



The Legend of Persephone, Queen of the underworld, wife of Hades and daughter of Demeter and Zeus.
Hades, the ruler of the underworld, decided that he wanted to marry Persephone. One day, as she was gathering flowers in her meadow she was drawn to the sudden blooming of a glorious narcissus flower. As she reached to pluck it, the ground below her feet opened up and Hades, in his four-horse golden chariot, appeared before her in all his power and majesty and he took her with him to the underworld to be his wife and queen.
Demeter was distraught by the loss of her daughter and neglected her duties. Since she was the goddess of agriculture and fertility the earth became barren. Hermes was sent to the underworld to fetch Persephone and she was once again reunited with her mother, however she had grown to love Hades and her life in the underworld.
It was agreed that she would spend half her year in the underworld with her lover and half in Olympus with her mother and this became the origin of the seasons.