Who is Persephone?

Persephone was a Greek goddess. She was the daughter of Zeus and the harvest goddess Demeter.

It is told, that one day she was out picking flowers, when she was kidnapped by her uncle Hades; the king of the underworld. He wanted her to marry him, but Persephone was against this and dreamed of returning to home to the sunshine, she was so upset she refused to eat.

In the meantime, Persephone’s parents were out looing for her. Zeus sat on top of Mount Olympus and could see that Hades had taken her.

Zeus approached Hades and requested that he return his daughter. Hades said he would agree only if Persephone had told the truth and had really not eaten anything since her time with him. It was discovered that she had eaten six pomegranate seeds. Hades was furious and therefore only agreed to return her for 6 months of the year and that is how we come to have seasons. Spring and summer see new growth but in Autumn and winter when Persephone returns to the underworld there is none.