Hades and Persephone by Thomas Sudell

While yet the silver age of man endured,

though fallen through Prometheus's theft,

the mortal race lacked not for food but sowed

and reaped and straightway sowed again. For swift

the gilded ears of corn from earth would lift

their striving heads towards the gods on high.

Thus hungry man would reap and thresh and sift,

and feed upon the fruit of wheat and rye,

and month would pile on month beneath a changeless sky.

And o'er the world Demeter from her grove

of olives sent the Hyades whom rain

obeys, and Helios the Titan drove

the hallowed sun across the mortal plain

according to her will. The golden grain,

the plough, the sacred ox; she blessed them all.

And man lived long and well, and might attain

the dignity of age ere he should fall

and cross the Styx that lies athwart the mouth of hell.

And she by Zeus conceived and bore a child

whom gods call Kore and Persephone.

And in her face was beauty undefiled,

and innocent in all her ways was she.

And thus, ere long, her hand was sought by three

among the deities that govern earth:

by Ares, lord of war and weaponry,

and Hermes, fleet of foot and swift to mirth,

and last by Hades, sovereign of the realms of death.

But at her mother's bidding she declined

the suit of each that offered her his hand.

And in a garden Kore was confined

that she, like virgin Artemis, might stand

beyond the reach of any man's command

in cloistered bliss. But Hades, full of ire

and injured pride, from forth the shadow-land

erupted 'pon a chariot wreathed in fire

and took by force what he by words might not acquire.

No trace of her might thus Demeter find

when to the garden on a time she came.

Though earnestly she searched nor sight nor sound

discovered she of Kore there. 'May shame

upon myself and all Olympus come

if in my search I empty not the sea,

or shrink from plunging all the earth in flame

and ruin ere I bend to fate's decree

and settle for a world without Persephone.'

Thus spake Demeter. Thus she made her vow,

that she should not Persephone forsake,

and swift began her search but knew not how

or where it most adviséd were to seek.

And so with Hecate Demeter spake,

and she, a Titaness of sorcery,

agreed to aid Demeter for the sake

of Kore, for through all the earth and sea,

no living thing there was but loved Persephone.

And so from forth her dark decrepit bower

about whose portal hangs a spectral haze

came Hecate. An arcane torch of power

in either hand she held aloft. A blaze

of eldritch light shone forth therefrom in rays

that were not straight but like twin serpents sought

to slither into darkness deep. No maze

nor labyrinth of shadows might them thwart

unless it were by Hades, lord of hell bethought.

But though Persephone in Hades' halls

was held indeed, her mother knew it not;

and so, through all the mountains, hills and dells

that cover earth, she for her daughter sought,

but nothing found, nor any mortal met,

nor deity that witnessed what befell.

And though the shadows from the deepest grot

wherein she searched were banished down to hell

before the torches' light, no tidings did they tell.

And while she searched, her tasks she tended not

which mighty Zeus assigned to her of old,

and through the earth a pestilential rot

arose unchecked. On every leaf the mould

and mildew blossomed forth. A bitter cold

advanced then from the poles to north and south,

and many died, and Hades' realm was swelled

with souls whom Thanatos had claimed from earth

and thither brought in bonds to pass the gates of death.

On high Olympus Zeus upon his throne

perceived the desolation of the land

and summoned Hermes saying, 'Make it known

that Zeus convenes his court and bids attend

the sum of all the gods.' Then, swift as wind,

his messenger on wingéd feet went forth

in search of those whom he was sent to find

that thus they might beat back the tide of death

that threatened to destroy the mortal realms of earth.

Each god from forth the region in his charge

and every goddess from her sphere made haste:

Apollo bright – Hephaestus from his forge;

from hearth came Hestia; Ares came with chaste

Athena from the field of war; from waste

and wilderland came huntress Artemis –

Poseidon from the seas about the coast,

and Aphrodite out of lover's bliss.

But thither came not Hades from his dark abyss.

And neither did Demeter straightway come,

and many marked that she did not attend,

and striving voices rose in tumult, some

accusing, others seeking to defend.

For though it was Demeter's task to tend

the earth that through neglect was desert made,

the plight of vanished Kore served to blend

compassion with the censure there displayed.

And so they argued while the world below decayed.

But even as they each with other strove,

from forth the east there came a blinding light.

For Helios behind his coursers drove

his chariot which, as swift as eagle's flight,

o'ertopped the dark horizon, ending night.

But steering then upon a course oblique

to his established latitude and height,

he came to rest upon Olympus' peak

and, laying down his reins, began at once to speak:

'Though I be summoned not to Zeus's court

by Hermes, yet I come at the command

of one who now for many moons has sought

her daughter throughout every sea and land,

beginning in the utmost east where sand

lies deep as oceans, over plains and thence

to houseless shores beyond whose western strand

she sailed and came unto the final fence

that bounds the world, where she and I converged by chance.'

'For yesternight, as I unto my rest

descended from the zenith of mine arc

towards its azimuth in oceans west

of west wherein I daily quench the spark

that lights the mortal sphere, a lonely barque,

Demeter at its helm, I there descried.

A flaming torch amid the falling dark

she held aloft while Hecate her guide,

bearing a second brand, stood silent at her side.'

'And there with raiséd voice she called my name

and said, "Thou shining Helios, well met;

for we from forth the furthest east are come

in search of fair Persephone. By light

of torch we searched from edge to edge of night

and questioned every man of mortal race,

and every centaur, dryad, nymph and sprite –

yea every living thing endowed with voice –

if aught they knew of Kore's loss from Paradise."

"But none knew aught, and thou, with failing hope, –

the final furthest soul before the west –

I now entreat: if thou hast tidings, keep

them not forever hid within thy breast

but speak and render profit to my quest."

And then whereof she questioned me I spake,

and all that I had seen I there professed,

and hither then she sent me for to make

the testament which even now I undertake:'

'It me befell upon an early morn,

as I along the sun's accustomed track

set forth from out the rosy gates of dawn

to burn away the misty vapour's wrack,

that far below I saw a yawning crack

appear within the garden wherein dwelt

Persephone; from forth the rift a black

demonic wain erupted as a bolt

of sable lightning cleaving the abyssal vault.'

'And at the traces stood the god of hell

who, stepping down, depressed the fecund earth;

and all about his feet the flowers fell

corrupted into rot. No more in mirth

the birds within the thicket sang, but dearth

and sickness settled on the hidden glade.

Persephone in terror hid beneath

her arbour, but it withered and decayed,

and Hades, reaching forth, his hand upon her laid.

And then, with Kore captive, Hades sped

once more upon his chariot from the grove,

re-entering the country of the dead

along the rift through which he thither drove.

And at their backs the earth, which Hades clove

asunder when from out of hell he burst,

as 'pon a loom its roots together wove

concealing this – of Hades' deeds the worst.'

Thus Helios proclaimed before the shining host.

Then Zeus in anger cried, 'Why were not shown

these tidings sooner? Ares might have waged

resistless war for her had we but known

that Kore was in hell by Hades caged.'

'That man' said Helios, 'becomes enraged

when scorned by woman, and resorts to crime

I witness from the heavens as though staged

below me I behold a mummer's mime,

unvarying from day to day and time to time.'

'No tidings these' quoth Helios to Zeus

'for any but the blind.' And grasping then

his reins, he hied once more upon his course.

And as he sped, into the council ran

Demeter, having hastened thither, wan

of face but firm of purpose. 'Harken well!

she cried. 'I call upon you to incline

your thoughts to war. Make haste across the swell

of Styx and liberate Persephone from hell!'

And many to their feet leaped up and would

have followed with Demeter to the gates

of Hades had not Zeus in anger stood

and with a voice like thunder in the heights

proclaimed, 'Be still ye gods for he that fights

with Hades fights with reason and with me.

Heed not the words of one who now incites

Olympus to a hopeless war, but be

collected and consider fair Persephone.'

'For if we thus made war upon the realm

of Hades – now with perished starvelings swelled –

not all the strength of Ares could o'erwhelm

his stronghold. For Persephone is held

a hostage, and we should but be compelled

to lay aside our arms and meekly bend

to Hades' will. And so, our force repelled,

our terms refused, our war would swiftly end

with Kore left to languish in the shadow-land.'

'Far better to send Hermes bearing words

of reconciliation and of peace.

Thus he whose nimble feet the wings of birds

adorn shall broker Kore's swift release

and bring her out of hell to paradise.

And thou, Demeter, speak no more of war

but tend thy duties as of old. The price

for thy neglect is swiftly to restore

the ailing world ere Kore lights upon its shore.'

Thus Hermes on his errand flew apace

as to her tasks Demeter turned her thought,

and through the earth descended to the place

where Hades sat enthroned within his court

upon a daïs all of iron wrought.

More like a consort than a captive maid

beside him sat the one whom Hermes sought.

And bowing low he Zeus' words relayed,

demanding her release. But Hades was not swayed.

Quoth he, 'Persephone is free to leave

whene'er she will – the queen of my domain

is not my captive. But if ye believe

me not, inquire of her whom never chain

nor any manacle did yet restrain

from leaving Hades. Were it now her will

to flee the underworld and come again

unto Olympus, I should deem it ill

if any wish of mine should trammel her in hell.'

Then turning to Persephone he said,

'But say we thus: tomorrow shalt thou go

with Hermes o'er the borders of the dead,

and, crossing where the Styx's waters flow,

shalt rise above the mortal sphere, and so

shalt come unto Olympus' courts in whose

delights thou grew – whose joys thou once did know;

and there twixt home and husband thou shalt choose,

for either one or other must thou surely lose.'

Though trusting Hades' promise not at all,

to this the messenger of Zeus agreed.

And, bowing low, he left the dismal hall

to wait until the dawn when he should lead

the captive home. But Hermes did not heed

that in the corner of the hall there grew

a single Pomegranate tree whose seed

had been in Kore's hand when Hades drew

her down to hell and hid her from Olympus' view.

She there had buried it in pallid loam

that never harboured life or nourished root

to be a drear memorial of home;

and by her arts there rose a tender shoot,

and to a tree it grew and bore a fruit.

But Kore knew not of a certain spell

whose magic fettered such as might pollute

their souls by eating of the fruit of hell,

that thus in Hades' halls they evermore should dwell.

But Hades knew, and came unto the tree

and plucked a fruit thereof that very night

and offered it unto Persephone

that eating of its flesh she never might

abandon him and turn again to bright

Olympus whence she should no more return.

For who, thought he, would trade celestial light

for this abyssal darkness? Who would spurn

immortal youth when death is all that they should earn?

Persephone, suspecting no deceit,

took up a knife and cut the fruit in twain.

A dozen seeds she found, and made to eat,

but Hades stayed her hand though he would fain

have not. 'Before thou eat'st I must speak plain'

quoth he, and slowly bowed his head. 'If thou

consume this fruit, thou shalt perforce remain

enclosed within the realm wherein the bough

that bore it grew. If thou wouldst leave, eat not but go.'

But Kore smiled, and, reaching out her hand,

she raised his chin and said, 'Do not despair.'

For though by force he took her to his land,

Persephone had come to love him there

and, having often seen her captor stare

with self-abhorence into emptiness,

had sensed profundity beneath his glare

and day by day had looked on him with less

of fear and more of love than she would fain confess.

And though his words to Hermes had been proud

and all his certainty of Kore feigned,

no falsehood had he spoken when he vowed

that she within his realm was never chained

nor treated as a prisoner but reigned

beside him as his consort. Though at first

through fear, and then by choice she had remained

in Hades, yet she weened that if she durst

escape she would not be a second time coerced.

Thus Kore kissed his brow, and with a laugh

she said, 'A captive with a choice of cell

is not made twice a prisoner but half.

For dost thou think that if I quitted hell

for heav'n I should be suffered now to dwell

in any other place than in that fair

but narrow garden whence thou didst compel

me hither? Or that now my mother's care

is liker to expand my freedom or impair?'

'I thus reject the choice and so retain

my liberty of will if not of flesh.'

And suddenly, ere Hades could restrain

her hand, she ate – though half against her wish –

not all the seeds, but six of twelve. 'Enmesh

my body, O thou fruit, for half the year,

and when that term is done I shall refresh

my soul within the gods' immortal sphere

an equal span before returning. This I swear.'

E'en so it then befell, and, on the morn,

Persephone departed Hades' hall

and thence by Hermes through the air was borne

unto Olympus and behind its wall

was cloistered in the garden wherein all

her childhood days were spent. Demeter's joy

was such that where she walked the wheat grew tall

and ripened all within a single day,

and where she glanced the meadows burgeoned thick with hay.

But when the six appointed moons were spent,

Demeter kissed Persephone and said,

'My daughter, though I cannot now prevent

thy going back to Hades, I shall shed

a tear for every hair upon thine head

each day until I see thy face – until

I hear thy voice again.' Then Hermes led

Persephone away against his will

and bore her down once more into the depths of hell.

And then for half a year Demeter wept,

and rain in torrents fell upon the world

as over every mortal kingdom swept

a multitude of stormclouds which unfurled

their burden on the earth in floods that veiled

the sun. And mighty winds arose that bent

the golden wheat, and many harvests failed.

But nothing moved Demeter to relent,

nor did she heed the plight of earth in her lament.

And so it is that even now the earth

for half of every year is rich with fruit

before it is reduced again to dearth,

and green things sleep and wait for spring when root

and buried seed may stir again to shoot.

And, whilst in hell, Demeter's daughter stands

by Hades' side in their infernal court.

But when his queen is absent from their lands,

he tends their Pomegranate tree with sable hands.