusi, Archetypa! bnags of Sher and Daughter. Tears. Ralph ‘Mariisin, Princeton: Princeton UP 1987. Pawel, Bary Classica Myth. Englewood Chis: Preotice Hal. 1995, Wilkinson, Tanya, Persephone Returns: Vitis, Heros and the Journey Brom the Undericorld. Berkeley: Pagel, 198, The Homeric Hymn to Demeter Demeter I begin to sng the irsressed awesome goddess, herself and her sim-ankled daughter whom Aidaneus* sized; Zeus, heavy hundeving and mighty-wiced, gave er. vvithout the consent of Demeter ofthe bright frit ad golden sword ‘The fllosing die gers wl th eae in Fai he tx. Ga (Ea) and ‘Onan Sn ae he pret Res nd Koo wi ein tr arent Zs, Hak a eveter Zestnd Hae ate thf on Ks, Deter and Ze ae the pret of KorPesepi Stale a she pliyed with the deep-brensted daughters of Ocean, lacking flowers in the lish meadow —rses. crocuses, land lovey silts, ses and hyacinth and the narcsus, ‘which Bath grew as a sare forthe ower faced maiden in order to gratify by Zeus design the Host-to-Mary.* ‘Mower wondrous and bright, vesome for al to see forthe tmaortas above and fr mortals below. From ts rect «hundredold bloom sprang up end smelled so seet thatthe whole vast heaven above dnd the whole earth laughed, and the sly swell ofthe soa “The gi marveled and stretched out bth bands at once to fake the lovely toy. The earth with ts wide ways yawned ‘ver the Nyian plain: the lord Host Many rose up on her ‘ith his immortal hore, the celebated son of Kronos he snatched th nai nt chariot “SRT cane Snore os ce, tallng on her father the sn of Kronos highost and best Not one ofthe immerta or of humankind ‘heard heroic, north olives bright wth rit, except the daughter of Persaios tender of bear ‘the heard it from ber eave, Hekate ofthe delicate vel ‘And lord Helis, brian son of Hyperion, heard the ma alin her father the son of Kronas. But he st apart fiom the gods, aloof in atempe rngng with prayers, tax received ehoioe offerings fom humankind, sn is nmol horses—her fathers brother, Crrnander and ost ‘any-ramed son of Kronos. Salong asthe ged gazed on cath and starry heave, fon the ea owing strong ad fall of sh, tnd onthe beams of the sun, she sti hoped to see her dear mother andthe ace of immortal gots For ao long hope charmed her trong nin despite er dite. “The mountain peaks andthe depths ofthe sea echoed in response to her divine vale nd per goddess mother head Sint er bed ASST “om herainbrosal air with her vn hands She eat a dark closkon her shoulders snd sped ike bird over dry land and seo, eumblig. Noone was willing tll hr the trath aes