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Persephone
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Persephone Gian Lorenzo Bernini: Pluto and Proserpina Hades and Persephone Persephone being carried off to the underworld Underworld of Greek mythology Medieval manuscript illustration showing Hades and Persephone enthroned with the three-headed dog Cerberus at their feet, musicians playing instruments, and tortured souls in the background.
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Parthenon, Acropolis, Athens, Greece.
From Athena to Zeus: Basics of Greek Mythology
Hades. Persephone. Hades (aka Pluto or Pluton)& Persephone enthroned. God&Goddess of underworld sit. 3 headed dog Cerberus at feet. Females on harp and rebec (L)men on harps or tortured. Les Echecs amoureux, Manuscript produced 4 Louise de Savoy,15th c.
Ancient Greek Underworld Quiz
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Persephone
Persephone Rare gold coin from Carthage depicting the goddess Persephone, 441–317 bce.

Persephone

Greek goddess
Also known as: Proserpina, Proserpine
Written by
Gitanjali Roy
Gitanjali Roy is deputy managing editor, Encyclopaedia Britannica. She has over two decades of editorial experience across digital and broadcast media.
Gitanjali Roy
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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•History

Persephone, in Greek religion, daughter of Zeus, the chief god, and Demeter, the goddess of agriculture. Persephone was the wife of Hades, king of the underworld, and was associated with spring, vegetation, and marriage. The myth of her abduction by Hades was a symbolic explanation of seasonal change. Persephone was also called Kore, and her Roman equivalent was Proserpine or Proserpina. In the Homeric “Hymn to Demeter,” the story is told of how Persephone was...

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