Persephonê, also called Kore, was the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. Her gentle character
attracted Hades who fell in love with her. Hades asked "Zeus for permission to marry her".
Zeus didn't refuse Hades wishes but he knew that Demeter would not allow her daughter to be
married to the god of the dead (Jackson).
One day Persephonê was picking flowers with some of her friends in the island of Scicily. Zeus planted a beautiful narcissus to lure her away from her friends. As soon as Persephonê saw the flower, she came to pick it. "Immediatly the earth opened up" and Hades took the girl to the underworld. Persephonê screamed for her mother, but nobody was able to help her. Down in Hades' realm, she refused to touch any food (Grant and Hazel 139). The image on the right captures very well how forlorn she must have been.
The Homeric Hymn to Demeter tells us how despaired Demeter was when she finally heard her daughter's cries. Nobody was willing to tell her what happened, though. Demeter started to look for Persephonê and for nine days she didn't touch any food nor drink. On the tenth day, however, Hecate took Demeter to Helius who told her what Zeus and Hades had done. In a rage she left Mount Olympus to tavel the roads of the cities disguised as an old women.
Demeter would allow agriculture to flourish where she was recieved kindly, but she would barren the fields of those who were inhospitable. Eventually, Demeter would arrive at Eleusis where she was taken into the royal house of King Celeus. The Queen employed her to take care of her baby son Demophon. The baby started to grow rapidly because Demeter tried to make him immortal. Every night she would throw Demophon into the fire to "burn the mortal part out of him". A servant discovered what Demeter was doing and reported it to the Queen. Metanira's screams angered Demeter who threw the child on the floor, showed her true identity, and ordered Celeus to build a temple in her honor at Eleusis (Grant and Hazel 139-141).
Demeter spent a year in the temple, refusing the company of the gods. Meanwhile, the Earth could no longer produce food because Demeter forbade it to grow. Mankinds survival was at stake and Zeus send Hermes down to Hades to bring Persephonê back to the living. Hades had no choice but to obey Zeus' request but he was tricky enough to ensure that Persephone would spent at least part of each year beside him. When no one was watching, he gave her a pomegranate to eat which bound her to him. Then Hermes took the girl and brought her to her mother. From now on Persephonê would stay a third part of the year (winter) with Hades and the rest of the year among the living (Powell 231-234).