7. “ Glistening miracle, marvel and wonder for all who behold it, for from its root it thrust upward a glorious, manifold blossom”
8. Death has taken her in the flower of her youth. The abduction of Persephone by Hades. Hecate leads the way with a torch, while Hermes, the guide of the dead, flies along.
14. INITIAL LOSS : Persephone’s abduction. Demeter’s stop in Eleusis : --annealing of Demophoon --epiphany of the goddess --construction of temple for D&P --establishment of Mysteries Demeter’s anger and search. Famine ( 2nd loss ). Diplomacy (fail/succeed). Hades’ trick ( 3rd loss ). RESTORATION : Persephone and mother. Benefits to mankind (agriculture, civilization, law, the Mysteries of Eleusis).
Notas del editor
The mythology of Demeter and Persephone is especially rich in interpretive possibilities. Listed here are some of the different interpretations applied to it by scholars of mythology from antiquity to the present. The story continues to fascinate. Be prepared to respond to the following: What is “The Maiden’s Tragedy”? How might the myth of Demeter and Kore be interpreted aetiologically? What might kykeion have been? What would be a “nature myth” interpretation of this myth? What are two ways it might be a ‘social’ myth?