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#persephone

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Women From History BOT
~ Demeter et Persephone, Eleusinian Mysteries part II ~

Unfortunately for us today, because all initiates were bound by a sacred oath not to reveal details of the Eleusinian Mysteries, they have to this day remained just that, a mystery. We do know that, from the 6th century BCE, the ceremonies were held twice a year. The first step in the initiation process was known as the "Lesser Mysteries" and held every spring. The more important "Great Mysteries" were held in the autumn over nine days. Only Greeks could be initiated, although this was later expanded to include Roman citizens.

We also know details of some of the outdoor activities, and there was a procession led by the priestess of Demeter along the Sacred Way from Eleusis to the agora of Athens and another return procession led by a symbolic chariot of Iacchus. There were ritual and communal cleansing and purification ceremonies carried out in the sea at Phaleron, the representation or re-enactment of the myths involving the two goddesses, animal sacrifices (pigs), and the interpretation of sacred texts by priests, the mystagōgoi.

There was also probably drinking, music, dancing, and general revelry involved, as attested by Greek pottery scenes of the rites which show initiates holding the "bacchus" or sacred rod. Closely associated with fertility and agriculture, the mysteries probably brought worshippers good fortune and, perhaps most important for most participants, the promise of a better afterlife.

Painting : Persephone, by Arthur Hacker

#demeter #persephone #mythology #greekmythology #art #arthistory #womenshistory #womeninart #womenfromhistory #painting
Painting : Persephone, by Arthur Hacker
#Painting
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Women From History BOT
~ Demeter et Persephone, Eleusinian Mysteries part I ~

Eleusis became the most important sanctuary to Demeter, and the site has a religious connection and related monuments dating back to the Mycenaean civilization of the 15th century BCE. From c. 600 BCE the Eleusinian Mysteries became an official ceremony in the Athenian calendar, and Eleusis became a truly pan-Hellenic site under the Athenian dictator Peisistratus (r. 550-510 BCE).

In the 5th century BCE Pericles, the Athenian statesman, oversaw the construction of a new Telesterion (Initiation Hall and temple), then the largest building in Greece. The site continued to attract pilgrims and worshippers well into Roman times with emperors Hadrian (r. 117-138 CE) and Marcus Aurelius (r. 161-180 CE) aggrandising Eleusis. The sanctuary's fortunes declined significantly following the decree of Theodosius I (r. 379-395 CE) to close down all pagan sites in 379 CE, and Eleusis was destroyed around 395 CE following the invasion of the Visigoths.

Painting : At the First Touch of Winter, Summer Fades Away, by Valentine Cameron Prinsep

#demeter #persephone #mythology #greekmythology #art #arthistory #womenshistory #womeninart #womenfromhistory #painting
Painting : At the First Touch of Winter, Summer Fades Away, by Valentine Cameron Prinsep
#Painting
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Women From History BOT
~ Demeter et Persephone, the abduction of Persephone part III ~

Another interpretation of the Persephone myth may be that it represents when the Greeks stored their grain underground for part of the year in order to protect it from summer heat. In favor of this argument is that in Greece's climate seeds are sown in the autumn and quickly germinate to grow throughout the winter time.

Therefore, Persephone's time in Hades would not equate with winter in the agricultural season but, rather, with summer. Whatever the exact significance, the association between Persephone and agriculture is firmly established in rituals, literature, and ancient art. Finally, the myth of Hades' abduction may also reference the Greek practice of girls marrying in their early teens, a loss to their mothers as Persephone was to Demeter.

Painting : The Fate of Persephone, by Walter Crane

#demeter #persephone #mythology #greekmythology #art #arthistory #womenshistory #womeninart #womenfromhistory #painting
Painting : The Fate of Persephone, by Walter Crane
#Painting
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Women From History BOT
~ Demeter et Persephone, the abduction of Persephone part II ~

In other versions of the myth, Persephone could have been released if she had not eaten anything in the underworld during her captivity, but at the last moment, Hades gave her a pomegranate seed. Finally, as a compromise, it was decided that Persephone would be released but that she would have to return to Hades for one-third of the year (or in other accounts one half). In gratitude for the return of her daughter, Demeter was said to have sent the prince Demophon to teach humanity the cultivation of grain and other tricks useful for agriculture.

The story of Demeter, Hades and Persephone was perhaps symbolic of the changing seasons and the perennial change from life to death, to life once more, or in other words, the changes from the summer to winter months and the return of life in spring as seen in agriculture. The cycle became one of the rituals of the sacred Eleusinian mysteries; indeed, the symbols of the cult were ears of grain and a torch - reminding of Demeter's search for Persephone and that the rituals were carried out at night. As all initiates were bound by a sacred oath not to reveal the details of the Mysteries, they have to this day remained just that, a mystery.

Painting : The Return of Persephone, by Frederic Leighton

#demeter #persephone #mythology #greekmythology #art #arthistory #womenshistory #womeninart #womenfromhistory #painting
Painting : The Return of Persephone, by Frederic Leighton
#Painting
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Women From History BOT
~ Demeter et Persephone, the abduction of Persephone part I ~

The most important mythology surrounding Demeter was the story of the rape of her daughter Persephone by Hades, the god of the Underworld. One day Hades fell in love with Persephone as soon as he saw her and so carried her off in his chariot to live with him in the underworld. In some accounts, Zeus had given his consent to the abduction, the location of the crime being traditionally placed in either Sicily (famed for its fertility) or Asia. Distraught, Demeter searched the earth for her lost daughter and though Helios told her of her daughter's fate, she, nevertheless, continued her wanderings until she finally arrived at Eleusis. It was here, disguised as an old woman, that the goddess cared for Demophon (or Triptolemus), the only son of Metaneira, the wife of Keleos, king of Eleusis. To reward the family for their kindness, Demeter set about making Demophon immortal by placing him on a fire every night. However, when Metaneira saw this she raised an alarm. In response, Demeter revealed her true identity and demanded a temple be built in her honor. This was the beginning of the celebrated sanctuary of Eleusis in Attica.

Once the temple was completed, Demeter withdrew from the world and lived inside it; at the same time, she created a great drought to convince the other gods to release Persephone from Hades. As the drought claimed ever more victims, crops withered (illustrating Persephone's mastery over agriculture), and there was so little food that mortals could not even offer their sacrifices to the gods, Zeus finally persuaded Hades to release his ill-gotten bride. Before giving her up though, the wily Hades put a pomegranate kernel in the girl's mouth, knowing its divine taste would compel her to return to him.

Painting : The Abduction of Proserpina, Unknown author

#demeter #persephone #mythology #greekmythology #art #arthistory #womenshistory #womeninart #womenfromhistory #painting
Painting : The Abduction of Proserpina, Unknown author
#Painting
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Women From History BOT
~ Demeter et Persephone, Persephone part II ~

The cult of Persephone in the Greek religion was especially strong in Sicily and southern Italy, and besides the Eleusinian Mysteries at Eleusis there were sanctuaries to the goddess across the Greek world. Here annual festivities celebrated Persephone's marriage and her picking of flowers. The Thesmophoria was a Greek-wide celebration of the goddess and her mother. Exclusive to women, it was held annually before the sowing period when sacrifices were made and putrefied pig's remains were mixed with the seeds. Persephone, in her guise as Queen of the Underworld, was often appealed to in curse tablets and on the inscribed gold leaves buried with the dead followers of Orphism which gave instructions on how to conduct themselves in the after-life.

Persephone rarely appears in art before the 6th century BCE, and she is usually shown with Demeter; often both wear crowns and hold a torch, or stalks of grain. A famous relief slab from Eleusis depicts Demeter and Persephone (holding a torch) either side of Triptolemos; it dates to the 5th century BCE. It is on permanent display in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. On Attic red-figure pottery throughout the Classical period, Persephone is often shown seated on her throne in Hades.

Frescoes in the 4th-century BCE royal tomb at Aegae in Pieria, Macedon show Hades abducting the goddess and explain the popular 'Tomb of Persephone' label. A recent spectacular find is the large pebble mosaic, measuring 4.5 by 3 metres from the Hellenistic tomb at Amphipolis, which again depicts the god Hades abducting Persephone in a chariot. Persephone's abduction by Hades was a popular subject in Roman sculpture too, and continued to be so for 18th and 19th-century oil painters.

Painting : Proserpine, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

#demeter #persephone #mythology #greekmythology #art #arthistory #womenshistory #womeninart #womenfromhistory #painting
Painting : Proserpine, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
#Painting
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The Shadow of Olympus

Blessed Persephone
Lady of the Springtime
Of the new grass and buds on branches
Of the growing power that fuels life
After a Winter’s rest
To you I make this offering
To you I say this prayer

Let this Spring be full of joy
Of enjoyment and kindness
Of sharing and friendship

Let your gifts be shared with all
Let them feel the warmth of the sun
And smell the scents of the growing greenery

Be with us and walk with us
As we enjoy nature’s renewal
And rejoice in a future full of beauty

Blessed Persephone
Lady of the blossoms
Of the sprouted seeds
And the treelings tended by man
That they may grow and provide
As they always have with your mother’s grace
And the joy you bring her
#polytheism #pagan #helenismos #prayer #goddess #Persephone #paganism

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Women From History BOT
~ Demeter et Persephone, Persephone part I ~

Persephone was the Greek goddess of agriculture and vegetation, especially grain, and the wife of Hades, the ruler of the Underworld. Persephone was an important element of the Eleusinian Mysteries and the Thesmophoria festival and so the goddess was worshipped throughout the Greek world.

In many ancient cults the goddess, along with her mother Demeter, is associated with vegetation and grain. In this guise she is most often referred to as Kore, signifying both 'daughter' and 'maiden'. In Greek mythology, the goddess, as wife of Hades, is the Queen of the Underworld and takes her other name, Persephone. In this guise, she was seen as a protectress in the after-life, although Hesiod repeatedly describes her as 'dread Persephone' in his Theogony. In various other myths, Persephone is the mother of Dionysos (with Zeus, who is also her father) - although Semele is the more usual candidate - and squabbles with Aphrodite for the attentions of devilishly handsome Adonis, the two settling to share the famous lover in split shifts. In the Roman world the goddess was known as Proserpina.

Painting : The Marriage of Persephone, by Henry Siddons Mowbray

#demeter #persephone #mythology #greekmythology #art #arthistory #womenshistory #womeninart #womenfromhistory #painting
Painting : The Marriage of Persephone, by Henry Siddons Mowbray
#Painting
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Women From History BOT
~ Demeter et Persephone, Demeter part II ~

Outside Eleusis, Demeter had sanctuaries across the Greek world in most city-states. Homer mentions that the goddess had a precinct named after her at Pyrasos. From the 8th century BCE there was a particularly noted sanctuary and temple to Demeter on Naxos. In the 4th century BCE, a temple was constructed in her honor at Dion. Other notable sites of worship included Andania in Messenia, Lykosoura in Arcadia, and, perhaps most curiously, at Phigaleia, also in Arcadia, where a cult statue of the goddess was placed in a cave which had a horse's head, probably in reference to Demeter's amorous encounter with Poseidon. Many southern Italian city-states, especially in Sicily, had important cults to Demeter where she was often associated with civic duties, a link also seen in her worship at Thebes.

Besides the mystery cult, at Eleusis during the Archaic and Classical periods there was the Eleusinia, an important biannual games where the prizes were sacred grain. The Thesmophoria, meanwhile, was an all-female autumn festival in Attica to honor Demeter. Designed to generally promote fertility, the festival saw pigs thrown into pits or caves and left to rot; their remains were then mixed with seeds before sowing. Although not particularly informative about the festival itself, Aristophanes (c. 460 - c. 380 BCE), the master of Greek comedy, wrote the play Thesmophoriazusae (411 BCE) where, during the festival, women take advantage of the traditional exclusion of men and debate the elimination of Euripides (c. 484-407 BCE), one of the great writers of Greek tragedy. There was, too, the Haloa, another largely all-female winter festival in honor of Demeter and Dionysos, the Kalamaia, and the Proerosia festivals.

Painting : Demeter and Persephone, by John Dickson Batten

#demeter #persephone #mythology #greekmythology #art #arthistory #womenshistory #womeninart #womenfromhistory #painting
Painting : Demeter and Persephone, by John Dickson Batten
#Painting
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Women From History BOT
~ Demeter et Persephone, Demeter part I ~

Demeter was one of the oldest gods in the ancient Greek pantheon, a goddess of agriculture and guaranteed the fertility of the earth. She protected both farming and vegetation. The close connection with the earth was inherited from Demeter's mother Rhea. Demeter was probably a reincarnation of local mother Earth goddesses worshiped in rural communities in Bronze Age Greece.

The sanctuary at Eleusis is dedicated to both the goddess and her daughter Persephone. This was the location of the famous Eleusinian Mysteries. From Eleusis, the idea spread across the Archaic and Classical Greek worlds that Demeter would protect her worshippers in the afterlife. To the Romans, the goddess remained popular and was known as Ceres.

Daughter of Kronos and Rhea, sister of Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, and Hestia, Demeter was the mother of Persephone and Iacchus (both with Zeus) and Plutus, the god of wealth (with the mortal Cretan Iasion, who was killed by Zeus). She also adopted Demophon, the Eleusinian prince, who gave the human race the gifts of the plough and knowledge of agriculture. Demeter was also pursued by Poseidon, and to escape his attention, she changed into a mare; however, Poseidon too changed into a horse and their resulting offspring was Arion, the winged horse ridden by Hercules. Demeter and Persephone were very often paired together and sometimes even referred to as a single goddess with a dual aspect. The duo was often referred to as 'the Two Goddesses' and the Demeteres (two Demeters).

Painting : Demeter Mourning for Persephone, by Evelyn De Morgan

#demeter #persephone #mythology #greekmythology #art #arthistory #womenshistory #womeninart #womenfromhistory #painting
Painting : Demeter Mourning for Persephone, by Evelyn De Morgan
#Painting
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Lia ∵ vesperale
[Bribes de la dernière EXPO au Grrrnd Zero ce mois-ci]

La main de Perséphone
La grenade était un fruit lié au monde souterrain des enfers dans la mythologie grecque antique. Il peut symboliser aussi le seuil entre l’obscurité et la lumière, et pour moi le passage intérieur entre l’hiver de l’esprit (la depression) et son printemps, le cycle de création et de destruction, celui de vie et de mort qui s’engendrent l’une l’autre.

______________________
La version la plus connue du mythe dit que Perséphone la rebelle, enlevée par Hadès mais bien décidée à tirer profit et plaisir de ce séjour imposé aux enfers, goûta plusieurs grains de grenade au mépris de l’interdiction divine (alors que Zeus venait juste de négocier sa libération) et fut donc condamnée à passer le nombre de mois équivalent aux grains avalés dans ces souterrains (6 ou 8).
C’est l’origine mythique de la période hivernale et automnale : Démeter, sa mère déesse de l’agriculture pleine de chagrin, en solidarité avec sa fille et pour exiger son retour, refuse que nul fruit ne pousse sur terre (sauf la grenade infernale) tant que sa fille n’est pas revenue dans le monde des vivants (une sorte de grève).
Mais certaines versions du mythe font de Perséphone la maîtresse des enfers y résidant depuis toujours ! Et d’autres versions racontent que Persephone s’est éprise d’Hadès entre-temps, donc on pourrait aussi interpréter son geste hors-la-loi comme un défi pour s’émanciper des normes sociales, du joug parental et pour vivre dans un autre “monde” que celui destiné.

#mythology #exvoto #persephone #demeter #grenade #main #pomegranate #hand #proserpine
Petit plateau de bois ovale vertical, peint en noir mat sur lequel sont fixées plusieurs pièces de metal doré embossé : la grande pièce centrale est une main dont la paume est trouée par un petit losange qui forme un cadre pour contenir une minuscule grenade sechée (vrai fruit). De chaque coté sont placées des petites mouches dorées et des gouttes dorées perlent au poignet de la main ornementé d'un bracelet de dentelle.
#Proserpine
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Ele Willoughby, PhD

For the first day of winter, it’s the myth of Persephone. This is a linocut of the Greek myth of Persephone. The ancient Greek goddess Persephone, beloved daughter of Demeter was kidnapped by Hades, god of the underworld, and taken to his home where she was tempted with many delicious items. The pomegranate proved the most irresistible and sealed her fate. For the 6 pomegranate seeds she accepted from Hades, 🧵

This is my linocut of the Greek myth of Persephone holding an opened pomegranate. The block was inked 'à la poupée', with different colours applied directly to a single block. Persephone is deep indigo, with red pomegranate, lips and poppy and golden wheat.
#linocut#printmaking#persephone
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