Profs and Pints Philadelphia presents: “Meet Persephone,” a spring night with the goddess of spring and queen of the underworld, with Linda Lee, lecturer in folklore and literature at the University of Pennsylvania.
Spring is in full bloom, and according to Greek mythology the Goddess Persephone has popped up from the underworld and stands among us once again.
Perhaps you’d like to get to know her.
Come to the Black Squirrel Club in Philadelphia’s Fishtown for a proper introduction courtesy of Linda Lee, a scholar of folklore, myths and fairy tales whose interests include the supernatural and representation of women.
Lee will discuss how the myth of Persephone and Hades is among the best-known stories of Greek mythology and persists in contemporary popular culture and literature in offerings such as the musical Hadestown and the romance webcomic Lore Olympus. Because Persephone moves cyclically between the realms of the dead and the living, her story offers a myth that explains, and is central to many Western ideas about, the annual change of seasons.
You’ll get to know Persephone as a complex figure, embodying seemingly contradictory ideas and identities and shaped by having experienced abduction, rape, and patriarchy. Her mother Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and the harvest, had become so inconsolable over the abduction of Persephone by Hades, god of the underworld, that she refused to let crops grow and plunged the world into famine. Zeus ordered Hades to release Persephone, but her consumption in the underworld of seeds from a pomegranate, a symbol of the permanence of marriage, left her so tied to Hades and the land of the dead that she must return underground every year.
Together we’ll consider how and why these contradictory elements continue to fascinate and inspire modern audiences. We’ll also look at regional variations in beliefs about Persephone and consider the mythic roots of Persephone’s story in works such as Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Hesiod’s Theogony, and the Homeric Hymn to Demeter.
Feel free to pay homage to Persephone with your attire. (Advance tickets: $13.50 plus processing fees. Doors: $17, or $15 with a student ID. Guests are welcome to arrive any time after 5:30. Talk starts at 6:30.)
