Did Hades Abduct Persephone or Did She Go with Him Willingly?

In many sanitized modern adaptations of the story of Hades and Persephone, Persephone is portrayed as going with Hades to the Underworld willingly. This is the version of the story that is found in many books about Greek mythology intended for children and in the award-winning music Hadestown. This is not, however, how the story is portrayed in ancient Greek sources.

The ancient Greek and Roman accounts of Persephone universally agree that Hades abducted Persephone against her will and raped her. Both literary and artistic representations of the event unambiguously portray it as a forcible abduction. Ancient Greek and Roman poems give graphic descriptions of Persephone being brutally snatched and carried off, crying and screaming in desperation.

I don’t necessarily see the modern sanitization of the story of Hades and Persephone as a problem strictly speaking, but I do think that it is important to keep in mind that the versions of the story that were told in ancient times were much darker than the versions many people are telling today.

Modern adaptations of the story of Hades and Persephone

Many modern books about Greek mythology—especially books intended for children—portray Hades and Persephone as falling in love and her willingly going to the Underworld with him. In these retellings of the story, Persephone going to the Underworld is portrayed as an elopement rather than an abduction. It is easy to see why books intended for children often frame the story this way, since they obviously want to make the story more kid-friendly by omitting the whole part about sexual violence, but it’s not just retellings for children that make this particular change.

Probably the most prominent adaptation of the story of Hades and Persephone right now is the award-winning musical Hadestown, with music, lyrics, and book by Anaïs Mitchell. The musical has a rather longwinded history; it was first performed in 2006, the songs were released as a concept album in 2010, and it premiered off-Broadway in 2016. It finally premiered on Broadway in March 2019.

Hadestown differs quite considerably from the ancient Greek stories of Hades and Persephone. Most notably for the purposes of this article, it does not portray Hades as having abducted Persephone, but rather as having wooed her and convinced her to come with him to the Underworld (which is referred to in the musical as “Hadestown”).

By the time the events of the musical take place, Persephone and Hades have been married for a long time and their relationship is not what it used to be. The devolving state of their marriage is a major theme for much of the production. If we go back to examine the ancient sources, however, we quickly find that, at least as far as they are concerned, the beginning of Hades and Persephone’s relationship wasn’t nearly as rosy as it is portrayed in the modern musical.

ABOVE: Photograph from this article of Amber Gray and Patrick Page as Persephone and Hades in the musical Hadestown. In the musical, Hades is portrayed as having wooed Persephone and persuaded her, not as having abducted her.

Hesiodos’s Theogonia

The earliest surviving reference to the story of the abduction of Persephone is found in the Theogonia, a long narrative poem about the origins and history of the gods that was composed by the Greek poet Hesiodos of Askre, most likely in around the early seventh century BC. Hesiodos’s Theogonia, lines 912–914 read as follows:

“αὐτὰρ ὁ Δήμητρος πολυφόρβης ἐς λέχος ἦλθεν,
ἣ τέκε Περσεφόνην λευκώλενον, ἣν Ἀιδωνεὺς
ἥρπασε ἧς παρὰ μητρός: ἔδωκε δὲ μητίετα Ζεύς.”

Here is my own translation of these lines:

“Nevertheless, [Zeus] came to the bed of bountiful Demeter,
who gave birth to Persephone the white-armed, whom Aidoneus [i.e. Hades]
abducted away from her mother: but counselor Zeus gave [her to him].”

The word Hesiodos uses here to describe Hades’s action is ἥρπασε (ḗrpase), the third-person singular aorist indicative form of ἁρπάζω (harpázō), meaning “to seize by force,” “to abduct,” or “to rape.”

ABOVE: Engraving of Hades abducting Persephone from 1690 by the German illustrator Johann Ulrich Krauß

The Homeric Hymn to Demeter

The earliest detailed surviving account of the story of Hades and Persephone comes from “Homeric Hymn 2 to Demeter,” which was most likely composed in around the seventh century BC or thereabouts. The hymn leaves absolutely no ambiguity that Hades abducted and raped Persephone totally against her will; it even describes Persephone multiple times as “unwilling.” Here is the description of Hades’s abduction of Persephone from the “Homeric Hymn 2 to Demeter,” lines 1–46, as translated by Diane J. Rayor:

“I sing of the revered goddess, rich-haired Demeter,
and her long-legged daughter whom Hades snatched
(loud-rumbling, thundering Zeus gave her away)
while she played with the virgin daughters of Ocean,
far from Golden Grain Demeter, who bears shining fruit.
She picked lush meadow flowers: roses, crocuses,
lovely violets, irises, hyacinths-and a narcissus
Gaia grew as a lure for the blossoming girl,
following Zeus’s bidding, to please Lord Hades.
Everyone marvelled at the bewitching sight,
immortal gods and mortal folk alike:
from its root blossomed a hundred sweetly
scented heads, and all wide heaven above,
all earth, and the salty swell of the sea laughed.
Amazed, she stretched out both hands to pick
the charming bloom-and a chasm opened
in the Nyssian Plain. Out sprang Lord Hades,
god of many names, on his immortal horses.
Snatching the unwilling girl, he carried her off
in his golden chariot, as she cried and screamed aloud
calling to her father, son of Kronos, highest and best.”

“None of the immortal gods or mortal folk
heard her cry, nor the Olive shining with fruit—
except the daughter of Perses, tender-hearted
Hekate, veiled in light, heard from her cave
and Lord Helios Hyperion’s shining son
heard the girl calling to her father, son of Kronos.
Zeus sat far away from the gods, in his temple echoing
with prayers, accepting rich offerings from mortals.
But her father’s brother, Kronos’ son of many names,
Lord of the Dead, stole the unwilling girl
away on his immortal horses, with a nod from Zeus.
While the goddess could still gaze at earth
and starry heaven, strong rush of the fish abundant sea
and sun’s rays, she still hoped to see her dear mother
and the race of gods who live forever:
hope yet charmed her strong mind though she grieved.
But the mountain peaks and the sea depths echoed
with her eternal cry, and her goddess mother heard her.
Sharp grief seized her heart; with both hands
she tore the veil from her ambrosial hair,
threw a black cloak across her shoulders
and sped like a bird over the nourishing land and sea,
searching: but none of the immortal gods
or mortal folk would tell her the truth,
nor did omen birds come bearing messages.”

In other words, according to the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Hades seized Persephone and carried her off with him in his chariot, with her weeping and screaming to her father Zeus for help. Her cries were so loud that some the other gods could hear her from far away.

Ancient Greek depictions of the abduction of Persephone

Persephone is not just portrayed as being forcibly carried off to the Underworld in literary accounts, but also in artistic depictions. One relatively early surviving depiction of Hades abducting Persephone is an ancient Greek pinax dated to between c. 460 and c. 450 BC from the sanctuary of Persephone at the site of Lokroi Epizephyroi in Magna Graecia.

The pinax depicts Hades as a relatively young, beardless man driving a chariot pulled by two winged horses. Persephone is shown clutched in Hades’s right arm, facing him with one arm up in the air, evidently struggling to escape. Her hair is tied up in a bun at the back of her head.

ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of an ancient Greek pinax dating to between c. 460 and c. 450 BC depicting Hades abducting Persephone in a chariot pulled by two winged horses

Some of the most famous ancient Greek depictions of the abduction of Persephone come from Makedonian royal tombs. Small Tomb A from the Grand Tumulus at Aigai, a Makedonian royal tomb dating to the late fourth century BC also known as “the Tomb of Persephone,” contains a famous fresco of an older, wild-haired, bearded Hades carrying Persephone off in his chariot.

In this depiction, the horses are clearly portrayed without wings. With his left arm, Hades is shown clutching Persephone, who is shown flailing behind the chariot with both her arms outstretched in a gesture of desperation, a visible expression of grief upon her face, and her loose auburn hair flowing behind her in the wind.

This is probably the most dramatic and moving depiction of the abduction of Persephone that has survived from ancient Greece. Persephone’s utter lack of control over the situation is emphasized by the fact that she is shown almost flapping along in the wind behind the chariot.

ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the fresco from Small Tomb A of the Grand Tomulus at Aigai

ABOVE: Detail from Wikimedia Commons of the fresco of Hades abducting Persephone from Small Tomb A of the Grand Tomulus at Aigai

A mosaic from the third chamber of the Amphipolis Tomb, another ancient Makedonian tomb dated to around the late fourth century BC, depicts a very similar scene of Hades riding in a chariot pulled by two horses, clutching Persephone with his left arm.

This depiction, however, is a bit more restrained in its representation of Persephone than the fresco from the tomb at Aigai. In this version, Persephone only has one arm out and, although she is still flailing in desperation, she is mostly upright. Hermes is shown walking ahead of the chariot, guiding Hades and Persephone to the Underworld.

ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of the mosaic from the third chamber of the Amphipolis Tomb depicting the abduction of Persephone

Although the most famous surviving ancient Greek depictions of the rape of Persephone come from late fourth-century BC Makedonian tombs, we also have a relatively large number of surviving paintings of the event from various works of ancient Greek pottery.

For instance, a fragment of a red-figure vase dated to between c. 350 and c. 325 BC from the Greek city of Taras in southern Italy depicts Hades as a bearded man wearing a pileus (a kind of brimless hat) and a chlamys (a kind of cloak), grasping Persephone around the waist to carry her off by force.

ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of a fragment of a red-figure ceramic vessel depicting Hades carrying off Persephone by force

An Apulian red-figure loutrophoros dating to roughly between c. 330 and c. 320 BC depicts Hades with a chariot pulled by four horses. Hades is shown in the very act of trying to seize Persephone, who is shown desperately trying to run away from him.

Interestingly, the chariot in this particular vase painting is driven by a winged Erinys, one of the chthonic goddesses of vengeance whose duty was to punish those who had murdered their own blood relatives. These goddesses were said to reside in the Underworld, so it makes sense that they would be associated with Hades.

Although these various depictions of the abduction of Persephone differ significantly with respect to the details, they all portray the event as an abduction and Persephone as a completely unwilling victim.

ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of an Apulian red-figure loutrophoros dating to between c. 330 and c. 320 BC, depicting Hades with his chariot in the act of abducting Persephone, who is only partly visible in this image

Ovid’s Metamorphoses

A number of Greek and Roman accounts of the abduction of Persephone have survived from the time of the Roman Empire and all of them agree that it was a forcible kidnapping, not a seduction. Most famously of all, the Roman poet Publius Ovidius Naso (lived 43 BC – c. 18 AD) gives a detailed account of the abduction of Persephone by Hades in Book Five of his long narrative poem in Latin Metamorphoses, which was published in around 8 AD or thereabouts.

Here is Ovid’s description of the abduction of Persephone, as translated by Horace Gregory:

“Hard by the town of Henna was a lake,
Pergus its name; nor even Cayster’s waters
held in their echoes sweeter songs of swans.
A forest crowned the hills on every side
where even at sunstruck noonday the cool shores
were green beneath a canopy of leaves,
the lawns, the purling grasses bright with flowers,
and spring the only season of the year.
This was the place where Proserpina played;
she plucked white lily and the violet
which held her mind as in a childish game
to outmatch all the girls who played with her,
filling her basket, then the hollow of small breasts
with new-picked flowers. As if at one glance, Death
had caught her up, delighting at his choice,
had ravished her, so quick was his desire,
while she in terror called to friends and mother,
a prayer to mother echoing through her cries.
Where she had ripped the neckline of her dress,
her flowers had slipped away—and in her childish,
pure simplicity she wept her new loss now
with bitter, deeper sorrow than her tears
for the brief loss of spent virginity.
He who had raped her lashed his horses on
to greater speed, crying the names of each,
shaking black reins across their backs and shoulders;
he stormed his way through waterfalls and canyons
past the Pallici, where fiery thick sulphur bubbled
from split earth to the narrows where men came
(Corinthians who lived between two seas
and followed Bacchus) to set up a city
that rose between two jagged rocky harbours.”

Ovid’s account is similar to the account given in the “Homeric Hymn to Demeter” in a number of ways, but there are also some noticeable discrepancies between the two accounts. For instance, Ovid omits the part about the giant narcissus flower. Ovid also seems to place a somewhat greater emphasis on Persephone’s childlike innocence, saying that she was so naïve that she mourned the loss of her flowers more than the loss of her virginity.

ABOVE: Fifteenth-century manuscript illustration of Hades carrying off Persephone, based on Ovid’s account

The Bibliotheke of Pseudo-Apollodoros and the Fabulae of Pseudo-Hyginus

The Bibliotheke, a mythographic composition written in Greek in around the second century AD or thereabouts by an anonymous author who is referred to by modern scholars as “Pseudo-Apollodoros,” gives a one sentence description of the abduction of Persephone in book one, chapter 5, which reads as follows:

“Πλούτων δὲ Περσεφόνης ἐρασθεὶς Διὸς συνεργοῦντος ἥρπασεν αὐτὴν κρύφα.”

Here is my own English translation:

“Plouton [i.e. Hades] fervently lusted after Persephone and, with the cooperation of Zeus, he abducted her in secret.”

Another ancient mythographic composition has also survived: a work in Latin titled Fabulae, which was most likely written in around the second century AD or thereabouts. It is traditionally attributed to the Roman scholar Gaius Julius Hyginus, but it certainly was not written by him. Modern scholars refer to the author as “Pseudo-Hyginus.” Pseudo-Hyginus’s description of the abduction of Persephone reads as follows, as translated by R. Scott Smith:

“Pluto asked Jupiter if he could marry Proserpina, his daughter by Ceres. Jupiter said that Ceres would never allow her daughter to reside in the darkness of Tartarus; he told him, however, to abduct her while she was picking flowers on Mount Aetna, which is in Sicily. So, while Proserpina was picking flowers there with Venus, Diana, and Minerva, Pluto came on a chariot and abducted her. Later Jupiter granted Ceres’ request that Proserpina spend half of each year with her and the other half with Pluto.”

Once again, the event is clearly described as an abduction, not a seduction.

ABOVE: Photograph from Wikimedia Commons of The Rape of Proserpina, sculpted from 1621 until 1622 by the Italian Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini

De raptu Proserpinae by Claudius Claudianus

In the waning years of the Roman Empire, the Roman poet Claudius Claudianus (lived c. 370 – c. 404 AD) began composing an epic poem in Latin about the rape of Persephone titled De Raptu Proserpinae. He died with only the first three books of the poem finished, but the description of the abduction itself is complete, taking up most of Book Two.

The account is so lengthy that I cannot quote the whole thing here, but you can read a full translation of it here. Claudius Claudianus adds a great deal of material, including an account of how Proserpina’s companions Pallas and Diana tried to defend her from Pluto. Pluto, however, overcomes the goddesses and carries Prosperpina away on his chariot, taking her crying and screaming all the way.

Conclusion

Contrary to modern depictions of him in popular culture, Hades is not the “villain” of Greek mythology. The ancient Greeks never thought of him as any kind of Devil figure. In fact, as I discuss in this article from December 2016, in ancient sources, he is actually generally portrayed as one of the more reasonable deities.

Nonetheless, it is important to remember that, in the ancient Greek and Roman sources, Hades is unambiguously portrayed as a rapist. He may not be the “bad guy,” but that doesn’t necessarily make him a good guy in any sense. Greek deities are morally complicated at best and even the more reasonable ones are definitely not models to be emulated.

I don’t have a problem with modern adaptations changing the narrative to make Hades and Persephone’s relationship consensual from the start, but I do think it is important for people to remember that, in the original Greek sources, their relationship is anything but consensual.

ABOVE: The Rape of Persephone, painted c. 1631 by the Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn