29. Hymn for Persephone

Come, Persephone, daughter of great Zeus,
blessed one, only begotten goddess.
Accept these gracious offerings to you.
Many-honored wife of Plouton, you give
life diligently, and control the gates
of Hades, beneath the depths of the Earth.

Praxidike, with lovely locks of hair:
holy child of Deo, and the mother
of the Furies, queen of the Underworld,
maiden whom Zeus sired with ineffable
seed—you are the mother of loud-roaring
and many-formed Eubouleus. The shining
and luminous playmate of the seasons,
honored and mighty, maid bursting with fruit.

Mortals long for you alone, bright, horned,
springtime goddess, who is delighted with
meadow breezes, revealing your holy
body in the green and yellow new shoots.
In autumn, you were seized and forced to wed.

Now you, Persephone, alone are life
and death to toiling mortals, for you feed
us always, and also kill everything.
Hear, blessed goddess, and send up the fruits
from the earth, blossoming in peace and with
the soothing hand of health, and a rich life
that leads old age, sleek and shining, downward,
queen, to your kingdom, to mighty Plouton.