Persephone: chapter 9

Persephone: Queen of the Dead
Chapter 9
Demeter
     I left Poseidon’s palace long before the destruction of Minos’ kingdom was complete, for I knew that once the wheels were set in motion, what was to come would; even Zeus himself could not save his beloved son.  For his help I will never forget my dear brother Poseidon, but I had to leave, I couldn’t stay with him, nor any of the other Gods. I cut my long beautiful golden hair as was customary for women when in mourning and dressed in a black torn robe and veil that covered my tear stained cheeks, and in this state I walked on the face of the earth alone in my grief, devising a way of getting even with the Great God Zeus for his treachery.  After several weeks of wandering alone an inspiration hit me, just as if Zeus himself struck me with one of his thunderbolts.  I knew that I could do nothing to harm Zeus, for he was much too powerful a God even for me, but I being the Goddess of Fertility could withhold the fruits of the earth and not allow any grain to sprout nor allow any mortal births to occur until the humans who Zeus so loved were totally destroyed.  To mortals I was known as Birth, but soon I would become Death.
     To ensure that my plan succeeded I needed assistance and this I easily acquired.   I left my black robe and dressed in my most seductive gown and went to visit Boreas, the God of the North Wind and was easily able to convince him to let loose his son, Zephyrus, the Personification of Strong Winds and Storms, bringing a cold wind over all the lands, a wind that would make the leaves fall from the trees and all the crops to wither and die.  I didn’t have to persuade him, for he felt pity for me, knowing how much I loved my dear daughter and he answered my prayers instantly.  That evening just after the sun set, Zephyrus came in the form of a wild gray stallion ravaging the countryside unleashing a cold wind as was never known before, a tremendous wind that blew across the earth bringing icy rain and snow wherever it touched. Humans sought shelter within their homes as Zephyrs rattled at their doors and tapped on the windows, tap…tap…tap, seeking entrance.  His sought out even the smallest crevice only to blow out the fires of their hearth.  Zephyrus’ breath, like a tornado ravaged the land causing destruction wherever it touched.  On that first night alone more than one-half of all life on Earth was totally destroyed.  
     The Goddess of Destiny, Ananke gave the fertility of the entire earth to me when I was declared Goddess of Fertility, therefore I had no need to call upon any other God or Goddess to assist me in cursing the land.  I looked up into the sky and saw the clouds part and the cold light of the full moon shining down on me.   I stood alone, with only the moonlight as my witness, and slowly I raised my arms to the heavens and called out to the Universe.  I called out to the energy of the Earth itself to fill my body with power.  Facing the East I began my curse:
     “I call to the elements of the East, to the Spirits of the Air, the Sirens, take my prayers and lift them to the four corners of the Universe.
Turning to face the South, I continued:
     I call to the elements of the South, to the Spirits of Fire, the Dragons, let your breath bring power to my words, giving them a life of their own.
Another quarter turn, now facing the West,
     I call to the elements of the West, to the Spirits of Water, the Undines, let my body be receptive to the powers I call upon, allowing their energy to flow into and throughout me.
Finishing my curse facing the North”
      I call to the elements of the North, to the Spirits of the Earth, the Gnomes, take my words deep within the Earth and unleash their power.”
     As I said these words, I could feel the energy flow up from deep within the earth itself, entering my feet and slowly building as it pulsated throughout my entire body.  With each beat of my heart I could feel the power intensifying until I felt that I was completely full and could take in no more.  I stood for several moments, allowing the power of the Earth itself to consume me.  My body, not used to this much power, began to quiver; and I felt as if I could conquer the Universe itself.   It took all my will to focus this surging energy into my hands and when I looked down at them I saw the red glow of all the sadness that had consumed my soul since I lost my beloved daughter Kore.  In despair, I lowered my hands, palms down and directed all of my hatred, my anger, and all of my grief into the depth of the earth.  As I did this I watched as the energy crackled and sizzled as if exploded from my hands, and once touching the land the red energy serge is a massive wave, branching out in all directions until its power reached the four corners of the earth.  Once freed of all my sorrow I staggered back, thrown off balance by the power that I had unleashed.  My curse was complete; my heart empty.  
     For the next year, the amount of time that I was deceived, I wouldn’t allow any crops to grow or births to occur on the earth.  I had become Death, and I must admit that in my bitterness I took pleasure as I watched as all mortal life began to slowly wither and die.  During this year there were many prayers and rituals dedicated to me, begging that I lift my curse from the lands, but just as Zeus refused to hear my objections when I forbid my beloved daughter from marrying Hades, I was deaf to their pleas. Once my curse was complete I once again dressed in the black tattered robes and wandered the once rich fields that were now as barren as my life.  I assumed the shape of an old woman, for in my heart I was old and weary and wanted to find death myself, but being immortal that was not possible, so in the shape of an old woman, bent over in weariness, I wandered the earth alone; sadness and regret were my only companions.  
     I took the name Deo, for it was impossible for me to travel with my birth name, and in my wandering I found no humans who welcomed me.  All were starving and none wished to share their last meal with a stranger so near to death herself, so I traveled the civilized lands alone, until I reached a small village in a remote corner of Attica, a town named Eleusis.  It was a poor city, all the people had left for the neighboring town Athens and I was surprised to find that the king of this village, Celeus and his wife Metanira welcomed me.  They took me into their meager home and only after offering me food and drink, they asked me where I was from, knowing by my dress that I was not from their kingdom.
    “My name is Deo.”  I quietly said to them making sure my head stayed bowed, fearful that they would instantly detect my disguise if they would see the power in my eyes.  “I was born many decades ago to a noble family in Crete.”
     I then made up a story of what I thought my life would have been if I were born a mortal.  I told them how I traveled over the sea for many months from my home in Crete not willingly, but as a captive on a pirate ship, explaining that the pirates wished only to sell me at market as a slave.  I explained that one night when the ship I was held prisoner on was at the shore, I was able to sneak out of my cabin, since I was such an old woman, the pirates didn’t think it necessary to chain me, and once freed from their ship I ran into the woods and hid.  There I waited until their ship had set off and I could no longer see the sails on the horizon.  I wandered alone for days, for no one would offer me food or shelter, until I met the King’s daughters by the well as I was trying to get a drink.  Even though there was little food throughout Celeus’ kingdom, I was given a banquet fit for the Gods, and in return for their hospitality I made sure that their land alone would produce grain, and their livestock would not be barren, so no one within this household tasted death during my year of vengeance.  
     Shortly before I cursed the lands, Metaneira gave birth to a beautiful son who she named Demophoon.   He was less than a year old when I entered their home, and she feared that he wouldn’t survive the famine,
    “I would do anything to protect my dear son.”  She confided in me one night as we sat by the hearth.  
   “You have no need to fear, the Gods will watch over him.” That night I promised myself that I would not let this innocent child die, for it was in him alone that I was able to give the love I felt for my lost daughter.  The months that I stayed within the kingdom tending Demophoon, I felt as if he was my own child, and I couldn’t stand the thought of him growing old like his father only to one day taste death, therefore I let him nurse from my breast, and with the sweet milk of a Goddess he began to grow at an astonishing rate, much faster than other children.  Soon he was able to stand on his own and he was walking within a couple of months since my arrival.  When the time came for him to eat solid food, I started feeding him the food of the Gods, Ambrosia, and at night while he slept I would place this child who I so loved within the hearth and while holding him over the fires that burned there, I prayed to my dearest sister, the Goddess Hestia,
    “Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth, and my dear sister, you who are worshipped in every house, even above the great God Zeus, hear my pleas.  Just as the hearth is the religious center of the home, you are the religious center of all life.  I beg you to make this child, Demophoon, immortal.  I could not bear to see Death touch his soul.”  
       The ritual of burning the mortality from a mortal child normally lasts three nights starting on the first night of the new moon, and I had almost completed the ritual when on the last night, I was sure that Demophoon would soon be immortal, and as I held him in the fire, I forgot to enchant him making sure that his cries would not wake his parents.  Metanira hearing her son’s sobs as the fire licked at his naked body was awaken instantly. She rushed into the chamber and beheld the sight of her son being held by this old woman within the hearth as the fires burned around him.  Without hesitation she snatched the child from my arms as her screams alerted her husband.  The King entered the chamber within seconds and found his son lying on the floor crying while his wife, the Queen was accusing me of trying to kill their son.
   “We have taken you in and given you food and shelter, and this is how you repay us, by trying to kill my beloved son.”
  I didn’t say anything in my defense at first, only standing there while she accused me. The spell was broken, I could do no more; Demophoon was destine to grow old and one-day die, all because of his mother’s lack of trust.  Once the reality of the situation set in, I, in a fury revealed myself to her as the Goddess I was, and she seeing me in all my glory fell at my feet with tears in her eyes, begging for my forgiveness.  
     “I would have made your son immortal, like the Gods themselves, but because of your foolish behavior, he will not be able to escape the God Thanatos’ grip.  Death will one day find him.”  I said to her as I lifted her to her feet.
      Through her sobs, she begged me,
     “Forgive me, for I only wished to protect my son from harm.”
     How could I not forgive her for trying to protect her beloved son, was I not also only trying to keep my daughter from harm?  I did forgave her, but I could no longer stay within their house, so I left the next morning after instructing the King to build a great temple and dedicate it to me.  He agreed, and I promised that I would return when Demophoon reached manhood, and show him the mysteries of the Gods, and this I did not forget, for when Demophoon came of age I came to him and taught him my Mysteries, and every five years, at the end of September all the people of Demophoon’s kingdom would celebrate the Festival of Demeter, a elaborate affair which took place over a period of nine days and nights.



     Now during my yearlong absence from Mount Olympus, Zeus was beginning to worry about the havoc I was bringing upon the mortal world.  His beloved children, those who were mortal from his many lovers, were dieing and he was unable to offer them any assistance, for no matter how powerful he was he wasn’t able to lift the curse I had laid upon the land. Hades also wasn’t pleased with my vengeance, for the Underworld was becoming overcrowded, and since I, also being a Fertility Goddess, wouldn’t allow any births to occur he couldn’t send any soul back to an earthly life, so his palace was soon overflowing with phantoms of the dead who allow him no rest.
     Thanatos, the Messenger of Death, who was once a beautiful God with short curly blonde hair dressed in shinning golden armor and beautiful white wings that would transport him swiftly to the dying to release their souls, feeding off their last breath became bloated after several months of gorging on the sick and dying.  Soon his armor was no longer able to fit his swollen body and he took to wearing a tunic for he no longer needed armor for protection, for since his weight increased his wings were barely able to lift him and he became sluggish and was no longer was able to bring death swiftly to those who suffered.  The dying no longer scratched and clawed at him as he sucked their last breath, for after several months of waiting for him, waiting for his kiss, they welcomed his touch with open arms.  
       After a year of this destruction Zeus finally had enough of watching helplessly as two-thirds of all mortal life was destroyed, for the cries of those who still lived would not allow him rest.  He sent Iris, the Goddess of the Rainbow and the messenger between the Heavens and the earth, between the Gods and mortals, to find me and bring me back to Mount Olympus and finally put an end to the curse I had brought upon the earth.  I was sitting in one of my temples, near Eleusis, where I would sit alone day after day waiting until I could be reunited with my daughter, when Iris finally found me.  Before speaking, she bowed slightly to me, showing her respect for a Goddess as powerful as myself, and I almost for a split second became transfixed by the sight of her multicolored tunic, which was woven from the thread of a single spider’s web.  This tunic, at first glance, appears bright white, but then as the sun shines on it, it suddenly takes on a yellow hue with a touch of saffron, but then a second later, you would see a fiery orange, blending with a purple sheen, until all the colors of the rainbow had appeared transfixing the gaze.  This tunic was embroidered with jewels that gleamed like the stars and only after a few seconds of looking at the Sun reflecting off it I understood how mortals could easily become transfixed by the sight.
   Her words brought me back to the moment.  
     “Demeter, Goddess of Fertility, I have come here to beg you to return with me to Mount Olympus, for your dear brother Zeus wishes to speak to you.”  
     I noticed that her words were sweet but I knew they were laced with poison, for if I were to return with her to Mount Olympus I knew that Zeus would surely punish me.  
    “I am sorry, but I can’t.  I vowed that I wouldn’t return to my brothers and sisters until I can be reunited my daughter, Kore.”  I said as I turned away from her.
She cleared her throat, letting me know that she wasn’t through with me.  I turned only my head to look at her.
   “I fear for you if you don’t agree to accompany me back to greet your brother and the other Olympians.”  She said to me, adding.  “Zeus misses you dearly”
   “I won’t return with you.”  I said again, this time more firmly, then I once again turned away from her gaze.
    I knew that she was becoming frustrated, she didn’t expect me to refuse Zeus’ message, for no other God or Goddess has ever dared refused him.
       “Zeus is angry with you for allowing the land to become barren, but he has agreed to forgive you if you return with me to the palace at once.”  She said.
  We stood there at a stand off as I watched the sky slowly darken as the Sun traveled through the heavens, allowing the moon to awake from her daily slumber and illuminate the night sky.  We stayed within the temple throughout the night.  I was very firm; stating that I wouldn’t set foot back on Mount Olympus unless it was to welcome my daughter each time Iris spoke.  Finally as the night started to wane and the sky slowly began to glow with the first light of the Sun peeking over the horizon, Iris asked me once more to return with her,
   “Please, Demeter… please, I beg you.  Don’t make me return to Zeus alone.”  
    “I would like nothing more than to be back home with my beloved brother and sisters, but I cannot return unless I come with my daughter, Kore.”  
   This was my final answer.
  She bowed to me and said farewell, and I watched as she flew into the coming dawn.  I was alone again, but not for long, for it wasn’t even midday when I felt the presence of another God, and as I turned I saw Hermes, Zeus’ personal messenger approaching the sanctuary.  He didn’t speak, waiting until I spoke first.
     “Hermes, if you came here to try to convince me into returning to my brother’s house you’re wasting your time, for you know I cannot return with you. There is nothing you can say to me to make me change my mind.”
    He paused before he replied as if he were trying to find the right words to say to me; Hermes, the God of Communication, chooses his word carefully so as not to be misunderstood.
     “If you refuse to return with me and greet the other Olympians, I will have no other choose but to make the long journey to the Underworld, where I will speak with your daughter Persephone and her husband Hades and arrange a meeting between mother and daughter at your brother’s palace. If your daughter agrees to meet with you, will you return then?”
    “I will return, only if Kore is there without Hades, for I wish to speak to her alone.”  I replied.
     “I’ll return to Mount Olympus with her, and at dawn tomorrow Zeus and your daughter will be waiting to welcome you home.”  He said as he swiftly departed for his long journey to the Underworld.  
Joy filled my heart for the first time in almost a year.  I would soon be reunited with my beloved daughter; tomorrow morning I’ll be able to hold her in my arms and tell her how much I loved her and how for the last year I have thought of nothing but my longing to see her.

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     The following dawn I was at the gates of Mount Olympus as the first rays of the Sun started illuminate the sky and as I glimpsed up I saw my daughter waiting at the top of the stairs.  I started to run towards her.  I was half way up to the palace when she saw me, and she too started running to greet me with tears in her eyes.  
    We embraced for what seemed like an eternity.
    “Mother, I have missed you this last year.  I have so much to tell you.”  She said to me once I finally let her out of my embrace.  Her words brought tears to my eyes, and I held her and kissed her forehead.   I couldn’t believe that she was really there, she was in my arms and I would never allow her to leave me again.  
     “Let us enter Mount Olympus and take our seats next to your father.”  I finally said to her.
     “Mother, before you enter the gates, I must tell you that I didn’t come alone. My husband, Hades, is here with me.”
She paused here, seeing the expression on my face made her stop for a moment before she could speak again.  “He’s within the palace speaking with father.”
      You couldn’t imagine my anger; Hermes swore to me that he would not bring Hades with him, knowing that I wouldn’t return unless my daughter was there alone.  I didn’t know if Kore had picked up the gift of reading others thoughts from Hades during the last year of living with him in the Underworld, but as if she knew the reason of my anger she answered me.
    “Don’t blame Hermes mother, his message was clear that you wished to speak to me alone, but you must understand that Hades is my husband now and that I love him.  This hatred between the two of you cannot continue without causing me grief.  I love you both and refuse to take sides.”  
     The war between the Olympians and the Titans seemed like a squabble between two children compared to the fight that took place just outside the palace.  I flatly refused to set one foot through the gate, and after hours of holding my ground Zeus brought out our mother to speak to me, for when the three brothers were fighting for their domains, it was Rhea alone who was able to reach an understanding with them.    All stood quiet as Rhea stood there contemplating the situation.  Finally she spoke.
       “My children, there has been fighting between all of you for too long now, we must accept what the Fates have given us and find peace within ourselves.  I will no longer stand by watching as my children try to destroy not only each other but the earth as well.”  
    “But mother, all I wish for is to be reunited with my daughter.”  I interrupted her, trying to explain to her why I behaved the way I did.
     “Silence! Demeter, your daughter is no longer a child and must be able to stand alone and make her own decisions.  She is in love with Hades and gave herself willingly to him in marriage, it is time for you to let her go.”  
    “I cannot.  I fear that no one understands my grief.”  I shouted back at her.
    “Since Demeter will not give life back to the land until her daughter is reunited with her, I will propose a compromise.”  All stood quiet as she continued
    “Persephone will spend one-half the year in the Underworld with her husband, Hades and during the other half she will live here, on Mount Olympus with her mother Demeter and the other Gods and Goddess.”
   Kore, speaking to her grandmother Rhea pleaded,  
     “But grandmother, why are you punishing me, I did nothing wrong.”  
   She took Kore’s hand and held it as she spoke softly to her, trying to comfort her favorite granddaughter.
     “Persephone, it isn’t I who am punishing you.  You see many centuries ago it was decided by the Fates that Hades’ wife would spend one-half the year in the Underworld as Queen of the Dead, only to return to the land of the living for the other half of the year.  This is the only way I can see of convincing your mother to lift her curse from the land.”
     “I will compromise also,”  I said,  “For if my daughter is to spend one-half the year in the Underworld, I will curse the land for this amount of time only.   When she is returned to me I will again allow the grains to sprout and grow and the animals to reproduce, but when she departs for the Underworld I will call the winds to bring a cold breeze across the face of the earth destroying all the fruits that I have given.”  
   I spoke this pledge not only to my mother Rhea, and to Zeus, but to all the Gods and Goddess present, I spoke this pledge to the Earth itself.
    “Very well, Persephone will live with her mother Demeter and the other Gods and Goddesses on Mount Olympus from the Twenty-first day of the Third month of the year, which will be known as Kathodos, the time that Persephone as symbol of the seed, goes down into the Underworld, to the Twenty-first day of the Ninth month, which will be known as Anodos, when life once again returns to the earth after its long slumber. On these two days the amount of time for night and day will be equal, for the rest of the year, as the hours of the night increase, so will the cold.”
     Instead of running to me, as I thought she would do, Kore ran to Hades and buried her face into his chest trying to hold back her sobs.  I walked up to her smiling, but the look in her eyes told me she wished for nothing but my death.  I took her hand and tried to pull her from Hades, and she turned to me and said,
    “Mother, I can never forgive you for trying to destroy my happiness.”  
   I tried to explain to her that I didn’t wish to destroy her happiness, that I only wished to protect her, but she wouldn’t hear me.  As she said her goodbyes to Hades through her sobs, I saw that he too shed a tear, and as I watched them together my heart began to melt and sadness crept into my soul. Was I wrong to try to protect my daughter from an eternity within the Underworld?  I was only acting as any mother who loves her daughter would act.  Hades placed one final kiss on his wife’s forehead and entered his chariot and soon was out of sight, Zeus then took Kore’s hand and lead her to me, and I thought then, for the first time, that maybe I was wrong, maybe I should’ve welcomed my daughter’s happiness.  I wished that I could lift the curse from the land and release her to live the rest of her life with my brother, Hades, in the Underworld, but being a Goddess I couldn’t.   My words, once spoken, could never be taken back.
     I’d promised that I would release the land from my curse once I was reunited with her, and so I did.  I once again lifted my arms to the heavens and called to the Universe to fill my body with the energy of the four elements and once filled with their power I called to the God of the North Wind, Boreas,
    “Boreas, I beg you to hold back your son Zephyrus from destroying the land with his cold breath.”
     I paused here until I was certain that he heard my call, and then I spoke again.  
   “I call to the Earth mother, to Gaia, begging her to once again allow life to spring forth from the land.”   
    I was surprised to see that almost instantly the trees, as if they waited only for my words to be spoken, finally releasing them from their long slumber, began to sprout buds. Spring had arrived after a long, bitter winter and it didn’t take long before the land was offering up its life everywhere, and as I walked along the earth, the feel of the damp grass against my bear feet comforted me.  But even this did not relieve the sadness I felt in my heart, for I didn’t truly get my daughter back until many, many seasons later.