Virgo
1600x1300mm
Oil on canvas
2026
First mentioned:
Hesiods Theogony ca. 730-700 BCE
The story of Persephone
Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, was a young goddess associated with spring, flowers, and the renewal of the earth. She lived in innocence among the meadows, gathering flowers with the other nymphs, unaware that the god of the Underworld, Hades, had fallen in love with her.
One day, as Persephone reached for a beautiful flower, the earth split open beneath her. Hades emerged from the Underworld and carried her away in his chariot, taking her to his kingdom below.
Demeter was devastated by the disappearance of her daughter. She wandered across the earth searching for her, and in her grief withdrew her power from the world. The earth became barren, crops failed, and winter descended upon humanity.
Eventually, Zeus intervened and commanded Hades to return Persephone. But before releasing her, Hades gave her pomegranate seeds. Persephone ate them, binding her forever to the Underworld.
A compromise was made: Persephone would spend part of the year with her mother and part with Hades. When she returned to the earth, Demeter rejoiced and the world blossomed into spring. When Persephone descended again, Demeter mourned, and the earth became cold and barren, winter.
Persephone's story became a myth of love, loss, death, and renewal. In the heavens, she was imagined as Virgo, the Maiden, forever suspended between the earth and the Underworld
