Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Myths and Legends: The Abduction of Persephone

The Abduction of Persephone. To find out more about Persephone, the daughter of the goddess Demeter, see this Wikipedia article: link; for information about the image: image source.

This marble statue by Bernini shows a famous scene from Greek mythology: the abduction of Persephone, daughter of the goddess Demeter (Ceres) by the god of the underworld, Hades (Pluto). Even though this is a marble statue, notice how Bernini has shown Pluto's fingers sinking into Persephone's flesh - so dramatic! Persephone eventually was able to return to the land of the living, but for several months each year she must depart again into the realm of the dead, as the seasons cycle year and year.

You can also find more myths and legends for the week of February 5-11 here. For more information and links to the actual javascript code, see the Myths & Legends Widget Reference Page.