Persephone

Persephone is the goddess of springtime, flowers and young life, She is also the queen of the Underworld. She is the daughter of Demeter and Zeus, and the wife of Hades.

History
Unlike Zeus' other children, Persephone has no stable position at Olympus. Persephone used to live far away from the other deities, a goddess within Nature herself before the days of planting seeds and nurturing plants. When Persephone reached marriageable age, the gods Hermes, Ares, Apollo, and Hephaestus had all wooed Persephone; but Demeter rejected all their gifts and hid her daughter away from the company of the Olympian deities. Thus, Persephone lived a peaceful life before she became the goddess of the Underworld, which did not occur until Hades abducted her and brought her to the Underworld.

Persephone's uncle, Hades was lonely, and wanted a wife. He spied Persephone in the fields one day, and entranced by her purity and beauty fell in love with her at first sight.

Persephone was innocently picking flowers with some nymphs in a field in Enna when Hades came to abduct her, bursting through a cleft in the earth. Later, the nymphs were changed by Demeter into the Sirens for not having interfered. Life came to a standstill as the devastated Demeter, goddess of harvest, searched everywhere for her lost daughter. Helios, the sun, who sees everything, eventually told Demeter what had happened. She then stopped caring for the Earth, and the land didn't flourish and people began to starve and die.

In some stories it is said that Eros, the god of love shot a golden arrow into Hades' heart while he was riding in his black chariot. When Hades rode across the field and saw Persephone, thus he fell in love with her.

Most versions agree Hades first obtained the permission of Zeus to kidnap her.

Hades was determined to make Persephone love him, and tried in many ways. She hated him at first for snatching her away from her mother, but soon she came to revel in Demeter's absence as she had never been allowed away from her mother before. Hades very much wanted Persephone's love and, at first, tried to buy it with many gifts. But then he took to spending all of his day with his new wife, working to make her happy. Hecate, the Goddess of Magic, came down to the Underworld and befriended Persephone, and Hades was pleased, because Persephone was not depressed or unhappy when her friend was around.

Finally, Zeus, pressed by the cries of the hungry people and by the other deities who also heard their anguish, forced Hades to return Persephone. However, it was a rule of the Fates that whoever consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there. Before Persephone was released to Hermes, who had been sent to retrieve her, Hades tricked Persephone into eating four pomegranate seeds, which forced her to return to the underworld for a season each year. In another version she ate the pomegranate off of a tree not knowing the results, but a servant of Hades testified against her forcing her to return.

When Demeter and her daughter were united, the Earth flourished with vegetation and color, but for some months each year, when Persephone returned to the Underworld, the earth once again became a barren realm: and that is how the seasons came from. In Spring and Summer, Persephone and her mother are together. In Fall and Winter, Persephone goes back with Hades.

Relationship with Demeter
During her early life, Persephone only knew her father, her mother, and the nymphs that accompanied them. She grew up very close to her mother (she rarely saw her father Zeus) and her mother in turn became dependent upon her. When Hades kidnapped her, she did not want to stay with him, and wanted to be rescued, but over time, she fell in love with him and was relieved to be free from her mother's bossiness, nagging, and smothering for a time. She was tricked into eating the four pomegranate seeds, wanting to stay with her mother, but came to value the time away from her mother. Demeter's relationship with her daughter is slightly unhealthy, as Demeter is only happy when she is with her daughter, but they both love each other dearly, despite the problems between them.

Relationship with Hades
When Hades kidnapped her, she did not want to stay with him and wanted to be rescued. He was very kind, and he didn't ever nag, boss, or smother her. He very much wanted her love and tried to buy it with many gifts at first, but then took to spending all of his day with her, trying to make her happy. He tricked her into eating the pomegranate seeds forcing her to stay with him part of the year. At first she despised Hades, but in time she grew to respect him and value her position as Queen of the Dead. It gave her a chance to get away from her mother. Eventually she fell in love with him and looked forward to spending her time with him, even forgiving his infidelities, as he got lonely without her.