The Gates of Horn and Ivory - Chapter 3.1 The Dionysia

Persephone used the pretext she had to oversee the progress in the barley fields to take her leave from the city, which was bursting at the seams with crafting festival paraphernalia, cooking, and the stress people always experience on the eve of major holidays.

The city’s noise and bustle gradually disappeared as the goddess ventured into the fields, which had already been plowed and sown, and whose fresh shoots were starting to emerge, green and slender like grass.

The clearings and meadows overflowed with daffodils, and though the air was still cool, Persephone felt Gaia’s vibrant return to life.

The honeybees, her underworld messengers, emerged from crevices and hollows, to greet their mistress with the latest news from home.

She watched them dance their messages, smiling to old memories, intoxicated with the scent of daffodils and caressing the tiny shoots of wheat as if they were her little children, gathered round to bask in her presence.

Such blessed peace she felt in the fields, whose bounty filled her heart more than any offerings left on the steps of her altars.

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