| Persephone (Prosperine)
Greek/Roman
Queen of the underworld and fertility goddess. Her father, Zeus, made a clandestine agreement, granting her to Hades as a wife. The underworld lord snatched Kore ("Maiden") from a field where she was picking flowers with friends and drove his chariot like a bolt back to the lands of the dead. As Persephone languished in the gloomy court, her mother, Demeter, (who had not been informed of the marital contract) suspended her labors as fertility goddess to look for her daughter. Crops and all kinds of vegetation died as she neglected her life-sustaining duties. Zeus averted everylasting famine by telling Demeter what he had done and retrieving Persephone from the dark bridal chamber. Though she'd starved herself during her captivity, Hades had persuaded her to taste some pomegranite seeds. Because she had eaten of the food of the dead, she had to spend part of each year with her Uncle/husband. Her annual four month absence was a time of grief for her mother, who made it winter. Those who were initiated into the Eleusian mysteries were, regardless of sex or social class, guaranteed an especially fine afterlife through the courtesy of Persephone and Demeter. See Dumuzi.
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