Statuette of Persephone
Related Artworks
Statuette of Persephone
Culture
Greek
Creation date
ca. 340 B.C.
Materials
marble
Dimensions
H: 18 3/4 in.
Credit line
Purchased by the Art Association from the legacy of J. Anton Scherrer in memory of Josephine Turner Scherrer and Adolph Turner Scherrer
Accession number
61.34
Collection
Currently On View In
Frances Parker Appel Gallery
Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, goddess of grain and fertility, and Zeus, the king of the gods. In this statuette, Persephone wears a long peplos and would have been carrying grain or a piglet.
Hades fell in love with Persephone, and abducted her while she was picking flowers in Enna, on the island of Sicily. Demeter, heartbroken at the loss of her daughter, implored Zeus to help her. Zeus convinced Hades to let Persephone return to earth. However, a soul that ingested food in Hades was never permitted to return to the world of the living. Persephone had eaten six seeds of a pomegranate, so she was able to go above ground for only six months of the year. Demeter's sadness at Persephone's absence was believed to be the cause of the winter and fall seasons, and spring marks her return.
Greek Art
Persephone was the daughter of Demeter, goddess of grain and fertility, and Zeus, the king of the gods. In this statuette, Persephone wears a long peplos and would have been carrying grain or a piglet.
Hades fell in love with Persephone, and abducted her while she was picking flowers in Enna, on the island of Sicily. Demeter, heartbroken at the loss of her daughter, implored Zeus to help her. Zeus convinced Hades to let Persephone return to earth. However, a soul that ingested food in Hades was never permitted to return to the world of the living. Persephone had eaten six seeds of a pomegranate, so she was able to go above ground for only six months of the year. Demeter's sadness at Persephone's absence was believed to be the cause of the winter and fall seasons, and spring marks her return.
