Hades and Persephone
Persephone, daughter of Demeter.
_One of the more significant and known myths concerning Hades would be
the kidnapping of Persephone (the daughter of his sister, Demeter). One
fine day, Hades was out for a relaxing drive through the earthly realm
in his chariot when he spotted the beautiful Persephone, goddess of
spring (and soon-to-be goddess of the Underworld). Immediately falling
in love with the immortal woman, Hades then proceeded to ask Zeus for
Persephone's hand in marriage; Zeus warned Hades that Demeter would not
approve, but he did agree to assist Hades in capturing Persephone. So it happened, one day,
while Demeter's daughter was out picking flowers, the earth below her
suddenly opened up into a gigantic chasm, leading to the Underworld.
Hades flew out in his horse-drawn chariot, raped her, then kidnapped her and forced her to remain in the Underworld
with him. Distraught by her daughter's capture, Demeter fell into
despair, and because of her position as the goddess of fertility and
growth, a long spell of famine and ruin came upon the land. As sadness
turned to anger, Demeter made plans to starve the entire human race as
punishment for Zeus' and the other gods' lack of action towards
preventing Persephone's capture. Realizing that no food would result in no
humans, and that no humans would result in no worship or sacrifices (oh, the
tragedy), Zeus quickly commanded Hades to return Persephone at once,
and Hades surprisingly complied. However, because Persephone had not
eaten anything since her abduction to the Underworld, Hades offered her a
single piece of a pomegranate before her departure. Unaware to
Persephone, any being, god or man, who tastes of the food of Hades is
bound to his realm from the very first bite; and that is how Persephone
became the unwilling bride of Hades and the goddess of the Underworld.