Demeter and Persephone Art Nouveau

Once upon a time when Persephone was playing in a flowery meadow with her Nymph companions, she was seized by Hades (her uncle) and carried off to the underworld as his bride. Her mother Demeter (goddess of the harvest) despaired at her disappearance and searched for her the throughout the world. When she learned that Zeus had conspired in her daughter's abduction she was furious, and refused to let the earth fruit until Persephone was returned. Zeus consented, but because the girl had tasted of the food of Hades, a handful of pomegranate seeds, she was forced to forever spend a part of the year with her husband in the underworld. All through the summer Demeter was happy with her daughter and busy with the crops, but when Persephone had to return to the underworld Demeter mourned and it became autumn, followed by the long cold winter. Persephone’s annual return to the earth in spring was marked by the flowering of the meadows and the sudden growth of the new grain.

Body Paint by the always amazing Dawn Marie Svanoe
Photography: David April
Demeter: Raminta Zaleckaite
Persephone: Meg Muhrie