Rachel Alexander's Blog, page 13

a-gnosis:Inktober 10: Pomegranate.but he himselfgave he...

a-gnosis:

Inktober 10: Pomegranate.

but he himself
gave her to eat a honey-sweet pomegranate seed,
contriving secretly about her, so that she might not spend
all her days again with dark-robed, revered Demeter.

The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, translated by Apostolos N. Athanassakis.

This incident has traditionally been interpreted as an example of a widespread folk belief that if one eats the food of the dead, one must remain with them. However, since the food chosen for Persephone is not just any netherworld food, but the pomegranate seed, some scholars suggest that there is an additional significance to its appearance here.

Christopher A. Faraone points out in Ancient Greek Love Magic that the scene with Hades and Persephone recalls the wedding ceremony of Athenian epikleroi (heiresses, daughters to men who had no male heirs. They usually had to marry the father’s nearest male relative) who were given a quince to eat before they were led to the bridal chamber.

Charles Penglase, who argues in Greek Myths and Mesopotamia: Parallels and Influence in the Homeric Hymns and Hesiod that The Homeric Hymn to Demeter was influenced by earlier Mesopotamian material, suggests that the pomegranate seed is a love-charm, since love-charms of this type closely parallell similar charms seen in Neo-Assyrian texts. Indeed, according to Faraone, there is a Neo-Assyrian text that advises men who wish to attract a certain woman to give her a pomegranate and have her suck the juices.

And yet others have suggested that the pomegranate seed is a contraceptive that will keep Persephone infertile. Even if this theory is very speculative, the fruit did have some kind of connection to anti-fertility, since medical writers sometimes prescribed the peel to be used as a contraceptive (John M. Riddle, Contraception and Abortion from the Ancient World to the Renaissance).

pauzamro:the princess’ weeping(based on a painting by k...

pauzamro:

the princess’ weeping

(based on a painting by kinuko y. craft)

smatkinart:Some juicy pomegranate

smatkinart:

Some juicy pomegranate

isaacbushkin:Pom & hand. Thanks Cleo. .....#pomegrana...

isaacbushkin:

Pom & hand. Thanks Cleo.
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.#pomegranate #skeletonhand #pomegranatetattoo #fuckkylerittenhouse #fuckfascists #fuckwhitesupremacy #hashtagsarefun #dontshadowbanme
https://www.instagram.com/p/CXB59yePhJc/?utm_medium=tumblr

flyawaywme:Pomegranate, Maria Liachovitskaya

flyawaywme:

Pomegranate, Maria Liachovitskaya

formandpressure:Winter fruit

formandpressure:

Winter fruit

A pomegranate for you

A pomegranate for you

therkalexander:Receiver of Manyby Rachel Alexander Pers...

therkalexander:

Receiver of Manyby Rachel Alexander

Persephone’s life has been one of leisure among the verdant fields: the maiden of flowers, sheltered by her mother, the Harvest Goddess Demeter. Now she is a woman, a goddess in her own right, yearning for freedom— even as the terms of an ancient pact are about to come due.

Hades’s life has been one of solitude in the somber land of the dead: the God of the Underworld, he lives without attachments, eternally governing the souls of mortals. But he dreams of the young goddess who was promised to be his wife, and knows it is time for his Kingdom to have a Queen.

When Hades arrives to claim his betrothed, he finds a young goddess eager to unearth her divine potential— and a powerful mother unwilling to let go. Receiver of Many begins an erotic story of passion and possession, duty and desire, and a struggle that threatens both ancient Greece and the Realm of the Dead itself.

ordinary-beautiful:Low-hanging Fruit

ordinary-beautiful:

Low-hanging Fruit

Receiver of Manyby Rachel Alexander Persephone’s life has...

Receiver of Manyby Rachel Alexander

Persephone’s life has been one of leisure among the verdant fields: the maiden of flowers, sheltered by her mother, the Harvest Goddess Demeter. Now she is a woman, a goddess in her own right, yearning for freedom— even as the terms of an ancient pact are about to come due.

Hades’s life has been one of solitude in the somber land of the dead: the God of the Underworld, he lives without attachments, eternally governing the souls of mortals. But he dreams of the young goddess who was promised to be his wife, and knows it is time for his Kingdom to have a Queen.

When Hades arrives to claim his betrothed, he finds a young goddess eager to unearth her divine potential— and a powerful mother unwilling to let go. Receiver of Many begins an erotic story of passion and possession, duty and desire, and a struggle that threatens both ancient Greece and the Realm of the Dead itself.