Hades and Persephone

The story of the rape of Persephone has always fascinated me. I know this sounds like a terrible thing to say, it is, after all, the story of th eabduction of an innocent youth and her imprisonment in the underworld by a man who is her husband as well as her uncle. But still, I think it is intriguing because of the personality of Hades himself. Cold, stern, severe, and at times even cruel, he is suddenly overtaken by the beauty of this young woman and suddenly all he desires is her, even though he knows the consequences may be severe. I find it valuable as a story of what lengths a man will go to for love (or at least lust). I love this drawing of the pair:

I love the way he is clutching her to him so fiercely and the distant stare on her face. THinking about thses two remind me somewhat of another dark historical couple:

Unlike Persephone, Anne Boleyn was not enitirely innocent in Henry's infatuation with her. However, Henry, like Hades, seduced her, brought her into his dark world, and ultimately she, liek Demeter and Persephone paid the price for his actions, being beheaded once he had grown tired of her. A dark man seducing a woman only to lead her to her doom, the same old story.