"The Search" opens with this riveting imagery of Demeter hearing the cry of her daughter and the beginning of her tenacious pursuit. I love the intensity of this scene. One can so easily picture her pain at the realization of what has happened and the actions of her tearing off her headband and throwing on her cloak. She does not seem at this moment to be a mother one would want to mess with. I was curious about the choice to use the word akhos to express her emotion. I found that it meant, grief, public expression of grief by way of lamentation or keening in Greek. This word has a linguistic history of being used by Greek heros to describe the depths of their sorrow, especially at the death of a loved one. It is clear that the ancient Greeks understood the poetry of lament.
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| Hekatê Appearing to Demeter, relief sculpture |
Sadly, the first line after the quote above is, "But no one would tell her the truth" of what happened to her daughter. I wonder if this was due to the fear of Zeus and Hades, not unlike modern day fear within domestic abuse situations. The hymn says she searched for nine days and nights with her torch neither eating nor sleeping...not even bathing. On the tenth day, Hekatê finally appeared to her holding a light in her hands.
“Lady
Demeter, bringer of hôrai,
giver of splendid gifts,/ which one of the
gods who dwell in the sky or which one of mortal humans/seized
Persephone and brought grief to your philos thûmos?/ I
heard the sounds, but I did not see with my eyes/ who
it was. So I quickly came to tell you everything, without error.” What takes place next, I feel, is one of the most beautiful moments in the story. It says that Demeter did not answer and when she didn't, Hekatê picked up the torch in silence and continued the search with her. I can't help but get an image of Hekatê saying her piece and sensing Demeter's despair and determination. Hekatê seems to empathize with Demeter as a mother and instead providing advice or consoling her, she simply takes up her burden with her. It appears that no one except the one woman who can relate to Demeter's problem is willing to risk consequences from other gods.
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Helius god of the sun, Athenian red-figure krater
C5th B.C., British Museum, London |
The women searched together and then went to Helios, the sun god, to see if he, in his omnipotence, saw anything. Because Helios respected and felt sorry for Demeter, he told her the truth of what he saw. He revealed Zeus and Hades agreement. He continued however by urging Demeter to not cry anymore as Hades would not be a bad son and law to have. You can imagine Demeter's reaction to such statement lacking empathy. It says that she was visited by grief that was worse than before and she wept so loud that she sounded like the dogs of Hades.
In her anger, Demeter shunned the gods of Mount Olympus and dwelt among the humans disguised as a mortal. No one recognized her until she went to the land of the ruler of Eleusis (Remember the Eleusinian Mysteries?).
It was there that she sat by a well appearing as a haggard, barren old woman and met the four daughters of Keleos, son of Eleusinos. There names were Kallidikê,
Kleisidikê, Kallithoê the eldest and the lovely Dêmô. They did not recognize her, but the sisters talked with her. Demeter not wanting to reveal her identity made up a story in which she was seized by pirates and eventually escaped and wandered until she was at their well. She then wishes them happy lives with good husbands and lots of children. She asks if they know a home with children who need to be looked after. It seems that in Demeter's heartache and lack of hope of ever seeing her daughter again, she wishes to care for children who need it. The sisters encourage Demeter that they will help her find a family in need.
The sisters then take Demeter to a woman who has a son who is very dear to her. They have a dinner together and Demeter begins to long for her own daughter. The other mother senses her despair starts to tell her jokes to which Demeter laughs and begins to feel comforted. It is at this point they offer her a drink that she refuses. Demeter instead asks for a drink mixed of barley and water (perhaps this is the point in the play in which the Eleusinian Mysteries drink and experience a secret revelation). The mother realizes that Demeter is no ordinary woman and entrusts her with her son to raise.
Demeter raised the son as her own and he grew as if a god himself. One night, the son's true mother checked on her baby and saw Demeter doing things with her son that would make him immortal. The mother became angry and in returned anger for her f oolishness, Demeter set a curse on the people in which they would experience war at the same time every year. She then revealed her true identity as a goddess to the mother. Demeter told the mother that she would instruct her in the sacred rites to please her.
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| Temple of Demeter in Eleusis |
The people then set out to build a temple for Demeter. When the temple was completed she went within in and yearned and wasted away for her daughter. In her grief, she made that year a most terrible for the mortals. Plants did not grow. The near death of the people received the attention of the gods and Zeus spoke with her. It did not help and so, one by one, all of the gods came and spoke with Demeter and gave her gifts. Demeter was so angry that she refused to go back to Olympus or bring up the harvest until she saw her daughter with her own two eyes.
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Hades with Cerberus
(Heraklion Archaeological Museum) |
Hearing this, Zeus sent Hermes (the messenger god) to find his brother Hades try to convince him to allow her to see her daughter Persephone so as to let go of her anger. The Homeric Hymn says that, "he found the Lord inside his palace,/ seated
on a funeral couch, along with his duly acquired bed mate,/ the
one who was much under duress, yearning for her mother, and suffering from the
unbearable things/ inflicted on her by the will of
the blessed ones." Hermes delivered the message. Hades smiled and complied.
“Go, Persephone, to your
mother, the one with the dark robe.
Have
a kindly disposition and thûmos in your breast.
Do
not be too upset, excessively so.
I
will not be an unseemly husband to you, in the company of the immortals.
I
am the brother of Zeus the Father. If you are here,
365 you will be queen of everything
that lives and moves about,
and
you will have the greatest tîmai in the company of the immortals.
Those
who violate dikê– will get punishment for all days to come
—those
who do not supplicate your menos
with sacrifice,
performing
the rituals in a reverent way, executing perfectly the offerings that are
due.”
Persephone rejoiced at the knowledge of seeing her mother again. What I find most saddening at this part of the story though is how Hades has the power of manipulation over Persephone in these lines hoping that she will not reveal how miserable she truly is in his presence. This part of the story is not too distant from how events like this take place in reality. You can imagine my delight when I read Persephone's conversation with her mother: "So
then, Mother, I shall tell you everything, without error./" Way to go Persephone!
Homeric Hymn to Demeter Translated by
Gregory Nagy
http://www.uh.edu/~cldue/texts/demeter.html
Background on akhos
http://louisecharente.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/the-ancient-greek-hero-hour-3-achilles-lament/
http://classics.wlu.edu/greekglossary.html
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