Persephones

Persephones is a term used to refer, in plural form, to multiple figures bearing the name Persephone rather than a single canonical character. In classical Greek myth there is one Persephone, but in modern writing the plural Persephones can appear when discussing several characters named Persephone or when comparing different interpretations of the goddess across works of fiction and scholarship.

In the core myth, Persephone is the daughter of Demeter and the wife of Hades. The most familiar version holds that she is abducted by Hades from a meadow, an act that causes Demeter to grieve and withdraw fertility from the earth, bringing about autumn and winter. After negotiations, Persephone divides her year between the underworld and the world above, spending part of each year with Hades and the rest with her mother. Her annual return in spring is associated with rebirth and agricultural renewal.

Persephone is central to the Eleusinian Mysteries, where she was revered as a goddess linked to initiation and cycles of life, death, and renewal. She is also known by the epithet Kore, meaning “the Maiden,” reflecting her early aspects as a youthful goddess. The etymology of the name Persephone is debated among scholars, with traditional explanations tying it to concepts of maidenhood or to ideas connected with destruction or transformation, but no consensus exists.

In contemporary usage, Persephones may appear in discussions of multiple fictional or literary renditions of the goddess, or to describe several characters named Persephone within a single work. The plural usage is a literary and scholarly convention rather than a feature of ancient myth.

See also: Persephone, Kore, Demeter.