Ancient Greek and Roman Myths Notes

Persephone in Greek, Proserpine in Latin. She was a daughter of Demeter. Hades fell in love with his niece and abducted her when she was playing on a meadow with  her nymphs. Hades made her his wife, the Queen of the Underworld. Demetra was in grief, and the earth froze. Zeus ordered Hades to return the daughter to her mother. But this was no longer possible, as Persephone unintentionally ate a seed of pomegranate, which was enough to tie her to the Underworld. Since then she spends half a year with her mother, and the earth blossoms, and half a year with her husband, and the earth becomes barren.
See: Frederick Leighton. The Return of Persephone.
Dante Gabriel Rossetti Proserpine.
Rembrandt. The Abduction of Proserpine.