Persephone And Pomegranates

Pomegranates, when left on their trees, open like flowers to release hundreds of seeds. They are harvested in the fall. The maiden Kore, before she became known as Queen of the Underworld, Persephone, ate pomegranate seeds when Hades (AKA Pluto, God of the Underworld) offered them to her. The act of accepting them signified moving…

The Power Of The Pomegranate

Pomegranates (melograni in Italian) are in season. Scholars believe that the fruit was brought to Sicily by both the Phoenicians and the Greeks, not only for food, but also for religious reasons. Pomegranate seeds represent fertility, prosperity, abundance, and generosity. And because of the Persephone myth–when the maiden daughter of the goddess Demeter eats the…

Autumn Is Here And So Are Pomegranates

“By what guile did the mighty Host-to-Many deceive you?” the Goddess Demeter asked her daughter Persephone in the The Homeric Hymn to Demeter (As translated by Helene P. Foley). … If you guessed that Hades (the “Host-to-Many”) deceived Persephone by feeding her pomegranate seeds (based on the photo), you are correct. Hades’ cunning action condemned…

Evelina’s Pomegranates

It’s pomegranate season! Experience Sicily’s Evelina Buttitta, who took this photo, was so excited to share with us the bounty of the tree that she and her husband have cultivated in their garden. Pomegranates (melograni in Italian) are packed with juicy, ruby-red seeds, and for this reason, they have been a symbol of fertility for…

Powerful Pomegranate

“But if [you tasted food], returning beneath [the earth,] you will stay a third part of the seasons [each year] … By what guile did the mighty Host-to-Many deceive you?” the Goddess Demeter asked her daughter Persephone in the The Homeric Hymn to Demeter (As translated by Helene P. Foley). From the featured photo today,…