Abduction of Persephone
THE ABDUCTION OF PERSEPHONE
Hades rarely visited the land of the living, being the god of the underworld, so in one of his very sporadic visits he encountered Persephone. She was outside picking flowers with her friends when the god stumbled upon her. He did not think about courting and immediately kidnapped her. It all happened very quickly that Persephone’s friends did not notice. When news of Persephone’s disappearance reached Demeter, the goddess abandoned her duty as she mourned for the loss of her daughter. Not long after deserting her duties, the crops failed and the humans starved, therefore resulting into the first winter. This caught Zeus’ attention so he refused to accept Hades and Persephone’s marriage then sent Hermes to persuade Hades to return his daughter. Since it was a direct order from Zeus, Hades had no choice but to comply no matter how much he wanted Persephone to stay. It was then when he found a loophole. He made Persephone eat some pomegranate seeds that will make her want to return to the underworld. Since even Zeus cannot defy the fates, he was forced to choose between his brother and wife. And so he compromised, Persephone would be with Hades for 4 months of the year while the remaining 8 months would be with her mother. Her stay with Hades made the crops die, thus explaining the seasons change. I agree with Zeus’ choice because if he only chose one then much greater repercussions would take place. Not only would the human world would suffer from Demeter’s grief but also the gods and goddesses at the Mt. Olympus would be at the receiving end of Hades’ rage. It’s because he controls the spirits of the dead that he can become a huge threat. The Opportunity Cost would be the death of the crops. Because Zeus decided to compromise that Demeter was not entirely satisfied with the decision. In the end whenever her daughter is not with her Demeter still gets depressed and the humans will suffer from it. The Opportunity Benefit was
Hades rarely visited the land of the living, being the god of the underworld, so in one of his very sporadic visits he encountered Persephone. She was outside picking flowers with her friends when the god stumbled upon her. He did not think about courting and immediately kidnapped her. It all happened very quickly that Persephone’s friends did not notice. When news of Persephone’s disappearance reached Demeter, the goddess abandoned her duty as she mourned for the loss of her daughter. Not long after deserting her duties, the crops failed and the humans starved, therefore resulting into the first winter. This caught Zeus’ attention so he refused to accept Hades and Persephone’s marriage then sent Hermes to persuade Hades to return his daughter. Since it was a direct order from Zeus, Hades had no choice but to comply no matter how much he wanted Persephone to stay. It was then when he found a loophole. He made Persephone eat some pomegranate seeds that will make her want to return to the underworld. Since even Zeus cannot defy the fates, he was forced to choose between his brother and wife. And so he compromised, Persephone would be with Hades for 4 months of the year while the remaining 8 months would be with her mother. Her stay with Hades made the crops die, thus explaining the seasons change. I agree with Zeus’ choice because if he only chose one then much greater repercussions would take place. Not only would the human world would suffer from Demeter’s grief but also the gods and goddesses at the Mt. Olympus would be at the receiving end of Hades’ rage. It’s because he controls the spirits of the dead that he can become a huge threat. The Opportunity Cost would be the death of the crops. Because Zeus decided to compromise that Demeter was not entirely satisfied with the decision. In the end whenever her daughter is not with her Demeter still gets depressed and the humans will suffer from it. The Opportunity Benefit was