Beyond the grave and funeral pyre lay a land of shadow and eternal gloom, the Underworld. Dead souls taken by the messenger of the gods, Hermes, were brought down through gloomy caverns and long winding underground paths until they came to the five rivers.Charon, the ferryman, waited across the black shore of Styx by the Gates of Hades. The three-headed hound, Cerberus, who had an appetite for live flesh, would attack anyone but spirits. There lived the dead - heroes and cowards, shepherds, priests, and minstrels. They wandered back and forth aimlessly, waiting for their turn to be ferried across.Once they had crossed the ink-black river, the souls must wait again for the trail by the three judges -Minos, Rhadamanthys, and Aeacus, the netherworld demigods.Brave heroes might find the

In a dark room furnished with splendid tapestries and silk curtains, Persephone lay sobbing by herself. Her mind still relived the terrible journey down into the strange unpleasant world. She remembered flying on the beaten gold chariot across the black rivers and the innumerable moving shades lingered by a massive gate. She saw a gigantic beast with three bobbing heads, barking in a fit of excitement.The frightened maiden cried and tried to wriggle herself free, but the strong grip that held her was unshakable. Her pleas and protests went unheard. All she saw from the black-robed woman, who had taken her against her will, was the same pale mask-like face. And when those sparkling black eyes turned to her, they pierced through her soul with such intensity she almost fainted. Persephone felt a gripping chill in her body, and everything else passed by in a blur.

Wasting her strength on the yearning for her deep-bosomed daughter, Demeter paid no heed to the earth. The lands turned bare for she ceased to tend it - fruit withered on the vine, plenteous fields grew fallow, and the pleasant winds ceased to blow. The lands grew cold and barren. The goddess accused the whole wide world as ungrateful, not deserving of her gift of grains. She knew not how to reach her girl Persephone, who had been abducted by the goddess of the dead. She put on a black cloak of mourning and sealed herself up in a cave for a long time. While Zeus was napping in his chamber, a great wind began to blow with a sound like waves crashing ferociously on a rocky shore. He found his sleep being disturbed by wailing of lamentation. He arose and peered down upon the earth. What he saw was that of a grievous sight of the world. N

Persephone's efforts to stave off Hades's advances while she was in her present condition had thus far proven fruitless. She could see that her lot was not going to be an easy one. She had no one to whom she could turn to for advice and sympathy.Then one of her handmaidens arrived with a message from the dark goddess."Hades has sent for you, my lady," the nymph said to her with a bow. "She said you have stayed in your chamber far too long. At the court, she has no government business to attend to and wishes to divert your mind to some leisure time."Persephone was mystified by the formal invitation but she could not refuse it. Ever since she had entered the Underworld, she had been living in constant confusion and surprise.Later wh

As time passed, the goddess of spring still longed for the view of the lush green earth and the blue of the sky, but she had also grown accustomed to the world beneath and no longer found Hades' palace oppressing nor the barren fields dreary.There were so many things to amuse her here. Persephone liked to wander around the Elysian Fields and dance with the happy souls. She was still fascinated by the lives of the deceased; how Sisyphus rolled his stone uphill endlessly; and the ever-hungry Tantalus in his own torment.Yet, she enjoyed the garden that Hades gave her the most. Her flowers grew so beautiful even in the shadowy gloom. The black grapes were all plump and ripe with their rich juices. Persephone would crush them into black deadly wine out of boredom. No mortals should ever drink it for it would poison them - except the gods.