Greek Mythology

A beautiful girl named Persephone lived in a world full of sunshine. Her mommy, Demeter, made all the plants grow tall and all the flowers bloom bright. This story is the myth of Persephone and how the seasons began. Persephone loved to run through the big, green fields. The sun was warm on her face. The flowers were red and yellow and blue. Everything was happy and everything was bright. She would play all day long with the butterflies and the birds. It was always warm, and it was always playtime in her happy, sunny world.

One day, Persephone was picking the prettiest flowers she could find. A kind and quiet king named Hades saw her. He gently brought her to his home deep under the ground. It was not a scary place. It was a quiet, sparkly place full of shiny, glowing gems. It was like a secret cave filled with treasure. Persephone missed the warm sun a little bit. She missed her mommy, too. Then she saw a special fruit, a pomegranate. Its seeds were red and sweet. They looked like tiny jewels. She ate just a few of the sweet, red seeds.

Up above, her mommy Demeter was so sad. She missed her little girl very much. Because she was sad, she forgot to keep the world warm. The flowers went to sleep. The leaves fell down from the trees. Brrr, it got cold. This was the very first winter. The other gods saw that everyone was cold, so they made a plan. Because Persephone ate the seeds, she had to share her time. Part of the year, she would return to her mommy. When she came back, Demeter was so happy. She made the sun shine and the flowers bloom. This was spring and summer. When Persephone went back to the sparkly kingdom, Demeter would rest. This was autumn and winter.

This story helped people long ago understand why the world changes. It explains why we have warm times and cold times. The myth of Persephone and the four seasons shows us something special. It reminds us that even after the world is cold and sleepy for winter, the warm sun and the bright flowers of spring will always, always come back. And the world becomes happy and new all over again.