Persephone: Her Mythical Return to Sicily Di Federica Mazzara
Persephone: her mythical return to Sicily di Federica Mazzara Afar the flowers of Enna from this drear Dire fruit, which, tasted once, must thrall me here. Dante Gabriel Rossetti The focus of this study is the myth of Demeter and Persephone, and, in particular, lesser-known aspects of this mythological tale related to its setting in Sicily. Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of fertility. The myth tells about her rape by Hades, Lord of the Dead, who took her with him to the Underworld, where she was to be his wife. The rape takes place while Persephone is gathering flowers with her playmates. The rest of the myth tells about the desperate search of Demeter for her daughter and the agreement, in the end, with Hades to have Persephone live half of each year aboveground (Spring) and the other half (Winter) in the underworld. The first chapter of this work, that as a whole I will define as a “mythological journey”, deals generally with mythology. I refer to some authoritative scholars of mythology, such as Kerényi, Jung and Vernant, in order to underline its elusive nature and especially what, in my opinion, is its most important value, in other words, its continuing relevance in a modern context. As Kerényi affirms, the act of telling is what assures the survival of mythology, and I hope that this study too can help to maintain this tradition. The second chapter addresses the classical sources that have preserved the myth of Persephone and Demeter over time. These are the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, which is considered to be the first written record of this myth, Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Fasti, and Claudian’s The 1 Rape of Proserpine.
[Show full text]