How the Seasons Came to Be
Demeter was a goddess of harvest, which meant it was her job among other things to ensure that all the seeds grew to a good harvest, and all the flowers bloomed beautifully. She had one daughter with Zeus, called Persephone, who used to enjoy walking in the fields near her home near Mount Etna.
Now, Hades, the king of the underworld, had seen from afar how beautiful Persephone was, and had asked Persephone's father Zeus for her hand in marriage. Zeus, knowing that Demeter would never let her daughter go willingly, told Hades her should just abduct Persephone, and to help him he caused hundreds of beautiful narcissus flowers sprout up near Persephone's house, to entice the girl outside.
While Persephone was gathering these flowers in the meadows, the earth started to shake violently and Hades appeared from out of the ground riding a chariot pulled by four horses. He seized the poor girl while her friends fainted from the shock, then carried her off into his underground world to be his bride.
Poor Demeter did not know what had become of her darling daughter, and Persephone's friends couldn't remember what happened, so she wandered up and down the world searching for her. This meant that all the crops she should have been caring for started to wither and die, and all the flowers she had tended began to wither away.
It didn't take long before animals and people alike started to die from starvation, and this made Zeus worried. After all, if all the people died, who would be left to sacrifice to the gods? So he eventually relented and called Demeter to him. He explained that it was Hades who had taken Persephone, and that she was living with him in the underworld.
Demeter was naturally very angry with Zeus's involvement in the abduction, and demanded that her daughter be returned. "She can return," Zeus said, "as long as she hasn't eaten anything - you and I both know the ancient laws of the Fates decree that no one can leave the underworld if any food had passed their lips during their visit." The Fates were goddesses who determined the lifespan of every human.
So, Zeus commanded Hermes to go to the underworld and bring Persephone home. Although the underworld was very dark compared to the sunny surface, Persephone was torn: she missed her mother, but she had spent a year with Hades and had grown to love him despite his behavior. Eventually, she had to decide between the two, and she chose to return to her mother.
Just as she was preparing to go, Hades offered Persephone a little food for the journey. He took a pomegranate and split it in two, eating half himself, and giving the other half to Persephone. Because she hadn't eaten anything all this time, Persephone was very hungry and gratefully ate the other half. Then she set off with Hermes back to her mother.
There was great joy when mother and daughter were re-united, and all the trees, flowers and shoots blossomed back into life. But when Demeter realised Persephone had eaten half a pomegranate, she was angry that she had been tricked by Hades - Persephone could not stay with her mother because she eaten food from the underworld!
Demeter cried bitterly, knowing that her daughter would have to leave her forever. But Zeus heard her tears, and was deeply moved. So he said, "because Persephone ate half the pomegranate, she must live in the underworld half of the year. But the other half she can come back up to the surface and spend it with you." Thus, both Demeter and Hades were happy to have Persephone in their lives for half the year.
Since then, Persephone has spent half the year in the underworld, and half the year on the surface. When she is on the surface with her mother, Demeter's joy causes the world to bloom into summer with color and life. But as the time draws near for her to return to Hades the leaves turn brown and the cold winds grow stronger as Demeter mourns her loss and lets winter encompass the earth.
