Hades and Persephone

The Fate of Persephone (1877), painted by Walter Crane, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Greek myth of Hade's abduction of Persephone is briefly mentioned in Hesiod's Theogony and in more detail in the first Homeric Hymn to Demeter ("Persephone," Wikipedia). The Hymn to Demeter is 495 lines long and was written by an anonymous source. The term Homeric is only added to the hymns because they use the same dactylic hexameter and the same dialect as the Iliad and Odyssey; however, they were not written during Homer's lifetime ("Homeric Hymns," Wikipedia).

Pinax of Persephone and Hades on the throne, holy shrine of Persephone, Locri, Italy, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Story Summary

Hades, Lord of the Underworld, gets permission from his brother and her father, Zeus, to kidnap Persephone. When she bends over to pluck a Narcissus from the ground that was specifically put there to lure her in, Hades emerges from the ground on his chariot and kidnaps her. She calls for help but no one comes to her rescue. Her mother Demeter searches for her for days and can't locate her anywhere. Finally Hekate comes to Demeter and tells her that someone stole Persephone away but she couldn't see who. So they go to Helios and he tells them that Hades was the one who stole her away with Zeus's blessing and that he's not the worst son-in-law to have.

Demeter wanders and in her grief over losing her daughter she causes a famine that would have killed everyone. Worried about losing all his worshippers, Zeus sends the gods to Demeter to ask her to come back and live with them and stop the famine. She refuses and has them tell Zeus that she will only stop when she sees her daughter with her own eyes. Hermes is dispatched to ask Hades to bring her to Demeter. Hades tells Persephone to go to her mother, but asks her to be his wife. Then he slips her a pomegranate seed.

Hermes takes Persephone to her mother and they embrace. But because she ate the pomegranate seed, she has to spend one third of the year in the Underworld with Hades as his queen and wife and she'll spend two thirds of the year with Demeter above ground. Demeter and Zeus agree to those terms and Demeter let the seeds sprout again. (From: Rayor, Diane J.. The Homeric Hymns: A Translation, with Introduction and Notes, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2014. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/10.1525/9780520957824). 

The only indication that Persephone may have come to love Hades eventually is a story about the nymph Minthe, who was turned into a mint plant either by Persephone as punishment for sleeping with Hades after the marriage, by Hades after Persephone tore her apart as punishment for sleeping with him after the marriage, or by Demeter after she boasted of having been Hades's lover before his marriage to Persephone.

The Return of Persephone (1891), oil on canvas, Frederic Leighton (British, 1830-1896), Leeds Art Gallery, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Variations

  • Ancient Sumer: story of how the goddess of the underworld, Ereshkigal, is kidnapped by Kur, the primeval dragon, and forced to become the goddess of the underworld
  • Minoan Protopalatial Period, Crete (c. 1900-1700 BCE): earliest depiction of Persephone, dancing with other goddesses, rising up from the ground
  • Mycenean Greece (c. 1400–1200 BCE): Kore (the maiden) and her mother, Demeter, are depicted
  • Ancient Rome: Persephone becomes Proserpina and Hades becomes Pluto, 

Persephone (Proserpine) enthroned (1882), engravings on wood, from A Smaller Classical Mythology: With Translations from the Ancient Poets, and Questions Upon the Work, William Smith. London: John Murray, Albemarle Street. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Story Beats/Motifs

  • Persephone, daughter of Demeter and Zeus, goddess of spring and nature
  • Hades, Lord of the Underworld, god of the dead
  • Narcissus
  • Kidnapping of Persephone
  • Persephone enters the Underworld
  • Demeter searches for Persephone
  • Famine
  • Hermes is sent to retrieve Persephone
  • Pomegranate seed
  • Persephone as Queen of the Underworld
  • Seasons
  • Minthe, nymph, mistress to Hades

Persephone with Her Dog-Hades and Demeter with Aether, photograph, Hearst Castle, Larry and Linda (USA), CC BY 2.0, via Flickr 

Retellings

Novels (not sorted by age range):

  • A Court of Mist and Fury - Sarah J Maas (Goodreads)
    • Second book in the A Court of Thorns and Roses series (Goodreads)
  • A Deal with the Elf King - Elise Kova (Goodreads)
    • First book in the Married to Magic series (Goodreads)
  • A Game of Fate - Scarlett St Clair (Goodreads)
  • A Rogue by Any Other Name - Sarah MacLean (Goodreads)
    • First book in the Rules of Scoundrels series (Goodreads)
  • A Touch of Darkness - Scarlett St Clair (Goodreads)
  • A Touch of Hades - Michelle Hercules (Goodreads)
  • Abducted - Bella Klaus (Goodreads)
  • Awaken - Meg Cabot (Goodreads)
  • Blinding Night - Chantal Gadoury (Goodreads)
    • First book in the Blinding Night series (Goodreads)
  • Bone Gap - Laura Ruby (Goodreads)
  • Bow Before the Elf Queen - J M Kearl (Goodreads)
    • Other books in the series: Long Live the Elf Queen (Goodreads)
  • Breathless - Lianyu Tan (Goodreads)
  • Captive in the Underworld - Lianyu Tan (Goodreads)
  • Cruel Beauty - Rosamund Hodge (Goodreads)
  • Destroyer of Light - Jennifer Marie Brissett (Goodreads)
  • Drag Me Up - R M Virtues (Goodreads)
    • First book in the Gods of Hunger series (Goodreads)
  • The Eighth House: Hades & Persephone - Eris Adderly (Goodreads)
    • First book in the Flames of Olympos series (Goodreads)
  • Everneath - Brodi Ashton (Goodreads)
  • The Fallen - C N Crawford (Goodreads)
  • For the Love of Hades - Freida Kilmari (Goodreads)
  • For the Love of Hades - Sasha Summers (Goodreads)
    • Second book in the Loves of Olympus series (Goodreads)
  • Fortuna Sworn - K J Sutton (Goodreads)
    • First book in the Fortuna Sworn series (Goodreads)
  • Goddess of Spring - P C Cast (Goodreads)
    • Second book in the Goddess Summoning series (Goodreads)
  • The Goddess Test - Aimee Carter (Goodreads)
    • Other books in the series: Goddess Interrupted (Goodreads), The Goddess Inheritance (Goodreads)
  • Hades - Rebecca F Kenney (Goodreads)
    • Fifth book in the Immortal Warriors series (Goodreads)
  • Hades - Carly Spade (Goodreads)
    • First book in the Contemporary Mythos series (Goodreads)
  • Hades - Alessa Thorn (Goodreads)
    • Third book in the Court of the Underworld series (Goodreads)
  • Hades & Persephone - Amelia Wilde (Goodreads)
  • Hades and Persephone: Curse of the Golden Arrow - Heidi Hastings, Erica Hastings (Goodreads)
  • Her Dark Wings - Melinda Salisbury (Goodreads)
  • Hot as Hades - Alisha Rai (Goodreads)
  • In the Arms of Hades - Dani René (Goodreads)
  • In the Shadow of Demeter - Vic Malachai (Goodreads)
  • Infernals - Linsey Hall (Goodreads)
  • Ivy & Bones - R L Perez (Goodreads)
  • Keturah and Lord Death - Martine Leavitt (Goodreads)
  • King of Shadows - Amelia Wilde (Goodreads)
  • The Kiss Thief - L J Shen, Trans. Charline McGregor (Goodreads)
  • My Ex From Hell - Tellulah Darling (Goodreads)
  • The North Wind - Alexandria Warwick (Goodreads)
  • Of Thorns and Bones - Heloise Hull (Goodreads)
    • Other books in the series: Of Flames and Thrones (Goodreads)
  • Peaceweaver - Everly Haywood (Goodreads)
  • Persephone - Kaitlin Bevis (Goodreads)
    • First book in the Daughter's of Zeus series (Goodreads)
  • Persephone's Orchard - Molly Ringle (Goodreads)
    • First book in the Chrysomelia Stories series (Goodreads)
  • Phone Home, Persephone - Kate McMullan, Ill. David LaFleur (Goodreads)
    • Second book in the Myth-o-Mania series (Goodreads)
  • The Power of Hades - Eliza Raine, Rose Wilson (Goodreads)
    • Other books in the series: The Passion of Hades (Goodreads), The Promise of Hades (Goodreads)
  • Promises and Pomegranates - Sav R Miller (Goodreads)
    • First book in the Monsters & Muses series (Goodreads)
  • Promise of Darkness - Bec MacMaster (Goodreads)
  • Radiant Darkness - Emily Whitman (Goodreads)
  • Receiver of Many - Rachel Alexander (Goodreads)
  • River of Shadows - Karina Halle (Goodreads)
    • Other books in the series: Crown of Crimson (Goodreads)
  • The Savage and the Swan - Ella Fields (Goodreads)
  • Seeds: Volumes 1-3 - M M King (Goodreads)
  • Seeds of Sorrow - Elle Beaumont, Christis Christie (Goodreads)
  • Seven Pomegranate Seeds - Jasmine Garcia (Goodreads)
  • The Star-Touched Queen - Roshani Chokshi (Goodreads)
    • First book in the Star-Touched Queen series (Goodreads)
  • Symphony of the Fallen Stars - Marie Lau (Goodreads)
  • Tempting Hades - Emma Hamm (Goodreads)
    • First book in the Myths and Monsters series (Goodreads)
  • Thief of Spring - Katherine Macdonald (Goodreads)
  • The Villain - L J Shen (Goodreads)
    • Second book in the Boston Belles series (Goodreads)
  • Wintersong - S Jae-Jones (Goodreads)
    • Other books in the series: Shadowsong (Goodreads)
  • Wrath of Persephone - A P Mobley (Goodreads)

Adult Novels:

  • Neon Gods - Katee Robert (Goodreads) My Review *****
    • First book in the Dark Olympus series (Goodreads)
  • Portrait of a Scotsman - Evie Dunmore (Goodreads) My Review
    • Third book in the League of Extraordinary Women series (Goodreads)

Young Adult Novels:

Middle Age Novels:

  • Persephone the Phony - Joan Holub, Suzanne Williams (Goodreads) My Review
    • Second book in the Goddess Girls series (Goodreads)

Graphic Novels:

  • The Dark Wife - Sarah Diemer (Goodreads)
  • Hades: Lord of the Dead - George O'Connor (Goodreads)
    • Fourth book in the Olympians series (Goodreads)
  • Lore Olympus: Volumes 1-4 - Rachel Smythe (Goodreads) My Review 
  • Persephone: Hades' Torment - Allison Shaw (Goodreads)
  • Plunderworld: Volume 1 - Linda Šejić (Goodreads)

Picture Books:

  • The Beautiful Stories of Life: Six Greek Myths, Retold - Cynthia Rylant, Ill. Carson Ellis (Goodreads)

Short Stories/Poems:

Movies/Audio Plays/Stage Adaptations:


If you have any additions to this list, please leave a comment below.

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