Greek Myth
In Greek mythology, Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, goddess of the harvest, was abducted by Hades, god of the dead, and taken to the underworld as his queen. Demeter was so distraught that no crops would grow and the "entire human race have perished of cruel, biting hunger if Zeus had not been concerned" (Larousse 152). Zeus forced Hades to return Persephone to her mother, but while in the underworld, Persephone had eaten pomegranate seeds, the food of the dead and thus, she must spend part of each year with Hades in the underworld. Demeter's grief for her daughter in the realm of the dead, is reflected in the barren winter months and her joy when Persephone returns is reflected in the bountiful summer months.
Demeter would take the place of her grandmother, Gaia, and her mother, Rhea, as goddess of the earth in a time when humans and gods thought the activities of the heavens more sacred than those of earth.
— Leeming, Creation Myths of the World: An Encyclopedia
Read more about this topic: Mother Nature, Western Tradition History
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