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In Ancient Greece it was a common marriage tradition for brides to be "abducted" after the marriage was approved by their father- usually to the mock protestation of both of the parents (who, key words here, had already approved the marriage).
The cultural abduction tradition was so prevalent the theme was popular in Greek romance- particularly in scenarios where two people fell in love, and the parents don't approve of the marriage... In which case the two would often elope- & the family would claim abduction.
Now: The earliest myths of Persephone + Hades we have written evidence of, were written by Homer- who never actually says she was abducted. He just calls her Hades Wife. But in several versions Zeus outright gives Persephone to Hades thinking that Demeter (her mother) won't mind.
So Hades "abducts" her in the traditional fashion... Except Demeter actually did mind because Zeus never tells her (or Persephone) of the agreement & so she threw a legitimate fit about it; as far as she was aware, her daughter REALLY DID just up and vanish / get kidnapped.
But the deal was already done at that point... Persephone'd already been "abducted" & married, & you can't reneg on that. So the pomegranates were a fix to placate Demeter (who really should have been given the what's up) in lieu of not being able to do anything else.
Now. Does that mean Persephone was willing? Absolutely not... In Ancient Greece, though, only the consent of her father mattered- and Zeus gave his consent; she wasn't abducted against his will, but in accordance with established tradition after the agreement was made.
And while we may still interpret that as kidnapping /today/ because "she didn't consent in her own right"? It's still integral that we understand that abduction in Ancient Greek culture and myth did not mean the same thing as it does to us today.
In other words: When you read about "the abduction of Persephone" you aren't reading about "the literal kidnapping of Persephone". You're reading about traditional marriage rituals in ancient Greece. & it's really cool if you want to reinterpret it. Just don't forget that fact.
Make sure your reinterpretations aren't coming from a place of ignorance- or worse, a place that willfully ignores the cultural context of these myths, and what they actually are / what they meant to their original cultures in their proper contexts.
Actually, no. That's not all. Round #2, here we go!
The first written version of the myth to include abduction was Hesiod's Theogony & in some myths the Pomegranate thing never even happens at all; Persephone becomes, and remains, solely the Queen of the Underworld and rules alongside Hades /as his equal/.
Homer not only simply calls her Hades' wife, but outright describes her as "the formidable, venerable, and majestic queen of the Shades who exercises her power, and carries into effect the curses of men upon the souls of the dead- along with her husband" (paraphrased / modified).
It's also important to note that Persephone was one of the few female figures in Greek Myth who actually gained MORE agency by being married- instead of remain unmarried in order to have the same agency, as is the case with other feminine figures that appear in myth and legend.
The idea that Persephone is being "recast" as a powerful Queen NOW, in modern interpretations of that myth, actually flies in the face of the fact that most versions of her myth are pretty clear that she was a powerful & well respected Queen at the time those myths were written.
And not just in myth. I also mean in the eyes of her Husband (who in nearly all versions of the myth, and in most art, is shown as a dotting, considerate, fair, and faithful husband to her)- as well as in the eyes of Greek society and culture itself.
So yeah. The myth of Hades & Persephone is beautiful & varied (& definitely doesn't include "kidnapping" as we understand it today) & the attempts to recast her as "the defiled innocent who needs to be rewritten w/ agency in modern times" is just... Weird... But hey you do you.
If you want to reinterpret it, be my guest! It's super important to keep these myths alive and new... But you know... That whole "cultural context and understanding" thing still stands; it's integral to understand the complete context & meaning of the myths we're reinterpreting.
You might even be surprised to find that some of the myths don't even need rewriting / reinterpretation because they already include some of the very themes you desire, once viewed in their correct contexts.
