journeys to the underworld

• Homeric Hymn to Demeter: ( Greek)

  • Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter get kidnapped by Hades
  • Hecate heard Persephone + Helios ( sun-god)
  • spends 9 days and night wandering earth
  • Hecates bring Demeter to Helios, told her that Zeus had give P as bride
• Portrayal of character:

  • Demeter: sympathy, iresponsible, affectionate
  • Persephone: sympathy, innocent, Naive
• Portrayal of underworld:

  • murky dark
  • isolated
• Reflected on ancient Greek culture:

  • explain why there is season
  • children are important for family life
  • favour of Demeter can have a better agriculture
• Orpheus and Eurydice (Roman):

  • Hymen ( god of marriage) is present during the wedding (depressed)
  • Eurydice is killed as snake bite her ankle
  • After Eurydice bury E, he play his lyre to make his way to Persephone
  • He ask for sympathy from Amour and the Fates ( 3 goddess birth, life, death)
  • If Pluto (Hades) don't agree = stay underworld
  • several man hear words of Orpheus and were crying
  • Pluto agree if only he can leave without looking behind
  • He look back ad W return 'farewell'
• Portrayal of character:

  • Orpheus: lyre- player, affectionate
  • Eurydice: sympathy, accept fate, deeply loved
• Portrayal of underworld:

  • Tartarus: where legendary people are punished
  • Ixion wheel: sin of centaur
  • Belides: command forever pour water into vessel full of holes = punish killing husband
  • Sisyphus: condemned to roll a rock up to the top of the mountain, then it roll down everytime he reach the top
• Reflect on ancient culture (Roman):

  • be good when alive
  • aympathy for god
  • important to obey god and worsip them
• Hymn to Demeter:

  • Demeter abandon Olympus in disguise search for P
  • She end her journey at Eleusis + got the humans to build a temple + Stop crops growing
  • It is important as god need gifts and sacrafice
  • Zeus send Iris --> Hermes to release Persephone --> P ate pomegranate seed = reunite
  • seed means P spend 1/3 with Hades and 2/3 with mother
• Who are allowed to the underworld and who are not

  • Olympian gods are not allowed
  • Hermes (messanger) and Dionysus (birth) are exceptional to this rule
• The background of the homeric hymn to Demeter

  • written by Homer
  • oral traditions
• What are the epithet for demeter and Persephone

  • 'Demeter with the lovely hair'
  • 'the slender ankles'
• What are the main themes in Demeter

  • relationship between god
  • relationship between men
• How is the theme between God and man show in the extract

  • Demeter stop the harvest and hide all the seeds
  • Zeus realise that human are needed by God to offer sacrafice
• The entrapment of Persephone

  • playing with the daughter of Oceanus and collect flower in a field
  • highlight in Greek society that male of head in household (Zeus) are responsible for arranging marraige of his childrens + did not need permission from mother = secure family links ( improve relationship between underworld and olympia)
  • Hades emerged from earth and took her by a chariot
• The abduction of Persephone 


  • No one except Helios and Hecate heard the cries of Persephone, who went protesting in the underworld
  • before the earth sealed behind her she let out her last cry which is heard by Demeter
• Demeter searches for Persephone

  • after 9 days of search of Demeter Hecate approach her to tell her the news of Persephone deduction but only hear her cry
  • go and find Helios who might seen what happen = 2 goddess visit him = Zeus offer marriage
• Demeter lament 


  • Demeter is furious and left Olympus = emotion of god and human are the same
  • Disguised as an old woman and took refuge under the tree and mourned for her lost daughter
• Demeter range and Zeus intervention

  • the completetion of the temple of Eleusinians shows how man need to honour gods
  • Demeter cause one year no harvest = no offering and gifts to olympian gods = Zeus send Iris to beg return
  • refused = send all gods to offer gifts to her = refused = only wanted her daughter back
• Zeus appeal to Hades

  • Hermes only focused on the damage done to god and only care about human when their destruction will harm gods
  • Hades end up bringing Persephone back to Demeter
  • highlight the relationship between men and gods, men must ensure they sacrifice to the underworld gods or afterlife they will ive in eternal suffering as punishment
  • Hades give her a pomegranate seed before Persephone left
  • Then Hades give her his chariot and leave
• Demeter and Persephone reunited

  • it explain for season
  • winter, Persephone was with Hades and Demeter will be mourning for her daughter and send no harvest
  • Zeus then send Rhea to ask for Demeter return
  • But she has to agree 1/3 with hades 2/3 with demeter = return harvest for human
• Orpheus

  • father is god Apollo, mother is muse Calliope
  • Apollo gave Orpheus a yre and taught him to play wile his mother taught him to sing
  • Orpheus song will enchant everyone who hear it even non - living objects
  • He joined Jason on a quest before meeting Eurydices
• Orpheus wedding and Eurydice's death

  • Hymen 's torch sputtered continually with fumes = bad omen foreshadow the death of Eurydice = walked along a riverbank shortly after wedding = bitten by a poisonous snake
• Orpheus journey to the underworld

  • Orpheus began to play his lyre and made an appeal to both Pluto and Proserphina
  • admitted that all men are fated to live with pluto but it was not fair Eurydice to die in an early age
  • He promise if eurydice return to the earth he will not come back again until he died
• Pluto's answer andd the tragedy of Eurydice


  • Even the punished man in the underworld stopped from their task
  • Both hades and persephone are touched by his song and let him do so only if he won't look back to eurydice until they leave
  • When they get close to the Taenaran gateway he is worried that she would fallen behind and get lost = tunred around and eurydice is pulled back to the underworld