Persephone: Myth, Ritual, and Modern Worship
Вставка
- Опубліковано 24 чер 2024
- Somehow every video is longer than the last…
In this video, I chat about the mythology of Persephone and the various ancient tellings of her descent to the underworld. I discuss her development and worship as a deity, some of the main themes and my takeaways from her tale, and how she is interpreted by modern pagans and magical practitioners.
Persephone is one of my favorite mythological figures. Her story is rich and each of the many versions includes details that substantively change our interpretations of it. Thanks for watching!
Ancient versions of Hades and Persephone:
Homeric Hymn to Demeter chs.harvard.edu/primary-sourc...
Ovid, Fasti, 4
Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book 5
Claudian, De Raptu Proserpinae
For more on Orphism, check out the work of Radcliffe Edmonds III.
My curse tablet video: • Greco-Roman Curse Tabl...
My blog post on the Aietes family tree: www.hearthofhaemonia.com/blog...
Other primary sources mentioned:
Priestesses of Proserpina from Magna Graecia (Cicero, Pro Balbo 55)
Odysseus goes to the underworld (Homer, Odyssey 10)
Orpheus goes to the underworld (Ovid, Metamorphoses, Book 11; Vergil, Georgics 4)
Aeneas goes to the underworld (Vergil, Aeneid 6)
Modern Persephone Work:
Dark Winter Moon: • What’s It Like Working...
The Lunar Witch: • HOW TO WORK WITH PERSE...
Shadow Harvest: • How I Dedicated To Per...
Rachel UnderTheDancingTree: • 🌷 How to Connect with ...
Images:
Statue of Persephone, Magna Graecia (5th c.): Nemracc (via Wikimedia Commons)
"Queen of the Night" relief representing either Ereshkigal or Ishtar: Babelstone (via Wikimedia Commons)
Demeter, Persephone, and Triptolemos: Napoleon Vier (via Wikimedia Commons)
Linguistic map of Magna Graecia: public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
Statue of Hades and Cerberus: Carole Reddato (via Wikimedia Commons)
The Fates (Moirai): Johann Gottfried Schadow, ca. 18th-19th c.: public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
The Rape of Proserpina, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1621-22: Architas (via Wikimedia Commons)
Relief of Pluto (Hades) abducting Proserpina, 2nd c. CE: public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
Relief of Hades and Persephone: AlMare (via Wikimedia Commons)
Orpheus Mourning the Death of Eurydice, Ary Scheffer, 1814: public domain (via Wikimedia Commons)
"Ninnion Tablet" depicting the Eleusinian Mysteries, from Eleusis (4th c. BCE): Marsyas (?) (via Wikimedia Commons)
For me, Persephone also represents duality (going along with her being liminal). I don't have to choose between being the goddess of spring or the queen of the underworld, I can be both. I have carried that idea around with me since I was a child. Being multifaceted. Then, maturing and identifying with bisexuality, Persephone once again really registered with me. I like the symbol of the pomegranate, because to me it's a symbol of her owning her power (takeing on her role of queen), and of her nature (blossoms in spring and summer, but comes to full fruit in autumn). Like the "maiden" idea of spring, and the matured married (reflection of The Mother) we associate with her Queen of Hades in fall and winter. Really enjoyed your video!
Thanks for sharing! That's a great point about pomegranates; their patterns actually map onto hers quite nicely.
Yes, yes, yes! Balance. Integration. Shadow and Light.
For me, working with Persephone is really unique because shes a goddess with so many different sides to her and can be associated with every season. I think she is a particularly attractive deity to work with for trauma survivors, like you mentioned because she is very representative of shadow work and going from being an innocent maiden of spring to queen of the underworld. That duality resonates very heavy for me. Another aspect is aging, maturing, going from being a girl to a woman and stepping into your power and integrating all the things you have lived through and learned. Fragmentation and denial is a big thing for a lot of people who have trauma, so Persephone has helped me to take all the fragments of myself, pieces of myself I want to forget or deny and accept them and like I mentioned, integrate into one whole thing. I do have an altar dedicated to her and celebrate her year round. A lot of symbology associated with her are flowers and death, so I tend to dry bouquets or put bones, bat and crow symbols, pomegranates, etc on her altar
Thanks so much for sharing! She definitely has this duality going on, especially with her maturing from innocent and somewhat naive (about the dangers of the world), to this powerful queen who can persuade the god of the underworld to do things and who rules with compassion.
Just wanted to leave a compliment for your work, it's invaluable for those of us that struggle with academic articles but worship the gods
Oh, thank you so much, Jayden! This is exactly why I wanted to do this! I'm so glad you find it useful, and please do let me know if there's any topics you want to see on the channel!
As a ritualistist, I’ve never seen this history as humans-godlike beings playing out the story. I see them as elements. To me They are allegory of the seasons and everyone’s journey through the underworld either psychologically or after death. Great video. Thanks. ❤
I have read and heard about the story of Hades and Persephone since I was a child and it is one of my two most favourite Greek myths. Your explanation of the story and the different sources and links you have presented was one of the best I have come across in all these years. Amazing job!
I stumbled upon this video while looking for some information before setting up an altar for Persephone as my partner worships Hades and I wanted to create some space in our home to honour Her. This was the most informative video I've ever watched on Hellenism, thank you so much. Can't wait to watch all your future videos!
Pleasantly surprised by your video. I am a book and history nerd and I often find that videos/resources about Persephone don't go this much into detail on the sources, so I really appreciated the fact that you mentioned several different versions of the myths, it might help someone who is just starting out to get a fuller picture on her. I hope your channel grows in the future, you deserve it!
I am one of the few (I noticed this as well) who work with Persephone in her Goddess of the Underworld aspect all year round, and indeed shadow work is part of my practice with her. I think I resonated with her years and years ago because in her cthonic aspect I feel she's the archetype of someone whose life gave her lemons so she made lemonade, so to speak. She has been and is a very important part of my journey of acceptance and transformation.
Very curious to see all your other videos now. Keep up the good work :)
Thanks for your comments, and thanks for sharing your path with us! Making lemonade with lemons is a great analogy for her story.
Hi Curiousity, if youre still out there lol my journey brought me to the hearth. I am going through this archetype to the extreme my whole life. Now I need to work with it. Suggestions helpful!! [My mother definitely was demeter]
I’ve been seeing Persephone around recently. What I’ve noticed I feel in connection with her is the katabasis of pregnancy and birth. Going within oneself during pregnancy and gestating a child feels like the going down into the underworld while birth feels like coming back up with the reward (a child and the wisdom gained in pregnancy and parturition)….thank you so much for sharing 💞
Thanks so much for this insight!
One more thing to add. Thank you for your non biased delivery.
20:00 if you think about it… it also explains seasonal affective disorder.
I would love a video on the Italian originations and practices ❤ love this introductory video
Persephone and Dionysus is the rebirth of Gaia and Uranus damn straight they took back the throne lol
Devotee of Persephone here❤ nice video!
Thank you! Glad you're here!
i cant believe this channel has 1k subs, this is super great quality history/mythology content and I’m super excited to binge your videos!!!
Thanks so much! I try to give as accurate info as I can. Happy watching!
What an absolutely beautiful video! As a Persephone devotee myself, even I learned some new information about Her! It just goes to show there's always more to know, especially when it comes to ancient Deities! You were completely right when talking about the modern worship of Persephone, and how it is, for most everybody who follows Her at least to my knowledge, intrinsically tied to the cycle of the seasons. While on one hand Presephone is the Maiden Of Spring, on the other She is also the Queen Of The Underworld, and that amazing duality of her Divinity is what makes Her such an inspiring, beautiful Goddess! Usually, from what I've seen and partake in myself, people tend to focus more on one of the two main sides of Persephone that correlates to where She currently is living, the Goddess Of Spring durning the warmer months, and the Goddess Of The Dead durning the colder months. But it is not to be mistaken that those parts of her are seperate, or are considered seperate, The Maiden Of Spring And The Queen Of The Underworld are both Persephone, and both make up who She is as a Goddess! Anyhow, amazing video and channel, I can't wait to see more from you! 💕❤
Thank you so much for sharing, Lily! I truly appreciate your firsthand knowledge. Persephone's story is absolutely one of my favorites, and it's clearly important to so many others as well!
Absolutely wonderful video! I offer Persephone pomegranates and pomegranate themed art. She’s also partial to mint.
@@AndYourLittleDog Me too, I offer pomegranates to Persephone whenever I can, and they're one of Her favorite offerings! I have six currently on Her altar! I haven't given Her mint yet, but I plan to! (Crushed or torn, of course :)
@@lilywalbridge2489 if you’re on Reddit, we have a small but lovely group dedicated to our lady
@@AndYourLittleDog I don't have Reddit, but I'd love to join the group! Do you gave a link?
I haven’t even finished this but this is one of the most thorough vid on Persephone! Thank you!
Thank you! Glad you're finding it useful!
Im really loving the way you are covering this! I’m just learning about deity work and so I really appreciate this breakdown.
Thank you so much for this video! I adore mythology and have felt drawn to Persephone since I was little, this was very helpful to learn about her! You are a very good story teller and informer! 💚
I’ve been haunting videos about Persephone for a long time, this is by far one of the most complete ones, if not the most! Kudos to you!
Thank you, I really appreciate that!
Something I thought was really interesting about how the Romans seemingly appropriated Persephone into Proserpina from their word “proserpere”; the word “proserpere” does refer to how grain grows, or more generally how vegetation and life returns from the “underworld” (referring to beneath the Earth’s surface where light is not shining, nutrient rich space where pressure is applied and where gems come from) when the seasons change/growing season begins i.e. when Persephone returns from the underworld and Demeter restores life and nourishment to the Earth. Interesting how the English word “prosper” comes from her Roman appropriation, and is directly correlated to the crop yield with the changing of the seasons allowing life to be sustained with nature’s abundant resources. Also referring to her time spent in the underworld facing her oppressor/captor, shadows of her trauma, grieving her innocence, and maturing into her queendom as a result (therefore a tangible expression of her metaphorically becoming the gem under pressure in the “underworld”). Such a beautiful sentiment and story that has survived the oppression of the Roman Catholic Church/Empire/Patriarchy and is still one of the most inspiring and profound Goddess stories we have the gift of experiencing. Thank you for sharing your insight and your perspective! (interesting how the word “perspective” phonetically almost sounds like her Greek name, which she gained TONS of perspective having gone through her Plutonian initiation) 🙏🏻
Thanks so much for this!
Great video. Thank you for all the information. I just getting started in my practice, but Persephone called to me. Even years before I realized my gifts.
I am also a retired Law Enforcement Officer with PTSD and a member of a modern day mystery school. That is why she speaks to me and I enjoy working with her it is like she has been walking with me for those years at my prior career.
Thanks for sharing, and I wish you the best on your journey!
This is a great video! Thank you!
Very well researched thank you for the different viewpoints!
Ty ever so much. This was fantastic. Subscribed
Love love love your content! So glad I came across your channel!
Thank you this is a great foundational video for starting work with Persephone 🙏🏼
I love the knowledge going on here! Thank you Miss Scholar 🎉❤
This video is awesome. Great job
This is such a fantastic video and covers so much, thank you! So well done!
Thanks so much!
This is a WONDERFUL video! Thank you for sharing this with us! ❤️ I subscribed!
Thanks so much!! So glad you enjoyed.
Persephone came to me in my prime when I cavorted with sexy Hades types. Then after what could have been a catastrophic health issue she reentered my focus as a guide back to health and wholeness. But I have grown from my time in my personal “underworld”. I have grown and matured. Today, Persephone continues to resurrect my youthfulness while retaining my secret knowledge.,Hail…
thank you for this video!
Thanks for watching!
I love this! Would really like to see more videos on ancient festivals and how people revive them in the modern-day
Great idea! I'm definitely planning more festival discussions in the future
That was absolutely brilliant and absolutely that for which I was looking. Thank you! I have all your videos lined up and predict good things for you with this channel. Hearth of Haemonia is great!
Thanks for watching and for the kind words!
Hello! This is such a wonderful video!!!! Thank you for this contribution, seeing stuff like this really is the treasure of UA-cam. I hold sound bath events and recently based one of my guided meditations on Persephone. I’m Greek so I get up with the myth and teachings but I love just listen to someone else talking about her.///
Really looking forward to exploring your other videos.
Ps I always mention how Persephone is aligned to the high priestess.
I like it that acknowledge how she mediates between the physical and spirit worlds ..
She’s very shamanic in that sense with these descent into the underworld being a shamanic journey.:..
I like you very much....well done research and presentation. First clip I have ever seen and I subscribed. Follow your instincts and intuition.. .much will be seen and shared thru your eyes.
Peace
Thank you so much, Mary! Welcome to my subscribers, and thanks for your kind words.
Thank you verry enlightening ❤️ love and light ❤️ ✨️ 💖 ♥️ Nameste
u should do more of these types of videos omg!! ive been trying to find one about gaia but i havent been able to yet
Oh, that's a great idea! Gaia definitely needs some more love!
Great video! You did a great job covering the lesser known information about Persephone and her origins. Although she's not featured prominently in many stories, the ones about her are all pretty significant allegories.
I think you might enjoy reading The Immortality Key by Brian Muraresku. The author does appear to do a fantastic job of hunting down the origins of the rituals that were the precursor to the Eleusinian Mysteries... And then what happened to them after christianity came on the scene. As far as I can tell, the book holds up to academic scrutiny, though I'm sure there's room for critique or comment. I think the book puts forward an interesting hypothesis about the purpose of the mysteries and he does his best to illuminate Persephone's myth from the obfuscation by the christian church and the patriarchy.
Thanks for the rec! That sounds really interesting :)
Persephone coming up from the underworld and green coming forth from the Earth mean the same thing, since spring starts when Persephone is able to leave Hades and come back to Demeter 🤔
Btw, love your channel!! Very good.
I LOVE THIS Thank you so much for recounting the story of Persephone I learned a lot // Also the pomegranate seems to be just like fairy food. You eat it and you can’t leave at least not right away. Also there’s a crossover with aliens and fairy food as well anyway
Ah, great point!! Thanks!
A Friend of the Family
Ok… I’m going to use ur comment section to get some things out right now… I heard the name Persephone when I was a little kid on an episode of the simpsons… and that was the extent of my knowledge of her until last night… Recently I’ve been seeing a lot of pomegranates, either in real life, or in pictures or my tarot cards… Last night I was drawn to pull from a Goddess deck I have that I haven’t used in a while… and I pulled Persephone as the Hermit. I have recently been in hermit mode for quite some time, healing, doing my shadow work, going through a huge awakening actually… and right before I did the reading last night, I was reading about getting in touch with our past lives… Also… I have an overbearing mother, my birthday is in May, during which I always feel like I go through a rebirth, as I like to hibernate during the winter… I just cannot explain enough how much she is resonating with me! And I thank you so much for this great video! 🙏🏽💚🪷🦋🌹🕊🌈🌙💫
Thanks so much for sharing!
12:00 this part ☝🏻
This version is super interesting
Just look at the careful list of sources. This is the work of a proper scholar.
One thing about Orphism that is worth mentioning is the Derveni Krater. Not only is it a masterpiece of Hellenistic art, it contained the burnt, but partly legible, remains of a discourse on the "hidden" meaning of the Orpheus myth. It gives a tantalising glimpse into the later stages of this very old belief.
Thank you so much for the recommendation, Allan! I'll definitely check it out.
Yep, honestly I had no issue with the Pomegranate offering, though it's more of a fall offering to me, the season where things are ripe, ready to harvest. The season she is getting ready to go back to her husband.
Persephone is my active self I love this my wife is watching with me
This is really goodm I actually watched this because Im reading Averno, which is a collection of poems by Louise Gluck that retells the myth(s). Highly recommend to anyone interested. My only criticism of your video is that it loses some of the magic by not being told in a single go as a story, rather than as an analysis of its layers. I guess you're not necessarily focusing on that, but it could be nice to have the myth up front as a story (obviously having to choose a particular version or single storyline), and then go down into it. All the same, an enjoyable, informative and well considered take. Thank you 🙏
Thanks for the recommendations, I'll have to check it out!
@@hearthofhaemonia hello! I just came across this video during my research for all things about the myth of Persephone and Hades as I plan to write a retelling of the myth and wanted to stick as close to the mythology as possible. I do however have some questions:
1) is it known “where” certain events take place?
2) is there an in-depth description of what the underworld looks like?
@@moviemelody2210 Thanks for the questions! I'll do my best to answer them:
1) There are several "entrances" to the underworld in the very real Mediterranean region. I'm not entirely sure which one Persephone was taken down through; as far as I know, the sources don't say. However, depending on which source you read, Persephone and Demeter may originally be located in Sicily (see especially Claudian's De Raptu Proserpina).
2) Yes, there are several in-depth descriptions of the underworld. The best ones to look at are - Vergil, Aeneid Book 6 (I like Lombardo's translation), and Plato's Republic Book 10 - the Myth of Er. There are free online translations of both. I'm also working on videos on this topic now! Part 1 is out and I'm putting out Part 2 (with the description of the underworld) hopefully this weekend.
Feel free to email me (info@hearthofhaemonia.com) if you have more questions and good luck with your retelling!
@@hearthofhaemonia thank you so much, I’ve got an outline done but it seems kind of boring so I may email you during my research to find out things I can put into the book about what hades and persephone did while they were down there
39:56 I’m wondering if you mean catharsis, or if you are using a word I am unfamiliar with.
Edit: oh! You explained but I missed it. I listened again because I had actually missed the beginning! Glad to learn a new word.
Oh yeah, katabasis (catabasis) is one of my favorite things in Greek/Roman myth. All the heroes are doing it :)
For me, Persephone is a goddess of the underworld. I call upon her to burn the souls of all my enemies in the fires of Hades - in my prayers. To do this, I brew her a blackberry tea every three months, because the blackberry represents the wrath of the goddess.
Nice character of Pershepone one part as life and death . Is she one of 7 Sisters?
Not that I know of. The only group of seven sisters that I'm aware of are the Pleiades, who were all nymphs but who don't include Persephone as far as I'm aware. If anyone else knows, please share!
@@hearthofhaemonia 7 Sisters are Spirit , only Light.
It’s not eternal life from the mystery rites it’s ionic life .
I hear shes sort of besties with Hekate as well!!
Would be cool to see a video on her 😊
Hekate is instrumental in helping negotiate Persephone's return to the world of the living! She's the one who tells Demeter where Persephone is, and she is there to greet her when she comes back. I think of her as kind of like Persephone's cool aunt :D
@@hearthofhaemonia wow omg that's so neat! 😊 I love those two, thanks for the info! "Her cool aunt" is very sweet lol
One thing I noticed was left out of the cultural context of the times is that men literally taking women to make them wives was not uncommon. Taking that into account adds other dimensions to the story we in modern times have trouble wrapping our heads around because it's not common for men to kidnap women in our times. Good stuff though - Thank you!
Yes, great point!! Even Herodotus talks about this phenomenon - he lists all the various snatchings at the start of Book 1 as the cause for human war. I actually came across something recently that mentions this phenomenon as part of the reason why women in Greece (and other parts of the world still today) were sheltered, kept inside, emphasis on modest dress, etc. - literally to maintain diplomatic relations by avoiding the temptation to snatch your allies' wives. Wild stuff - thanks for pointing this out!
19:05 this is similar to fairy lore… never eat in fairy land! It’s a total thing.
Oh, I didn't think of that! Very interesting!
Given his feud with Love gods, my guess is Ovid had a bad break up, or was an Iron Age incel. :)
she is very informed yikes!
8:22 What?! 😂 you are heavily mixing the realities of today with the realities of the bygone era. It’s today that Spirituality is kept different than every aspect of our lives like the government, but in the past even as recent past as 100 years ago, all over the world, spirituality, i.e. gods were part of every aspect of the lives of everyone around the world. Every country prayed the gods, made them offering and abided by the customs to please the gods before the wars, during the peace, before starting something new, after passing of the calamities. So it was not surprising or exclusive to the romans that they would do something to ensure their government runs smoothly. Your berating them over a trivial fact that you misjudged because of your bias is such a disgraceful move. Seems like you will berate everyone who is not around to defend themselves.
Wow. An objective teacher !
I'd love to have had a teacher like you, I might have actually liked school. Beware, if you watch some of these other videos on Persephone; bring a life jacket, or better yet some scuba gear. These people today are twisted! They're twisted like strings on a marionette someone threw a trash can and left to rot ( I doubt that I need to explain the puppet reference to you).
You tell the story in a way most similar to the way I learned it, but I I never learned all these details; I just like this story. Thanks for being objective. Grand coup de chapeau à toi "professeur!" You are one of the rare people who actually deserve that title.