The Persephone Cycle, Part 2
Left: Plate for Persephone cycle series of prints Right: "Persephone Cycle II" Part 2: The Myth of Persephone and Demeter When Zeus could no longer ignore the suffering of mankind. He sent Hermes as emissary to negotiate Persephone’s return to her mother. Hades reluctantly agreed to her release and in parting gave Persephone, who had eaten nothing since her abduction, a pomegranate. This apparent act of kindness was instead a deception and curse. Anyone who eats the food of Hades must remain in his realm. Persephone ate only a few seeds but that was enough for Hades to make the legitimate claim that she must remain with him. Finally, Rhea, the mother of Zeus, Demeter and Hades, proposed a compromise. Persephone would have to stay with Hades in the Underworld for six months each year. The rest of the year, she would be allowed to ascend to Earth and live with her mother. Hades would have Persephone as a consort and Demeter