Homeric Hymn to Demeter Flashcards
Who was Demeter?
“The goddess of the harvest and reproduction.
Parents - Chronos and Rhea
Children - Persephone, Despoina, Plutus, Arion”
Why was Persephone taken from Demeter?
Taken by Zeus, Hades brother, to be Hades wife.
What was the allegory referenced when Persephone was taken away?
The loss of innocence, abruptly leaving her parents and facing adulthood and marriage.
What happened in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter?
“1) Persephone taken from Demeter as Hades wife
2) Demeter tries to raise Demophoon as her own after she takes human form, his moter Metancira stops her in time
3) After failing to raise Demophoon, Demeter gets angry and stops all crop growth
4) Zeus wants crops to grow, so gets Persephone from Hades.
5) Persephone is returned to Demeter by Hermes, but not before eating the pomegranite seed, forcing her to go back to Hades for 1/3 of the year during which the crops will not grow (winter)”
What is the significance of the pomegranite seed given to Persephone?
Hades gives her the pomegranite seed, a symbol of man’s seed. After she tastes it, there’s no going back, innocence is lost and there is a cost. She must return to Hades 1/3 of the time, creating winter. There is no reproduction without a cost (death).
