Reception Radio: Persephone, by Tamino

In which Hades is a terrible romantic partner, and knows it

It’s fall in my part of the world. Mythologically speaking, it’s a complicated and emotionally fraught time of year. Persephone’s headed to the Underworld for a winter with Hades: meanwhile, a grief-stricken Demeter sends the earth (well, the Northern Hemisphere) into a harsh and deathlike state.

The story of Persephone is a favourite in the world of myth adaptation. I’ve seen it used as a coming-of-age story for young women, a dark and twisted romance, and an ode to feminine independence. I tend to prefer versions of the story that don’t shy away from the ugly elements of Hades and Persephone’s marriage, and that take Demeter’s feelings into account.

Ancient texts don’t exactly paint this story as romantic. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, one of the oldest written sources for this myth, is almost entirely about Demeter’s grief at losing her daughter, and the world-shattering lengths she goes to bring the young girl home. Hades barely features in the text, and when he does, he cuts a sinister figure. Persephone fears him, and the hymn emphasizes how young she is when he forcibly takes her to the Underworld. It’s easy to read the Hymn to Demeter as an allegory for the separation of ancient Greek girls from their families through marriage. It highlights the grief and isolation that both they and their mothers must have experienced. In this light, it’s a poignant read. I find it far more compelling than romance between the gods of death and spring.

With this in mind, it baffles me that a lot of modern media based on this myth sidelines or villainizes Demeter, focusing on a Hades and Persephone love story. However, once in a while, someone does the myth justice. Tamino, a Belgian-Egyptian indie singer with the looks of a Greek hero, managed to pull off this feat in his 2018 song Persephone.

There is no mention of Demeter in this song, but I think she might approve of its moody atmosphere and lyrical choices. In Persephone, Tamino sings from the perspective of Hades, or perhaps another man who relates to the god of death. Here, Hades and Persephone’s relationship is indisputably doomed. The musical tone is minor-key and resentful, and the couple clearly have a whole mess of emotions to work through. Whatever’s come to pass between them, it isn’t going well.

The woman to whom Tamino sings should leave; she’d be better off without him. And yet, she keeps coming back, the same way Persephone returns to the Underworld every fall. Tamino-as-Hades is perfectly aware that they’re not good for each other and that he should push her away. However, he’s not trying very hard to let her go: his voice is all seductive and he keeps confessing his feelings for her. He knows that he’s a drain on her spirit, but he has to keep her around at all costs. He claims to care for her, but only has himself in mind. To put it simply, Persephone is a villain song.

It pleases me when modern media acknowledges the complex, flawed nature of Persephone and Hades’ marriage. This is the only time Tamino’s overtly tackled Greek mythology in his songwriting to date, but I’d love to see him try it again!

As always, here are the lyrics for Persephone:

Yes my love, I confess to you
I am only here to break your heart in two
The very flower you chose that day
Its only task was to decay
You see?

When I watched your first bathing
I only warned you with a lowered voice
"Be wary of my river's undertow
It flows with water from the coldest source"
Did you hear?

And then I made sure
You would always return
You still know of dawn
But you always return

When you hid under my black wings
They couldn't have protected you from anything
Once in flight they would have let go
You would have once again wound up below
Only broken

Indeed, it's wrong to keep you near me
One could call me cruel and deceiving
But in your sacred air I am full of light
Your loving arms are the true delight
To which I'm lost

And you've noticed it
There is something right here
You have come to love, yes you've come to love
What you always will fear

Yes, my love, I confess to you
I've nothing but the means to break your heart in two
My part in yours may seem important now
But with every spring it will seem so small
Just for now I am your fall
I am your fall