sion to borrow Cerberus, the ferocious three-headed guard dog,
which he subdued and put on a leash.
Persephone contended against Aphrodite for the possession of
Adonis, the beautiful youth who was loved by both goddesses.
Aphrodite had concealed Adonis in a chest and sent him to
Persephone for safekeeping. But on opening the chest, the Queen of
the Underworld was herself charmed by his beauty, and refused to
give him back. Persephone now struggled with another powerful
deity for possession of Adonis, as Demeter and Hades once did over
her. The dispute was brought before Zeus, who decided that Adonis
should spend one-third of the year with Persephone and one-third
of the year with Aphrodite, and should be left to himself for the re-
maining time.
PERSEPHONE THE ARCHETYPE
Unlike Hera and Demeter, who represent archetypal patterns that
are linked to strong instinctual feelings, Persephone as a personality
pattern does not feel that compelling. If Persephone provides the
structure of the personality, it predisposes a woman not to act but
to be acted on by others—to be compliant in action and passive in
attitude. Persephone the Maiden also allows a woman to seem
eternally youthful.
The goddess Persephone had two aspects, as the Kore and as
Queen of the Underworld. This duality is also present as two arche-
typal patterns. Women can be influenced by one of the two aspects,
can grow through one to the other, or can have both Kore and Queen
present in their psyches.
THE KORE—THE ARCHETYPAL MAIDEN
The Kore was the “nameless maiden”; she represents the young
girl who does not know “who she is” and is as yet unaware of her
desires or strengths. Most young women go through a phase of being
“the Kore” before they marry or decide on a career. Other women
remain the maiden for most of their lives. They are uncommitted to
a relationship, to work, or to an educational goal—even though they
may, in fact, be in a relationship, have a job, or be in college or even
Persephone: The Maiden and Queen of the Underworld, Receptive