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Revisioning Persephone in Hades: Marriage and beyond (with Original writing, Screenplay)
Martin, J. L. (2001). Revisioning Persephone in Hades: Marriage and beyond (with Original writing, Screenplay). (Doctoral dissertation, Pacifica Graduate Institute, 2001). UMI no. 3035188
This hermeneutical study accompanied by a screenplay adaptation of the myth of Persephone and the Eleusinian Mysteries explores how certain archetypal relationships are alive today. The screenplay, accompanied by a musical soundtrack which underscores archetypal meaning, focuses on marriage as an initiation. Since in the classical versions of the myth Persephone does not have a voice in the deal made which splits her time between Hades' and Demeter's realms, this screenplay is written from her point of view. The scope of this study revolves around Persephone's relationship to Hades rather than the mother/daughter relationship, the meaning of the sacred drama of Eleusis as a transformative experience, and the healing potential of the myth of renewal for the modern psyche. Through the perspectives of mythological studies, depth psychology, Jungian concepts, archaeology, imaginal knowledge, and alchemy, this study explores the phenomenon of being lived by a myth. The research makes a comparative analysis of various mythemes in Persephone's story to other mythical figures including Inanna, Isis, Ariadne, the Well Maidens, Brunhilde, and Hermes. Tracing the Eleusinian rituals back to Crete and Egypt, attention is given to the return of the eternal feminine, redeeming the Hades mirror through divine love and guidance. Themes explored are the kore (maiden, kernal, pupil of the eye), nekyia (underworld journey), pothos (longing and memory), kairos (loaded time), enantiodromia (the turn-around), coniunctio (union of opposites), and the hieros gamos (alchemical sacred marriage). Voice is given to whether Persephone's pull to the underworld was an abduction, a decision on a deep soul level, or both. Using the myth's symbology of poppies and pomegranates, a central point is to describe the underworld labyrinth as a mirror inversion of everyday life. Relationships have become the new mystery school initiations, holding up a mirror to the inexperienced part of us that needs to be transformed as we move into a new realm of male-female partnership. Both principles unite to create the divine child, representing future potential. The conclusion addresses the necessity of making myths for the future, implying a paradigm that includes shared power and a new way of seeing.
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