Persephone, the Goddess Queen of the Underworld, was the daughter of Zeus and Harvest Goddess Demeter. She was also known as the Goddess of Spring Growth.  According to Greek Mythology Persephone was abducted by Hades the god of the Underworld as she leaned down to pick a flower.  The earth beneath her opened up and Hades came out on his chariot with black horses and grabbed her.

Her mother,  Demeter Goddess of the Harvest,  was heartbroken and while she wandered the length and breadth of the earth in search of her daughter, crops withered and it became perpetual winter. Zeus needed to put an end to this, so he decided that Persephone would spend half the year with her husband Hades in the underworld which corresponds to autumn and winter.  During this half of the year Demeter would make the soils barren due to her grief. The other half of the year is spent with her mother in Olympus, this corresponds with spring and summer seasons when Demeter is happy again and flowers bloom and the earth bears fruit once more.

The story of Persephone is the way the Ancient Greeks explained the change of seasons and the eternal cycle of nature’s death and rebirth.

There are many Greek coins depicting Persephone;  Here are some that you will find on our site:  Persephone Coins