Re-visiting Demeter and Persephone: A Complicated Affair
Spoilers for all of Lore Olympus
I have a few posts on this blog discussing the complex relationship between Persephone and Demeter. I’ll make no bones about it, the Demeter slander was strong in my posts especially early on in the Webcomic.
But in light of the trial I feel that maybe all my assessments weren’t fair enough or balanced.
And I’m not exactly alone in the thought that Demeter wasn’t the best parent. Let’s just be clear, her most egregious actions won’t be excused here. I will instead be giving context to her actions and trying to understand them through the lens of a mother and a woman in light of her environment.
While Demeter isn’t spot on when it comes to why Zeus is targeting Persephone, as we see the actions he goes through to keep Persephone away from Apollo (while not punishing Apollo at all) is a testament to that.
I can understand why she would want to keep Persephone from Zeus on the principal of his other cruelties. As we see in chapters 192 and 96 among others Zeus has a habit of knocking up women and leaving them on Demeters doorstep. Implied to hide them from Hera but most likely for Demeter and the other nymphs to break the hard truth that Zeus won’t likely be returning for them or the resulting child.
With that in mind, keeping the young, inexperienced, and beautiful Persephone away from the womanizing, serial cheating, no boundaries detected Zeus is a practical move as a mother.
I’m my opinion, teaching her daughter about the dangers of men like Zeus would have been effective against this. But then again, when there are gods who can use their powers of manipulation like Apollo, who believe themselves above the word no and boundaries besides that. What training could work?
After all there there’s the further tragic context of episode 192. We see more in depth the aftermath of Zeus’ flings and empty promises, he moves on to a new fling or runs back to Hera leaving broken hearts and pregnant women in his wake.
Setting aside the fertility goddess aspect of all this, it makes practical sense as well.
The poster above is from Episode 83, and while it could definitely be a throwaway joke/gag it could also add more context to the world.
The flings of gods are so well known and have become an issue to the extent that this is a thing.
Am I reading too far into this? Yes probably, but still it says something about Zeus and gods like him
And in Episode 68 when Aphrodites line of “Nymphs don’t take gods from us” comes up. It all seems to cement this stigma further, that being with a nymph or certain kinds of nymphs would be highly frowned up relationship or marriage wise.
With all that being said, Persephone isn’t a nymph but the grand truth is that the gods likely have flings and leave the pregnant party holding the bag.
To Demeter maybe Persephone wanting to leave triggered flashbacks like the one above. Of nymphs who were left broken hearted, pregnant, and alone to grapple with the fact that Zeus was never going to return despite any hollow promises.
And in the mind of her mother, Persephone being a beautiful, trusting, sweet young goddess from the Mortal Realm with no street smarts could make her an easy target to predatory gods or other beings.
I think at some point we have to view our parents as people in their own right and at times it can be a harrowing but maturing experience. A lot of parents are awful people end of who don’t really warrant deeper understanding. While others may be more complicated depending.
The same maybe could be said for my earlier interpretations of Demeter, working with the available context at the time and her seemingly overprotective actions toward her daughter I passed the judgement that she was a toxic parent.
While I do think that a lot of her actions are unacceptable (isolating her daughter, withholding truths from her, not allowing her to find her own happiness, etc).
The added context helps give it more dimension.
Then there’s the Fertility Goddess side of all this. Demeter suspects that her daughter is a being that could be used as practically a weapon of war and taken advantage of.
The context we have are the three preceding FG (fertility goddesses):
1. Gaia, whether or not she willingly joined with Ouranos is not touched on but still it looks like a strange arrangement.
2. Rhea who likely had a good relationship with her husband Kronos until he lost his mind and began eating his kids to keep power.
3. Métis, Demeter, Hera, and Hestia’s beloved mother who was consumed (perhaps forcefully) by Zeus.
Like any other parent Demeters whole parenting ethos was to keep her child safe as well as she could as best as she could.
While no one lives on an island of their good intentions, and the fallout of what she’s done can’t be undone I hope that with Persephone maturing into a more secure and firm person, that they can talk in depth about their relationship as mother and daughter as well as two powerful goddesses.
