The Homeric Hymn To Demeter

This means Demeter would always bring the crops back during Spring and Summer, but Persephone went away, she cried which made the crops die in Fall and Winter. This shows that this Greek myth is similar to the Native-American myth because of the seasons being changed. The theme of this myth is that things have to come and go. Gluskabe and Old Man Winter is about a person named Gluskabe who tries to help the human beings stay alive, but Old Man Winter is making winter stay.

The poem, “Hades to Persephone”, describes how Hades pleads to Persephone for her to “Convince [him] that [she] want to be here; / It’s not [his] trick that keeps [her] so near. / [She] chose [him]. [She]

Hades was not well liked by the people of Greece, so much so that he did not get his own stories. He is most well known from the story of how Persephone, his wife, was kidnapped. A main reason for him being disliked is that he was seen as being extremely bitter at the fact that he was forced to rule the underworld. This bitterness was conveyed explicitly in how he ruled, as he was viewed as being cruel, ruthless, and violent (Cotterell 161). However, as Cotterell explains, the underworld was not only a place of punishment.

Though he was ignorant of it, Hades was experiencing joy for the first time in thousands of years. He ran, resembling a thrilled infant, toward the Olympian gardens, utterly ignoring his chariot and its horses. After a quarter of an hour, the gods of the underworld and the sky arrived at the gardens, hiding behind a shrub. There, Hades’ love was rolling around in the fields with her companions. Hades fixated your eyes her, so childlike and gorgeous.

The poem describes the process of spring, so natrually the speaer notes details of spring such as the sun shining on their neck, the spikes of the crocus blooming, and the pleasant smell of the earth. However, the poem twists the archetype of spring by having this period of rebith remind the speaker of death. The speaker sees the life that springs brings as insignificant. The speaker acknowledges the beauty spring brings is not enough to quiet their thoughts on death, the speaker can only note how the ground is filled with the brains of men eaten by maggots, and how life itself is nothing. The speaker sees life as an empty cup, and they are not pacified by the life and joy springs brings as they remian unfulfilled.

The Homeric Hymn to Demeter can be used to explain the origins of arranged marriages. In Ancient Greece, in was common for women to be married off without concern for how the mother of the bride personally felt about the marriage. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter shows how Persephone is taken away from Demeter as what can be perceived an arranged marriage. This is later complicated by how Demeter becomes reunited with Persephone.

Iphigenia was tricked by her father by thinking she was going to marry Achilles and ultimately sacrificed her; her gullibility lead to her death.   Another example of this in goddesses is the kidnapping of Persephone which Hades tricked her to eat 6 pomegranate seeds which caused her to remain in the underworld for 6 months. Moreover, when Metis was tricked by Zeus into entering her stomach which ultimately she was trapped inside there. Women’s foolishness is seen throughout Greek mythology, their foolishness ultimately leads them to their

Perseus' experience brought forth many lessons as well nature's control of life and an act of

They adapted to their religious beliefs the 12 gods of Olympus tough they changed their original names Aphrodite became Venus. Apollo remained Apollo Ares became Mars Artemis became Diana Athena became Minerva Demeter became Ceres Hades became Pluto Hephaistos became Vulcan Hera became Juno Hermes became Mercury Hestia became Vesta Persephone became Proserpina Poseidon became Neptune Zeus became Jupiter They adapted their architecture temples made from marble with the classical design The more common are Ionian the Corinthian and the Doric architecture styles they also adapted the Greek theatron , the theatre which is the usual half circle known as Amphitheatre . More important they adapted the Euboea variation of the Greek alphabet that

Demeter, she with the beautiful garlands in her hair, kept them (the seeds) covered underground,” (The Homeric Hymns 306).The strength and determination of Demeter and Persephone collectively demonstrate helps to overthrow the male dominance in this myth. Crafting a deal with Zeus, Demeter and Persephone achieve their goal and finally reunite. Throughout history, women have been used to gain power, please individuals, and finish trade deals- the Homeric Hymn to Demeter is absolutely no omission from this. Even though the portrayal of women in this myth are grim, it does bring light and legitimates the unfair power contrast between men and women of the

The myth of Ceres and Proserpina makes me question if the meanings of Spring (love, hope, youth and growth) and Summer (freedom and growth for people as they search for love, self-acceptance and their identities) represents how Proserpina lives within the terrestrial world whereas the meaning of Fall (ripeness, change, maturity, beauty, sadness or preparing for an end or decline) and Winter (death, old age, pain, loneliness, despair or an end) represent how Proserpina lives within the underworld because she is in the terrestrial world during Spring and Summer and in the under world during Fall and Winter. Come to think of it, maybe the meanings of the seasons are flipped around in certain ways to fit this myth of Ceres and Proserpina being in the terrestrial world for six months and the underworld for six months. While Proserpina is in the terrestrial world during Spring and Summer she lives within the words of youth, growth, and freedom. During Spring and Summer, she begins to grow again because she was dead in the underworld, making her become somewhat of a youth again within her Mother’s eyes. She is a youth again within her Mother’s eyes because people believe that when you die in the past world, you reincarnate into a baby (or something similar) and begin your life again.

The majority of Horror film and books are suffused with female monsters, with many of these female monsters developing from ancient myths. Yet literary criticism has tended to focus more on the woman as the victim of the monster, rather than the woman-as-monster. The majority of monsters in classical mythology are female and the Homeric myth of Demeter and Persephone is a primary archetype for the classical myths that have informed the horror genre’s construction of the feminine. The myth recounts the abduction and rape of the maiden Goddess Persephone by Hades the King of the underworlds. As David Greven states that the grief of Demeter, Persephone’s mother presents a crucial precedent for the recurrent theme of the return to origins in horror and provides a basis for the representation of the maternal figure in modern horror.

According to Andrew Crosland’s article, Kate Chopin’s Lilacs and the Myth of Persephone, “[Eros’] arrow strikes [Hades], making him love Persephone and want her for his queen. He abducts her to the underworld. Demeter, the young virgin's divine mother, searches the globe for her daughter. When she finds her… [She] has eaten a pomegranate seed in the underworld, [and] she cannot gain complete freedom” (31).

Spring is universally symbolic for rebirth. Yet Edna St. Vincent Millay, takes a very different perspective in her view in her poem “Spring”. Millay finds the season redundant and agitating. By using negative diction and imagery her message that the beauty of nature can't compensate for the existence of death is extremely clear.

Persephone is the daughter of Demeter. Hades basically kidnapped Persephone and forced her to marry him. Even though this is a terrible act to commit, Hades lets Persephone visit her mother three months every year. This very interesting god does not guard the underworld by himself.