Myth of Persephone by Jenna Hewitt

My t-shirt design is inspired by the myth of Persephone - an abstract take of the theme of heaven or hell!
Persephone was in a meadow picking flowers, when she was taken by Hades to the underworld to be his queen. During this time her mother neglected the earth causing plants to wither and die - Hades was told to return Persephone, but as she had already eaten the seeds of a pomegranate and tasted the food of the dead, a compromise was created meaning that she had to stay part of the year in the underworld.

This is a myth that partially bridges Heaven, illustrated as the clouds, sun and stars, the Earth, illustrated using the daffodil and violets, and the Underworld or Hell, illustrated as the pomegranate and the asphodel flowers in the centre.
It is also a tale of the seasons, explains how the grief of a mother and the abduction of her daughter created the cycle of winter and spring.

I used a quote form the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, translated by Gregory Nagy, as it beautifully describes the feeling behind this design;

‘But when the earth starts blossoming with fragrant flowers of springtime, flowers of every sort, then it is you must come up from the misty realms of darkness’.

Instagram: @jennahewitt.designs