Hello Whyvillians! This is Meg, with a new series, "Interviewing the Greek Gods"! The only thing in school that interests me is whenever we learn about mythology. So, in this series, you will learn a lot more about Greek gods and goddesses, without being bored to death.
My first interview is with Persephone, pronounced like Purr-seff-a-nee. The Queen of the underworld, and the Goddess of Spring.
megmeg9: Hello Persephone!
Persephone: Hello.
megmeg9: So, Persephone, who are your parents?
Persephone: Zeus, the God of all Gods, and Demeter, the Goddess of Agriculture.
megmeg9: Wow, you've got some important gods as your parents! So, how did you become the Queen of the Underworld?
Persephone: One day, I was gathering flowers, when all of a sudden, my Uncle, Hades, came up from the Underworld and took me to be his Queen!
megmeg9: That sounds terrible! Were your parents upset?
Persephone: Zeus didn't really care, until Demeter got upset, and stopped growing crops, and made the whole world cold. Zeus bribed Demeter with riches, and jewels, trying to get her to make crops so the whole world wouldn't die, but all she wanted was me.
megmeg9: So, did you ever get to come back home?
Persephone: Well, Hades has this rule, that if you eat or drink anything while you're in the Underworld, you must stay down there forever!
megmeg9: Did you eat anything?
Persephone: I just sucked on 6 pomegranate seeds, so now every 6 months I must go down to the Underworld with Hades, and then the remaining 6 months I get to spend with my mother.
megmeg9: That sounds fair. So, why did people tell this story?
Persephone: This is how people a long time ago in Greece explained the seasons. Because every 6 months when I'm with Hades, my mom makes the whole world cold, and stops making crops, but when I'm with my mom, she makes the world warm, and grows crops.
megmeg9: Thank you for letting me interview you!
Hades:: Persephone?
Persephone: Well, I have to go back to the Underworld, bye!
This is Meg, happy that I don't have to live in the Underworld! Bye.
Author's Note: I got my information from my text books at school, and this website: http://www.mythweb.com/gods/Demeter.html
