SUO: Re: Stories Unraveling Ontogenesis
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| Core's abduction by Hades forms part of
| the myth in which the Hellenic trinity of gods
| forcibly marry the pre-Hellenic Triple-goddess --
| Zeus, Hera; Zeus or Poseidon, Demeter; Hades, Core --
| as in Irish myth Brian, Iuchar, and Iucharba marry the
| Triple-goddess Eire, Fodhla, and Banbha. It refers to
| male usurpation of the female agricultural mysteries in
| primitive times. Thus the incident of Demeter's refusal
| to provide corn for mankind is only another version of
| Ino's conspiracy to destroy Athamas's harvest. Further,
| the Core myth accounts for the winter burial of a female
| corn-puppet, which was uncovered in the early spring and
| found to be sprouting; this pre-Hellenic custom survived
| in the countryside in Classical times, and is illustrated
| by vase-paintings of men freeing Core from a mound of earth
| with mattocks, or breaking open Mother Earth's head with axes.
|
| Robert Graves, 'The Greek Myths',
| George Braziller, New York, NY, 1955,
| Volume 1, page 93.
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