Young ancient Greek girls imitate Persephone in their marriage rites?

What is it about?

Arguably, the most famous myth told about Persephone is her abduction and marriage to Hades. The story clearly articulates the strong connection between marriage and death, and this episode became significant in both literature and religious practice in the wider classical Greek world. Reference to the story of Persephone’s abduction came to be used as a shorthand for evoking this connection, particularly in myth. This paper discusses two particular ways in which Persephone’s narrative was used in marriage and death. I examine the pre-marriage offerings to Persephone at Lokroi Epizephyrioi, in southern Italy, and the tradition of Athenian girls who died unmarried being buried as brides. These cultic instances frame a discussion of Brides of Hades, particularly in tragedy. Overall, I conclude that these girls do not attempt to replace Persephone, but rather to imitate her: they ‘play the role’ of Persephone at various stages of her own abduction and marriage story.

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Why is it important?

This article enhances knowledge of female rites-of-passage and marriage experience, framing these regarding a wider ‘panhellenic’ religious phenomenon of Persephone-imitation. It will be required reading for future studies on death-and-rebirth rites-of-passage for girls in ancient Greece, as well as for work on ‘Brides of Hades’, and, more generally for work on Persephone in her role as Hades’s wife.