Lesson 8: The Story of Proserpine

Long, long ago, in the beautiful island of Sicily, there lived a goddess called Ceres. She was the goddess of crops, plants and trees; so on her depended the health and happiness of all the people of this wide world. Ceres had a fair daughter, Proserpine, whom she loved more than her life. Proserpine was the brightest and loveliest of all girls. Her cheeks were rosy and beautiful like the apple blossoms in spring. Her eyes were as blue as the sky in April. Her long golden curls were as bright as the sunlight in springtime. All the radiant loveliness of springtime seemed to have taken the form of this fair maiden. Everybody said, "She is the Spring." Proserpine helped her mother in the fields. With her young companions she danced and sang, while gathering flowers. Far down the earth, there lived dark Pluto, king of the land of the dead. He had often asked some goddess to come and live with him, but no goddess was willing to live among the dead. So Pluto was very lonely. One day Pluto came to earth and was driving along in his swift chariot. Behind some bushes he heard voices and laughter. He was curious. He stopped his chariot, and walked to the bushes. There he saw Proserpine laughing and playing with her companions who formed a circle round her. Pluto was charmed at the sight of the lovely maiden. He looked at Proserpine and thought, "I must make her my queen. Her bright face will make even my dark kingdom look bright and beautiful." But he knew that it would be useless to ask the maiden to be his queen. So he stepped into the circle and carried her to his chariot. The companions of Proserpine were frightened and fled in all directions. Pluto departed with the captive maiden in his chariot. He drove very fast. He was afraid that Proserpine's mother Ceres would soon appear there in search of her daughter. After some time Pluto came to the bank of a river. The river was full to the brim and he could not drive through the water. To go in another direction would mean loss of time. So with his sceptre he struck the ground. The ground opened at once, and chariot, horses and all plunged into the darkness below. Just as the ground was closing over her, Proserpine seized her girdle and threw it far out into the river. She thought that the girdle might reach Ceres, and her mother would be able to trace her lost daughter.

In the evening Ceres came back home. She did not find her daughter who usually came running to meet her. This had never happened before. Ceres was greatly surprised and a little worried. She searched for her in all the rooms, but they were all empty. Then she lighted a torch from the fires of a volcano and wandered about the fields and valleys looking for Proserpine. The search went on for the whole night, and in the morning her grief knew no bounds. That very day Ceres began a long journey. She wandered over land and sea, over hills and valleys for days together. She neglected all her work on earth. As a result the crops failed everywhere. The ground became dry and barren. Famine broke out all over the world. It seemed that the earth grieved with the grieving mother. The people were starving. They came to Ceres and implored her to bring back plenty, and save their lives. Ceres lifted her sad face, weary with ceaseless wandering, and said, "I cannot take care of the earth until I get back my lost daughter." So the people thought of praying to Jupiter who was the king of the gods. And to Jupiter they sent their prayer to bring Proserpine back to her mother. They were sadly in need of Ceres's help. Ceres wandered all over the earth and came at last to Sicily. One day when she was passing by a river, waves carried something to her feet. She picked up the object and saw that it was the girdle of her daughter. Ceres looked at it carefully again and again. Tears filled her eyes and streamed down her pale cheeks. She suddenly seemed to hear a voice coming from a nearby fountain. The voice grew clearer every moment and it said, "Ceres, great mother of the earth, I am the nymph of the fountain. I live in the dark depths of the earth. And I have seen your daughter on a throne in the kingdom of Pluto. Her cheeks were pale and her eyes were heavy with weeping. Go to Jupiter and pray to him to send her back to you. Do not grieve any more." With these words the nymph seemed to leap towards the sun and the sky. Ceres now came to see Jupiter and said, "I have found the place where my daughter is. Please give her back to me and I shall once more make the earth as fruitful and green as it was." Jupiter was deeply moved by the mother's sorrow, and also by the prayers of the people on the earth. He thought for a while and said, "Proserpine may return to earth if she has not tasted any food in Pluto's kingdom." Ceres quickly descended into the land of the dead. But alas! That very day Proserpine had eaten six pomegranate seeds, and for every one of those seeds she was destined each year to spend a month in the realm of the dead. So for six month every year Proserpine would come back to her mother. When she did so, flowers bloomed, birds sang and the earth smiled to welcome the young queen. But when the time came for Proserpine to rejoin Pluto in his dark underground kingdom, Ceres would begin to grieve for six months. The earth too, would look sad and gloomy. The trees would shed their leaves. The flowers, too, would hide underground, until they heard again the gentle footfall of Proserpine returning to earth.