5. What happened to the Earth when Persephone was away?
Why was it so?
6. How did Demeter discover what happened to her
daughter?
7. How did the Greeks explain the coming of spring?
Answers
Answer:
5. When Persephone was away in the Underworld, the entire earth stopped yielding crops, fruits and vegetables. Her mother, Demeter was the goddess of the crop and harvest, and the entire earth died away as she mourned for the loss of her daughter.
6. Demeter came to collect her daughter, but could not find a trace of Persephone. Distraught and desperate, Demeter searched high and low for her daughter. She travelled to the farthest corners of the earth, searching for nine full days and nights without ever stopping to eat, drink, bathe, or rest.
7. When Zeus, king of the gods saw what was happening, he sent Hermes, the messenger of the gods and the god of flight, who had wings on his ankles, to search for Persephone. He finally found her in the kingdom of Hades, brother of Zeus. Since she had eaten six seeds of the pomegranate, she had to stay in the Underworld, but because of the command of Zeus, she had to leave and go to her mother. An arrangement was made that since she had eaten six seeds, she should stay in the Underworld for six months of the year. From that time on, whenever the time came for Persephone to return to her mother, spring arrived as Demeter made the earth beautiful for the arrival of her daughter.
Explanation: