TL;DR Hades took Persephone to the underworld. Her mother Demeter, goddess of grain, grieved so hard that nothing grew. Persephone came back, but because she had eaten pomegranate seeds below, she must return there for part of every year, and that is winter.
The myth in 60 seconds
- Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of grain and the harvest.
- While she was picking flowers, Hades, king of the underworld, rose from the earth in his chariot and carried her off to be his queen.
- Demeter searched everywhere and, in her grief, let nothing grow, so the crops failed and people went hungry.
- Zeus ordered Hades to send Persephone back, but she had eaten pomegranate seeds in the underworld, and anyone who eats there has to return.
- So she spends part of each year below, and while she is gone, Demeter mourns and the world has winter.
That’s the whole myth. Switch the Q&A back on for the details.
Where does this story actually come from?
The fullest early version is the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, a long poem by an unknown author, which you can read in H. G. Evelyn-White’s 1914 translation. The Roman poet Ovid retells it too, with a few changes.
How many seeds, and how many months?
This is where the sources argue. In the Hymn, Hades slips her a single pomegranate seed, and she must spend a third of the year below. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses she eats seven seeds and splits the year in half. The popular “six seeds, six months” version is a later tidy-up.
Hang on, was Greek winter really that bad?
Good catch. Some scholars have suggested that the empty season in the original myth may have been the hot, dry summer, when grain was stored away underground, rather than the mild Greek winter. Nobody can say for sure, but it is a fun reminder that myths come from a specific place and climate.
So what would this look like in Canada?
Honestly, if you are reading this in Winnipeg in January, you may suspect Persephone spends closer to five months below and that Demeter takes her grief very seriously. The myth fits our long winters almost too well: the first warm day in April really does feel like someone came home.
Is Persephone just a victim in this story?
Not by the end. She becomes queen of the underworld, a powerful and respected figure in her own right. When heroes and musicians visit the dead, it is often Persephone who decides whether to help them, as Orpheus found out.
Who told Demeter what had happened?
In the Hymn, the goddess Hecate heard Persephone cry out, and Helios, the Sun, who sees everything from up in the sky, finally told Demeter who had taken her daughter. The ultimate eyewitness.
Why a pomegranate, though?
It is red, packed with seeds and long linked with marriage and new life, which suits a story about a bride and the return of growth. In Greece today, many families still smash a pomegranate at the front door on New Year’s Day, scattering the seeds for luck.