Origin of the Seasons: Demeter and Persephone

In this Greek myth, Demeter, the beneficent goddess of the earth's crops and soil, throws the world into year-round cold and famine when her beloved daughter Persephone is stolen from her by Hades, the god of the Underworld. Though Demeter succeeds in rescuing her daughter, there is a hitch: each year Persephone must return to Hades for seven months of the year. It's only for the five months that Persephone is returned to her mother that the earth becomes warm and fruitful again.