LITERATURE READER

CLASS-VI
Chapter – Seasons

Introduction

Time is a difficult concept for you to understand. They start to get an idea of how time passes thanks to the different situation they
encounter in their day-to-day life, such as eating hours, daily habits or the switch from day to night. The fact that these events occur in
a certain order helps the little ones to get a better understanding of time and how important it is. Learning about seasons of the year
and their transition will help you to better comprehend how time works.

Season changes are very distinct in certain parts of the world, and this is a thing that the little ones notice from a young age. Children
happily anticipate to play with the fallen leaves during autumn or to make the best and most awesome snow figures when winter
comes. Not to mention the excitement when summer is almost there, and the opportunity to go to the beach arises! Or some little ones
are excited to see the plants growing stronger and flowers blooming during the spring season. However, seasons don’t happen
simultaneously around the globe, there’s a difference between the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres, and this could bring some
difficulties while learning about seasons.

The best way to do it would be to know the characteristic of each season so that you can easily differentiate them.

Everytime a change occurs in your life, you embark on a transition journey illustrated here with the seasons. Follow the spiral to
discover the practical steps you can take to grow through life’s inevitable ups and downs.

Imagine this is an upward moving spiral that continues forever. Think of these seasons as a metaphor for the phases of any transition
journey. These seasons may, or may not, match the seasons unfolding outside your window.

In any given transition, you move from summer – a time when all is going well in your life – through fall, winter, spring upto a new level
of summer.

Most of us have grown up believing that to be successful, we must remain in summer at all times. But then, any change that takes us
off our line of success is a threat to be avoided at all costs. There is another way.

■ Seasons of change spiral

If we see change as a naturally occurring event – much like the change of seasons – then we can embrace change as a gift and an
invitation to improve and enhance our lives.

To grow through life’s inevitable ups and downs, we must move through each season in turn.

● Fall – Sensing a shift in your life and preparing for what’s to come.

● Early Winter – Retreating, Reflecting and Reconnecting with your Deep Nature.

● Winter Solstice – Catching sparks of Hope in the Darkness.

● Late Winter – Exploring and Experimenting to Firm up your vision for the future

● Spring – Bursting into Bloom and Putting your plan into action.

■ Summer – Celebrating Your Harvest

Seasons of change by the season

Do you have a sense of where you are on the seasons of change spiral? Read the summaries below to gain a sense of the purpose of
each season. The first line of each summary describes have you are likely to feel while in each season.

Deeper your exploration of the seasons that resonate with where you are in the journey.

■ Fall : Time of Sensing A shift

You are likely to be in Fall if you are getting news of changes or you are worrying while you wait for news.

While you are in Fall, focus your attention on :

• Acknowledge that changes are happening in your life.

• Getting the support you need to make it through
• Creating a safe refuge where you can weather out the storms ahead.

At the same time, do what you can to avoid these difficulties :

• Denying the changes that are occurring in your life.

• Jumping at the first option that shows up.
• Being a lone ranger and trying to do it all alone.

Early winter: A Time of Retreating And Reflecting

You are likely to be in Early winter if you are feeling tired, feeling confused about all or part of your life, or trying to avoid social events
while you are in Early winter, focus your attention on:

• Renewing yourself
• Greeting quiet time for yourself
• Reflecting on your situation, your desires, and your idea.

At the same time, do what you can to avoid these difficulties

• Staying so busy you can’t focus inward

• Starting something new so you won’t have to feel the chaos within
• Forcing yourself to be happy when you aren’t

■ Winter Solstice : catching spark of Hope In the Darkness

You are likely to be experiencing your winter Solstice if you feel like you are in the dark and or feeling the imminent birth of an insight.

● During your winter Solstice, focus your attention on :

• Turning things upside down to look at your life from new perspective
• Drawing a line in the sand and saying “enough is enough”
• Telling a new story about your past to find new doors to the future

At the same time, do what you can to avoid these difficulties:

• Avoiding your quiet time

• Being in a toxic environment
• Being wedded to one solution

You are likely to be in late winter if you are catching new insights and seeing glimmers of spring
While you are in late winter, focus your attention on:

• Following your insights whatever they take you

• Clearing out the old in your space you to do list, your relationships, and your mind.
• Experimenting and exploring to firm up your vision for the future

At the same time, do what you can to avoid these difficulties:

• Ignoring your insights

• Doing what you’ve always done because it’s more comfortable than stretching
• Charging ahead without a sense of where you are going

■ Spring : A time of New Growth

You are likely to be in spring if you are bursting with energy and struggling with your re-entry in your life.

While you are in spring, focus your attention on:

• Trusting your own timing

• Birthing what’s new in your life
• Blossoming fully into the new you

At the same time , do what you can to avoid these difficulties:

• Making no forward movement

• Ignoring your inner knowing

● Summer: A time of celebrating your Harvest you are likely to be in summer if you are feeling clear and confident and your life is
abundant while you are in summer, focus your attention on:

• Allowing what is new in your life to ripen in its own time.

• Savouring your success
• Celebrating and playing

At the same time, do what you can to avoid these difficulties:

• Raising your definition of success so you never succeed

• Backing down from what’s going well in your life
• Being a worry wart about what’s to come in the future

Now I will tell you a story about seasons. It will help you to make more knowledgeable about seasons. So let’s enjoy the story about
seasons.

One day the seasons had an arrangement. Each one of them said, “I am the best!”

Spring said, “ I am when flowers bloom and it is green and fresh everywhere

Birds fly and insects have fun with new flowers”.

Summer said, “Yes, but I am when the sun shines brightly and it feels hot to do anything. People eat ice-cream, enjoy cold drinks and
eat yummy watermelon”.
Autumn said, “I am when trees shed their leaves and cover the Earth in orange brilliance. The air feels cool.”

Winter said, “ I am when people wear woollen clothes, caps and gloves to keep their bodies warm. They get to drink hot chocolate.
Birds fly south for the winter because it’s too cold”.

Since they couldn’t decide who was best, they agreed that they were all important because one could not do without the other.

■ Four seasons of the year

We divide the year into four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Each season lasts, months with summer being the warmest
season , winter being the coldest, and spring and autumn lying in between.

The seasons have a lot of impact on what happens on the Earth. In the spring, animals are born and plants come back to life. Summer is
hot and is then kids are usually out of school and we take vacations to the beach. Often crops are harvested at the end of the summer.
In autumn the leaves change colours and fall off the trees and school starts again. Winter is cold and it snows in many places. Some
animals, like bears, hibernate in the winter while other animals, like birds migrate to warmer clothes.

Every year our planet experiences four seasons: As earth moves around the sun it spins in slightly tilted position ( on an axis tilted 23.5
degrees from a straight up, vertical position).

This tilt is what causes because through the year different parts of the planet as closes through the year different parts of the planets
are closer to or further away from the sun’s light. More or less Sunlight and the heat impact on the length of each day and the average
daily temperature on different seasons, as well as the amount of rainfall.

Seasons are caused because of the Earth’s changing relationship to the sun. The Earth travels around the sun, called an orbit, once a
year or every year 365 days. As the Earth orbits the sun, the amount of sunlight each location on the planet gets everyday changes
slightly. This change causes the seasons.

Seasons vary from region to region. The character of each season primarily depends on which part of the world on e lives in. But
whatever the seasons are, there is a song or poetry on each of them.

Spring, also known as spring time, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. During spring time,
the daylight hours become longer, the sun shines a little stronger, and flowers begin to bloom! Also the temperature start to drop, and
it might be windy and rainy sometimes. The countryside look green with lifes. Here are lines from a poem that describes spring
beautifully –

Here’s Spring,

With green on his wing

And blue in his eye.

In warm, tropical countries, summer is a time of too much sun. One longs for a cool shade to escape the searching heat and the blazing
sun. Summer time’s the hottest season of the year. The days are longer and the sun shines brightly in a clear sky. During this time of the
year, the trees are full of leaves. It’s clearly the best time to go to the beach since the weather is warms and the days are sunny! The
heat of Summer has been described thus –

“ Noon swoons beneath the heat it made,

And flower e'en within the shade,

Until the sun slopes in the West.”

But in cold countries and in hilly regions, Summer is most welcome.

 “The little bird sits at his door in the sun,

Atilt like a blossom among the leaves......

He sings to the wide world.”

After the heat of Summer , the rain bring relief to warm countries like India. Nature looks fresh and green.

Rainy season, or the wet season, is one among the four seasons when the region’s average rainfall is achieved. It is generally caused
due to changes in the flow of winds and other geological factors: Generally, the rainy season brings much-needed relief from the
extreme heat of the preceding summer season. Plants that were previously wilted spring to life in the rainy season. Animals are also
active during the rainy season. The feeling of relief during rainfall after the scorching heat of summer is expressed beautifully –

How beautiful is the rain!

After the dust and heat,

In the broad and fiery street,

In the narrow lane,

How beautiful is the rain!

The poem is written by Longfellow on rain in summer, where he is overjoyed by the shower in a hot day. He opens the poem by
exclaiming, “How beautiful is the rain!” which shows his happiness and excitement about rain. He talks about how it the drizzle and
shower relieves him form the heat and dust of the Summer. In these lives he is just mesmerised by the rain washing off all the heat and
dust from the narrow and broad lanes of the city and he reiterates the statement, “How beautiful is the rain!”

However, the rains in cold countries can be quite unpleasant, although the rainy season is necessary for the growth of crops and plants
anywhere in the world. This is the season where farmers look forward to , as rain becomes the saving grace for their crops.

Autumn, like spring is pleasant everywhere. This season is also called ‘fall’ in the United states and the leaves of many trees change
from green to yellow or red.

Red, yellow, orange, and brown are the colours of the leaves before they fall to the ground. Autumn is one of the four seasons of the
year and is the time of the year that transitions summer into winter. Along with the tree leaves changing colour, the temperature
grows colder plants stop making food, animals prepare for the long months ahead, and the daylight starts growing shelter. The trees
shed their leaves, there is nip in the air, ass the first signs of winter begin to show. It is a time of harvesting and fruit gathering in most
parts of the world. The signs of winter is expressed through these lines.

The golden-rod is yellow,

The corn is turning brown,

The trees in apple orchards

With fruit are bending down.

In these lines, the poem has presents the mood of the poet. The poet has presented the September through these lines. Here golden
rod means ‘A plant with yellow flowers’. The corn is turning brown means ‘corn cultivation is reaching its harvest time. Apple orchards
means ‘Apple cultivation’ and Bending down means ‘bending down with the weight of ripe apples.’

When fall comes, the days become shorter, leaves start to fall from the trees and piles of leaves rest on the ground. Also, the
temperature start dropping and it gets a little bit colder everyday. Autumn, is known in some parts of the world as the harvest season
because it’s then that most crops are ready to be harvested.
While people in tropical countries look forward to the cool winter, in the hills and the northern and sometimes, people start preparing
for the freezing, and sometimes, snowy winters, when –

Every fence, and every tree,

Is as white as white can be.

Winter is the coldest season of the year in polar and temperate zones. The days are shorter and the nights are longer. It occurs after
autumns and before spring in each year. In some places usually snows, and in others, it’s the rainfall season. Wintertime is also known
as the cold season, the perfect time to practice snowboarding and te go skiing.

And then spring returns once more with the coming of March and April –

I have heard a mother bird

Singing in the rain

Telling all her little ones

Spring has come again

The poet has explained beautifully the returning of spring through these lines. And so, the cycle of seasons go on and on. The
occurrence of seasons one after the other in a year leads to the ‘cycle of seasons’. The changes in the atmosphere, vapour in the air, the
wind and the precipitation also influence the seasons.

Scientists explain the change of seasons in their own day. Everyday, the earth spins once on its axis. But our planet isn’t perfectly
upright when it spins. Thanks to a few collisions during its formation, the Earth is tilted at an angle of 23.5 degrees. This means that as
Earth takes it annual trip around the sun, different areas of the planet face the sun more directly during their daylight hours at different
times of the year.

The tilt also affects the daily amount of light without it the whole planet would have 12 hour days and nights everyday of the year.

When it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere, it is autumn in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. Spring and ‘springtime’ refer to
the season, and also to ideas of rebirth, rejuvenation, renewal, resurrection and regrowth. Subtropical and tropical areas have climates
better described in terms of other seasons, e.g. dry or wet, monsoonal or cyclonic. The date of beginning of summer varies according to
climate, tradition, and culture. When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and vice versa.
In many regions, winter is associated with snow and freezing temperatures. When it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere, it is summer
in the Southern Hemisphere, and vice versa. In the UK, the period of school between the start of September and the end of December is
known as the ‘Autumn Term'.

When it is autumn in the Northern Hemisphere, it is spring in the Southern Hemisphere. At the same time, when it is autumn in the
Southern Hemisphere, it is spring in the Northern Hemisphere.

■ Summer and Winter

In summer, days are longer because more hours are spent facing the sun. And they’re hotter because we’re facing the sun more head-
on-so we get hit by more rays of sunlight than if we were on an angle. But while we’re busy planning Christmas barbecues, the northern
hemisphere is tilted away from the sun. That means there are fewer daylight hours up there and the light is spread out over a greater
surface area, so it doesn’t get as warm. Their shortest day – the winter Solstice happens on our longest. The tables turn six months
later, when the Earth is halfway around its orbit of the sun. The Northern hemisphere's summer solstice matches our winter solstice
around June 22, when the sun is as far north as it goes – above the Tropic of Cancer.

■ Spring and Autumn

In Spring and autumn the planet isn’t tilted towards or away from the sun – its roughly side-on. And for two days each year the Earth’s
tilt is exactly side-on to the sun.

Tropics and poles

Some parts of the polar are so consistently cold – and the tropics so hot – they could pass for having only one season.
 On the other hand, the tropics are consistently hot. It doesn’t matter if they’re tilted towards or away from the sun, they’re still closer
to it than anywhere else on Earth and they get plenty of direct light and heat. But both places have two distinct seasons.

In the polar regions, the main difference comes down to the amount of daylight. During ‘summer’, the whole area is tilted towards the
sun and flooded with sunlight daytime at the poles lasts for half the year. In the tropics , the difference between seasons is due to
rainfall. In this way, according to the scientists the changes of seasons go on.

But the Greeks of olden days had a different story about the change of seasons. They were such brilliant storytellers that they wove
stories around many of the natural phenomena that they saw everyday, and beautiful stories they were too. Now I am going to explain
the story made by the Greeks about the change of seasons.

■ The Characters in the story

● Persephone (proserpine to the Romans) was the beautiful daughter of Zeus, king of the gods, and Demeter, goddess of agriculture.
Persephone also goes by the name of Kore as Cora, and she is thought of as the maiden goddess of spring and grain. In the most
popular myth of Persephone , she’s the unwilling wife of Hades. Interestingly, in earlier myths Persephone is depicted as the perfectly
willing queen of the dead who rules the underworld beside her husband Hades. Eventually, it seems Persephone’s two personas
blended together, and so she was thought of as a goddess of both life and death.

● Hades ( Pluto of the Romans) was known as the Lord of the underworld and god of the dead. He definitely comes off as bad guy in
this little story when he drags the maiden, Persephone, down to the underworld and forces her to be his bride.

● Demeter is the Greek goddess of agriculture, grain and bread, the story of her daughter persephone's kidnapping is the most widely
known myth of the goddess. It seems like everyday can sympathize with his poor lady as she searches all over the earth for her lost
daughter. Persephone’s abduction into the underworld and return to her mother was the basis of most of the cults that worshipped
Demeter. The most famous rituals celebrating the agricultural goddess were the Eleusinian Mysteries, which promised participants
everlasting life.

●Zeus – It seems like the king of the gods, Zues(Jupiter of the Romans) is always causing some kinds of trouble. In this myth, he decides
it’s a good idea to let his brother, Hades, marry his daughter, Persephone Zeus decides this, of course, without bothering to tell
persephone or her mother, Demeter, of his matchmaking scheme. This myth is pretty interesting in that the all-powerful king of the
gods gets tricked down by a goddess. It looks like the patriarchal(male-dominated system) on Mount Olympus isn’t quite as fool-proof
as Zeus would like it to be.

■ Story Explanation

The story of how the four seasons came to be originated with Demeter, the Greek mythological goddess of the harvest. She was the
goddess who blessed the earth and made sure that everyone had a great harvest. However, according to the stories, whether or not
the harvest would be good or not depended largely in her moods. After suffering the greatest heartbreak of her life, the four seasons
were born. Here’s a look at the story of how the seasons came to be :
The story of Persephone, the sweet daughter of goddess Demeter who was kidnapped by Hades and later became the Queen of the
underworld is known all over the world. It is actually the way of the ancient Greeks to explain the change of the seasons, the eternal
cycle of the Nature’s death and rebirth.

Persephone is understood in people’s mind as a naive little girl who flows between the protection of the mother and the love of her
husband. The myth of Persephone was very popular in the ancient times and it is said that her story was represented in the Eleusinian
Mysteries, the great private and secret celebrations of ancient Greece.

The first day of spring, also known as the vernal equinox, is a time of growth and rebirth. In ancient Greece, mythologies were
developed to explain why things in the world around. To the ancient Greeks, spring and summer signified the six months when
Persephone returned from the underworld, and her mother Demeter made the earth bloom and grow bountiful after her absence.
When Persephone left the company of the gods and returned to the underworld. Demeter’s loss was expressed in the barren ness of
autumn and winter. It’s a story about love, relationships, family bonds, grief, loss and a renewal of hope.

The myth of Hades and Persephone is one of the well known Greek myths.

Hades was the brother of Zeus and the god of the underworld.

Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, the Goddess of Nature.

The myth of Hades and Persephone is one more myth of love and abduction in the Greek mythology.

Hades and Persephone: The beginning of the myth : On one of the trips that Persephone took with her mother, Hades caught a glimpse
of the beautiful girl as she was in a field picking flowers. Hades was constantly surrounded by images of death. The fact that
Persephone was not only beautiful, but also full of life, was especially appealing to him. Not only that, but he was incredibly lonely. He
wanted to make Persephone his queen.

According to Greek mythology, Persephone, the queen of the underworld, was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of
harvest and fertility. She was also called Kore, which means “maiden" and grew up to be a lovely girl attracting the attention of many
gods. However, Demeter had an obsessed love for her only daughter and kept all men away from her.

The most persisting suitor of Persephone was Hades, the god of the underworld. He was a hard, middle-aged man, living in the dark,
among the shadows of the Dead. But his heart softened when he saw Persephone and was amazed by his youth, beauty and freshness
when he asked Demeter to marry her daughter. Demeter got furious and said there wasn’t the slightest chance for that to happen.
Hades was heartbroken and decided to get Persephone no matter what.

Hades fell in love with Persephone and decided to kidnap her. The myth says that in one of the rare times he left the underworld, he
travelled above ground to pursue her, while she was gathering flowers in a field. So, Hades went to his brother Zeus to consult him.
Zeus, knew, however, that Persephone’s mother Demeter would never allow her daughter to marry the dark god of the underworld.

Hades was heartbroken that he would never be able to have Persephone as his wife. So, the two brothers hatched a plan that would
see him marry the woman he desperately loved. As the girl played with her companion they caused the ground to split underneath her.

Persephone slipped beneath the Earth and Hades stole her to the underworld where he made her his wife.

The myth says that Persephone was very unhappy but after much time, she came to love the cold-blooded Hades and lived happily with
him.

The myth of Hades and Persephone also has a different version; in this one Demeter was present when Persephone was kidnapped by
God Hades but was tricked by Zeus and Hades. That morning when Demeter descended on Earth with her daughter persephone , she
left her to play with the sea nymphs called Nercids and the Naiads who were the fresh water nymphs of the lakes, springs and rivers.

Demeter went to supervise her bountiful crops. As Persephone engaged in play and with the rest of the group, her attention fell upon
the potently fragrant valley nearby and she couldn’t take her eyes of the yellow flower narcissus. She called upon her playmates to
accompany her, but they couldn’t possibly go with her as having the side of their water beaches would result in their death. The flower
Narcissus was planted there by Gaia, who was following the orders of Zeus. The goal was to enchant Persephone and attract her, away
from her guides.
Hades Kidnapping Persephone

Persephone danced her way to the garden alone and tried to pluck the narcissus from the bosom of Gaia. It drained her energies as the
narcissus only came out after a lot of pulling. But suddenly, to her ulter fright, she saw the tiny hole from which she had drawn out the
flower shaft, began to rapid grow in size until a started to resemble a mighty enormous chasm. From this came the vigorous galloping
sounds of multiple horses and such sudden happenings only froze the frail beauty to her feet. Out of all her friends only the naiad
Cyane tried to rescue the crying Persephone but she was no match for the powerful Hades. Bereaving her friend’s kidnap, Cyane melted
into a pool of tears and formed the river Cyane at the spot.

Goddess Demeter Trying to find Persephone

Demeter rushed back to where she had left her daughter and found only the Cyane river there with the other nymphs weeping.
Worried as she was, she asked all as to the whereabouts of her beloved daughter.

Nobody could tell her anything at all and furious that they couldn’t protect her child, she cursed all the nymphs into becoming heinous
women with plumed bodies and scaly feet, called the sirens. It was only the river Cyane who helped her by washing over the belt of
Persephone, indicating that something gravely wrong had happened.

Demeter went mad and hunted for her daughter everywhere. The myth says that she even disguised herself as an aged lady and with
lighted torched in her hands roamed the Earth for nine long days and nine long nights.

She searched endlessly, neglecting her duties to tend to the Earth to nourish the mortals. Plants withered animals died, and famine
ravaged the earth resulting in untold misery. The cries of the mortals reached mount Olympus, and Zues knew that he had to intervene
to calm Demeter’s wrath and spare humanity.

Persephone’s mother, Demeter, begged her brother Hades to allow Persephone to come back to the livings, denoting that the young
Persephone was not supposed to live in the underworld. Hades consulted with Zeus and they both decided to allow Persephone to live
on earth for six months each year, while the rest of the time she would be on his side in the underworld.

Before leaving the underworld, Persephone had been persuaded to eat six seeds of a pomegranate.

After Hades releases Persephone to Demeter, Demeter is so happy to have her daughter back and she ends the famine. She quickly asks
her daughter if she had eaten anything while in the underworld. Persephone answered yes, she had eaten a pomegranate that Hades
forced upon her.

Demeter is heart broken because she knows that to eat the fruit of one’s captor meant that one would have to return to that captor or
country, so Persephone was doomed to return to the underworld for six months of the year. Demeter knows that, no matter what, the
law says her daughter must now live with Hades.

Zeus was a just and fair god who understand the laws but also needed to take care of the people who were going to be famished by
Demeter’s wrath and sadness. Therefore, he came up with a compromise. For one-third of the year, Persephone would live with Hades
in the underworld as his wife and queen of the underworld. The remainder of the year, Persephone would live in the upper world with
her Earth mother, Demeter. Thus, the four seasons were born.

Many believe that the Demeter and Persephone story explains the seasons of the year. During the time that Persephone spends away
from her mother, Demeter causes the earth to winter and die. This time of year became autumn and winter. Persephone’s arrival to be
reunited with her mother signals a renewal of hope. It represents the rebirth of untold splendor and abundance. The earth once again
becomes fertile and fruitful. The myth of Hades and Persephone is associated with the coming of spring and winter. When Persephone
comes to the Earth, it’s springtime. When she descends to Hades it in winter.

Thus, the lovely maiden Persephone became the rightful wife of Hades and Queen of the underworld. During the six months that
Persephone spent in the underworld, her mother was sad and not in the mood to deal with harvest. Thus, she would leave the Earth to
decline.

According to the ancient Greeks, these were the months of Autumn and Winter, when the land is not fertile and does not give crops.
Whenever Persephone went to Olympus to live with her mother. Demeter would shine from happiness and the land would become
fertile again and fruitful. These were the months of spring and summer. Therefore, this myth was created to explain the change of the
seasons, the eternal cycle of the Nature’s death and rebirth.
■ Summary of this myth

Persephone’s was Demeter’s and Zeus daughter. One day while, Persephone was gathering flowers when all of a sudden she was stolen
by Hades and taken into the underworld. Demeter, being the mother of Persephone, was terribly sad and devastated when she could
not find her daughter. No one had any idea to her. Demeter was sick with worry and grief. Demeter was so sad that even the crops and
plants would grow. When she learned that Hades had captured her daughter she became very angry. For a year she caused crops and
plants to withered die. A terrible famine gripped the earth.

Thus, the earth ceased to be fertile. This caused trouble to the humans, and so Zeus commanded Hades that he let Persephone go.
Hades was not to happy to agree to this, so he gave Persephone a pomegranate in the underworld. He knew that of she ate anything
from the land of the dead, she would have to return to him for a part of each year. Thankfully, Persephone did not eat all that many
seeds, so she had only to stay for a few months of the year in the underworld. The rest of the year would be spent on Earth with her
mother.

Demeter was delighted that her daughter returned to her. During the months that Persephone was down in the underworld, Demeter
would grow sad and not let the crops grow until Persephone came back to her. That is why for a part of each year the plants and crops
stop growing. But when Persephone returned each year, Demeter rejoiced and plants could grow again or in other words, the land once
again bursts with life. According to the ancient Greek mythology, this is the reason for summer, fall, winter and spring. That formed the
seasons, Fall and Winter with Hades and Spring and Summer with Demeter.

■ Analysis

This is a thorough analysis of the myth Hades and Persephone. The points to be discussed are the theme, the conflicts, connections to
modern day and the plot diagram of the story.

■ Introduction

Demeter once had a daughter named Persephone, a child she had with Zues. Demeter, the goddess of all useful fruits, grasses and
grains, was always happy and cheerful, and as a result, the crops on Earth grew abundantly all year round.

● Plot Diagram example

● Exposition

Hades, god of the underworld, abducted Persephone and brought her to his kingdom to be his wife.

● Conflict

There are three major conflicts in the story:

man vs man, the main fight is between Demeter and Hades. This is because Demeter loves her daughter who is kidnapped by Hades.

Persephone’s mother, Demeter, goddess of agriculture was so distraught over the abduction of her daughter that she refused to let
anything grow. Plants died and the fields were cold and barren. This causes hatred towards each other so it is man vs man.

In man vs society, Hades kidnaps Persephone. That is against all morals and against the way things was run then. Another example is
prearranged marriages. This happens when Hades kidnaps Persephone to be his wife without her consent.

In man vs nature, Demeter defines their laws of nature by letting all the crops die. Back then this did not happen.

■ Rising Action

One day, King Hades, the God of the underworld, made one of his rare visits to Olympus, where he fell in love with Persephone, the
daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Without consulting with Demeter, Hades directly asked Zeus for permission to marry his daughter. As
Zeus hesitated to reply, Hades decided to take matters into his own hands.

One day, when Persephone decided to go to the fields to collect poppies, Hades made the ground around her gape open. It was at that
time Hades appeared from the Underworld, grabbed Persephone into his chariot, and stormed back into the earth. Persephone gave a
loud shriek of terror, which was heard by Demeter, but by the time she reached the scene, her daughter had already disappeared.
Desperate for a solution, Zeus told to return back Persephone to her mother. Hades told that Persephone may return to the
underworld as she had eaten a pomegranate that Hades forced upon her, the food of the dead. As per law, no matter what, the law
says her daughter must now live with Hades.

Persephone is miserable in the darkness and lifeless ness of the underworld. Very few things grow there, such as cypress tree and
pomegranate.

● Climax

Zeus appeals to Demeter to allow plants to grow again to avoid great loss of life. She denounces Zeus for his part in their daughter’s
abduction, and demands that Persephone be returned to her.

● Falling action

Zeus agrees that Persephone can return to her mother, but because she had eaten food from the underworld, Persephone must spend
half of the year with Hades and the remaining half of the year with her mother, Demeter.

● Resolution

When Persephone is in the underworld Demeter misses her and causes the cold of winter. When she returns above ground,
Persephone, goddess of spring, brings warmth and brightness back to the world.

● Symbolism

■ Symbols to look for and discuss in the Myth of Hades and Persephone

● Pomegranate

The pomegranate is a symbol for life and abundance, but also for death. The many seeds show the capability of new life & new growth.
However, the pomegranate seems to bleed if it is cut, and it is the one thing that ties Persephone to the world of the dead.

● Winter

Winter represents the time that Persephone spends in the underworld. The living world seems suspended because the plants ‘die', the
weather becomes harsh, and the days are shorter and darker.

● Spring

Spring is Persephone’s time. She returns from the underworld and is reunited with her mother. Days become longer and warmer,
plants come alive, and animals become active.

● Conclusion

As a result, we now have different seasons. The third of the year, when Persephone is down in the underworld with Hades, we have
winter and no growth of crops, as Demeter is unhappy and gloomy. When Persephone returns to her mother for the remaining one
third, Demeter becomes cheerful, and so we have spring, summer, and fall, the growing seasons for plants and fruits.
■ Theme

The main theme of the myth is the strength of love between a mother and her child. After Hades took Persephone to the underworld,
Demeter dropped all her responsibilities(including caring for the crops), and even faced the Lord of the Dead, Hades, to get their
daughter back. This shows that parents are caring and would do anything for their children. ( except for Zeus, since he did not show any
emotions whatsoever when he found out that his daughter had been kidnapped).

Another theme is that love can make you do crazy things. Hades fell in love with Persephone, so he kidnapped her, and made her his
bridge. Hades was too blinded by his love for Persephone to be able to see that what he was doing was wrong. Hades should know that
if he wants to show affection, he should not just go around kidnapping very woman he finds attractive.

■ The additional themes are –

• Jealousy
• Boastfulness
• Anger / Retribution
• Temptation
• Natural Forces by Divine Will

■ Importance

Greek myths was written for entertainment and to explain natural phenomenons. They explain simple questions that shake the
foundation of our world. The myth “Hades and Persephone” is important for many reasons. Three of these reasons are : it explains a
natural phenomenon, it shows the emotional sides of Hades and Persephone, and it resembles the cycle of life and death. The first
reason why the myth “Demeter and Persephone” is important is it explains why we have seasons. While Persephone was in the
underworld, she ate pomegranate seeds, “the food of the dead.” As a result of this action, Hades was able to lay a claim on her. To put
an end on this quarrel, Zeus decided that Persephone would spent half months with her husband in Hades and half months with her
mother on Olympus. Thus, he tried to find another solution to both calm Demeter and please Hades. Demeter was not pleased with
this so she decided that she will not tend to the Earth’s crops while her daughter is in the underworld. Through this discussion, the
seasons came about. When Persephone is in the underworld, it is winter on the Earth and the ground yields nothing. When she returns
Mt. Olympus, spring starts and it progresses into summer. The ground yields a lot and the harvest is plenteous. This is one of the
importance of the myth Demeter and Persephone.

■ Emotions of Demeter and Persephone

The second reason why the myth “Hades and Persephone” is important as it shows the emotional side of Demeter. In this myth, we see
that the Greek gods and goddesses have feelings and can get very sensitive. In the myth, when Persephone was missing Demeter was
grieving and distressed. She, a usually calm and considerating goddess, forgot about the mortals and neglected their need for food. She
suffered before her daughter was found. Persephone also suffered because she was forced to leave her mother and go to a dark and
dreary place to live for a one third of each year. This is yet another significance of the myth Hades and Persephone.

■ Life and Death

The third reason why the myth is imperative or at resembles the cycle of life and death. Everyone on Earth will die sooner or later. In
the myth, as Persephone descends into the underworld for a one third of the year, it represents death and the earth is frozen with no
life. As she ascends unto Mt. Olympus to spend one third of each year, this represents life and life is springing from the earth. This goes
a cycle representing life and death.

In conclusion, the myth of Demeter and Persephone is important for many reasons. Three of these reasons are it explains why we have
seasons, it shows the emotional sides of Demeter and Persephone and it resembles the cycle of life and death.
■ Impact on Modern Day

The myth of Hades and Persephone shows the creation of winter. This myth has inspired many people to study, and educate others on
the message of this story. They express that in this story, Persephone and Demeter captures the importance of a natural cycle. As the
back and forth travel for the goddess brings the different seasons, her transition resembles the birth and death cycle of all living things.
This gives reason as to why we have different seasons and their creation. The characters Demeter and Persephone are also used in
many modern day novels. In the Stephen King book “Duma Key" the character “Perse”, being short for Persephone, is the antagonist to
the main character. Emily Whitman’s “Radiant Darkness” also involves the myth of Hades and Persephone. The novel follows the same
plot line but is set in modern day. Along with their appearance in modern literature, Demeter is also featured as a scientific title. A
main – belt asteroid orbiting the sun, was discovered by Karl Reinmuth, and 1108 Demeter. Some of the greatest impacts from this
myth are the different festivals. Theomophoria, was a festival held in Greek cities, in honour of the goddess Demeter and her daughter
Persephone, and is still recognized today.

The disappearance and the return of Persephone were the occasions of great festivals in ancient Greece, among them the Elefsinian
rites, whose secrets were so closely guarded that little is known about them today.

Some experts believe the rites or mysteries fostered the idea of a more perfect life after death, and thus helped to lay the groundwork
for the coming of Christianity, which upholds the idea of everlasting life.

The students of Greek mythology is often struck by the fact that some gods and goddesses have extensive roles in the mythical
narratives and others have very limited parts to play. The goddess Demeter is an interesting case of this. As an Olympian goddess and
fertility figure, she is very important in ancient Greek religion and life, but she has a rather small role in its literature and mythology.

She is mentioned a little bit in Homeric epic, especially the Iliad, but has no actual part to play either in the Iliad or Odyssey. Nor does
she feature at all as a character in extant Greek drama. There is however, a rather beautiful poem called the “Homeric Hymn to
Demeter” in which Demeter and her daughter Persephone are the central focus of attention. It probably dates to the first half of the 6th
century B.C.

The focus of the poem is one of the most renowned narratives from Greek mythology – the kidnapping of Persephone by Hades, the
god of the underworld, and the response of Demeter to her loss. It is a remarkable narrative, built fundamentally on the power of a
mother’s love for her only child.

The ancient Greek word for ‘mother’ (meter) is actually embedded in Demeter’s name. The Hymn describes the primordial maternal
power brought to bear upon the male sky-god Zeus, who had secretly (i.e. without Demeter’s knowledge) given over his daughter
Persephone to a marriage with his brother Hades. In this story, Demeter is one of the ‘older’ generations of Olympian Gods.

Persephone’s transition from the feminished world of a flowery meadow to the unrelenting male world of Hades could scarcely be
more fundamental. The main narrative of the Hymn has some similarities to Achilles response to the loss of petroclus in the Iliad, but
Demeter’s wrath is universal with a kind of cosmic maternal power to it.

Persephone’s eating of the pomegranate seed means that a compromise is set up, in which the world changes forever. Whereas she
might have expected an immortal existence with her mother or Olympus, Persephone becomes the central figure in a new cycle if life
and death.

She is both queen of the underworld as wife of Hades, and associated with the new life rises with the spring. Death and life are no
longer mutually exclusive, but can exist in both the upper and lower worlds. There is life in death, and death in life.

The Demeter Hymn contains the foundation myth of the Eleusinian Mysteries – renowned religious rites which took place at Eleusis,
near to Athens; Initiation into the mysteries held out the prospect of making death less threatening.

Like many Greek myths the story of Persephone’s descent into the realm of Hades, and her emergence from it, has resonances in
contemporary arts, most especially the notion of death and rebirth.

One parallel worth noting is the phantom of the opera in the version by Andrew Lloyd- Webber in which Erik leads Christine down into
the cellars of the opera house on to a boat and across a subterranean lake. Erik then sings to Christiane of the attractions of his isolated
world of darkness and night.

The plea of Hades to Persephone is quite different in the Hymn, but the desperate loneliness of the two males in their dark realms is
something that they have in common.

It is worth, finally, that phrases like being “carried off by Hades” or “marrying Hades” were used as metaphors more broadly to describe
the death of young girls. This again shows how significant the story of Demeter and Persephone was in the lives of women and girls in
Greek antiquity. ♤♤♤♤♤ THE END ♤♤♤♤♤