Goddess of August

I begin to sing of lovely-haired Demeter, the goddess of august,of her slender-ankled daughter, Persephone, whom Zeus, far seeing and loud thundering gave to Hades to abduct.

Against her will he seized Persephone and on his golden chariot he carried her away.  The Lord of Many whose kingdom welcomes all in time, seized her with his immortal winged horses and carried her crying loud down into misty darkness.

A sharp pain gripped Demeter's heart.  Through the barren ether she heard the shrieking voice of her beautiful daughter.  From both shoulders she cast down her dark veil and rushed like a bird over the nourishing land and sea, searching; but none of the gods or mortal men wanted to tell her the truth and none of the birds of omen came to her as a truthful messenger.

For nine days then all over the earth mighty Demeter roamed about with bright torches in her hands and in her sorrow never tasted ambrosia.  But when the tenth light-bringing Dawn came to her, Hekate carrying a light in her hands, met her.

With a loud voice Hekate spoke to her and told her the news: "Mighty Demeter, bringer of seasons and splendid gifts, I know which of the heavenly gods seized Persephone and pierced with sorrow your dear heart."

Then Demeter swore she would never set foot on fragrant Olympos and never allow the grain in the earth to sprout forth before seeing with her eyes her fair faced daughter.  

Sitting apart from all the blessed ones, she kept on wasting with longing for her daughter.  Onto the much nourishing earth she brought a year most dreadful and harsh for men; no seed in the earth sprouted for fair wreathed Demeter kept it hidden.  

So when loud-thundering, far-seeing Zeus heard this he sent Hermes to win over Hades, the dark-haired lord of those who have perished, with gentle words and bring Persephone out of the misty darkness to light and among the gods so that her mother might see her and desist from her dreadful wrath against the gods  and her great scheme to destroy the feeble races of earth-born men.

Literature info:  Excerpted and reworded at times from the Homeric Hymns.  Translated by Apostolos N. Athanassakis.

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