Although Persephone is best known as Demeter’s daughter, the maiden who was abducted by Hades, lord of the underworld, the Greek version of her myth reflects the usurpation of female mysteries by a patriarchal mythology. In this version Persephone personifies the kore, the maiden aspect of the goddess. Her myth exemplifies the cycles of nature, for when Persephone is underground, plants do not bloom, and when she returns to earth, spring ensues.
Persephone is the goddess of the soul, for it is in the darkness of the underworld (analogous to the unconscious) that soul is formed. In the Orphic mysteries, Persephone granted wisdom to the initiate, for she is the goddess of a dark, uncomfortable wisdom, a goddess of dark and frightening power. Persephone represents the ability to rule over the aspects of ourselves that are terrifying in the extreme.
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