Setting. The setting of a literary work is the time and place in which it happens. Setting is revealed through descriptions of landscape, buildings, scenery, weather, seasons, and other items. What two general areas are the settings of this story? How does one of those settings change over the course of the story?
Myth. A myth is a story that explains the beginnings of things in the natural world. Before the emergence of modern science, people depended on myths to answer basic questions such as what happens to people after they die, what makes plants grow, and why the seasons change. Make a graphic organizer like the one below. As you read, list the questions that the myth answers and the answers it provides.
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• In Greek mythology, Demeter, mother of Persephone, was goddess of fertility and of the earth. She was especially associated with grain. Later, the Romans identified her with their goddess of grains, Ceres. The English word cereal comes from the Roman name for this goddess.
• Greece has a Mediterranean climate, with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. While the weather is quite warm on the islands and coastal regions, in the interior of Greece, the average temperature is only about 72° F in summer and falls below 39° F in winter. Snow covers the mountains and highlands for months at a time.
• Geography Connection. Much of Greece is composed of limestone, which is porous and allows surface water to flow down through cracks, forming underground rivers. The descriptions of the underground river Styx and the spring of Lethe are unmistakably similar to the underground rivers found all over Greece. In addition, the idea of Persephone being carried downward through a crack in the earth may also be based on the nature of lime-stone or possibly on the earthquakes that frequently shake Greece’s mountainous lands.
Which season do you prefer, and why?
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