The Gods of the Neokoroi - Persephone
Image courtesy of Khryseis Astra.
Page maintained by Khryseis Astra.
Blessings:
Persephone is the Queen of the Underworld, who remains below the earth nine months out of year. Haides can be a distant and frightening God to some, but Persephone is approachable, since there is still something about the upper world about her. Her separation from her mother Demeter leads to her coming into her own power and maturity. She offers comfort and solace to those who have died, or lost someone, and she aids in the transition from life to death. She can also help us with other important transitions in our lives. Her Mysteries give hope of a better fate in the afterlife. She protects us against magic and violence, and she can help us to achieve psychological wholeness.
Epithets:
- Agne “Pure”
- Despoina “Mistress”
- Epaine “Awesome”
- Kore “Maiden”
- Proserpine variant spelling
Symbols:
torch, crown, stalks of grain, pomegranate, asphodelos
Animal(s):
pigs
Sacrifices:
narcissus, pomegranate, poplars, willow, pigs
Primary Cult Centers:
Eleusis, Syracuse
Festivals:
- The Greater Mysteries - Boedromion 14-21 (September-October)
- Skira - 12 Skiraphorion (June-July)
- Thesmophoria - 9, 11-13 Puanepsion (October-November)
Ways to honor:
Give comfort to those who have lost a loved one. Appreciate the gift of life, and how fragile and precious it is. Donate money or time to rape crisis counseling. Create a balance between the different roles you play in your life. Work with your psychological "shadow."
For more information:
- Apollodorus' Library 1.1.5-1.2.1, 1.5.1-3, 1.6.1, 2.5.12, 2.6.1, 3.12.2, 3.6.8, 3.7.1, 3.12.1, 3.14.7
- Aollodorus' Epitome1.23, 3.14.4
- Apollonius Rhodius' Argonautica
- Aristophanes' Women Celebrating the Thesmophoria
- Euripides' Helen 1301-1368
- Hesiod's Theogony 767-774, 908-911, 965-974
- Homer's Iliad 9.457, 9.568
- Homer's Odyssey 5.125-128, 10.492-495, 10.510, 11.213-218, 11.225-257, 11.632-635
- Homeric Hymn to Demeter 2, 13
- Hyginus' Fabulae 83, 141, 146, 147
- Hyginus' Poetica Astronomica 2.4, 2.25
- Ovid's Metamorphoses 5.341-571, 6.118-119, 8.738-878, 9.422-423
- Pausanias' Description of Greece 1.13.8, 1.14.3, 1.37.2, 2.5.8, 8.15.1-4, 8.25.2-8, 8.37.6-9, 8.42.1-13
Bibliography and Recommended Reading:
- The Homeric Hymn to Demeter by Helen P. Foley (Translation, commentary and interpretive essays)
- Persephone Unveiled: Seeing the Goddess and Freeing Your Soul by Charles Stein
- Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter by Carl Kerenyi
- The Archetypal Myth of Demeter & Persephone: A Story for Mother & Daughter Celebrations by Marjorie Meyers Graham
- Finding Persephone: Women's Rituals in the Ancient Mediterranean (Studies in Ancient Folklore and Popular Culture) - Maryline Parca (Editor)
- Long Journey Home: Revisioning the Myth of Demeter and Persephone for Our Time by Christine Downing (Editor)
- Persephone is Transpluto by Valerie Vaughn
Links:
- Orphic Hymn to Proserpine at Sacred Texts
- Persephone on Theoi.com
- Persephone on Wikipedia
- The Pomegranate by Eavan Boland (poem)
- Mythic Themes Clustered Around: Kore/Persephone
Blogs and Other Writing:
- Maiden to Queen: Meditations on Persephone
- Children's Myth of Persephone by Laura M. LaVoie