The Story of Persephone

As promised, the myth of Persephone. Sorry for the hit of posts today, but we have so much catching up to do!


Persephone is the daughter of Demeter, who is the harvest goddess in Greek mythology. Demeter is responsible for making the grass grow and the food plentiful. One day young Persephone is playing in the fields, painting flowers - one of her jobs as the spring goddess - when Hades, the god of the Underworld, springs us and kidnaps her. He rapes Persephone and takes her for his wife, and imprisons the spring goddess in the Underworld. Demeter is distraught and immediately goes on strike. She won't allow anything to grow until she gets her daughter back. After listening to the mortals beg for food, Zeus finally approaches his sister and asks her what she wants. Demeter explains she wants Persephone back or all mortals will die of starvation. Zeus agrees, as long as Persephone does not eat anything while she is in the Underworld.

Meanwhile, in the Underworld, Persephone is refusing to eat. She doesn't want to speak to anyone; all she wants is to return home to her mother. Now Hades is furious because he thinks he wooed her properly (um...think again, Hades) so he leaves her to sulk. But poor Persephone is getting mighty hungry. But she holds strong, not aware that at this moment, Zeus is trying to calm Demeter down. Hades knows something is about to turn against his favor, so he takes a snake and turns it into a little boy. He hands the boy a pomegranate and tells him to offer this to the goddess. The little boy approaches Persephone and does what he is told. At first she refuses, but she is so hungry that she agrees to eat six seeds from the pomegranate (hmmm...a snake offering forbidden fruit - sound familiar?). The minute she does, Hades comes flying in, the boy turns back into a snake, and Demeter and Zeus show up. By now, Hades is doing a victory dance because he thinks he's won. But Zeus takes one look at a very furious Demeter and offers a compromise: Because Persephone did eat six seeds, she must spend six months with her husband in the Underworld. The other six months she can spend it with her mother. This isn't ideal for anyone, but they all agree to it because Zeus IS the king of the gods.

The Ancient Greeks used this story to explain their seasons. When Persephone is away, her mother is so unhappy that nothing grows (hence, winter/fall). When Persephone returns, Demeter is overjoyed and the Earth begins to grow (spring/summer). This may not sound like such a happy ending, but the Ancient Greeks were grateful to Persephone as the queen of the Underworld. There are many stories that follow in which Persephone's kindness saves many a hero who finds himself in the Underworld. In the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), Persephone (played by the fantastic Rosario Dawson in the movie) is portrayed as a woman who calls the shots and uses her unhappiness to make her husband miserable and constantly ruin his plans.

Find a way to use the hand you've been dealt.

Everyone hit the ground; I think I might have missed my calling - Part 2

So, after my "show and tell" post, you are probably wondering what Kora & Penelope really is.  Or who I am.  The latter will have to wait; like I said, I'm not into the whole "this is my favorite color/listen to my brilliant thoughts/I am so special" chatter anymore.  I think my words and art will speak for themselves (if not, I'll have to dig up another Failboat picture). 

But I will explain Kora & Penelope.  K&P is my foray into the Etsy world.  If you haven't heard of Etsy.com, PLEASE STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND CHECK OUT THE SITE (er...but come back to reading this when you are finished).  It is a beautiful community of very talented crafters, and I am honored to be showcasing my work alongside them.  I have always wanted a small business to call my own, but I wanted to do so by creating something that will leave inspire others or bring happiness to those watching.  My brief career into filmmaking had been entered with those intentions, but I learned very quickly what happens when you trust the wrong people.  Thankfully, I managed to salvage what was left of my soul without allowing the misdeeds and other people's negativity completely take over the rest of my life.  This is my second attempt at controlling my destiny.

Now, onto the name.  The name of the story - Kora & Penelope - is a collection of thoughts and ideas I've gathered over my experiences.  If I am going to begin a project I strongly believe in, then I need a name to reflect that, right?  For starters, "Kore" is the Greek word for "young girl," and "Kora" is a name often associated with the spring goddess Persephone.  **If you are unfamiliar with Persephone's myth, then check out my next blog post**  The story of Persephone is one of tragic proportions, but (like all stories) there is a lesson to be learned.  It is a lesson of changing the hand that is dealt to you.  It is a lesson of learning that you are capable of overcoming anything - even when it seems hopeless.  Many people call out to Persephone to help them move away from a tragedy, or to make a change.  This is my call to Persephone.

The name "Penelope" comes from Homer's The Odyssey.  She is the wife of Odysseus, and is often portrayed in Greek mythology as the obedient and good wife.  She waits  patiently for her husband while he fights the Trojan War for ten years, and then refuses to remarry another man after Odysseus is missing for another ten.  Penelope is often overlooked in this story, so I encourage you to read Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad.  In this retelling, Atwood shows us who Penelope really is:  a brilliant, clever woman who does what is best for her family and her kingdom.  She takes care of the kingdom while her husband is away for twenty years, and she also has to make terrible decisions.  Penelope is a survivor.  The story of Penelope often reminds me of my mother.  She is a hard worker, and she often has to make sacrifices in order to do what is best for her family.  Unlike Atwood's retelling of Penelope, not many people sing the praises of my mother.  Using Penelope in the shop's title is my song of praise to my mother.

As for you, dear readers, what can you expect from this blog?  Everything!  Craft notices, K&P updates, stories, quick hello's from me, books I'm reading - whatever I discover over my life's adventure, I promise I will share with you.  Now, I did say I'm an avid moviegoer in my profile, but if you want a taste of the movies I've seen, check out my second blog which is completely and hopelessly devoted to movies:  The Screen Goddess (the link is on the left of this page).  I know, I know - I went from no blogs to two!  My darling readers, I couldn't be happier.

Until next time!

Curiouser and curiouser! Part 1

Welcome to the first post of Kora & Penelope's official blog! I happily extend my positive thoughts and energies to my readers (all four of you at this moment...okay, I'm lying. Just me at this moment). Since the Etsy store is very close to completion, I thought it was time to FINALLY get this crazy blog underway!

First, some background: I've had some histories with blogs. In fact, many a history. My very first blog was for a journalism class back in college. It was part of my entertainment writing beat, and I loved the idea of communicating with random people in this crazy world known as cyberspace. Granted, that was the early 2000's and I'm officially showing my age (ahem..26...). Fast forward to my claim to fame: The Book of Loser, Volume 2. Not to be confused with Volume 1, which was an old notebook filled with quotes from my roommates. The Book of Loser, Volume 2 was an instant hit. It was my moment to take this newfound technology and make memories. I wrote about my day, my roommates' days, the school, our homework, our weekends...if it happened, I blogged it. To this day, I still visit The Book of Loser to revisit the stories and legends of my happy college youth. Albeit, I'm not as nostalgic as Woody Allen would be if he wrote a blog, but it is nice to laugh at something I may have forgotten about all of these years.

And then I went blogless. Don't get me wrong; I tried - oh, how I tried! But every attempt turned into this

At first I couldn't figure it out. What was I missing? After many months of curious thought, it hit me:

INSPIRATION!

I was missing the flavor! The zest! The excitement! Like any writer, THE REASON FOR WRITING! All writing is within the artist's scope - and here I was forcing the scope to give me something, anything! As my young 20-something, college narcissism faded, I realized I didn't WANT to write about myself anymore. I wanted more. With my new shop at Etsy debuting, I wanted to go back to my roots. I have always loved making jewelry in college - most of the time it was the creative aspect or the job well done and not the money that kept me at it - and I wanted that joy back. Almost immediately, a blog was born! (I also heard that if you update your Facebook profile, an angel gets its wings).

As for my blog - I humbly ask for forgiveness from this loooong absence. I'm a bit rusty, but we'll make it work. Until that time appears, come along the Failboat. We have sandwiches.