These are some of the beautiful pomegranates my cousin shared with me a while back. I wish I had put more thought into setting up the shots as they’re not very interesting, but I decided to just go ahead and play with a couple of them anyway.
Like many common things, there’s a great deal of symbolism connected to this fruit. It symbolizes fertility, prosperity, and eternal life. It is argued that a pomegranate, as opposed to an apple, was actually the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.
Then, of course, there’s the story in Greek mythology of Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld. She was daughter to Zeus and Demeter, the Earth Goddess. Demeter worked to provide Persephone a pleasant life, shielding her from the dangers of the world and unsatisfactory suitors.
Then one day, while Persephone was frolicking in a field with some nymphs, Hades, God of the Underworld, came up and snatched Persephone taking her back down with him.
Demeter was devastated, she didn’t know where her daughter was or what had happened, she only knew that her beloved child was gone. She fell into despair and began spending all her time looking for Persephone.
During this time, all life on Earth began to suffer due to Demeter’s neglect of her duties and her great grief. Helios the Sun God, sees all and knew what happened to Persephone. He finally told Demeter and Zeus where she was.
Zeus, being the enraged father, demanded Hades return his daughter, he complied. As soon as Demeter and her daughter were reunited Earth began to flourish again. But there’s one caveat: before Hades released Persephone he tricked her into eating some seeds from a pomegranate. Anyone that enjoys food or drink while in the Underworld is damned to remain there for eternity.
Since Persephone only had a few seeds she only has to return to the Underworld for part of the year. But during that time the Earth still falls into a dormant state due to Demeter’s sadness and anger, too, probably. Apparently, this story explains our seasons.
I can see that it also explains how a mother can be inextricably tied to her child making all other matters fall away in a crisis. But this ultimately makes everything and everyone else suffer. It can be hard to accept an unanticipated fate for your child, but you may have to learn to trust that the gods have a greater plan.
