Persephone's abduction
Hades kidnaps Persephone and takes her down into the underworld. Persephone's mother, Demeter, is distraught and looks all across the world to find her daughter. Demeter is the Goddess of the harvest, and so all the crops begin to die because she is preoccupied on her search. The Gods came to a compromise to stop humanity from being wiped out, and Persephone could return to earth. However, Hades had tricked Persephone into eating some pomegranate seeds, and therefore she would have to spend one third of her year in the underworld as Hades' wife.
Demeter
Hades
Persephone
Persephone, disappeared.
Persephone's abduction is outlined in the 'Homeric Hymn to Demeter'. Persephone, Goddess of Spring and Nature, was picking flowers in the fields of Nysa, when a beautiful Narcissus flower appeared before her. This flower was planted by Gaia on the orders of Zeus, to lure Persephone in. She reached down to pick the flower and suddenly the earth beneath her opened up. Out of the gaping abyss appeared Hades on his golden chariot. Persephone called out for the help of Zeus but Zeus had colluded with Hades in order to kidnap Persephone to become Queen of the Underworld. Persephone was snatched from the Earth and taken to the underworld with Hades.
Demeter, enraged.
Demeter was full of grief and anger that Zeus and Hades had taken her daughter from her. She searched and searched for her daughter all over the earth, with a torch in her hand. Eventually, Helios the sun God informed her that Persephone had been taken to the underworld to be the wife of Hades. Demeter was so filled with grief that the crops failed, and humankind were left without the harvest for a year. This is the reason that Demeter represents the cycle of life and death.
Following the seasons...
Zeus was concerned that human kind would die if the Goddess of the Harvest continued to grieve. He sent Hermes as messenger to tell Hades that Persephone is to be returned to the earth. Hades agreed as the message had come from Zeus. However, he cunningly tricked Persephone into eating several pomegranate seeds whilst in the underworld. This meant that Persephone could not fully return to earth, and would have to stay in the underworld for a third of the year as wife to Hades. The seasons aligned with Persephone's travel and Demeter's grief, so when winter comes, Persephone returns to the underworld and when spring returns, Persephone returns to her mother Demeter.