The Golden Bough (Third Edition, Vol. 7 of 12) - Mirrors

Chapter II. Demeter And Persephone. 83Zeus, but his brother Zeus of the Underworld, and that the writers [067]who refer to the ceremony have confused the two brothers. Thisview, if it could be established, would dispose of the difficultyraised by the absence of the name of Zeus in the decree whichprescribes the offerings to be made to the gods of Eleusis; foralthough in that decree Pluto is not mentioned under the name ofSubterranean Zeus, he is clearly referred to, as the editors of theinscription have seen, under the vague title of “the God,” whilehis consort Persephone is similarly referred to under the title of“the Goddess,” and it is ordained that perfect victims shall besacrificed to both of them. However, if we thus dispose of onedifficulty, it must be confessed that in doing so we raise another.For if the bridegroom in the Sacred Marriage at Eleusis was notthe sky-god Zeus, but the earth-god Pluto, we seem driven tosuppose that, contrary to the opinion of the reverend Christianscandal-mongers, the bride was his lawful wife Persephone andnot his sister and mother-in-law Demeter. In short, on thehypothesis which I have suggested we are compelled to concludethat the ancient busybodies who lifted the veil from the mysticmarriage were mistaken as to the person both of the divinebridegroom and of the divine bride. In regard to the bridegroomI have conjectured that they may have confused the two brothers,Zeus of the Upper World and Zeus of the Lower World. In regardto the bride, can any reason be suggested for confounding thepersons of the mother and daughter? On the view here taken ofthe nature of Demeter and Persephone nothing could be easierthan to confuse them with each other, for both of them weremythical embodiments of the corn, the mother Demeter standingfor the old corn of last year and the daughter Persephone standingfor the new corn of this year. In point of fact Greek artists, both ofthe archaic and of later periods, frequently represent the Motherand Daughter side by side in forms which resemble each otherso closely that eminent modern experts have sometimes differedfrom each other on the question, which is Demeter and which is