Madeleine Poole 

       In the picture above, the Hadestown Tour's cast stands on the stage of Seattle’s Paramount Theater to take their bows. In the middle of the group is a person wearing a bright green dress with a crown of flowers. This cast member is Persephone. Even though Anaïs Mitchell’s musical is a version of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, it also tells another version of Persephone's myth and her complex relationship with Hades, king of the Underworld. The show carries so much importance because it not only portrays Persephone as a vibrant, bright, and independent goddess of spring and agriculture but also because, like the myths told in ancient Greece, this show has the power to recount a story that is an expression of the way we think about ourselves and the world around us.        

There are two Homeric Hymns to Demeter that mention the deity Persephone. Number 13 introduces Demeter and her “very lovely daughter Persephone” (Morford et al. 330). This hymn mentions that Persephone is lovely but does not say much else. Persephone usually accompanies her mother, Demeter, the goddess of agriculture. In Hadestown, there is no mention of Demeter. The people introduce Persephone as bringing about spring, vegetation, and sunshine. When Persephone walks on stage for the first time during the number Livin’ it Up on Top, she sings, “Well it's like he said, I'm an outdoor girl” (Mitchell 0:37-0:39) and sings, “Who makes the summer sun shine bright? / That's right, Persephone! / Who makes the fruit of the vine get ripe?” (Mitchell 1:21-1:28). The audience sees Persephone wearing a green dress with flowers in her hair. She also carries a basket decorated with flowers and greenery. They can already tell that this vibrant character is integral to the show.   

In addition to portraying Persephone as an individual, Hadestown focuses on the complexity of Persephone’s relationship with her husband, Hades. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter (2) is very significant because it tells of the abduction of Persephone (Morford et al. 330). In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Persephone picks flowers with a group of friends when she is lured away by a flower, allowing Hades, king of the underworld, to abduct her. (La Fond 4:13-4:22). Demeter searches everywhere for her daughter until the sun god Helius finally tells her what happened: Zeus, Persephone’s father, gave Persephone to Hades in marriage without the knowledge or consent of Persephone or Demeter (La Fond 4:49-5:02). While Persephone was missing, Demeter grieved for her daughter and refused to return to her duties until she saw her daughter. Eventually, Zeus sent Hermes to fetch Persephone from the underworld. Hades allowed Persephone to go but had her eat pomegranate seeds before she left. Even though the mother and daughter were reunited, Demeter knew something was wrong. She knew that if Persephone ate anything from the underworld, she would be forced to spend a part of each year there. Persephone tells her mother that Hades made her eat the fruit of the pomegranate against her will (La Fond 8:18-8:56). Later, Rhea, Demeter’s mother, helps facilitate a compromise. Persephone will spend a third of the year in the underworld; the rest of the year, she will be with her mother among the Olympians.        

Like the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, I believe Hadestown also explores the theme of compromise. One interpretation of the hymn is that it can be interpreted as exploring conflict and compromise between the sexes (La Fond 14:32-14:36). Zeus is not in Hadestown. The show does not mention pomegranate seeds or directly mentions an abduction. However, like the Homeric Hymn, it does not clarify how much consent exists in the relationship between Persephone and Hades. In the song Epic I, Orpheus sings, “But he [Hades] fell in love with a beautiful lady / Who walked up above in her mother's green field / He fell in love with Persephone / Who was gathering flowers in the light of the sun / And he took her home to become his queen (Mitchell 1:02-1:29). Those familiar with the myth would know that Hades kidnapped Persephone, so they might think Hades took Persephone home with her. However, Orpheus also sings,

“The lady loved him and the kingdom they shared / But without her above, not one flower would grow / So King Hades agreed that for half of each year / She would stay with him there in his world down below / But the other half, she could walk in the sun / And the sun, in turn, burned twice as bright / Which is where the seasons come from / And with them, the cycle / Of the seed and the sickle / And the lives of the people” (Mitchell 1:41-2:28).

These lyrics make it seem like Persephone and Hades genuinely fell in love, that she went down to the underworld of her own free will. Here, Persephone has agency in the show - it seems like she (or she and Hades together) compromised for her to spend half of each year in the underworld and half above. There are limits. She cannot stay down forever because they understand her responsibility of bringing spring, agriculture, and vegetation to the humans.        

Even at the end of Hadestown, Persephone is once again front and center—center stage. At the end, she sings a song with Eurydice, toasting Orpheus and all who dream of a better world. Here, Persephone and Eurydice have the last word. These women, the characters we do not know much about in the original Greek myths, who are not in many stories, are given agency and a voice.

Works Cited

La Fond, Marie. “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle: Demeter.” Greek and Roman Mythology. University of Washington, July 2024, https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1729190/pages/lesson-5-video-lectures?module_item_id=21246305. Accessed 12 July 2024. 

Morford, Mark, et al. Classical Mythology. 12th ed., Oxford University Press, 2023. Available from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com 

Mitchell, Anaïs, et al. Hadestown: Original Broadway Cast Recording. Sing It AgainRecords, 2019. Spotify, https://open.spotify.com/album/1J1yxODbNlqKbwRqJxYJUP.