This week in our Monday morning gathering, Ruth T. told us about what we are going to study during Holy Week and then we talked about the weather, stars, sports and our weekend. After that Diane introduced her friend, Katy from Germany. Then Vitor explained how we make candles in our candle workshop.
In our Thursday morning college, Simran told us the story about the temple of Eleusis, which was built in honor of Demeter (mother of Persephone) and Persephone. Simran narrated the story while Mary, Jeff and Diane put actions to the words. In the myth, Persephone is kidnapped by Hades (god of the underworld) in order to become his wife. Her mother was very angry and upset. To punish the gods, Demeter stopped growing crops in the fields. Zeus (father of Persephone) ordered Hades to return Persephone to her mother. Unfortunately, she had eaten the seeds of the pomegranate fruit which meant that she was married to Hades and this marriage could not be broken. Zeus and the gods compromised with Hades. They decided that Persephone would live with her mother for two thirds of the year and one third with Hades. During the time she lived with her mother, Demeter was happy and crops grew. We also heard that in Greece, each spring and fall people gather to sing and dance to celebrate the harvest.
Gabriel Dante Rossetti’s image of Persephone