Gender and the divine
(narcissus) 32 which she bends to pick only to be swallowed up as the Earth opens and to be taken by Aïdoneus into the underworld. To Marcia and Dobson the opening symbolizes ‘ a violent takeover of the goddess-centered world by a patriarchy ’ . 33 During this, only Hekate (who hears Persephone’s scream) and Helios (who as the Sun is all-seeing) take note of the kidnapping. Demeter returns, notes Persephone’s absence and spends the next nine days searching for her; on the tenth, Hekate joins her and they consult Helios who reveals that Aïdoneus has kidnapped her with her father ’s, Zeus’, permission. An important note is made by Arthur that, while the female goddess Hekate flocks to aid Demeter out of a sense of duty, Demeter has to supplicate Helios before he divulges what he has seen. 34 Perhaps that reveals Helios’ insincere attempt at consolation: claiming that Demeter should be glad , as Hades, ruler of one of the three cosmic realms, is a perfect husband. Demeter then departs Olympus, enraged at Zeus. She wanders aimlessly, ending up at Eleusis where she comes to serve as a nurse for a baby called Demophoön. Distressed and pining for her daughter, she attempts to make him an immortal by feeding him ambrosia and consistently burning away his mortal side at night only to be caught by his mother, Metaneira, and interrupted. Demeter, who after her wanderings had gradually discarded her divine appearance, removes her disguise with a shower of bright light, revealing herself as a goddess. Then she scolds Metaneira and demands a temple be built for her worship. After it is done, Demeter hides away there from the other Olympians and principally stops her function as an agriculture goddess, plunging the mortal world into critical famine. At this point, Zeus begins to worry, calling on Iris, then all the other gods, with gifts to entreat her to return. Demeter is steadfast in her refusal to move. Finally, fearing the total destruction of mankind, Zeus sends Hermes to A ïdoneus to force Persephone’s return. 35 Aïdoneus relents but slips Persephone pomegranate seeds to eat so that she is eternally tied to the underworld, as all those who eat its food are. Persephone’s return elates Demeter, but Demeter decrees that Persephone, if she at e the fruit, now must always return to the Underworld for a third of the year because of Aïdoneus ’ trick. Persephone then recounts her story before the two are joined by Rhea, 36 Demeter’s mother, who calls them back to Olympus to reconcile with her father and gain their new honours ( ‘τιμας’ – line 461). The Hymn ends with Demeter restarting crop growth on the Earth for men.
From this, I think we can see how the disregard of a woman by the patriarchal figures of Zeus and Aïdoneus fuels divine friction. Demeter, with her wrathful course of action, ‘th reatens to destroy humanity and so end the τιμαι paid to the gods’. 37 Once the male figures realize the price of their
32 The ναρκισσος (narcissus) and ὑακινθος (hyacinth) flowers can hardly been an indeliberate proleptic addition by the author, warning of the coming danger connected to the flowers: Narcissus and Hyacinth are both strong young men who, on account of their love, meet tragic fates and are turned into their namesake flowers. 33 Marcia and Dobson 1992: 2. Arthur 1977: 11 concurs. To her, the scene similarly reads, ‘the invasion by the male – Zeus and Hades – shatters the beauty and unity of a purely female world’. 34 Arthur 1977: 13. 35 Marcia and Dobson 1992: 44 find this detail salient: that the name Περσεφονειαν (Persephone) experiences its first use by a man in the hymn by at line 336. Up till then, she is addressed by pronoun, as daughter or ‘maiden’. Hence, I think we see a larger metaphor at play: the transformation of Persephone from κορη (girl) to woman, where marriage gives her an identity in the eyes of the highest male god, Zeus and so allowing him to use her name. 36 Arthur 1977: 30: Rhea’s arrival to the reunion creates a ‘female solidarity … discovered in the context of the patriarchal world’. I note that Rhea is sent there by Zeus. 37 Allan 2006: 29. The death of all humans would mean no worship.
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