In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( Ancient Greek: Περσεφόνη) is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after her abduction by her uncle Hades, the king of the underworld, who later took her into marriage. The myth of her abduction, her sojourn in the underworld, and her cyclical return to the surface represents her functions as the embodiment of spring and the personification of vegetation, especially grain crops, which disappear into the earth when sown, remain hidden for a period, sprout from the earth, and are harvested when fully grown. In Classical Greek art, Persephone is invariably portrayed robed, often carrying a sheaf of grain. She may appear as a mystical divinity with a sceptre and a little box, but she was mostly represented in the process of being carried off by Hades. Persephone, as a vegetation goddess, and her mother Demeter were the central figures of the Eleusinian Mysteries, which promised the initiated a happy afterlife. The origins of her cult are uncertain, but it was based on ancient agrarian cults of agricultural communities. In Athens, the mysteries celebrated in the month of Anthesterion were dedicated to her. She is a goddess of marriage and childbirth in the region of the city of Epizephyrian Locris, in modern Calabria (southern Italy). In cult, she was often referred to as Kore (Ancient Greek: Κόρη, lit. 'the Girl') or Cora. The name "Persephone" has multiple historical variants, including Persephassa (Περσεφάσσα) and Persophatta (Περσόφαττα). In Latin, her name is rendered Proserpina. She was identified by the Romans as Libera, an Italic goddess who was conflated with Proserpina. Myths similar to Persephone's descent and return to earth also appear in the cults of male gods, including Attis, Adonis, and Osiris, and in Minoan Crete.
Name In a Linear B Mycenaean Greek inscription on a tablet found at Pylos dated 1400–1200 BC, John Chadwick reconstructed the name of a goddess, *Preswa, who could be identified with Perse, daughter of Oceanus, and found speculative the further identification with the first element of Persephone. Persephonē (Greek: Περσεφόνη) is her name in the Ionic Greek of epic literature. The Homeric form of her name is Persephoneia (Περσεφονεία, Persephoneia). In other dialects, she was known under variant names: Persephassa (Περσεφάσσα), Persophatta (Περσόφαττα), or simply Korē (Κόρη, "girl, maiden"). On 5th century Attic vases one often encounters the form Perrōphátta (Φερρϖφάττα). Plato calls her Pherepapha (Φερέπαφα) in his Cratylus, "because she is wise and touches that which is in motion", and Phersephona (Φερσεφόνα) in Meno. There are also the forms Periphona (Πηριφόνα) and Phersephassa (Φερσέφασσα). The existence of so many different forms shows how difficult it was for the Greeks to pronounce the word in their own language and suggests that the name may have a Pre-Greek origin. The etymology of the word "Persephone" is obscure. According to a recent hypothesis advanced by Rudolf Wachter, the first element in the name (Perso- (Περσο-) may well reflect a very rare term, attested in the Rig Veda (Sanskrit parṣa-), and the Avesta, meaning "sheaf of corn" / "ear [of grain]". The second constituent, phatta, preserved in the form Persophatta (Περσόφαττα), would in this view reflect Proto-Indo-European *-gʷn-t-ih, from the root *gʷʰen- "to strike / beat / kill". The combined sense would therefore be "she who beats the ears of corn", i.e., a "thresher of grain" (Περσ (Perse) refers to "grains", εφό (phó) refers to "hitting"/"striking" and -νη (-nē) is a female matronymic suffix; an apropos name for the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of the harvest). The name of the Albanian dawn-goddess, goddess of love and protector of women, Premtë or P(ë)rende, is thought to correspond regularly to the Ancient Greek counterpart Περσεφάττα (Persephatta), a variant of Περσεφόνη (Persephone). The theonyms have been traced back to the Indo-European *pers-é-bʰ(h₂)n̥t-ih₂ ("she who brings the light through"). A popular folk etymology is from φέρειν φόνον, pherein phonon, "to bring (or cause) death".
Titles and functions The epithets of Persephone reveal her double function as chthonic and vegetation goddess. The surnames given to her by the poets refer to her role as queen of the lower world and the dead and to the power that shoots forth and withdraws into the earth. Her common name as a vegetation goddess is Kore. Günther Zuntz considers "Persephone" and "Kore" as distinct deities and writes that "no farmer prayed for corn to Persephone; no mourner thought of the dead as being with Kore." Ancient Greek writers were, however, not as consistent as Zuntz claims.
Goddess of spring and nature Plutarch writes that Persephone was identified with the spring season, and Cicero calls her the seed of the fruits of the fields. In the Eleusinian Mysteries, her return from the underworld each spring is a symbol of immortality, and she was frequently represented on sarcophagi. In the Orphic tradition, Persephone is said to be the daughter of Zeus and his mother Rhea, who became Demeter after her seduction by her son. The Orphic Persephone is said to have become by Zeus the mother of Dionysus / Iacchus / Zagreus, and the little-attested Melinoe.
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