Demeter and Persephone: Lessons from a Myth

by Tamara Agha-Jaffar

The classical Greek myth of Demeter and her daughter Persephone as told in Homer's Hymn to Demeter has been used most often to explain the cycle of the seasons. However, a closer examination will reveal insights on living and dying, loss and reconciliation, and suffering and healing. This work demostrates the continued importance and relevance of the myth of Demeter and Persephone to today's society. The first three chapters provide a summary of the Homeric story and examine the myth from the perspectives of the mother and daughter. The following chapters discuss the symbolism of critical objects, the role of female mentoring, the role of Hades and the meaning of the underworld, the subject of rape, and the masculinist perspective presented by Zeus and Helios, and derive lessons useful for healing and knowledge. The Hymn to Demeter as translated by Helene Foley is included as an appendix in order to provide a basis for the discussion in the text. Notes and a bibliography also follow the text.

Genres: Mythology

211 pages, Paperback

First published September 13, 2002

About the author

I have been in academia all my professional life, as a professor of English, an academic dean, and a Vice President for Academic Affairs. I retired in July 2013. I finally have time to do what I love best: read and write.

My interest in reading runs the gamut from books on ancient cultures, beginning with the mythology and culture of ancient Mesopotamia; world religions; poetry, especially the poetry of the British Romantics; novels; the classics; and all things feminist.

My awards include the 2004 Kansas Professor of the Year Award from the Carnegie Foundation and the 2010 President’s Call to Service Award for my volunteer work with the local school district, with victims of sexual assault, and with community shelters for battered women.

I have written five books, two of them non-fiction:
Demeter and Persephone: Lessons from a Myth (McFarland 2002), and Women and Goddesses in Myth and Sacred Texts (Longman 2004).

I have written three novels:
A Pomegranate and the Maiden (Anaphora Literary Press 2015) is my first novel. It is a retelling of the Demeter/Persephone myth through the voices of its characters. It is available on Amazon Kindle, Audible, and paperback.

Unsung Odysseys tells the story of Odysseus' return from Troy through the voices of women. It is available on Amazon Kindle, Audible, and paperback.

Gilgamesh of Uruk is the story of the epic hero Gilgamesh from Ancient Mesopotamia. It is available on Amazon Kindle, Audible, and paperback.

The three novels are available in a single collection, Ancient Reflections: A Mythic Trilogy.

My passion is mythology, especially women's role in myths. I write a blog interpreting events and characters in mythology by breathing life into them to unearth their nuggets of wisdom. I have also posted over 550 book reviews on my website.

Check out my website at www.tamaraaghajaffar.com

Reviews

[Dominique · Rating 1 out of 5]

After the first two or three chapters of this book, I felt like I should have read the other books mentioned by the author, instead of this one; I have read Life's Daughter/Death's Bride, and I felt like I got more out of that book than I did this one. A couple of the other books mentioned, I had considered getting before deciding on this one, and the author definitely made me feel those others books would be much better resources than this one.

Another issue that I have with this book is that I felt like she was saying that all women are victims, no matter what. I also did not like how it felt like she was degrading the culture of Ancient Greece; she was definitely making twenty- first century judgments on that culture. One cannot expect people who lived over two thousand years ago to see things the same way someone living today does.

And while I think she does make some valid points in the chapter where she talks about rape, I don't think she gave the reader the full picture. From the reading I have done on the story of Persephone, I ran into an interesting explanation of the word "rape"; one translation of the word is derived from a Latin word "rapt" which means "to seize". By failing to take this meaning into account, I think the author has done her readers some disservice.

[Bohemian Bluestocking · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be a good one for a Women's Studies program or a World Mythology class that wants to look at myths through a feminist lens. I really appreciated the entire Hymn to Demeter in the back, and the author draws from classic feminist texts and writers. This has a hint of Jungian perspective (it mentions Clarissa Pinkola Estes) and she cites Jung and Joseph Campbell in the bibliography, but it is very much centered in an idea that feminism is the solution and uses terminology such as "the patriarchy." She does make the case for a balance between the masculine and feminine in each of us and in society, sees a redeeming femininity for Hades, etc. The author teaches at a community college in Kansas where she founded the Women's Studies program. It was a bit too 3rd wave 1990s feminist-leaning for me. I think I have a bit of PTSD from the grievance rhetoric of "feminism" from graduate school, so that is just a personal opinion. I would have loved this book in my 20s though.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book, amazing teacher.