Hades and Persephone

In far-off Greece, there’s a very tall mountain called Olympus. Long ago, Olympus was of utmost importance to the Greeks. It was said to be the home of their gods and goddesses, the mightiest beings in the world and wielders of magical powers.

One of these beings was Demeter, the goddess of the harvest and agriculture. She was responsible for everything on Earth that grew, blossomed, reproduced and bore fruit. The crops, the harvest, all the juicy fruits and vegetables, the medicinal herbs and grains — they were all her responsibility. Without Demeter’s good will, the plants would wither and perish, leaving humans and animals without food.

The greatest and most powerful of all the gods was Zeus. He had dominion over the sky — he commanded thunder and lightning and controlled the forces of nature. The clouds were his servants.

Zeus and Demeter had a daughter together. She was called Persephone, and she was a beautiful, sweet girl. She spent her days strolling through the heavenly meadows, playing with the butterflies, picking flowers and weaving them into lovely wreaths. She could walk barefoot and wear lightweight clothes all year round, for it was an eternally warm spring on Earth.

When Hades, king of the underworld and god of the dead, noticed Persephone, he was smitten. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. But he knew she would never willingly marry him, so he decided that the only solution was to kidnap her.

One day, as Persephone was playing in the meadow and plucking yellow daffodils, the ground beneath her feet parted and she plummeted straight into the underworld, into Hades’ realm. Everything happened so quickly and unexpectedly that Persephone barely had time to cry-out before she was gone.

Her mother heard the girl’s…