Persphone

[Ric.ror]

Why was Persphone kept in the Underworld - I thought it was because she ate a pommegranate or was it because she spoke to Hades

[jake-the-peg]

I seem to remember she ate 6 pommegranate seeds and so had to remain there for 6 months of the year hence Autumn and Winter

[Octavius]

Depends which version of the myth you read. Hades abducted her and took her into the underworld (although she was goddess of the underworld) and then Zeus, pressured by the cries of the hungry people and by the other gods who also heard their anguish, could not put up with the dying earth and forced Hades to return Persephone. But before she was released to Hermes, who had been sent to retrieve her, Hades tricked her into eating four pomegranate seeds, (or six, according to some versions of the myth) which forced her to return to the underworld for one month each year for every seed that she ate.

[Tatty Rollox]

... and here she is at http://tinyurl.com/nfg9e .....

[Cobra.]

who's the perv behind the tree...or is it a tree !

[mikaltemple]

Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of earth and nature. When persephone was kidnapped by Hades, demeter was so distraught she let the natural world wither and die. As persephone had eaten the pomegranite seeds, Zeus had to come up with a compromise so she stayed with her mother for so many months of the year (spring &summer) and spent the other time in the underworld (autumn and winter) during these times, demeter was so upset , again the natural world would die, but be reborn in spring when her daughter came back to her

[Her Bruce]

Mmm, she's not bad although i usually go for blondes, still, i'd hit it, she's not as weighty as some of those pre-raphaelite models !

[baa_means_no]

.Hades did not woo Persephone, he abducted her and took her to his underground kingdom. After much protest, Persephone came to love the cold blooded king of the underworld but her mother, Demeter, was consumed with rage and sorrow. She demonstrated her anger by punishing the earth�s inhabitants with bitter cold and blustering winds. Unless Persephone was returned to her mother�s side, the earth would perish.

Hermes was sent to the house of Hades by Zeus to reason with Hades. He entered the kingdom of Hades and negotiated a compromise between the (usually cold and selfish) Hades and the (usually loving and caring) Demeter. Before Persephone could leave the underworld, Hades gave her a pomegranate seed to eat. By doing this he bound her to himself and his kingdom. When Demeter found out about the trickery she was angry but she was also resigned that there was nothing she could do... her loving daughter was bound to the Lord of the Dead. With no alternative, it was agreed that Persephone would to spend part of the year with her husband, Hades, and part of the year in the sunlight with her mother, Demeter.

When Persephone is with Hades the earth is wracked by the sorrow of her mother. But, when Persephone returns from the underworld to walk the earth again, Demeter pours forth the blessings of Spring to welcome her beloved daughter home.

[Ric.ror]

So it was the seed not the speaking that sealed her fate. Thank you just could not remember which one it was