Have you heard of the Athenian religious festival of Eleusinian mysteries? The Greater Eleusinian Mysteries were a set of rites celebrated around 650 BC, surrounded by a major multi-day festival, which shows numerous ties to the tale of Demeter, the Greek goddess of Nature and Harvest. Persephone is her daughter who loves Nature. The mother-daughter love is so thick, and they are always together.
It is the story of abduction, adventure, and adversity.
Hades, the Greek god of the underworld, saw the beautiful and kind Persephone, abducted her, and asked her to be his wife. She was not willing to do that. He gave her a pomegranate to eat; she ate 6 seeds.
Demeter was so distraught by the separation of her daughter, which led to the earth going infertile. She reached out to Zeus, the king of Gods. Looking at the earth's plight, Zeus asked Hades to release Persephone. Hades said he would release her if she hadn't eaten anything in the underworld. They all agreed that Persephone would stay in the underworld for six months for each seed she had eaten.
Yes, this abduction embarked on the infertile period of the earth. However, amidst her distraught state, Demeter never gave up on the hope of being reunited with her daughter. The story goes with the message that the changes in Demetry’s mood and state are the reasons for us having seasons, the inevitable cycle of decay and renewal as emblematized by the cycle of the seasons.
So, what is the connection with Adversity?
The adverse scenario Demeter faces is so powerful and comes with many lessons for us. Even though she went through the distraught cycle, she never lost hope.
What led Demeter to keep up with the hope?
Why did Pluto give the daughter back to the mother?
Accepting the adverse scenario led to keeping up with Hope for Demetry. Accepting adverse scenarios brings hope, and so does the solution.
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