Spring always makes me think of youth when you are anticipating your life beginning, and fall is like old age when you realize that pretty much everything that's going to happen has already happened and all you can do is remember and regret. Like Ursula Leguins novel Planet of Exile where the seasons last over 20 years and you are born in Spring and you die in Winter.
posted by Unknown at 6:17 AM
2 Comments:
when i read this blog, it reminded me of a story I read in 12th grade english. Ever heard of Persephone?
"The beautiful daughter of Demeter and Zeus, Persephone is the focus of the story resulting in the division of the seasons, giving us the sweetness of Spring and the bitterness of Winter. Hades did not woo the beautiful Persephone, he abducted her and took her to his underground kingdom. After much protest, Persephone came to love the cold blooded king of the underworld but her mother, Demeter, was consumed with rage and sorrow. She demonstrated her anger by punishing the earth’s inhabitants with bitter cold and blustering winds. Unless Persephone was returned to her mother’s side, the earth would perish.
Hermes was sent to the house of Hades by Zeus to reason with Hades. He entered the kingdom of Hades and negotiated a compromise between the (usually cold and selfish) Hades and the (usually loving and caring) Demeter. Before Persephone could leave the underworld, Hades gave her a pomegranate seed to eat. By doing this he bound her to himself and his kingdom. When Demeter found out about the trickery she was angry but she was also resigned that there was nothing she could do... her loving daughter was bound to the Lord of the Dead. With no alternative, it was agreed that Persephone would to spend part of the year with her husband, Hades, and part of the year in the sunlight with her mother, Demeter.
When Persephone is with Hades the earth is wracked by the sorrow of her mother. But, when Persephone returns from the underworld to walk the earth again, Demeter pours forth the blessings of Spring to welcome her beloved daughter home."
Thank you for your eloquent summation of the tale. There is also the story of Orpheus and Eurydice who also bargained with Hades. http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/eurydice/eurydicemyth.html
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