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Persephone Powerpoint
- 1. Demeter and Persephone “The Power of a Mother’s Love”
- 2. Persephone and Hades “The Marriage from Hell” (Literally!)
- 3. Sociological Insight Greek marriageGreek marriage customs: bride (16-18);customs: bride (16-18); husband (30-ish)husband (30-ish) Dangers of childbirthDangers of childbirth EpiklarosEpiklaros Gender gap; tensionGender gap; tension between the sexesbetween the sexes (Zeus vs. Demeter)(Zeus vs. Demeter)
- 4. Psychological Insight Abduction from meadowAbduction from meadow = Loss of virginity= Loss of virginity Daughter: BreakingDaughter: Breaking away from parentsaway from parents Mother: “Empty nest”Mother: “Empty nest” syndromesyndrome Hades = “father figure”Hades = “father figure”
- 5. Metaphysical & Aetiological Insights Struggle to acceptStruggle to accept cycle of life & deathcycle of life & death Hades/Death:Hades/Death: misunderstoodmisunderstood Cycle of the seasonsCycle of the seasons
- 6. Ritualistic Practice (The Cult of Demeter &The Eleusinian Mysteries) Festival lasted a weekFestival lasted a week Food, barley drink, andFood, barley drink, and music with obscene lyrics!music with obscene lyrics! Celebration at Eleusis wasCelebration at Eleusis was for WOMEN ONLY!for WOMEN ONLY! Followers were promisedFollowers were promised blessings in the afterlifeblessings in the afterlife
- 7. Historical Insight Eleusis was a real place!Eleusis was a real place! Conquered by Athens, Sixth CenturyConquered by Athens, Sixth Century B.C.B.C. Archeological dig reveals TelesterionArcheological dig reveals Telesterion
Notas del editor
- Display on screen from beginning of presentation until after narrative.
- Read title and subtitle. The following slides provide some insight into the meanings behind the myth of Demeter and Persephone.
- As we’ve learned, it was common in ancient Greece for a woman to marry young, therefore a mother could relate better to her children than to her husband (strong bond between mother and child). Also, arranged marriages were customary. Because a young woman’s body is still underdeveloped, many women died from complicated pregnancies or during childbirth (this fact shows the dreaded connection between marriage and death). Zeus’s arrangement of the marriage between his brother and his daughter is creepy to us, but it explains the Greek custom of Epiklaros (daughter in family w/no male heirs must marry a male relative to keep land and wealth within the family). Women in ancient Greece lived separately from the men in the household; separate lives; women resented male intrusion into their domain.
- Persephone’s abduction by Hades from the meadow represents a young woman’s sexual maturation. The myth also describes the emotional and physical struggles of an adolescent girl’s separation from her parents, and the mother’s frustration over the loss of a child. From a Freudian perspective, Hades may represent the connection to a father figure that Persephone longs for. Zeus is not a very “involved” father!
- The myth attempts to ease the fear of death by giving the ancient Greeks a “life-after-death” belief. Hades is portrayed as a “misunderstood” god, not as evil. He can’t help but love Persephone, and he even pleads his case before Persephone returns to her mother telling her: “Persephone, go to your dark-robed mother, with a gentle spirit and temper in your breast, and in no way be more dispirited than the other gods. I shall not be an unfitting husband among the immortals.” When Persephone returns to Demeter (re-growth of crops; fertility) it is spring. When Persephone returns to Hades (fields are barren; death) it is winter.
- Eleusinian Mysteries; festival in September or October. Young men of military age left Athens and traveled to Eleusis with certain “unknown” sacred objects. Initiates were purified by bathing in the bay of Phaleron. When procession arrived at Eleusis there was a ritual meal and an all-night celebration open only to women! Part of this celebration included the singing of songs with obscene lyrics, perhaps as an imitation of Iambe’s dirty jokes. They drank a concoction of barley, water, and herbs (the first beer?) Reenactment of the myth may have taken place also.
- Eleusis was located approx. 15 miles northwest of Athens on a gulf; Conquered by Athens to acquire their rich agricultural resources; In 392 AD Emperor Theodosius declared the Christian faith the sole religion of the Roman Empire and he decreed the closure of Eleusis. The interest towards the ceremonies performed at Eleusis did not vanish immediately, but in 529 AD the policies of Emperor Justinian implemented to eradicate non-Christian beliefs, led to the abandonment of the shrine. This photo shows the Telesterion which was a large hall where the initiation ceremony took place.