Homeric Hymn to Demeter

The Homeric Hymn to Demeter portrays images of rape, marriage and death, in an unconventional way, through the perspective of women as well as men. Most evidence from ancient Greek and Roman times is presented through the eyes of a male in a society greatly dominated by men. The story about Persephone’s separation from her mother is a rare exception that accounts for both sides of the story. Foley states that "in contrast to the Homeric epics, the Hymn puts female experience at the center of the narrative by giving the privileged place to the point of view of the divine mother and daughter on their shared catastrophe. The (nevertheless critical) actions of the gods Zeus, Helios, and Hades occur at the periphery of the narrative and receive relatively little attention or sympathy." (Foley 80)
The author of the Poem manages to change the perspective from masculine to feminine by manipulating the frequent images of rape, marriage and death. The Hymn begins with an introduction to Demeter and leads into a strange mix of images reflected by the words Adoneus (Hades), abducted and gave in the quote “...and the slender-ankled daughter whom Adoneus abducted, but loud-thundering, far-seeing Zeus gave.” These three words placed together reflect the rape, death and marriage that are seen throughout the poem. Rape being the abduction, Adoneus being god of the underworld representing death, and gave suggesting the practice of an arranged marriage.
Since Persephone cannot die as an immortal, Hades represents death through the inaccessibility of the underworld, which separates her from her previous life and family completely. “Demeter cannot, as in some later versions, descend to Hades to bring back her daughter because in the Hymn, Hades’ realm is initially inaccessible to anyone, god or mortal, except the god Hermes.” (Foley 88-89) The separation between Demeter and Persephone is considered to be the closest that immortals can come to experience the death of a loved one.
The terms ‘seize’ and ‘abduct’ can be seen to depict acts of rape while the use of the word ‘gave’ leads to the idea of marriage. The Hymn describes Zeus giving Persephone to his brother as a father gives away his daughter in a more modern wedding. The narrator uses both the image of rape and marriage in order to present the different perspectives of the same story. The different views play equally important roles in the Hymn. While Demeter, Persephone and Hecate emphasize the rape aspect while Zeus, Helios and Hades interpret the event as marriage. Zeus and Hades arranged the abduction in advanced, as seen in traditional pre-arranged weddings of human society; however, this practice of arranged marriage was not common to the gods which yet again sets Hymn to Demeter apart from other myths.
The scene of Persephone and the other young girls playing in the meadow and gathering flowers before her abduction can be seen as a metaphor for the innocence. After she is abducted, Persephone is taken in Hades' golden chariot, as the groom in a chariot or cart takes the bride from her home. Zeus' role in the incident -- his giving of Persephone to Hades (line 3), his plan for the lure of the narcissus (lines 8, 16), and his advice to Hades (line 30) -- suggests that, from his perspective, the abduction is a marriage, pre-arranged according to custom. However, Persephone’s call for help as well as Hades’ violent act is not characteristics of a usual wedding, arranged or not.
When the author describes Demeter's reaction upon hearing the cries of her daughter, the focus of the narrative shifts to images of death and mourning. Demeter is said to be in pain: "sharp grief seized her heart." (line 40). Next Demeter puts on a "dark veil” and wanders, torch in hand, and looking for her daughter. She neither eats nor drinks because of her grief, nor does she bathe (lines 49-50). These are the behaviors of a woman in mourning, not of one celebrating her daughter's marriage.
The male perceptions are just as important to the plot of the hymn, yet are not what make it special. Helios tries to tell Demeter to stop grieving and be glad she has such a worthy son-in-law, From his point of view, as the language dearly demonstrates, it is a marriage, and a very suitable one. He views it as convenient and makes it seem as though Persephone is lucky and should feel honored. Hades, too, considers that he has married Persephone, as is clear from the language in the scene with Hermes. Zeus sends Hermes to find Hades at home, sitting in bed with his respectable wife while she wishes for her mother. Hades, in his own eyes the newly married groom, seems to be happy. He makes an attempt to seduce her and persuade her to stay by talking about offerings and being a worthy husband. He then gives her pomegranate seeds to eat which assures him that he will see his bride again. The perspective of Hades, like that of Helios, focuses on marriage and its possible benefits to Persephone, rather than on the violence done to her and his keeping her in the underworld against her will.
The author of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, by twisting the images of marriage, rape, and death, presents the story of Persephone from two different, gender-specific points-of-view. From the masculine point of view, the event was a wedding; from the feminine, it was a rape. An additional problem of interpretation presented by the Hymn, however, is the status of women in Greece. Demeter strongly resists and opposes the `marriage' or rape of her daughter by Hades. The author of the Hymn to Demeter characterizes Demeter as the grieving mother, which is able to be seen as either the mother of the bride or the mother of the deceased.
The Demeter portrayed in the Homeric Hymn is an important and rare example in Greek myths of a feminine perspective, and of a woman who is not powerless to change her situation. She wins for herself and her daughter compromise that permits mother and daughter an annual reunion and helps provide an encouraging story of determination and accomplishment.