Demeter and Persephone by Roberto Rascovich

The Myth of Demeter and Persephone - Old Etchings

We have a chance to enjoy a rare masterpiece on the ancient Greek myth by Roberto Rascovich. It's a booklet made of six etchings and text, which is a simple retelling of the story about Persephone. We'll provide the whole set of digital scans with text also written because due to the chosen decorative font, it's sometimes hard to read. At the end, we'll add some more interesting facts.

The Myth of Demeter and Persephone

A Grecian Myth

Six Original Etchings on Zinc by R. Rascovich

This the song of Demeter and her daughter Persephone, whom Aidoneus carried away, as she played, apart from her mother with the deep bosomed daughters of the Ocean, in the meadow of soft grasses, cromis, and fait violets, and the strange flower narcissus, which came forth for the first time to snare the footsteps of the flower-like girl. She stretched forth to take the flower, then the earth opened and Aidoneus sprang out with his immortal horses, and he bore her away in his golden chariot.

No one heard her cry except Hecate, sitting in her cave thinking delicate thoughts, and the sun. So long as she saw the earth she still hoped to see her mother. The peaks of the hills and the depths of the sea echoed her cry. Her mother heard it. A sharp pain pierced her heart. She cast her hood from her shoulders and fled like a bird, seeking her daughter. Nine days she wandered with blazing torches in her hand. But the tenth day Hecate met her and told her that she heard the voice. Demeter fled away swiftly with her to the sun and he told her the whole story. A terrible grief took possesaion of Demeter and her anger she forsook the gods, and abode among men.

She sat by the virgin's well at Eleusis. She seemed as an aged woman. There the four young daughters of Celeus found her. They kindly asked her why she was there alone and preyed her to remain while they asked their mother's permission to bring her home. Demeter bowed her consent. Their mother bade them hire the woman to attend her new born son.

They find the glorious goddess sitting by the way side unmoved. Then they led her to their father's house and as she passed the threashold the pressure filled the doorway with divine brightness. Still they did not recognize her.

Demeter consented to remain and become the nurse of the child. She took him in her immortal hands and placed him in her fragrant bosom, and the child grew like a god. Demeter daily annointed it with ambrosia, breathing sweetly over it and at night she would hide it secretly in the red strength of the fire for her heart yearned towards it and she would fain give it immortal youth.

But the foolish fear of the mother prevented it, for one night she peeped upon them and in her terror cried out. The goddess heard her and in anger plurked the child from the fire and cast it on the ground. Then Demeter manifasted herself.

She put away the mask of old age and the spirit of beauty breathed about her and the house was filled with the brightness of lightning. To propitiate the glorious goddess Celeus build a fair temple a her command. Then she sat within its walls wasting in regret for her daughter. In anger she sent upon the earth a famine. The seeds fell fruitless on the earth and the whole human race had like to have perished. Zeus seat all the gods to turn her anger but she would not hear them nor yield the fruits on the earth.

Then Zeus sent Hermes to persuade Aidoneus to suffer his bride to return. He obeyed the message and bade Persephone to return, yet praying her to have gentle thoughts of him. Then Aidoneus sent her with Hermes in his chariot, and they passed quickly over the long journey neither waters or lands resiting them until they came before the door of the temple where her mother was, who seeing her ran out quickly to meet her, like a maenad coming down a mountain side, dusky with woods.

So they spent the day in joy, and Zeus ordained that Persephone remain two parts of the year with her mother and one third with her husband in the kingdom of the dead.

So Demeter suffered the earth to yield its fruits once more and the land was laden with leaves and flowers and waving corn.

Unknown names and strange words:

• Aidoneus is one of the variations of names Hades (Greek) or Pluto (Roman), the god of the underworld. His brothers are Zeus and Poseidon. Together, they defeated the Titans and started ruling the cosmos. This means Hades (in this story called Aidoneus) is one of the most powerful entities in the cosmos.
• Demeter (Greek) or Ceres (Roman) is a goddess of harvest.
• Grecian means Greek.
• Hermes (Greek) or Mercury (Roman) is a messenger of gods. He is also a protector of merchants, orators, thieves, and travelers.
• Maenad is one of the female followers of the god Dionysius. Maenads (Greek) are more known as Bacchantes (Roman) and are characterized by ecstatic dance during intoxication. The literal translation of the word 'maenad' would be 'mad woman) or 'rage woman'.
• Persephone (Greek) Proserpine (Roman) is a queen of the underworld. She is frequently portrayed as a symbol of immortality. Her return to the earth brings spring and her character is in classic fairy tales portrayed as a Red Riding Hood.

Beware

This is only one of numerous myths about Persephone. It focuses on her mother Demeter and almost completely neglects Hades (Aidoneus). It also doesn't explain why is she obligated to spend part of the year in the underworld. The most common explanation is that she ate the fruit from the underworld, but there are also examples of her eventually falling in love with her abductor.

Who was Roberto B. Rascovich?

Roberto Benjamin Rascovich is quite an elusive artist. We know much more about his work than his personal life. He was a printmaker, a watercolorist, and a wood carver.

Roberto Rascovich was born in Split (Spalato) to a family of Italian origin and was raised in an Italian-influenced surrounding. Split, however, was at the time of his birth part of the Austro-Hungarian empire, so you'll probably also find data he was Austrian. He wasn't. If we had to give only one citizenship to a man who fluently spoke seven languages it would be American. After his studies in Paris, Rome, Venice, and Vienna, he decided to move to America. His ship Spaarndam landed in New York in 1891 and his documents show he was 27 years old which suggests 1862 as his date of birth. But his birth data claims he was born in 1857. Another mystery is his marriage to an American woman. We don't know her name, nor if they married before or after he came to the USA. There is no data about their children, if any. There's also a possibility they married only to make him easier to get American citizenship.

What we do know, is he opened a studio in Chicago in 1893 and stayed in the 'Windy City' with occasional moves along the East Coast to the end of his life. Rascovich painted for high society what earned him good income while simultaneously getting at least two rewards: Columbian Expo, 1893, and Arche Club Salon, 1897. Especially A Canal in Venice, a painting from the World Fair in 1893 opened his doors to the most wealthy customers.

Rascovich had numerous exhibitions mostly in Chicago, but also in Washington and New York. His life ended unexpectedly soon due stroke in 1905. The stroke got him in one of his student's studios. We don't know who was this student and if their relationship was purely professional, but we are sure we'll learn more about Rascovich in the next years while many of his works in private collections are still waiting to be discovered.