He, Hades, was the victor…the god who brought an end to the destructive, cannibalistic Cronus. But he escaped and waged war against his father Cronus and the other Titans. Hades’ father tried to swallow him whole and destroy him forever. Hades is the son of the Greek Titans Cronus and Rhea, and he is brother to Zeus, Demeter, Hera, Hestia and Poseidon. Upon invocation, the individual would be brought to Hades’ house of death. It’s said he has another name, one that’s more sacred and dangerous, and it’s rarely ever used lest his presence be immediately invoked. Hades, whose name translates to “unseen” or “sightless”, is the god of the Greek Underworld. “In the mysteries of Eleusis, the return of Cora from the lower world was regarded as the symbol of immortality, and hence she was frequently represented on sarcophagi,” according to the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Any god that rules over BOTH domains is uniquely omnipotent. Not only did she have rulership over the dead but also over life, as mentioned before. The myth of Persephone being kidnapped and dragged to the Underworld by the god of the dead, in our opinion, doesn’t necessarily support this powerful goddess’ actual strengths. Some believe the maiden of the grain knew what she was doing in the garden that day Hades came to claim her. In fact, this aspect of Persephone could have changed with Greece’s conversion to Christianity. Yet modern Hellenic pagans and magical practitioners claim she’s not as naïve and innocent as she’s been portrayed over the years. Interestingly, the goddess is frequently depicted as the “helpless, pure maiden” in various versions of the Hades and Persephone myth. In Roman mythos, she is called Proserpina which means “to shoot forth”. Persephone is a dual goddess: a chthonic deity (presiding over the dead) and a goddess of fertility (life). When she manifests, she appears as a beautiful young woman, often depicted with long golden hair similar to the color of grain (a crop to which she is inextricably linked). She’s a daughter to the Mother Goddess Demeter and Zeus, King of the Olympians. Persephone is a beloved Greek goddess in her maiden years in most versions of the Hades and Persephone story. And maybe we’ll finally answer the question – were they truly in love? First, Who is Persephone? Was Persephone kidnapped or forced to leave everything she knows behind and accompany a stranger to the Greek Underworld? Did the god of the underworld force Persephone to marry him, against her will? Was she assaulted OR was the story misinterpreted or misconstrued over the centuries? Perhaps Persephone went willingly? Here we explore the different versions of the myth of Hades and Persephone. There are also few that have been severely twisted or misconstrued over the centuries. There are few love stories that stand the test of time.
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