Persephone & Demeter

One of my very favorite stories is that of Persephone & Demeter. It expresses a mother's love for her daughter in such an epic and beautiful way. It also gives reason for the rebirth of the Earth in the Spring and it's death in the Winter. I just came across this version of the story with coloring pages attached, on The Daily Spell, and thought I would share. Persephone will be returned to her mother in just a few days time and their love will bring Spring in full force!!

Enjoy
AnnaStacia

Demeter

This Coloring Page shows the Goddess Demeter, Greek Goddess of the Earth's fertility and agriculture. The name 'Demeter' means simply 'The Mother', and Demeter was looked upon very much in this respect. Demeter is the mother of the Goddess Kore/persephone, and together They were featured in the Eleusinian Mysteries. The two Goddesses are very ancient, and predate classical Greek culture. Kore/Persephone will feature as a separate Coloring Page. Demeter was also looked upon as the mother of the harvest and sustainer of life in general, so that when She withdrew Her attention after the loss of Kore, the life force of the Earth dwindled and winter came into being. Demeter's emblems include the poppy flower, the sheaf of grain, and the cornucopia. Demeter's theophany is the mare, and She was sometimes depicted as a mare in the ancient world, and in some places as a woman with the head of a mare. The Romans identified Demeter with Ceres. In the picture the Goddess is shown wearing a chiton displaying the four seasons, emphasizing Her role as a Goddess of the Earth.


If you enjoyed this Coloring Page you might also like my first Coloring Book, "Great Women of Antiquity" available fromhttp://www.WitchSchoolStore.org

Persephone & Demeter

This Coloring Page shows the Goddesses Demeter and Persephone. Here, we discussed Demeter, Greek Goddess of the Earth's fertility and of the harvests, and Her daughter Kore/Persephone. Kore/Persephone is a Goddess of life and death, and Her story ordains the cycle of the seasons. Kore/Persephone represents the grain of the fields, and also vegetation in general, which dies by winter but returns in spring.

 The name 'Kore' means 'Maiden' and was what this Goddess was known as in Her role as goddess of the season of life. The name 'Persephone' means something to the effect of 'The Thresher', whether of grain or of life, and is what the Goddess was known as during the season of death. The story of Kore/Persephone is very ancient and predates classical Greek culture. Briefly, Kore was the beloved daughter of Demeter, and together They ruled over a world of constant summer where flowers and grain and all manner of plants grew naturally and constantly with no need for agriculture. Kore's uncle Hades, the Lord of the Dead, became enamored with the beautiful Goddess and abducted Her to his kingdom beneath the Earth. Not knowing what had happened to Her daughter, Demeter was heartbroken and frantic with grief. Demeter searched everywhere for Kore, but could find no clue as to Her daughter's whereabouts. Demeter's sorrow caused the eternal summer to fade and brought on the first winter, which grew deeper and deeper with Her grief. In time Demeter consulted the Goddess Hecate, Who alone of all Gods and mortals knew the secret of Kore's abduction.

Meanwhile in the Land of the Dead, Kore had become Persephone, Queen of the Dead. Having learned of Her daughter's whereabouts, Demeter demanded that Persephone be returned to Her. However, because Persephone had eaten food in the Afterworld, specifically seeds of a pomegranate, She could not simply return to the world of the living. A bargain was struck whereby Persephone was allowed to return to Her mother for part of the year, but because of the pomegranate seeds She was obliged to return to Hades for for either half or one third of the year, depending upon the version of the myth in question. The time Persephone spent with Demeter each year returned the world to summer, while Her time with Hades brought back winter to the earth -thus the cycle of the seasons was created. Upon Her return to Demeter, Mother and Daughter realized that this arrangement would require humanity to have a new way of obtaining food, and so They created agriculture which They disseminated throughout the Earth through the Eleusinian Prince Triptolemus. Ever after the Mysteries of Eleusis were the most sacred rites of the Two Goddesses.

It should be noted that this myth existed in multiple forms. In some of versions of the story Kore/Persephone was abducted by Hades against Her will, but came to love Him over time. In others versions, the attraction was mutual from the start, which I think offers some interesting interpretations considering that this is a myth of life and death as well as of summer and winter. In the picture Demeter and Persephone are shown embracing upon Persephone's return to the world of the living. Their embrace is so close that Their faces all but merge into one, a reference in to Their love for one another, but also to the idea that They can also be viewed as aspects of a single Goddess. On Demeter's side of the frame we see that the world in summer, while on Persephone's side the world is in winter, and it is from this side that Hades looks on, sad to be separated from His Queen.




If you enjoyed this Coloring Page you might also like my first Coloring Book, "Great Women of Antiquity" available from http://www.WitchSchoolStore.org