Discuss the symbolic role of Proserpine in the transitional processes of nature

It is no secret that Proserpine managed to remain as one of the most favoured and
cultivated divine figures from the Greco-Roman religion. Her usual portrayal as a deity
comprised of two conflicting images, of a young maiden (Kore), whose primary task is to bring
life and vegetation to the world, and as a queen of the underworld, a complete antithesis of the
first character and whose sphere occupies that of the dead. The dualistic identity of Proserpine,
along with its symbolic meaning and interpretation as the cyclical process of nature life will be
discussed further in the essay.

To begin with, we must first familiarize ourselves with the myth of Proserpine, in order
to delve into the immeasurable sea of ancient myths and histories concerning Proserpine’s
character. The Rape of Proserpine narrates the abduction of the daughter of Jupiter and Ceres,
Proserpine, by the god of Death, Pluto taking her back to the underworld. This action invokes
rage and grief in Proserpine’s mother, the goddess Ceres, whose mourning over the loss of her
daughter unleashes a season of famine and winter on the land. Finally, it was agreed that
Proserpine should spend a third, or according to other a half of each year with Pluto
underground, but should come forth in spring to dwell with her mother and the gods in the upper
world (Frazer, 2012:,305). Now that we know the full story behind Proserpine, we can continue
with the interpretations of the myth.

Proserpine’s descending into the underworld, and later redemption in the overland is
mainly interpreted as the cyclical process in nature’s transience. Just like the rest of the agrarian
deity, Bacchus, she is the metaphorical essence of vegetation. The period during her stay with
her mother Ceres, is a span of 6 months, which resembles the period during the occurrence of
spring and summer, when vegetation grows back to life. While her staying in the Underworld
can be interpreted as the death of those seasons, and as a result, fall and winter begin to take over
the land. Another aspect of her character that could support this hypothesis is the introduction of
the pomegranate. The pomegranate was the fruit that Proserpine had been tricked into eating
before ascending back to live with her mother, which had sealed her fate to stay by her husband’s
side for a third, or according to other sources, like Homer’s hymn to Demeter, a half of the year.
The pomegranate used to be associated with death, but it had – and has – a second meaning as a
fertility symbol (Poulkuoras, year?: 7). As a result of this, Proserpine had also managed to retain
her second form, which had been that of the bringer of death and decay to nature.

There are various other sources which seem to regard the character of Proserpine as of a
compound of the polar opposites of the world’s transience, those being the various cults and
sacral texts attributed to her. This statement is also backed up by the author Ellie Mackin in her
doctoral dissertation “Echoes of the Underworld” through which she shows that “death-related
gods who receive cultic dedication do so within the remit of other areas of interest, and this is
most usually demonstrated in the contrasting tropes death/fertility, death/agriculture…” (Mackin,
year?: 3). The character of Proserpine is often found together alongside her mother Ceres in texts
like the Hymn to Demeter, where they share their power and residence over the realm of
vegetation. Persephone herself, in the Homeric hymn and in various cults, does not dictate
seasonal changes but is nonetheless aetiologically responsible for the seasons, which are a
consequence of Demeter’s grief over her daughter’s absence (Mackin, year: 131). They are both
seen as incarnations of a single agrarian deity, the “Corn Mother”, an old matron deity in the
North European and Balkan regions. The descent of Proserpine into the lower world would thus
be a mythical expression for the sowing of the seed; her reappearance in spring would express
the sprouting of the young corn (Frazer, 2012:, 303).

To conclude, there are various iterations of Proserpine that showcase the characteristics
of an agrarian deity: the god who dies, but is reborn again, symbolically just like nature itself.
Her latter form, as a queen of the realm of death is viewed as an aftermath of her abduction of
Pluto, which invokes Ceres’ sorrow, forcing her to leave aside her godly duties as a protector of
the harvest and vegetation. But once she comes back to her former self, that of the maiden Kore,
the vegetation springs back to its youthful self like her image.

References:

Frazer, James George (October 16th 2012). The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Golden Bough
(Vol. 1 of2). [Ebook 41082].
Mackin, E. BA (Hons.), MA. Year. “Echoes of the Underworld: Manifestations of Death-Related
Gods in Early Greek Cult and Literature.” King’s College London.

Poulkuoras, Iordanis (September, 2008). The Eleusinian Mysteries (Trans. by Sasha Chaitow).
Paper presented at the 7th Esoteric Quest Conference on The Mysteries and Philosophies of
Antiquity, Samothrace, 7.

- The essay is structured well and the topic is elaborated in sufficient detail.
- Now (in a new essay) try to discuss the myth in the context of A. C. Swinburne’s poem.