articles : hades and persephone
"I was waiting for you."
"So this was all-set up? But why me? Why are you doing this to me?" Jenny could feel hysteria tugging at her again.
Then he said it. He was looking at her with eyes like the sky on a November morning, one corner of his mouth turned up. He spoke gravely and a little formally.
"Because," he said, "I've fallen in love with you."
Jenny stared at him.
"Surprised? You shouldn't be. I first saw you a long time ago-you were such a pretty little girl. As if there was sunshine all around you. Do you know the story of Hades?"
"What?" She didn't like this mercurial jumping from subject to subject.
"Hades," he said encouragingly, like someone helping her cram for a final. "Greek god of the Underworld. Ruler there. He lived in the world of shadows-and he was lonely. And then one day he looked up to the earth's surface and saw Persephone. Picking wildflowers, I think. Laughing. He fell in love with her on the spot. He wanted to make her his queen, but he knew perfectly well she wouldn't go with him willingly. So..."
"So?" Jenny got out.
"So he hitched his black horses to his chariot. And the earth split open in front of Persephone's feet. And her wildflowers fell to the ground."
"That's a story," Jenny said, trying to keep her voice steady. "A myth. There's no such person as Hades."
"Are you sure?" After a moment Julian went on: "Anyway, you're luckier than Persephone, Jenny. You have a chance to get away. I could just take you, but I'm giving you a chance." He looked at Jenny with eyes like liquid sapphires, wild exotic eyes. She couldn't speak, couldn't look away.

The Hunter pg Collector's Edition

Hades is the Greek lord of the dead and ruler of the underworld or Hades. When the three sons of Cronus divided the world amongst each other, Poseidon was given the sea, Zeus the upper world and Hades the underworld. Hades sits on a throne made of ebony, carries a scepter and he also has a helmet, given to him by the Cyclopes that can make him invisible. The narcissus and the cypress are sacred to him. Hades rules over the dead, assisted by many helpers such as Thanatos (death) and Hypnos (sleep), the ferryman Charon and the hound Cerberus. Many heroes from Greek mythology have descended into the underworld, either to question the souls or try to free them. While Hades does not allow his subjects to leave his domain, he has granted permission on several occasions. Hades is the god that is liked the least and even the gods themselves have an aversion of him. People avoid speaking his name lest they attracted his unwanted attention. With their faces averted they sacrificed black sheep whose blood they let drip into pits and when they prayed to him, they would bang their hands on the ground.

proserpine by dante gabriel rossettiPersephone is the Greek goddess of the underworld. She is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, goddess of the harvest. She was such a beautiful woman that everyone loved her, even Hades wanted her for himself and so one day, while she was collecting flowers on the plain of Enna, the earth opened and Hades rose up from the gap and abducted her. Only Helios, the all-seeing sun god, and Zeus had noticed it. Demeter wandered the earth looking for her daughter until Helios finally revealed what had occurred. She was so angry that she withdrew herself into loneliness and the earth ceased to be fertile. Zeus sent Hermes down to Hades to make him release Persephone. Grudgingly Hades agreed but before Persephone went back he gave her a pomegranate (or the seeds of a pomegranate, according to some). When she ate of it, it bound her to the underworld forever and she was forced to stay there one-third of the year. The other eight months she spent with her mother and while she was away, Demeter refused to let anything grow and so winter began.



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