Demeter and Persephone

The Goddess from Taranto

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A Mystery

Marble head of Persephone, 4th century BCE. Found in Taranto & on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Photo ยฉ Melissa M. / The Torch and Key

Taranto, sometimes referred to as Tarentum, is located in the Puglia region of southern Italy (the “heel” part of the “boot”). Taranto was named for Taras, a figure from Greek mythology who was said to be the son of Poseidon, and was believed to be shipwrecked in the nearby sea. According to the myths, Taras was rescued by Poseidon when he sent a dolphin to assist Taras to shore, and Taranto is where Taras landed.

The remains of a great temple are located in Taranto, dating to approximately the 6th century BCE. It was long believed that the temple was for Poseidon, however, that theory has been called into question with archaeological finds in the area pointing to a female deity being worshipped there – either Persephone or Artemis, or both (either separately or they were blended, which wasn’t uncommon) alongside Demeter.

Below is a slideshow of additional artifacts found at Taranto that indicate Persephone and Demeter were worshipped there. Photo captions have been provided.

  • Terracotta bust of Demeter or Persephone holding a torch and a pig. Dated to 400 BCE from Taranto, on display at the Bristish Museum
  • Pottery fragment from Taranto showing Hades abducting Persephone. Dated to about 350 BCE. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
  • Marble statue of an enthroned Persephone found in Taranto, dated to about 480 BCE. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
  • Plaque of Polyboia, a figure from Greek myths that is linked to Persephone. Found in Taranto, dated to about 400 BCE. On display at the Getty Museum.
  • Statue of “Kore”, dated approximately to 5th century BCE. On display at the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto MArTA
  • Polychrome head of a goddess, dated to about the 4th century BCE. On display at the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto MArTA
  • Marble statue of a goddess, likely Demeter. She is carrying a torch in her right hand, and a harvest in her left with the same harvest grains (flowers?) adorning her head. Date unknown; on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Taranto MArTA

Based on the slideshow above, it is fair to conclude that Persephone and Demeter were worshipped in Taranto. A temple to Poseidon would not contain artifacts depicting key events linked to the Eleusinian Mysteries, as were found at other known sanctuaries that were dedicated to Demeter and Persephone in southern mainland Italy and Sicily that carried out reenactments of the Eleusinian rites, such as in Selinunte, Morgantina, and Enna.

Il Ritorno di Persephone

Recently, the Greek Reporter featured an annual festival in Taranto that celebrates Persephone’s return from the underworld. They describe a ceremonial procession through the town that ended at Piazza Castello where the temple remains are.

Celebrants in front of the temple remains in Taranto. Photo courtesy of Stato Magna Grecia – Due Sicilie

Bringing Persephone Home

The marble Persephone statue shown below was unearthed in Taranto in 1911, and was smuggled out of the country to Germany, where it is now on display at the Altes museum in Berlin. Efforts have been underway for several years from Italian authorities to have this statue returned to Italy permanently.

Marble statue of an enthroned Persephone found in Taranto, dated to about 480 BCE. Image from Wikimedia Commons.

Sources:

Wikipedia contributors. “Taras (mythology).”ย Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 18 Nov. 2025. Web. 9 Jun. 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taras_(mythology)

Wikipedia contributors. “Taranto.”ย Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 4 Jun. 2026. Web. 9 Jun. 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taranto

Photo: ยฉ The Trustees of the British Museum. Shared under aย Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) licence.

Slideshow images: https://whichmuseum.com/museum/national-archaeological-museum-of-taranto-marta-39993

Photo from Statio Magna Grecia – Due Sicilie: https://www.facebook.com/media/set?set=a.1401036572054162&type=3

The Greek Reporter: “Echoes of Magna Graecia: Persephone Festival Reclaims Tarantoโ€™s Greek Soul”, https://greekreporter.com/2026/05/29/magna-graecia-persephone-festival-taranto/

Hekate Angelos – Messenger, Liminal Mediator

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Remains of a statue of Hekate excavated from the site of the Temple of Demeter Malophoros in Selinunte, Sicily dated to approx 4th century BCE

“Angelos” is a title / epithet meaning “messenger”, or “angel”. The concepts of divine angels are mostly known due to being referenced throughout numerous Abrahamic bible passages and psalms, and within those biblical texts angels were sent from God to either deliver messages, or to act as an intermediary with assisting one or more persons.

One of Hekate’s known epithets is “Angelos”, an ancient title shared with Artemis. In Siracusa/Syracuse, a major ancient Greek colony on the southeast coast of Sicily, stood a temple dedicated to Artemis and Apollo that was center of cult worship for Artemis Angelos. In Greek mythology, Angelos was the daughter of Zeus and Hera who eventually became a chthonic goddess.ย Writer Sophron explains:

โ€œAngelos was raised byย nymphsย to whose care her father had entrusted her. One day she stole her mother Heraโ€™s anointments and gave them away toย Europe. To escape Heraโ€™s wrath, she had to hide first in the house of a woman in labor, and next among people who were carrying a dead man. Hera eventually ceased from prosecuting her, and Zeus ordered theย Cabeiroiย to cleanse Angelos. They performed the purification rite in the waters of theย Acherusiaย Lake inย theย Underworld. Consequently, she received the world of the dead as her realm of influence, and was assigned an epithetย katachthoniaย (โ€œshe of the underworldโ€)

Hekate as “Angelos”

Hekate’s own role as “Angelos” can be found in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, which details the abduction of Persephone by Hades and Persephone’s return to Earth. First, we learn about Hekate bearing a message to Demeter after Persephone was abducted, which results in Hekate and Demeter visiting Helios to negotiate a search for Persephone. Later in the hymn, we learn of Hekate being assigned the role of guiding Persephone on her trips between the realms of the Earth and Underworld. Hekate is known as a liminal goddess, traversing the boundaries between realms and the title “Angelos” as messenger / mediator fits within Hekate’s role as “Propylaia” (guardian of thresholds) and “Propolos” (companion and guide).

The Flower of Fire

In the Chaldean Oracles, Hekate is described as the “Cosmic World Soul” that acts as an intermediary or messenger / transmitter between the “paternal intellect” (ideas), and the power in Hekate’s “cosmic womb” that in turn enlivened those ideas and transmitted them, thus ensouling the material / physical world. This concept is discussed in great detail in the book (her published dissertation) “Hekate Soteira” by scholar Sarah Iles Johnston and I highly recommend reading it (if you haven’t already).

Fragment 34 of the Chaldaean Oracles states:

โ€œFrom here springs forth the genesis of varied matter;

From here the sweeping lightning obscures its flower of fire

As it leaps into the hollows of the Cosmoi; for from here all things

Begin to stretch forth towards that place beneath the wondrous rays.โ€

The Sanctuary of Demeter Malophoros

Selinunte in Sicily was a major Greek colony and is the location of the great Sanctuary of Demeter Malophoros. The title “Malophoros” means “fruit bearer”, and in this temple the Eleusinian Rites were re-enacted. Various votive remains have been excavated from this site depicting Hekate, Demeter, and Persephone, and the temple area has been turned into a protected archaeological park that also contains temples to other gods, including Hera and Athena. Many of the sanctuary remains are housed in a museum in Palermo, Sicily.

One excavated archaeological artifact is the base of a statue with a votive inscription to Hekate engraved on it:

A statue base with a votive inscription dedicated to Hekate, on display at Antonino Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum, Palermo, Sicily. Dated approx 450 BCE

The inscription on the statue base pictured above reads:

“Alexias son of Xenon made [this] dedication
to the Angelos (Messenger) and to Hekate”

This statue base is dated to about 450 BCE and is on display at Antonino Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum in Palermo, Sicily. This statue base is believed to have been a part of the Propylon of Hekate at the Sanctuary of Demeter Malophoros. Propylons are “gateways” to temples, and are linked to Hekate’s role as “Propylaia” – “Guardian of Thresholds / Entryways”.

Angelike Orchฤ“sis

The Angelike Orchฤ“sis were celebratory dances performed by the ancient Greeks as part of important rituals, and Angelike Orchฤ“sis translates to “messenger’s dance”. Many dancing rituals took place during the Eleusinian rites and they all had a different purpose. The Angelike Orchฤ“sis, according to Greek writer Athenaeus of Naucratis (who lived sometime during the 2nd-3rd century CE), were Ionic dances that told the story of Hekate delivering a message to Demeter regarding the abduction of her daughter, Persephone.

Votive relief found at Eleusis depicting a dance scene, dated to about 4th c. BCE / National Archaeological Museum of Athens

Hesiod’s “Theogony”

The references to Hekate in Hesiod’s “Theogony” (written around 700 BCE) are believed to be the oldest literary source for Her. In addition to describing Hekate’s origins and honors given to Her by Zeus, Hesiod describes how Hekate mediates prayer and decides if the prayers should be answered favorably:

“For to this day, whenever any one of men on earth offers rich sacrifices and prays for favour according to custom, he calls upon Hecate. Great honour comes full easily to him whose prayers the goddess receives favourably, and she bestows wealth upon him; for the power surely is with her.”

Hesiod then goes on to describe how Hekate also mediates and bestows Her will over participants in games, horsemen, and fishermen:

“Good is she also when men contend at the games, for there too the goddess is with them and profits them: and he who by might and strength gets the victory wins the rich prize easily with joy, and brings glory to his parents. And she is good to stand by horsemen, whom she will: and to those whose business is in the grey discomfortable sea, and who pray to Hecate and the loud-crashing Earth-Shaker, easily the glorious goddess gives great catch, and easily she takes it away as soon as seen, if so she will.”

ยฉ Melissa M. / The Torch and Key

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