Art Blog 1-Persephone & Hades PDF

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Art Blog Assignment 1
Picture: The Return of Persephone, Athenian red-figure bell krater C 5 th B.C., Metropolitan Museum of Art
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Art Blog 1

Divya Varde

The Return of Persephone, Athenian red-figure bell krater C 5th B.C., Metropolitan Museum of Art

The myth of Persephone and Hades provides the explanation of nature’s eternal cycle— birth and death. Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, who was Zeus’ sister, was known to be the goddess of spring growth and, eventually, the goddess of the underground world. Persephone’s mother, Demeter, was highly protective of her, always keeping her by her side, and flowered her with love and kindness. One odd day, Hades, who was known as the god of the underworld, had made a trip above ground and was enchanted by Persephone, who was gathering flowers in the meadow for her mother. He was determined to have her as his wife and thus requested Zeus’ help to kidnap Persephone into the underworld. Agreeing to his brother’s wishes, Zeus noticed Persephone picking flowers with her friends, and caused the ground underneath her to split open; inevitably dropping Persephone into Hades underground kingdom. Demeter, distraught and lost without her daughter, went on a hunt to find Persephone. Later, it was revealed to her that Zeus had played a role in abducting her daughter per Hades wishes. As retaliation, Demeter vowed to not allow the harvest to flourish. Taken against her will, Persephone refused offerings of food and love from Hades. Overtime, Persephone had warmed up to Hades and allowed him to take her throughout his underground world. In his attempt to win her over, Hades had persuaded Persephone to eat six pomegranate seeds—little did she know, once she ate the seeds, she was now committed to the underworld. Upon eating the seeds, Hermes appeared before her and told her about the situation above ground. The end solution determined by Zeus, was that since Persephone has eaten 6 seeds, she will spend 6 months with Demeter above ground and the other 6 months with Hades in the underworld. This is where the nature’s spring/summer and fall/winter comes into play. Whenever Persephone returns to Demeter, the harvest and plants flourish—the birth of nature; when

Art Blog 1

Divya Varde

Persephone returns back to the underworld, the plants and life wither away—the death of nature. In the picture above, Hermes, standing beside Persephone, is shown as bringing her back above ground. Across Persephone, Hecate is shown carrying torches to bring light to Persephone’s journey underground.

Sources: http://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/HaidesPersephone1.html https://sites.psu.edu/tetirclblog/2015/02/05/greek-mythology-hades-andpersephone/comment-page-1/ https://www.greeka.com/greece-myths/persephone.htm http://www.theoi.com/Khthonios/Persephone.html https://www.greekmyths-greekmythology.com/myth-of-hades-and-persephone/...