Forming the Pomegranate
pome·gran·ate
Punica granatum
Punicaceae
Derived from Old French pome grenate: pome for apple and grenate, having many seeds. And there is also Latin: grantus, granum, grain, seed.
This skin of a pomegranate is like tissue, the inside of the body, like blood clotting. Soft tissue. At least twenty-seven different hues of red. Or any other number, perhaps it is more. Pomegranate red when a lip is bitten, the inside of the mouth--soft tissues of the mouth. The fruit's body is deformed, rough, parched. Gentle dents, the kind found upon a child's skull--the way the cranial bones fuse together. Parched, callused: I think of browning manuscripts in libraries; I think of hands.
I have one here I am trying to dry, letting it shrivel, concave upon itself. I am letting the dark, damp seeds inside wither. I place it in the fall of the sun, beneath my window. The pomegranate fits my hand, my palm that agrees to the rises and slopes of the fruit. My fingers curling across the indentations, uneven red ground.
When Demeter, the goddess of the earth, lost her daughter Persephone, she made winter. The god of the underworld, pale Hades, saw the beautiful child (one can never help with whom they fall in love) and from his chariot he clasp the girl, descending into his dark land. He would have said I loved her because she was so light. Upon the earth the people were confused by the new cold and still Demeter refused spring until her daughter was returned. The other gods demanded of Hades the release of Persephone.
In that dark land, soil as sky and all creatures a languid shade of gray, Persephone ate of a pomegranate. She ate six seeds and those small seeds, Hades' artifice, bound her to him for six months of the year, always. And so she rose to Demeter and still must return again to her melancholy groom, every year the same footsteps, the same chariot of black horses.
Pomegranate beneath the soil, a muted shade of gray and seeds also a color she did not recognize. Pomegranate, which is regarded as food for the dead.
I learned this fruit's story: pomegranate's origins in Iran, in the Himalayas. Later certain travelers carried its seeds on their journeys across the Mediterranean. It now claims many lands: India, Southeast Asia, the East Indies, tropical Africa.
Belsky, J. (2009, March). Effects of Child Care on Child Development:Give Parents Real Choice. Retrieved October 20, 2010, from MPSV: http://www.mpsv.cz/files/clanky/6640/9_Jay_Belsky_EN.pdf
In two amazing poems, both poets make allusions to the myth of Persephone. The myth of Persephone tells of her kidnap by Hades, the God of the Underworld. She is then fated to spend one-third of the year in the underworld as Hades’ bride because she consumed pomegranate seeds. This myth appears frequently as a metaphor not only in “The Pomegranate” and “The Bistro Styx,” but in many others as well. In both poems, the myth of Persephone is used to symbolize the mother-daughter relationships.
There is something found in this particular island that can be used to flavour and prepare certain foods, used in several medical remedies and also be used as psychoactive drug. With these uses only a sample of the overall uses, it is no surprise that in Grenadians refer to this as ‘Black Gold.’ It is so important to this particular country, that if it wasn’t for a few natural disasters, Grenada will still have its place among the top producers of this product, number two to be specific. I am sure that all the Grenadians in this class have figured out to what I am referring, if you haven’t yet it is none other than the ‘Nutmeg’. Good afternoon Mr Charles, T.A.’s and fellow classmates, my purpose today is to educate you about the many sides of the versatile fruit that is the nutmeg. I plan to first highlight the uses nutmeg has in food preparation, its importance in the medical field and lastly nutmeg as a recreational drug.
Hades fell in love with Demeter’s daughter, Persephone. Persephone loved to live about in the fields that her mother made. Hades wanted Persephone as his bride. Zeus, the father of Persephone, did not deny but warned that Demeter would be furious. He captured her and forced her to stay in the underworld. To capture her, he arose from the depth with a chariot of horses. He stole her from the flowery field and took her to a dungeon of darkness. Persephone gained the name “core”. This was symbolizing her loss of girlhood. Demeter went looking for her daughter. She could not find her, and she almost came to the extent of barring the whole earth of the vegetation. Zeus could not let this happen, so he sent for Persephone to be received. Persephone would not eat, but Hades would not let her leave until she ate at least one thing. Hades gave her a forbidden fruit. Any fruit that was to be eaten in the underworld, the eater of that fruit must stay in the underworld. Her eating the fruit meant she had to stay in the underworld forever. A compromise was made between Demeter and Hades. Four months of the year Persephone had to stay with Hades and be the queen of the underworld. During this time the Greeks entered a cold and barren time called winter. The other eight months, Persephone spent her year with Demeter. During this time crops and vegetation would be abundant (Peterson and Dunworth 143). These were the times of spring and summer. When it was time for Persephone to rule the underworld, she was in charge of watching the special prisoners. The prisoners were the defeated titans (Calame, 266).
Hades, the God of the Underworld and Death, also the God of the Riches. Most of Hades and his four siblings life was spent in the stomachs of Cronus his father. Cronus was the Titan God of time and the ages. He was afraid if he had not eaten his children he would be overthrown by one of his sons. If not for Zeus later on Forcing the Cronus to disgorge them Hades would not have had a life at all. Together Zeus and Hades Drove the Titan Gods from the heaven down to a pit and locked them away. Hades gaining control of the Underworld realized he was missing something. A wife, he demanded for his brother Zeus to give away one of his daughters to him. Zeus chose Persephone now the Goddess and queen of the Underworld. Although this did not happen so easily, Zeus knowing his daughter would not accept to marry such a man like Hades he quickly had his own daughter abducted just to please the God of the underworld, but her mother Demeter the Goddess of Agriculture, grain and bread was not happy about this and demanded her daughter back. When she was not given her daughter she put a great dearth upon the earth until she was handed back her child. Hades did send her back from the Underworld only because she had tasted the pomegranate seed and had to return to him a portion of each year. People thought of Hades to be a regal god who was dark haired and held an bird-tipped sceptre ("HADES : Greek King of the Underworld, God of the Dead ; mythology ; pictures : HADES, PLUTO”).
Taylor’s perspective on the origins of the Second World War, although controversial, is not one so easily dismissed. Taylor’s approach is one of, “innocent until proven guilty,” which allowed him to distribute accountability to both the Allied and Axis powers. Taylor carefully constructs a historical chain of cause and effect through his unbiased evaluation. The First World War left a structurally sound Germany bent on restoring its independence, and a weakened balance of power in Europe. These facts, along with a morally revolting yet rational leader, faced only with a strict policy of appeasement combined to form the perfect storm, one that would ravage the world in the Second World War.
The Brazil Nut is the fruit of a tree that grows mostly wild in rainforests. Castanheiro do Para, which is the Brazilian name given to this tree, is found in many Amazonian states of Brazil, Peru, Columbia, Venezuela and Ecudor. It is most pervalent in the Brazilian states of Marahao, Mato Grosso, Acre, Para, Rondonia, and the Amazonas. The tree is enormous, Frequently attaining the height of 160 feet or more. The fruit is a large spherical woody capsule or pod and measures an average of six inches in diameter and can weigh up to 5 pounds. The fruit pods grow at the ends of thick branches, then ripens and falls from the tree from January to June. Inside each fruit pod is 12 to 25 Brazil nuts with their own indvidual shell(1).
‘Demeter’ is a poem about the story of Demeter. "Demeter was the goddess of harvest and Persephone was the goddess of springtime. Hades, the lord of the underworld, kidnapped Persephone. Hades fell in love with Persephone and asked Zeus to help him kidnap her so she could become his bride. The crops started to wilt and humans couldn't grow crops anymore. However Zeus told Hermes to bring back Persephone and to make sure she didn't eat any food from the Underworld. Hermes fetched Persephone. But before she left, Hades convinced her to eat 6 pomegranate seeds. Hermes made a compromise and said Persephone had to stay in the Underworld as Hades wife for six months. That's why there are seasons. In the fall and winter, Persephone goes down into the Underworld and Demeter mourns. In the summer and spring, she comes back and Demeter rejoices. " (1)
In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Demeter’s grief is demonstrated through the concepts of divinity and humanity being symbolically contrasted with a woman’s purpose and social status as a mother or daughter. While “terrible” is a word we would expect to describe grief, “brutal” is interesting due to its violent connotations (Hymn to Demeter, 90). As a “brutal grief that seized the heart” it lends itself to a comparison with the violent seizing of Persephone, echoed here in Demeter’s emotions about her daughters’ capture, and perhaps denoting that the nature of what causes grief may be reflected in how it is felt (Hymn to Demeter, 90). The words “brutal” and “seized” also portrays grief itself as uncontrollable and forceful, even to the non-human Being described as “like four goddesses” while Demeter herself is divine and yet, unrecognisable as such seems to hark back to their youth and beauty as a divine gift, while Demeter, in her grief, appears to lose divine status (Hymn to Demeter,108, 94-95, 108).
The history of apples stretches back to the days of Adam and Eve, when it is believed to have been the “forbidden fruit” described in the Bible. Despite this long standing history, apples did not always grow naturally in New England. While the first apples are thought to have grown on the lower slopes of Tian Shan, a mountain range separating Kazakhstan and Krygystan, they also grew wild in Central and Southwest Asia, China, Italy, Switzerland, Spain and Greece.
... participants did not wear crowns or eat pomegranate seeds that had touched the ground because Persephone had been stolen while gathering flowers, and because she had eaten the pomegranate seeds in the underworld (Foley, 72/Taylor 1995).
Numerous lively heroes ventured into Persephone’s clutches with the hopes of beating death, yet she explains that despite their god-like strength they too will die. Two such heroes were Theseus and Pirithous. When Theseus and Pirithous attempted to kidnap the Queen of the Underworld she enticed them to sit in the chair of forgetfulness where their flesh fused to the cushions and refused to relinquish them (Taylor 268). Persephone appears many times to offer food, drink, or rest to weary heroes in the underworld in order to trap them there forever in the same manner that Hades tricked her (Taylor, 268). Because of Persephone and Hades’ antics many people hated them as gods, but Persephone’s cruelty serves as a reminder that while death is necessary it is not always kind. In the same manner that Persephone accepted her fate, mortals must also accept their own imminent
In Ovid Metamorphoses, the Roman literature described the ruthless act of Pluto of rape, to seize and carry away Proserpine without the consent of Ceres and in parallel in the Homeric Hymns of Demeter; Persephone was seized and carried away by Hades without the consent of Demeter. The invariant theme that was identified in both the Greek and Roman literature was the loss of innocence of Persephone/Proserpine. Despite the various differences the story was presented, it reinforced the innocence that was stolen from the god of the underworld, Hades or also known as Pluto. Throughout this paper, it will discuss the similar characteristics of the two myths such as the motive that led and encouraged the god of the underworld to kidnap Persephone/Proserpine, and the aftermath caused by the grief of the mother of the abducted Persephone/Proserpine. The paper will also discuss the differences between the two literatures, such as the involvement of other gods and goddesses.
Chopin, Kate. The Awakening. Ed. Elaine Showalter. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1992. Print 1-221
Frequent schools across the country have a dress code, but some do not. There is great controversy as to whether schools should have uniforms. I take the affirmative side to this statement, strongly believing that schools should have uniforms to serve both their staff as well as the student body. School uniforms have proven extremely beneficial to the school and the student body. Requiring students to wear uniforms within school systems is a great idea. Not only do they promote equality, but they also save parents money and keep children safe (K). In addition, they signify rules, punctuality, and obedience. According to Hunt (1945), school uniforms would be a great idea because it gives children a sense of identity. Although a great number of the students want to wear their own clothes, such as baggy jeans, halter tops, and short skirts, which are inappropriate for school, uniforms would be a great stabilizer for students as well as their schools.