The Underworld

My name is Persephone, and I am the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of the harvest. My favorite place in the whole world was a big, sunny meadow where I spent my days picking flowers and listening to the happy buzz of bees. Everything was warm and smelled like sweet grass and sunshine. One afternoon, I saw a flower that was more beautiful than any I had ever seen before. Its petals shimmered with all the colors of a rainbow, like tiny jewels catching the light. I just had to have it. But as my fingers touched the stem, the ground began to tremble. A big crack opened up in the earth, and I was gently whisked away into a mysterious, shadowy kingdom far below. This is the story of how I became queen of a hidden world, and how my journey created the seasons in the myth of the Underworld.

Down below, the air was cool and filled with a peaceful quiet. This was the Underworld, and its king was a tall, serious god named Hades. He wasn't scary like some stories say; he just seemed very lonely in his gigantic, silent palace. The walls of his home weren't painted but were covered in gems that glittered in the dim light like trapped stars. He showed me his amazing kingdom, with its sleepy, dark rivers that whispered secrets as they flowed and its strange gardens where shadowy flowers made of mist grew. While I was exploring this new place, my mother, Demeter, was so overcome with sadness that she couldn't take care of the world above. The leaves on the trees turned brown and fell, the colorful flowers wilted, and a deep, frosty chill filled the air for the very first time. This was the first winter. Back in the Underworld, I started to see that Hades just wanted a friend. I wasn't scared anymore. Just before it was time for me to leave, he offered me a snack: a beautiful pomegranate, as red as a ruby. I was a little hungry, so I ate just six tiny seeds. I didn't know that those seeds held the magic of the Underworld. When the messenger god, Hermes, flew down on his winged sandals to take me home, Hades gently explained, "Because you have eaten the food of my kingdom, you must always return to it."

To make sure everyone was happy, a deal was made. For six months of the year, I would live with my mother on Earth. The moment I returned, her happiness was so powerful that she would make the whole world bloom again. That’s when spring would arrive, followed by the warm, sunny days of summer. Flowers would burst open in every color imaginable, the grass would grow thick and green, and the sun would shine its brightest. But for the other six months, I had to keep my promise and go back to be the queen of the Underworld with Hades. When I left, my mother would grow sad again, and she would let the world rest under the quiet, cozy blanket of autumn and winter. The ancient Greeks told this story to explain the beautiful, repeating dance of the seasons. It shows how there is a balance to everything in the world: there is a time for light and a time for shadow, a time for joy and a time for rest. Even today, this story inspires artists to paint pictures of my two homes and writers to tell tales about the promise of spring. It is a wonderful reminder that even after the coldest, darkest days, the warmth and light will always, always return.