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Kore is the original name of the maiden of the
spring. She was thought to be a carefree and cheerful girl, much loved by
her mother, Demeter.
 It is told that she strayed from her friends,
completely lost in looking at the beautiful flowers, when Hades rose up through
the earth, took her by the wrist, and carried her with him to the
underworld. After she was kidnapped she was known as Persephone, Queen of
the Dead. Modern Goddess scholars have retold this story changing Her role
from victim to Her freely choosing to serve the dead in the Underworld and
returning to her Mother each Spring.
Demeter wandered the earth for a very long
time looking for her, leaving her world of green behind, causing winter to come
and turn her world cruel and cold while she lamented the loss of her beloved
daughter. She went to Zeus and demanded that her daughter be returned to her.
Zeus declared that Persephone be returned to her mother, but only if she hadn't
tasted the food of the dead. However, she had eaten a few pomegranate
seeds. Because of this she was to only be allowed to return to Earth for a part
of the year.
 It is said that Kore enjoyed both the
Underworld and her life on Earth. She felt sorry for the lost souls there
wandered about so to guide them.
When she returns to Earth in the Spring she is
The Kore and the fruits of the Earth begin to bloom, which marks the beginning
of spring.
The Kore is then, a symbol of the
budding and dying of nature. She is the Maid or the Maiden. Her attributes
can include a torch, a crown, a scepter, and stalks of grain.
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