The Rape of Persephone
Lekythos
Pottery, Greek
Hades (Greek deity)
Persephone (Greek deity)
This video depicts a funerary lekythos, a vessel used to offer wine and olive oil to the deceased. Lekythoi are similar to other amphorae, but their main distinguishing characteristic was the alabaster color of the vessels surface. This artifact is an exact replica of a lekythos dating to the Classical Era (480 BCE - 323 BCE), and the original is currently housed in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. The scene is a depiction of Hades abducting his niece, Persephone, in order to make her his bride in the underworld. The cultic practices associated with this story were central to the mystery initiations held at Eleusis in honor of Demeter and Persephone.
Proctor, Christopher
16-April-2017
Noncommercial Reuse: The author of this work gives permission for this digital image to be reused
without modification for research and educative endeavors. Please cite the digital resource according to the convention provided by Omeka.
video/mp4
4.2 MB
00:25 min
396 x 740 pixels
English
Moving Image
CG0043
Attikē (Greece)
480 BCE - 323 BCE
Telesterion: Temple of Demeter and Persephone (Eleusis, Greece)
Sanctuary of Demeter (Eleusis, Greece)
Eleusinian mysteries
Eleusis (Greece)
Temples, Greek--Greece
Demeter (Greek deity)
Ancient Greek religion
Homeric hymn to Demeter
Persephone (Greek deity)
This photograph depicts the Telesterion, the ancient temple dedicated to the goddesses Demeter and Persephone. Located in Eleusis, Greece, the Telesterion was home to one of the most popular Mystery Cults of the ancient Greco-Roman world: i.e. the Eleusinian Mysteries. The myth associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries is recorded in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, which is an etiological myth describing the reason for the four seasons. In sum, Demeter's daughter, Persephone, was abducted by the god of the underworld, Hades. Refusing to let the young goddess return to her mother, Demeter - the goddess responsible for the growing of grains and other dry plants - refused to allow plants to grow. Zeus, the father of Persephone, convinced his brother, Hades, to return the girl to her mother for two-thirds of the year, and it was believed Persephone emerged from the underworld in Eleusis.
Proctor, Christopher
03-June-2007
Noncommercial Reuse: The author of this work gives permission for this digital image to be reused
without modification for research and educative endeavors. Please cite the digital resource according to the convention provided by Omeka.
image/jpg
530 KB
1280 x 960 pixels
72 PPI
English
Still Image
CG0036
Attikē (Greece)
1500 BCE – 396 CE
Kallichoron: Well of Demeter (Eleusis, Greece)
Sanctuary of Demeter (Eleusis, Greece)
Eleusinian mysteries
Ancient Greek religion
Homeric hymn to Demeter
Demeter (Greek deity)
Persephone (Greek deity)
Hades (Greek deity)
Classical Greece
This photograph depicts the Kallichoron, or, the Well Around Which to Dance. According to the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, this well, located in Eleusis, Greece, is the spot where Demeter stopped to rest and weep after the abduction of her daughter, Persephone, by the god of the underworld, Hades. During the Eleusinian Mysteries, one of the most important and popular mystery cults from the Greco-Roman world, initiates would dance around this well in honor of the goddesses, ultimately giving it its name.
Proctor, Christopher
03-June-2007
Noncommercial Reuse: The author of this work gives permission for this digital image to be reused
without modification for research and educative endeavors. Please cite the digital resource according to the convention provided by Omeka.
image/jpg
512 KB
1280 x 960 pixels
72 PPI
English
Still Image
CG0035
Attikē (Greece)
1500 BCE – 396 CE