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Once upon a time, Demeter, the goddess of the harvest, had a daughter named Persephone, who made flowers bloom wherever she danced. But deep below, in the underworld, Hades longed for Persephone to be his queen. One day, as Persephone picked a beautiful flower, the ground shook, and Hades appeared in his chariot, taking her away.

Demeter searched everywhere for Persephone. Without her daughter, Demeter was so sad that the earth turned cold and barren. Zeus noticed this and sent Hermes to bring Persephone back from the underworld.

Hades agreed to let Persephone go, but tricked her into eating pomegranate seeds. Eating them meant she would have to return to the underworld for part of each year. Every time Persephone is in the underworld, Demeter mourns, and winter covers the earth. But when Persephone returns, Demeter’s happiness makes the world bloom again, bringing spring.

And that’s how the seasons came to be, all because of Persephone’s journeys between the world above and the underworld.