So are we in the Present?

           

            Obviously, the myth of Demeter and Persephone has stood the test of time. Through art and literature, this myth has been reintroduced, redone, and reinterpreted many times. So as one can see, the transition is clear, Demeter and Persephone have been introduced to contemporary times.

            It’s amazing to see the transformation for it can be reminiscent of historical images or completely invented. Take art for instance, in the Classical and Hellenistic periods Demeter would have been idealized with a distance look, but with a quiet beauty. This type of image can be seen in this sculpture found currently at the State Hermitage Museum in Russia:

http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/S3.1.html

It is safe to assume then, that art has changed over the years, so due to this constant flux in art, Demeter took on a new look such as this and this:

http://browse.deviantart.com/?qh=&section=&q=demeter#/d1woia1

http://www.sfmoma.org/explore/collection/artwork/119

 The spectrum is endless and variety is abundant. The meanings of each still call back to the original piece, surprisingly. In the illustration, Demeter is depicted similarly to the historical sculpture of the Roman copy. She still possesses wheat or a harvest of some kind to denote her identity and her hair is partly covered to show her as an older, motherly figure.  Also, the distant gaze is still present in both pieces. As for the contemporary sculpture, it attempts to connect more with the emotional aspects of the myth itself. Similar to Ovid and Tennyson (see previous posts for more explanation), the artist Fabro aims to display Demeter’s anguish. He does this through roughly cut stone lips and an immovable tongue. This paralysis emphasizes Demeter’s pain as she is unable to call to her daughter in a time of confusion and separation.

            Okay, these deities have been shown in image form since the dawn of their existence. Yet, what truly brings Demeter and Persephone in the realm of the contemporary is its new media format. By this I mean, Demeter and Persephone rather than just being an orally pasted down story, they have become symbols for songs and bands alike. For instance, there are several bands that use the name of Persephone in their own band name. I would suppose the use of Persephone’s name is to use the tragic association of Persephone with themselves. Like in numerous modern interpretations, Persephone is tragic and filled with anguish, however upon being given away to Hades, she gains a new title as well as power. 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMx8WwczeE8

Other bands just use the associations of Demeter’s and Persephone’s story to help elevate their own meanings in their song. For example, the band, Third Eye Blind has a well-known song called Persephone. The song is often interpreted to be about a boy who is depressed about a girl leaving him. This song talks about a common tale found in most sad love songs. Still, the use of references and allegory to the myth of Demeter and Persephone saves it from being just another love song for it gives the song more meaning for it has more than one point of reference. So when one hears the lyrics, “I wish spring would come”, one can relate the intense sorrow of Demeter as she awaits her daughter to return to the sorrow of the boy who wishes and waits for the possible return of his girlfriend.

          Also recently, Persephone referenced if not appeared in various video games. Seeing as how video games are quite contemporary, it is safe to say that Demeter and Persephone have stood the test of time. A clear example of this is the recent game based on mythology itself is God of War.  In God of War: Chains of Olympus, Kratos, the main character goes to finish his service to the gods.  While attempting to complete his 10-year service, he begins a search for his daughter upon hearing a familiar tune that he had once played for her. So he heads to the Underworld. This is similar to the original myth, since Demeter lost her daughter to the Underworld. Upon reaching the Underworld to search for his deceased daughter, he is greeted by Persephone. This is an obvious illustration of how Persephone is perceived to be the Queen of the Underworld, who greets and welcomes the dead.

If you are interested in playing the game, please go play it. There are possible spoilers ahead.

            So Persephone in the game gives Kratos a choice to either cast aside his weapons and powers to be with his daughter for the rest of eternity or continue his mission for the gods. So at first Kratos agrees to put down his weapons and live with his daughter. However, feeling that he is being tricked and finding out the Persephone holds much spite for the gods in Olympus, he deserts his daughter to stop Persephone from overthrowing the other gods. This is another instance of the gods being viewed as very human like because Persephone is quite bitter and spiteful in this game. So then Kratos goes and finds Persephone in order to defeat her.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0D7KjGO6wVU

            Another video that Persephone is referenced is Bioshock 2. In this game, Persephone is not a person. Instead Persephone is a name of a prison, cellblock area in which as the main character, that is a Big Daddy, (for more background information of the game, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BioShock_2) one has search for their little sister named Eleanor. This is referencing the myth in the idea that Persephone was held captive in the Underworld. So the underworld was her prison. In the game, naming the prison area, Persephone may seem odd until the connection of Persephone being locked in the underworld in the myth and the actual cellblock is made. This is actually a tactful move on the part of the designers and writers of the game for the sadness and sorrow associated with myth only helps to make the level of the game seem more creepy and desperate feeling.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Xp0jPcwiI8&feature=relmfu

            Thus, the myth of Demeter and Persephone is constantly evolving and changing, yet its emotional pull and meaning stays intact. It is truly amazing to see how something quite old and possibly miniscule can leap onto new platforms even in minor references. Therefore, one can almost say that this myth is quite modern for it has taken on numerous new faces as time has passed.

So here is The Storyteller with a brief screen time of Persephone:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jqgx06TJUM

Works Cited:

I played the games:

Bioshock 2, 2K Games, 2010

God of War: Chains of Olympus, Sony Computer Entertainment, 2008

Persephone by Third Eye Blind, 2009

           

An interpretation is an interpretation is an interpretation

            The need to understand anything is a driving force in today’s world. This drive has caused discoveries and revelations in all fields. This need is also the reason that many feel that everything needs to mean something or have a greater context. Even mythology, has become a victim to analysis and deep interpretation.

            By this I mean that many people have tried through the centuries to figure out from a literary standpoint if the myth of Demeter and Persephone has any true symbolism to help the readers, listeners, and viewers connect themselves with the myth in a larger context.  For example, the most common interpretation of the myth is that the whole idea of the story was a way to explain the changing of the seasons. 

http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/papers/paolicchidemeter/graphics/PersnHade.jpg

            However, due to civil rights, and movements of all kinds, different standpoints have added another layer of meaning to this myth that may not have previously been there. For instance, the feminist movement has brought about many changes as well as new perspectives. From a feminist point of view, the myth is often read in a light that everything is against the happiness of Persephone and that due to gender role stereotypes; Persephone gets the short end of the stick. To elaborate, many feminists think it is insulting to read that Persephone was given to her Uncle by her Father without her consent. From reading the myth, this view does seem factual for Zeus, who is Persephone’s father; agreed to allow the marriage of Hades (Zeus’ brother) and Persephone to take place. Also, the symbolism of the pomegranate seeds that Persephone partakes just before leaving the underworld brings forth some tension. For it is believed that pomegranate seeds represent the idea of maturity. By association many have come to the notion that Persephone was raped or had some type of sexual event with Hades, thus moving her from the platform of child to woman. It is in this transformation, that most feminists do not appreciate for at the end of the tale, everyone compromises and accepts their new roles without a word. The acceptance of being a wife against consent and withheld from being with one’s mother seems to not move well within most feminists’ ideals. So clearly, from a feminist perspective, the myth is not pleasing.

            Now in the case of Alfred Lord Tennyson, the myth means something completely different. Tennyson set forth with the idea to write about Demeter’s myth at the age of eighty. At this time in his life, Tennyson was fighting with the thought of his own mortality, and his worries about his family. Thanks to the format that he chose to pose the poem, the myth took on a new face as well as a new meaning. 

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1016/907065835_6469482dc7.jpg

             It is quite obvious that events from the original version are cut out in Tennyson’s poem. These selected scenes help to emphasize Demeter's and Persephone’s despair and affection for one another; thus bringing in the family affection aspect. It is hypothesized that Tennyson implied that Demeter and Persephone are personifications of harvest. To be more exact, Demeter is a fully-grown ear of corn compared to her child, Persephone, who embodies the form a seed. So as the poem progresses, Persephone becomes a ripe ear of corn due to her forcibly receiving a husband while Demeter slowly wilts away into decay. This symbolism is also made to play on the idea of separation.  As Tennyson was getting older he worried about the separation from his family upon death, which is similar to Demeter and Persephone’s case, which both are distraught at the separation from one another.

            Yet, it has been claimed that Tennyson had included a sense of regeneration. This is through the changing of seasons imagery. Connecting the changes with Demeter’s emotions allows one to interpret this regeneration as one of the mind as well as an earthly regeneration. It can be seen in the transition of despair in the characters, which is often concluded to mean darkness or hell to happiness upon reuniting meaning hope or heaven.  Therefore, Tennyson’s version is highly directed at family and gives a sort of hopeful, and warm feeling to a sad story.

            In another light, numerous scholars have interpreted the myth to display Persephone as an almost tragic hero. It is thought that in Persephone’s terrible circumstances, she gains much power. In her transformation from child to woman, she gains the title of ‘Queen of the Underworld’. So she lives in Tartarus, which is the level of the underworld in which evildoers and despicable individuals reside. Nevertheless, Persephone as the queen of the Underworld greets each soul and welcomes each one to one’s new home.  So in a new way, the myth has a triumphant end rather than a dull compromise.

            Still, it is important to keep in mind that the myth of Demeter and Persephone has been retold, rewritten, and retranslated countless times to the point that has become difficult to say where any of these interpretations came from, or for that matter, are concrete for no one is truly sure who the real author of the myth is or when it was officially written. So even the interpretation of what the gods look like is up for debate. In the words of Thomas Allen, “ Critics…have been so much occupied in dissecting the hymn into parts that they appear to have had no time to appreciate its excellence as a whole.”

             This is an example of how the History Channel interprets how Persephone and Hades look.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UseWGTFkyfE

Works Cited:

Allen, Thomas W., and E. E. Sikes. "Hymn to Demeter." Commentary of the Homeric Hymns.

            Web. 2 Dec. 2011.<http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3At

            text%3Dcomm%3Apoem%3D2>.

Stange, G. R. "Tennyson's Mythology A Study of Demeter and Persephone." ELH 21.1

            (1954): 67-80. JSTOR. Web. 27 Nov. 2011. <http://www.jstor.org/stab-

            le/2871934?seq=6>.

Strong, Laura. "The Myth of Persephone - Greek Goddess of the Underworld." Mythic Arts |

            Laura Strong, PhD. 2000. Web. 02 Dec. 2011. <http://www.mythicarts.com/wri-

            ting/Persephone.html>.

The Poets

So not everyone is meant to be a poet. Inspiration is hard to find. So it is not surprising that, poets throughout history, have looked to the past for ideas. The poem of Demeter and the Rape of Persephone are two poems that have in contemporary times assimilated into one known poem. During my reading though, there are three poets in history whose names seem to now be entwined with the poem of Demeter and Persephone.

Chronologically the first poet is Claudian or Claudius Claudian, a non-native born Roman, Claudian is considered one of the greatest classical poets. He is well known for In Eutropium (Against Eutropius). De raptu Proserpinae (The Rape of Persephone) is an epic poem based on the Persephone myth. This poem consists of three books, yet is incomplete for Claudian died before finishing it.

Much in the style of Greek epic tales like the Iliad and the Odyssey, The Rape of Persephone is very long winded, but highly detailed. It explains more of how things were done rather than what was done. While reading it, I felt engaged to the point that I felt I might actually be reading a script for a soap opera, since some of the reactions and sneaking around seemed highly dramatic. For example, in the Claudian version, Jove (Zeus) watched as Demeter fell into a deep depression and then in confidence told his wife that long ago, he had promised Persephone to his brother Pluto (Hades).  I suppose though, in Demeter’s case, the melodramatic reaction only emphasis her love for her daughter.  

Today, Claudian’s version of the story is praised for it’s detail and drama and often is referenced by many literary and history scholars as a well-written example of an epic poem after Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.

Ovid taken from http://my.wn.com/media/wiki/l/a/Latin_Poet_Ovid.jpg

Another poet is Ovid. Ovid is a Roman poet who lived in 43 BCE to around 17 CE. He is well known in the world of today for his work, Metamorphoses. This work consists of fifteen books. The tenth book is dedicated mainly to Ceres (the Roman equivalent to Demeter) and a few more Muses’ tales. Of course this poem is written in Latin, which means it needed to be translated, but upon translation, it is evident that Ceres goes through a severe depression.

The phrase, ‘Hell hast no fury,’ does not do this justice. In my last post, I spoke about Ceres’ (Demeter’s) travels. The travels seemed mystical and sad; however in Ovid’s version of the poem, Ceres is angered at the slightest indiscretion. She even turned a loud, mocking boy into a newt in Ovid’s poem for he was being rude like people usually are when someone is over lower class in tales such as these.  And then as always, she ravishes the earth of any nourishment like in the Greek tale.  

Seeing the progression thus far, it is clear that Ovid may have taken cues from Claudian for the emotional states of everyone seem to be elevated and the importance of sorrow and unyielding love from a parent to a child are pushed into the spotlight.  Yet, it does present differences. The main difference of this piece is the fact that every metaphysical feeling of Ceres’ travels is dimmed and presented in an almost mundane, humble way. In an almost contradictory way, Ovid presents a glimpse of a hopeful Ceres. This I mean, in Ovid’s version of the myth Ceres is greeted by Celeus, who is normally portrayed as the king of Eleusis. Instead, Celeus is a man traveling back to his home with a large bag and his one daughter. Through his kindness of inviting Ceres in during terrible weather to his small home, Ceres becomes a tiny bit happier from the kindness bestowed upon her. She is grateful to the point that she heals Celeus’ ill infant son. 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPqEzIOgFio

Professor Carl Springer talks about Ovid and his importance in detail. 

For today’s audiences, Ovid’s Metamorphoses has been retranslated, allusion to, and rewritten for contemporary viewers. It’s themes and ideas remain the same, but the characters get full makeovers and anthropomorphic bodies and personalities. It has even become common for modern day theater to use Metamorphoses as a basis for a play.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGECKOmaWTI

Example of contemporary play using Metamorphoses as base.

Portrait of Tennyson from http://www.victorianweb.org/images/tennyson.gif

            The last poet that seems to have made a mark on the history of Demeter and Persephone is the poet Lord Alfred Tennyson. Unlike Claudian and Ovid, he did not live during ancient Roman times; rather he is from the nineteenth century. Given the time period, it is no surprise that Tennyson was writing about the ancient myth since it was during the age of Neo-classism and Romanticism, which was an age to where many looked back to the classical period in search of inspiration. He is well known for many poems and especially for phrases like “ its better to have loved and lost/Then to have never loved at all”. 

            His poem, Demeter and Persephone takes on a new perspective on the myth. The poem still tells the story and the events of the myth from the kidnapping to the search to the return, yet it context is different. Instead of having the story told in a third person viewpoint, the poem is written in a conversational format. Demeter and Persephone explain the story while speaking back and forth of their experiences. This creates a new aspect for the reader is guided to empathize with the two. Their sadness and regret is obvious, making their ordeals seems more human in a way because the reader is being told by the character’s their tale rather than from an outsider.

            It appears through time, that the story of Demeter and Persephone remained the same as far as plot points. It seems that as time progresses, the points that were dramatized or emphasized by previous writers have influenced the more recent writers. For the sorrow and pain have become the center points of the story. However, over the course of time, the characters have become more and more human. Thus making them easier to relate to as individuals. So, the myth is progressing through poetry towards a more related sense of mortal to mortal over god to mortal perspective.

           

Below are links to the translated versions of the poems:

Claudian: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Claudian/home.html

Ovid: http://www.mythology.us/ovid_metamorphoses_book_5.htm

Tennyson: http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/demeter-and-persephone/

Works Cited:

 Pater, Walter. "Walter Pater's Essay: The Myth Of Demeter And Persephone." Read Book Online:            Literature Books,novels,short Stories,fiction,non-fiction, Poems,essays,plays,Pulitzer Prize,
           Nobel Prize. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. <http://www.readbookonline.net/readOnLine/38078/>.

  Pater, Walter. Greek Studies: A Series of Essays. London: Macmillian and, Limited, 1910.

            Print.

The Remants of a Cult

Continuing from the first post, it is time to begin investigating more about the myth of Demeter and Persephone. Now while reading through different authors’ interpretations, I found that most recently published items, include a detailed account of Demeter’s adventure during her mourning period (This occurs after she began searching for Persephone and learns the truth from Zeus about his decision). This I found quite interesting for it was almost like a subplot within a larger story like in today’s movies.

 In this account, Demeter in her state of grief abandons Olympus and goes down into the world of mortals. Demeter disguises herself as an elderly woman and travels the land. She eventually comes to the city of Eleusis, which is a part of Attica (modern central Greece). Here she comes upon a well and sits down. Moments later, two daughters of Celeus, who is the King of Eleusis, arrive at the well and take water from the well. While taking water, the daughters speak to who they believe is a weary old woman. Demeter tells a very outlandish tale about her escaping from pirates to the two girls while also offering her services as a nanny.  In earnest, the two daughters run to consult their mother about the old woman. Soon Demeter is employed as the nurse to the baby, Triptolemus. 

            As Demeter takes care of young Triptolemus, she is shortly distracted from her sorrows about Persephone. Oddly enough though, Demeter does not feed this child despite his wondrous growth. Rather Demeter secretly is feeding Triptolemus ambrosia (food which is eaten by the gods) and laying him in a fire in order to make him immortal. This ritual soon is discontinued for one night, Triptolemus’ mother peers upon the scene and screams at the sight of her child being placed in a fire. Because of this disruption, Demeter instantly removes Triptolemus from the flames and reveals her true identity as a goddess to Triptolemus’ mother. Demeter then declares that Triptolemus can not be immortal, but would hold great esteem among mankind and demands a temple to be erected in her honor on a hill in Eleusis, so that the people can carry out ceremonies and sacred rites as directed by her.

            It is an interesting tale that seems out of place within the myth of Demeter and Persephone. Yet, there seems to be perhaps actual fact to this part of the myth. For during my research, I discovered that in the city of Eleusis, there are ruins of a temple dedicated to Demeter and numerous accounts of rituals performed at the temple called the Eleusis Mysteries.

            Not too much is known about the temple or the Mysteries.  However, the evident  “Demeter cult” (Mylonas p. 18-20) in Eleusis is undeniable for many of the statues of Demeter and Persephone had been removed from this site. In 1931, Kourouniotes excavated the Temple of Demeter (Mylonas p. 34).  This temple has many unanswered questions for many think that the temple was originally just an adjacent outdoor terrace to the Telestria or that the temple, Telestria is the Temple of Demeter. Because there are only ruins and pieces left of the temple, only assumptions of where and how the temple was built on the hill overlooking the city are made. 

Temple Layout

             The temple itself is constructed quite differently from standard Greek temples. It did not possess the common sculptures and columns of other Greek temples.  It is different in its layout also. The temple consists of six entrances and had tiered seating for initiates and a centered seating area for the high priests to conduct ceremonies and rituals. The plan for the temple seems to show that the temple had been constructed to hold many people.

Votive Clay Tablet of Ninnius

            Meanwhile, the Mysteries themselves prove to be very exciting. In the Homeric hymn, it talks about the absolute vow of secrecy of the rituals involved in the celebrations of Demeter.  This secrecy is so greatly enforced that the hymn states that to break the secrecy means, “ confiscations of all property, all the priests and priestesses place curses upon one…the Goddess herself meted out punishment” (Mylonas p. 224-225).  Based on this amount of fear that was instilled, the secrets of the celebration were kept for almost two thousand years, amazingly. These rituals take place in the city of Eleusis because it is thought to be the location at which Demeter was reunited with her daughter, Persephone. Most of the information that has been gathered about the Mysteries is from art artifacts like the Votive Clay tablet of Ninnius.

            In these rituals, there was a hierarchy of priests and priestesses. The Hierophant was the high priest and in command of the ceremonies (Mylonas p. 229).  The rituals were divided into multiple stages and initiations. The main two are called the Lesser Mysteries and the Greater Mysteries.

The Lesser Mysteries involved dancing and celebrating with sacrifices of pigs and purification of water for initiations of participants. This part of the celebration was held during the spring months into summer (Mylonas p. 239-243) whereas the Greater Mysteries were held during the months of September to October.  This ritual involved much more active participation. By this, I mean that a messenger was sent out the day before the start of the ritual to ask the people of various cities to offer up tithes in honor of the goddess, Demeter. From here, the priests and priestesses travelled to Athens. This is the starting point of the procession of Demeter. People then gathered here, in order to walk the path that Demeter took during her wandering to Eleusis during her time of grief. During this journey, each day was filled with different forms of purification until Eleusis was reached. And as one could guess, much sacrifice, praying, and unknown events took place upon arriving at Eleusis (Mylonas p. 243-259).

It’s funny how most of the accounts are through different artworks and minor personal writing, since secrecy was top priority much like how Demeter in the myth, was very discreet about her ritual of immortality with Triptolemus to the point that once discovered, she became outraged and made demands. Also, the timing of the rituals and the proceeding are very corresponding, for the Mysteries held in Spring are just a time of celebration compared to the Mysteries held in Autumn in which harsh travels and purification is upheld just as Demeter would have celebrated Persephone’s return in the spring and mourn Persephone’s departure. I suppose that was the way religious rituals were started.

Works Cited:

Berens, E. M. "Demeter." The Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome. Boston:

            Longwood, 1979. Print.

 "Eleusis-Telesterion." Web. 05 Oct. 2011. <learn.uci.edu/ocw/courses/08f/22110/home/Eleusis-

           Telesterion.ppt>.

Mylonas, G. E. Eleusis and the Eleuisian Mysteries. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton UP,

            1961. Print.

Images:

Frieze of Demeter and Persephone consecrating Triptolemus, Athens, 430BCE. 

Telesterion Temple Layout,  learn.uci.edu/ocw/courses/08f/22110/home/Eleusis-Telesterion.ppt

Clay Tablet of Ninnius, Athens, 4th Century - National Archaeological Museum

The Myth

Frieze of Demeter and Persephone consecrating Triptolemus, Athens, 430BCE.

Fairy tales, folklore, and campfire stories are all modern day usages of explaining good moral lessons and inevitable punishments to the ones who do wrong. These stories also are used to give a spin on why things are the way they are currently. In ancient Greco-Roman times, these stories were called myths. Many of these myths have survived the test of time, changing slightly here and there, but still held on to the main point and characters.

            The myth of Demeter and Persephone (or Ceres and Persephone to the Romans) is a myth that is still known and told today. It is a tale about mother’s love, the changing of seasons in life, and the transition of a girl to a woman. Yet to understand these meanings and representations, one must know her mother’s and her story.

            The myth begins with Demeter who is a wife a Zeus has a daughter named Persephone, who she loves dearly. One day while in a meadow, Persephone comes upon a flower known as narcissus. Attempting to get a better look at the flower, Persephone leans down to examine it. An abyss opens up underneath the narcissus, and Hades, the ruler of the Underworld, then springs forth from the abyss. It was then that Hades abducted Persephone to the underworld. However, Helios, the sun- god and Hecate, another divine being, witnessed this act.

            At the moment that Persephone was taken, Demeter became well aware of this loss and was filled with anguish. Therefore, she set out on a search for her child. Eventually, Demeter was informed by Hecate that Persephone was taken. Demeter decided to speak with Helios and Zeus at once. From these talks, Demeter learned that Zeus granted Hades permission to take Persephone to the Underworld in an attempt to make Persephone his wife.  Filled with sorrow and grief, Demeter’s feelings were soon felt by the world for crops did not grow and vegetation withered. 

Soon after, Zeus intervened by sending Hermes, the messenger of the gods, to the Underworld in order to ask Hades to release Persephone. Quite willingly, Hades agrees and proceeds to award Persephone with pomegranate seeds. Persephone, who was excited to go home, quickly swallowed the seeds.

Persephone was welcomed back by Demeter with happiness and tears of joy. However, Hades cuts the reunion short by demanding his rights for Persephone ate food from the Underworld, thus by law, she was obligated to stay there forever. Luckily, Zeus took pity on Demeter and convinced Hades to allow Persephone to live with her mother for six months of the year and the other six with him.  It was then that for a short time, the fields of the earth would spring back to life, and be abundant. Yet as soon as Persephone would return to the Underworld, the crops would wilt and die inversely as Demeter’s depression would grow. It was from this day that Persephone became queen of the Underworld. 

The myth of Demeter and Persephone is a common, but powerful story. This myth has survived through time in many ways. So with the background knowledge of the myth, it will become easier to understand how it has transformed and been interpreted over the span of history.

 Here is an animated short to explain the myth visually.

Works Cited:

Berens, E. M. "Demeter." The Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome. Boston:

            Longwood, 1979. Print.

Video:
"Persephone." Animated Tales of the World. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrmQYsMnl14&NR=1