Why Did Persephone Eat The Pomegranate Seeds?

As she bent down to pick it, the earth opened and Hades seized her and dragged her down to his kingdom. By eating a few pomegranate seeds, Persephone tied herself to Hades—the pomegranate being a symbol of the indissolubility of marriage.

Why did Persephone eat a pomegranate?

Before being set free from the underworld, Persephone was persuaded to eat six pomegranate seeds (In ancient mythology, to eat the fruit of one’s captor meant that one would have to return to that captor), to make sure she returned to the underworld when her time on Earth was up, that’s Hades hedging his bets!

When did Persephone eat the pomegranate seeds?

Seems when Hades married Persephone and took her to the underworld, he tricked her into eating six pomegranate seeds, which condemned her to spend eternity there. This caused Persephone’s mother Demeter, goddess of fertility, to go into mourning, which meant everything on land ceased to grow. But only for six months.

Was Persephone forced to eat the pomegranate?

When pressed, Persephone admits that Hades forced her to eat something sweet: “but he stealthily put in my mouth a food honey-sweet, a pomegranate seed, and compelled me against my will and by force to taste it” (411–3).

How did Hades get Persephone to eat the pomegranate seeds?

Demeter had finally learned where Persephone was. She insisted that she be returned to her. Hades sadly hitched his horses to his chariot and prepared to take Persephone back. But before they left, he offered Persephone one last thing to eat – a ripe, blood red pomegranate.

What is the moral of Persephone and the pomegranate seeds?

Persephone’s eating of the pomegranate seed means that a compromise is set up, in which the world changes forever. Whereas she might have expected an immortal existence with her mother on Olympus, Persephone becomes the central figure in a new cycle of life and death.

Why is pomegranate called fruit of death?

Symbol of death and fertility In Greek mythology, the pomegranate was known as the ‘fruit of the dead’ as it was said to have arisen from the blood of Adonis. It also prominently featured in the myth of Hades and Persephone.

Is Persephone good or evil?

Persephone is the main antagonist of God of War: Chains of Olympus. She is the ancient Greek Goddess of Spring and Innocence who was cursed to be both the wife of Hades and the Goddess of the Underworld.

Did Hades ever cheat on Persephone?

Hades did not make any of his extramarital affairs a secret. Typically, his affairs would not bother Persephone, but when Minthe arrogantly bragged that she was more beautiful than Persephone and that she would win Hades back, Persephone took revenge. Persephone turned Minthe into what we know today as the mint plant.

Why did Hades cheat on Persephone?

Hades did not make any of his extramarital affairs a secret. Typically, his affairs would not bother Persephone, but when Minthe arrogantly bragged that she was more beautiful than Persephone and that she would win Hades back, Persephone took revenge. Persephone turned Minthe into what we know today as the mint plant.

Why is pomegranate the forbidden fruit?

The pomegranate is the passion fruit, also called the fruit of love. Hades tricked Persephone, the goddess of innocence, into eating pomegranate seeds, which forced her to retreat to the underworld for winter each year.

Do all pomegranates have 613 seeds?

The number of seeds in a pomegranate can vary from 200 to about 1,400.

Who was Persephone in love with?

Hades
Persephone & Hades According to mythology, Hades, god of the Underworld, fell in love with beautiful Persephone when he saw her picking flowers one day in a meadow. The god then carried her off in his chariot to live with him in the dark Underworld.

What crime did Persephone commit?

Persephone was raped by her father, Zeus, twice, and bore two kids by him. The name Persephone is thought to mean “destroy” and “murder.” Persephone is the goddess of the spring season.

How old is Persephone now?

Hear me out. He’s 2000 years old canonically and Persephone is 19. Barely an adult.

Did Persephone fall in love Hades?

Hades, god of the Underworld, fell in love with Persephone and wanted her as his bride. His brother Zeus consented to the marriage—or at least refused to oppose it. Yet he warned Hades that Demeter would never approve this coupling, for she would not want her daughter spirited off to a sunless world.

Was Hades abusive to Persephone?

In Ancient Greek and Roman texts it is clear that Hades kidnapped Persephone against her will, and forcibly made her his wife. We can therefore assume she did not love Hades at this stage, and probably even hated him for destroying her innocence and taking her away from her family.

What do pomegranate seeds symbolize?

Symbol of death and fertility It also prominently featured in the myth of Hades and Persephone. Hades, God of the underworld, used pomegranate seeds to trick Persephone into returning to the underworld for a few months of every year. Alongside death, the pomegranate symbolised fertility in Ancient Greece and Rome.

What does pomegranate symbolize in the Bible?

Pomegranate seeds are said to number 613—one for each of the Bible’s 613 commandments. The pomegranate was revered for the beauty of its shrub, flowers, and fruit—symbolising sanctity, fertility, and abundance. The Song of Solomon compares the cheeks of a bride behind her veil to the two halves of a pomegranate.

What is the spiritual significance of pomegranate?

Pomegranates have diverse cultural-religious significance, as a symbol of life and fertility owing to their many seeds but also as a symbol of power (imperial orb), blood and death. Pomegranates already symbolised fertility, beauty and eternal life, in Greek and Persian mythology.

What is Persephone scared of?

Persephone was scared of Pirithous and stabbed him with a pencil, when she stood up against Hades in the clearing, when she stood up to Hades in the Underworld, when she learned self-defense, when she opened her mind on purpose to Boreas’s dreamwalking after Melissa was taken.