Rodi Letter Day

Volume 3, Issue 1

January 2010

Front Page

A seed of hope....

The daughter of Zeus & Demeter, Persephone, was a goddess of planting seeds and making nature grow. God of the Underworld, Hades, fell in love with Persephone and asked his brother Zeus if he could marry her. Zeus was afraid to refuse because he did not want to upset Hades and yet he knew that if he agreed, Demeter would be angry. Faced with this impossible dilemma, Zeus did not answer, hoping that Hades would just forget about his daughter.

This was not to be and Hades abducted her and took her into the underworld. Demeter was so upset she would not let the plants grow. People and animals died because there was no food. Zeus sent for her and said that as long as Persephone had not eaten in the Underworld she could still be freed. Hades could

not argue because he knew that she had refused all food but he managed to trick her into eating a number of pomegranate seeds which forced her return to the underworld for several months each year. Every year, whilst Persephone was away, Demeter refused to allow any plants to grow. The trees lost their leaves and plants died only to return when Persephone was free.

This story explains why, for evermore, there was to be a winter each year, but it is also fascinating that Hippocrates, the father of

proportional to the quantity of seeds scattered. In the Middle East, the pomegranate is a symbol of joy & good fortune and is thought to purify the body of jealousy & hatred. In China, feng shui experts advise newly-weds to display art with pomegranates to bring good luck and many children. It symbolises happiness in the family & good luck for one’s descendents.
When next in Corfu, if you keep your eyes open, you will see pomegranates charms everywhere – on the bar in Nemo, on a desk in the X-ray clinic for example. Go in any jewellers and you will find gold or silver pomegranates for sale – the perfect gift for a close friend or relative.

modern medicine, considered that the pomegranate reduced fertility, a concept that is somewhat at odds with the modern perception of the fruit. Whatever, let’s hope that the Goddess of Spring smiles on us early this year!

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In Greece today, as in many other countries, the pomegranate is a highly symbolic fruit and is thought by some to be the original fruit from the Garden of Eden, making it the representation of all that is forbidden. In many of these countries, the pomegranate is a symbol of abundance, a fruit that

spills over in profusion and good luck. On important days in the Greek Orthodox calendar, such as Christmas Day, it is traditional to have pomegranates at the dinner table and its power is also harnessed for people moving into new homes, and those getting married. Its reputation for fertility & good luck are well acknowledged and even the dead are commemorated by including pomegranate in the ‘kollyna’ – a little bag of boiled wheat & sugar given out to everyone attending a funeral.
At New Year in Greece, it is customary to smash a pomegranate on the ground and good luck is believed to be

Lucky for some...