# Greek Mythology Q: The Seasons

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-mythology-q-the-seasons/300088>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 19, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-mythology-q-the-seasons/300088 "2005-04-19T17:24:13Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-mythology-q-the-seasons/300088/1 "2005-04-19T17:24:13Z")

</div>

Does anyone recall the name of the girl (goddess?) who lives half the year in the Underworld with Pluto? IIRC, this was the Greek/Roman myth to explain the changing seasons. Her name always escapes me…

Bonus Q: Do you know what her parents’ names were?

Thanks,

- Jinx

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Misery\_Loves\_Co](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7cd45c/32.png) [@Misery\_Loves\_Co](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misery_Loves_Co)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-mythology-q-the-seasons/300088/2 "2005-04-19T17:30:30Z")

</div>

Persephone is the daughter;

Demeter is her mother; Zeus is the dad

[http://www.pantheon.org/articles/p/persephone.html](http://www.pantheon.org/articles/p/persephone.html)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-mythology-q-the-seasons/300088/3 "2005-04-19T17:44:54Z")

</div>

Darn, beaten to it.

I knew persephone and demeter… knew ABOUT Zeus of course, but wasn’t aware that he was the paternity in this case. 😉

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-mythology-q-the-seasons/300088/4 "2005-04-19T17:56:07Z")

</div>

Persephone is also called Proserpina, Koré or Corë, the first being, I believe, the Roman usage. Demeter is Ceres in Roman mythology.

Her husband, BTW, is Hades, also called Pluto and Dis. (His underworld kingdom has the same name as he.)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\
**Post date:** [April 19, 2005, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/greek-mythology-q-the-seasons/300088/5 "2005-04-19T17:58:01Z")

</div>

You kidding? The dude’s morgaged half of Mount Olympus just to pay child support. Zeus is _everyone’s_ daddy. Except possibly Hephaestos, who might or might not be all Hera’s, and Aphrodite, who might or might not have sprung from Kronos’s severed 'nads, or alternately might or might not be daughter of Eros, who might or might not be primordial.

But it’s pretty safe to say, at least, that anyone who has a father, it’s Zeus.