Zeus, the king of the gods, had an affair with the harvest goddess, Demeter. They conceived a beautiful goddess named Persephone. Demeter was very protective of her daughter, keeping her naive to the ways of the world and dressing her as a child, even as she became a woman. He wanted to keep her innocent forever, always by her mother's side. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay One day Hades, the god of the underworld, looked up to the world above and saw Persephone playing with a group of nymphs in the fields. Observing Persephone, Hades was immediately struck by her beauty and her tenderness towards the nymphs. He ended up looking back at her every now and then, feeling his old heart soften each time. He finally convinced himself to go to Olympus and ask Zeus for Persephone's hand in marriage. Zeus was happy with this turn of events. He agreed to the marriage. Hades knew that Demeter would never allow the marriage, so he decided to kidnap Persephone. One day, while Persephone was alone in her fields, the ground suddenly split and a huge chariot pulled by black horses jumped out. Hades leaned over the side and picked up Persephone, dipping her back into the earth. Demeter immediately noticed that her daughter was gone and frantically searched for her. She finally found a farmer who had witnessed all this, and Demeter became enraged, vowing that the land would not produce a stalk of wheat until Persephone was returned. In the Underworld, Persephone was distressed. Hades was kind to her and gave her many gifts, but she longed for her mother and the world above. Hades placed Persephone's throne right next to his and, unlike the other Gods, allowed her to rule equally alongside him. Persephone felt conflicted. She missed her mother, but Hades was the only person who ever treated her like an adult. She was starting to fall in love with him. One morning Persephone went to the garden of the Underworld and a gardener offered her a pomegranate. Up until this point, Persephone had refused to eat anything that was offered to her: she knew that if she ate food from the Underworld, she would be bound to it forever. But that morning Persephone was so hungry that she took the pomegranate and ate six seeds. Hermes, the messenger of the Gods, materialized before her. He said that Demeter had caused the earth to freeze and that no crops would grow. Mortals were dying by the thousands and the only thing that would stop it was the return of Persephone. Persephone reluctantly allowed Hermes to take her to Olympus, where Zeus and Demeter were arguing. Persephone tried to convince Demeter that she was fine and that Hades had been kind to her, but Demeter insisted that she must return home, or she would let every mortal on earth die of famine. Suddenly the throne room went dark and Hades stepped out of the shadows. He held the partially eaten pomegranate in his hand. “Persephone has eaten the fruit of the Underworld,” Hades said coldly, “she must return and rule it with me.” While Demeter continued to disagree, Zeus considered Persephone in silence. “How many seeds did you eat?” he asked. Persephone told him, “You are.” Zeus rose from the throne and everyone calmed down. “Because Persephone ate six pomegranate seeds, I have decided that she will spend six months of each year in the Underworld with her husband, and six months tending the fields with Demeter.” Please note: This is just an example Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Neither Demeter nor Hades were completely satisfied with this arrangement, but Zeus had. Every year Persephone returned home to the fields and repaired them with Demeter, and when the time came, Hades came to her and,.