The story of Narcissus
Narcissus is a very young man. He is very handsome. He is also very arrogant. Many girls around him fall in love with him at first sight. Even a nymph, called Echo, falls in love with him. But he rejects everyone. He thinks that no one deserves him. He is too good to accept anybody's offer.

There are lots and lots of heartbroken girls around him.

But he eventually learns his lesson.

One day he feels thirsty. He is not at home. He is outside. He goes to a lake. He kneels on the ground. He leans over the water in the lake. He sees his own reflection in the water.

He has never seen his own face before. He falls in love with his own reflection. But it is an impossible love. This reflection cannot respond to his love. Now, he understands how other girls feel.

He melts away with the fire of passion. He turns into a flower.

Some people think that this flower got its name from him. Also, the word “narcissistic” comes from this story.

The Story of Persephone

Once upon a time there was a young goddess. Her name was Persephone. She was the daughter of Demeter, the goddess of harvest.

One day she was playing with her friends on a flowery meadow. All of a sudden the ground split into two. Hades, the god of the underworld, came up to the ground through a chasm on his chariot. He abducted her. He took her to the dark underworld. 

As Persephone was being kidnapped, her mother heard her screams. She immediately came back to the meadow. But it was too late. She looked for her daughter everywhere, but she couldn’t find her. Her sorrow was deep. 

In the end, Helios, the god of Sun, told her that her daughter had been kidnapped by Hades. He told her that she had been taken to the underworld. 

Demeter left Olympus and started to dwell on earth. She was disguised so nobody knew her. She neglected her duties as goddess of agriculture. Humanity suffered a deadly famine. People started to die. 

Zeus saw that the human race was in danger of extinction. He ordered Hades to give Persephone back to her mother. He obeyed the order. 

But Persephone could not stay with her mother all year round. Because she had eaten some pomegranate seeds. If someone ate food in the underworld they had to stay there. That was the rule. Persephone had eaten six pomegranate seeds.She had to stay for six months in the underworld.She would stay for the other six months with her mother. 

When she turned back to her mother, Demeter felt very happy. She brought fertility to earth again.The fields were rich with abundant fruit again. There were flowers and green leaves everywhere. But when Persephone had to go back to the underworld, Demeter didn’t let plants grow.

That was the explanation of the seasonal cycle in ancient times.