Hades And Persephone

When Hades fell in love with Persephone it’s said that all the death and dying in the world suddenly stopped.  For weeks not a single person died. That was, until Hades realized he’d never be able to call the sweet maiden of flower his. She was a child of wild flowers and sunny days; running about in her joyousness and determined nature to spread joy across the world in her delicately made flowers. He was the ruler of the underworld, king to the dead. She’d never survive in the land of the dead where the flowers where wilted and colored black and the trees bore rotted fruit, and over this it is said that Hades lamented for weeks.  During this sorrow and despair of Hades, wars, plagues and famine broke out across the world. People began dying at unimaginable rates. It was clear to mankind and the gods themselves that something had to be done or the world was going to end.
So Zeus the ruler of Olympus and Hades’ youngest brother came forward to stop this madness. He traveled down to the underworld to see why Hades had reached such a foul mood. But much to Zeus’ frustration Hades would not say. So out of his desperation Zeus bowed his head and said, “Then do what you must to end this foul temperament of yours,” and with that returned to Olympus.  Upon Zeus’ departure a smile broke across Hades’ lips and a gleam shined in his eye.  He knew exactly what he would do.

Upon that afternoon Persephone was surrounded by her flowers in a tall mountain pass going about painting them different colors and singing with the Nymph. But then suddenly a hole opened up in the middle of the valley and a black chariot pulled by two black decaying horses sprung from the earth. Persephone stood there staring eyes wide at the oncoming horror.
As Hades thundered toward Persephone he scooped her up and pulled the chariot into a full circle and vanished deep into the Earth.

And here, is where our story begins.

Persephone had, unknown to all, been curious about Hades and the underworld ever since her mother Demeter had taken her far away from the court life of Olympus to ward off her godly suitors. But to her surprise Hades had never been one of them and she didn’t understand why. Now that she was here a thrill began to fill her body. She was here in a world so vastly different from her own and she was curious.
As the chariot rolled to a stop Hades stepped from the chariot and offered Persephone his hand. “I’m terribly sorry for the rude capture, I just find that world dreadful and can’t stand to be there to long. But we are here now, and all of this that you see is yours. Anything and everything down here in my kingdom I am offering to you in hopes that you’ll stay and maybe learn to love it here, because I love you, and only hope that someday you’ll have the same feelings for me.
Persephone was in shocked and gingerly took Hades’ hand looking about her in awe and repulsion all at once. Hades saw the repulsed look in her eyes and stopped horrified that he’d lost his chance of making her is queen. “Please, let me explain before you judge. Through explanation comes understanding, and through understanding forgiveness, and perhaps that in turn will bare love.” Persephone nodded and followed Hades along a dirt path into what looked like a dead garden; the Garden of Hesperides.
“Everything here is in opposite to your world.” Hades began to explain. “Flowers are born dead and slowly turn to a pale white, during which the gardeners pluck them out. Fruit is bore rotten and falls when it’s ripe and the gardeners dispose of them.” As they walked Hades spoke of many things and Persephone followed always listening beside him.  Something had always called to her about this god and in this explanation of his she hoped to discover what. She wasn’t yet sure if it was love, or infatuation but it was something, and as such she was going to hold her judgment until she knew more.
Hades spoke of his natural unluckiness and of how his father Cronus ate him at birth. He explained the great debt he felt he owed Zeus for disgorging him from his father’s stomach into the world. He spoke of the great battle they fought against his father and the titans and how he feared one day he’d meet a similar demise as a new generation of gods sprung forth. He spoke of the Helm of Darkness and the other weapons he received from the Cyclopes and of the enemy camps he snuck into and destroyed. He talked of his nightmares because of those deeds and the darkness that filled his heart at their actions and the death of his father. He explained how in contrary to what most believed he was quite passive rather than evil and rather than having as simply ruler of the dead he was the one who maintained balance in the world. As he explained it to her, “Though I am the ruler of the dead and death it is I that makes the domain of the living possible. I keep all life in balance through my power of death and though I am a god of darkness as they say, it is through me that the light is possible.” “I am also a god of considerable wealth, I control the minerals of the earth from which all precious stones are made and resources brought. Without me there would be no flawless diamond, or perfect blade. The beauty of a gown wouldn’t be able to be accented without the minerals I provide, and homes wouldn’t be defendable without the metal I provided. I have as much of a hand in life as I do in death. It is just on this side of the world I chose to remain. Here with all of those who have seen the world and can no understand far greater things than any living soul. Here the greats may ponder with me for all of eternity, I may hold discussions with Socrates and Plato, and arguments with Aristotle. Death is forever my dear, and as such my domain shall always grow and exist.  As the great Agamennon said about me in a quote I’m quite pleased of ‘Why do we loathe Hades more than any god, if not because he is so adamant and unyielding?’” And with those words Persephone began to understand. Hades was not an evil god, nor a god simply of death. He was a god of reality and practicality. He understood that life only existed because of death, and saw the beauty within that fact. He was a strong god, who was only so dark because he’d witnessed so many things, and been so enlightened through those he’d met in death. And most importantly, he was just.
It was through this understanding that love was born. He was more than a god of death he was a man of balance and just. Persephone now understood and knew that she would stay with him as long as he requested it, forever she hoped. She knew she’d stand by his side and help carry the weight of realization upon her own shoulders so he wouldn’t have to suffer alone.
A messenger ran up to Hades and told him that Zeus was there to speak to him and that it was urgent. So Zeus left Persephone sitting at a bench there, telling her he’d be back as quickly as he could but to think over what he had told her. So there she sat.
On the other side of the underworld Zeus and Hades fought. Zeus bellowed that he –Hades- could not steal Persephone and make her his. That Persephone could only stay if she wanted to on her own free will, and that Demeter was threatening to spread famine across the world and stop the plants from growing if her daughter was not returned. So Hades bowed his head, he would not force Persephone to stay against her will, and upon telling Zeus that he departed asking Zeus to wait and he’d bring Persephone to him.
As Hades approached the garden a million and one thoughts were running through his head. Did she understand enough to want to stay? If he asked her himself would she be too intimidated to speak the truth? So to find out what she would do upon her own free will he transformed himself into a small servant boy and approached Persephone in the garden with a ripened pomegranate. “Excuse me? You must be Persephone, Hades and Zeus need to see you in the Thrown room.”
“Oh!” Persephone said nervously wondering what Zeus required of her. “Alright how do I get there?”
“You follow this path around the garden to the other side and there is an exit there that will lead you straight to the throne room.”
“Thank You,” Persephone said standing.
“Are you hungry? Here is a ripe fruit, it’s bad by our standards but I’m sure it’ll be heavenly by yours. But please wait to eat it until you understand.”
“Wait, what do you mean understand?” Persephone asked, but Hades in the form of the servant boy skipped off in the other direction.
Hades took every short cut he knew to make it back to the throne room before Persephone. He arrived at the door only moments before she did. He smiled at her and offered her his hand joyful when she accepted and noticing she placed the fruit into her pocket. Together they entered to meet Zeus.
Zeus was shocked to see the smile across Persephone’s face as her and Hades entered the room hand in hand. He had excepted her to be fearful and horrified at her location, not delighted. “Persephone,” Zeus began, “Do you wish to stay here in Erebus – the land of the dead- or to return back to the land of the living?”
Persephone looked up at Hades’ unreadable face and then to Zeus, “I’d like to stay here.” A smile broke out across Hades’ face and he lightly squeezed her hand. Zeus was shocked.
“You…You’d like to stay here?” He asked. “Well if that is your decision I will ask you to return to the living land for no less than six months to bid farewell to your mother and to ensure that this is the decision you want.”
Persephone and Hades both nodded. “However you have not ate anything from here have you?” Zeus asked sternly.
“No.” She replied.
“Good, because if you had you would be forced to stay here for however many bites you had eaten. Now I will escort you back to the living and your mother Demeter.”
Now Persephone understood. Each small Pomegranate seed she ate would have forced her to stay in Erebus, not that she’d have minded, she thought. She joined Zeus in his chariot and returned to her mother’s joyous arms. “You are not going back there, you understand?” Demeter said upon hearing that Persephone wished to return to Erebus and Hades when her six month stay was up. For days her mother and her fought before she remembered the fruit in her pocket. She pulled it out one afternoon in a valley far from her mother’s gaze. She plucked twelve seeds from the pomegranate, the rest had been mashed to nothing but juice. How lucky I am that twelve seeds survived she thought. But something Hades had spoke to her echoed in her head. He was a god of balance, and she remembered how desolate and unfertile the earth had become in her absence at her mother’s despair. If she was to leave forever her mother’s heart would break and the world would fall into nothingness. So she took six of the seeds and smashed them beneath her fingers, eating the remaining six. She left the valley and approached her mother head down. “Mother, I have a confession to make. While in Erebus I ate six pomegranate seeds. Zeus said if I’d eaten anything I’d be forced back there. It is only fair that we follow the laws of the gods and allow me to remain with Hades for my time. Horrified her mother called upon Zeus and asked what could be done to nullify her eating of the seeds.
“Nothing,” Zeus told her. “She must remain with Hades for six months out of the year.”
“Fine,” Her mother told him, “But during those six months nothing will grow.”
Zeus nodded his head knowing nothing could be done. Some laws were greater than the gods themselves and he accompanied Persephone on her journey down to Hades.
As Zeus left her standing there in front of Hades she looked up at him and said, “I understand,” And in those words he understood what she had done and smiled, thankful for her understanding.