In the love stories of greek mythology, the story of Haydees and Persephone takes a prominent place. Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. And one day when Haydees ventured above the surface, he saw her and instantly fell in love.
Zeus once promised Haydees, one of his daughters of his choosing in marriage. So he consulted his brother about Persephone, which Zeus happily accepted. But he knew Persephone’s mother, Demeter, would never accept the marriage. Haydees was heartbroken at the thought of not having to be with Persephone. So he devised a plan together with Zeus to make Persephone his wife.
When Persephone and Demeter descended upon the earth, and Persephone was left in the care of the nymphs of the sea, while her mother tended to the earth since she was the goddess of harvest, Zeus had gaia plant a narcissus flower in the nearby garden. Persephone was drawn into the flower and when she stooped down to pick the flower, Haydees and his chariot emerged from a chasm.
He grabbed her before she could scream and took her to the underworld with him. The nymph Sion saw Persephone been kidnapped and attempted to rescue her.
Since she was unable to save her, she cried until she melted into a pool of her own tears and formed the river sion. When Demeter got back, she questioned the nymphs about her daughter since she was nowhere to be found. Upon knowing that the nymphs were unable to protect her daughter, Demeter cursed them to be sirens.
Demeter mourned for the loss of her daughter. And she did not fulfill her duties as the goddess of harvest. The earth began to dry up and animals started dying. Zeus consulted Demeter and promised her that he would bring her daughter back from the underworld, if it could be proved that Persephone is kept there by force.
But Persephone started seen the side of the Haydees that no other has seen. He was compassionate and treated her with respect and love. He made beautiful gardens in the underworld just for Persephone. So she started to gradually fall in love with him. Zeus confronted him and told of the promise he made to Demeter. But Haydees was heartbroken of the request fearing Persephone would not return if he gives her the chance to go back.
In greek mythology it is said, if someone eats food given to them by their captor, they would always return to the person they were captured by. So he offered her a pomegranate as a gift from which she ate six pomegranate seeds. And then he set her off to meet her mother.
Upon seeing her daughter, Demeter becomes very delighted and continued with her duties, and the earth began to flourish. When Zeus and Demeter asked Persephone where she wish to stay, she responded that she would stay in the underworld with her husband. Demeter got furious at Persephone’s response and believed that haydees tricked her daughter to speak so. She promised Zeus that she would never again flourish earth if Persephone does not return to mount Olympus.
So they made a deal that Persephone would stay a portion of the year with her mother and the other portion with her husband. In different variations of the story, this time period differs. In some, Persephone lives one third of the year with her husband and the rest in mount Olympus. In others, since she ate six pomegranate seeds, she would stay half of the year in the underworld.
During the time Persephone lives with Haydees, Demeter mourned and neglected her duties. And when she is with her the earth flourished. Many believe the seasons of the year happens due to this cycle. The time of the year that Persephone is not with her mother became autumn and winter and the time she is with became spring and summer. The story of cause opens a series of questions and the one that stands out most to me is, “If Haydees did not give Persephone the pomegranate, would’ve she return to underworld?”
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