Many have heard the myth of Hades and Persephone. The King of the Underworld and the Goddess of Spring. Perhaps you have even seen the statue "The Rape of Proserpina". The problem is that there are many slightly different versions of the story. Some say Persephone ate 4 pomegranate seeds, others say 6. Some paint Persephone as a tragic kidnapped girl, others as a powerful queen. Most paint Hades as the evil villain. Hollywood has certainly not been helpful in that regard. What is the true story, you ask? Luckily for you, I have access to the primary sources themselves, so I will tell you.
We begin in a beautiful meadow where the goddess of spring, Kore, the daughter of the goddess of harvest, Demeter, was raising flowers with her nymph friends. She was absolutely gorgeous with a crown of daisies in her long, wavy red hair, and she had perfect porcelain skin. Her eyes dazzled like emeralds in Helios's golden sun. Flowers bloomed beneath her feet as she frolicked through the green grass. She was her mother's pride and joy, her precious flower.
There was another who admired the maiden's beauty: the dark, lonely Lord of the Underworld was watching from the shadows. He was enthralled by her beauty and smitten by her gentleness. He wanted her to be his wife. He understood her mother would never let Kore leave her side, especially not for a place as dark as the Land of the Dead, so he knew he had to go around her. As was custom, Hades went to the maiden's father for his permission to marry her. The mighty Zeus, King of the Gods, God of Lightning, shook his brother's hand as he bestowed his blessing for Hades to marry Kore. The God King was also aware of Demeter's overbearing nature when it came to her daughter, so the two hatched a plan for Hades to kidnap his future bride, which was the norm of the time, even for mortals.
While Kore was admiring the flowers in the meadow, a new narcissus flower emerged aways away from her nymph friends. Captivated by its beauty, she gently plucked the flower, seemingly causing the earth to split beneath her, and out came Hades on his jet-black chariot led by two midnight horses. He snatched her by the waist and dashed back down into the underworld in a flash. Kore's scream rattled through the field and caught Demeter's attention. She fled to the scene only to find that the earth had sealed once more, and her daughter was missing. The goddess asked the nymphs, whom she entrusted to watch over her daughter, what had happened. They knew nothing beyond Kore had wandered off and screamed. Demeter searched high and low for her beloved daughter, but to no avail.
Down in the Underworld, Hades and Kore disembarked from the chariot. The spring goddess was enraged by the fact that Hades had taken her against her will, and she even struck her captor in the chest in frustration. This did not upset the Lord of the Dead as he explained how he understood what Kore was feeling, but did what he did with her father's consent and to avoid her mother's objections. He then professed his undying love for the goddess and expressed that he wanted to make her his queen, his equal, his beloved wife to dote on for the rest of time. His words melted the maiden's heart, and when he offered her some pomegranate, the fruit of the underworld, she accepted with enthusiasm. The pair soon lied together, wedded, and Kore was crowned "Persephone, Queen of the Underworld". The name meaning "Bringer of Destruction," which, as queen, Persephone took great joy in deciding the punishments for those doomed to Tartarus by defying the gods and incurring their wrath. Hades treated his queen very well. He kept his word to her and never took another lover, as his brothers were known to do. The couple was very happy together.
Above ground, Demeter continued her search, asking around if anyone had witnessed Kore's disappearance. During this time, she began to neglect her duties as goddess of harvest. Humans began to starve, but the worried mother did not care at all. No one had seen a thing until she asked Helios, the Sun God, who told her that Hades had taken Kore to the underworld to be his bride. The livid mother stormed up to Olympus to confront Zeus and demand her daughter back. Initially, Zeus refused, stating he had every right to do what he did as Kore's father and tried to appeal to Demeter by saying Hades was a good match for Kore. But the goddess of grain refused to back down and told Zeus that until her daughter was returned, she would not carry out her duties on earth. Seeing the humans starve and realizing that this meant no more offerings to the gods, Zeus relented and sent the messenger god Hermes to go retrieve Kore.
When Hermes arrived, he found the king and queen of the Underworld sitting equally on regal thrones with Jett crowns encrusted with many jewels. He beseeched the King to release his queen back to her mother to restore the mortal realm and their offerings to the gods. Hades was unmoved by the plea and was slightly enraged by Zeus going back on his word. He didn't care much for the mortal realm, as all humans ended up in his realm anyway. On top of that, he was so feared by humans that he never received offerings. Persephone pacified her husband and stated that it probably would be best if she returned to her mother. The Lord of the Dead reluctantly came up with a compromise. Since Persephone had eaten six seeds from the fruit of the Underworld, she would henceforth spend six months out of the year with him and the rest with her mother. Persephone was pleased with this idea and went with Hermes back to the land of the living.
When Demeter saw her daughter returning to her, she was delighted. She instantly returned the earth to its fertile state with green grass and fruitful plants. Persephone made the flowers grow, and the mother-daughter duo were complete and happy once more. Persephone was so excited to see her mother so happy that she forgot to tell her about the deal with Hades. During those six months, the earth slowly became more verdant than ever before as Demeter was convinced that her daughter was home to stay. Once those six months were over, however, Hades emerged to collect his bride. Demeter was devastated as she was caught off guard and never knew of this arrangement. After a bit of back and forth and even calling upon Zeus to approve the arrangement, Persephone happily descended into the Underworld to be with her husband and take her throne as Queen.
To this day, Persephone makes her way to and from the underworld twice a year, bringing the seasons with her. Spring marks her return to her mother and the joy they share from being reunited. Unfortunately, Demeter often gets too excited and believes that her daughter might stay for good this time. Her excitement created the hot summer. Alas, Persephone, still bound by not only the fruit of the underworld but her undying love for her husband, must always return to her other home. As she reminds her mother of this truth and prepares for the journey, Demeter is filled with sadness, causing the leaves to turn and fall from the trees. Not long after Persephone returns to the underworld and reunites with her husband, Demeter is reminded of when her daughter first disappeared and convinces herself that Persephone will never return. She neglects her duties, and the earth grows cold until her daughter returns to her once more. Every now and then, Persephone forgets something in the land of the living. When she goes to pick it up, Demeter believes that her daughter is returning early and warms the world only for a day before Persephone makes her descent again, then it's back to the cold. The reverse is also common. Persephone often forgets something down in the underworld, which causes Demeter to believe that her daughter might not return. She neglects her duties and cools the earth for a day until the goddess of Spring returns.
So, as the flowers begin to bloom, we remember Persephone returning to her mother and taking her place as the Goddess of Spring. As the leaves begin to fall, we remember Persephone taking her rightful place beside her beloved husband as the Queen of the Underworld, completing the healthiest couple amongst the gods. But as that happens, the harvest goddess cools the earth and starves the people. Some say it's vengeful retaliation, I've been told it's grief. Nonetheless, may those who blame Hades be corrected. He did what he had to do; Persephone made her choice willingly. It is a mother's grief that causes the seasons to change.