[Ponte Alto] A&S and Performing themes for Chalice of the Sun God V: Persephone's Story

[Belphoebe]

Greetings,

As most of you know, Chalice of the Sun God is one of
our favorite events at Ponte Alto.  Everyone had a
wonderful time at Chalice IV:  Athena's Challenge, and
we are currently looking into organizing Chalice V in
September 2008.

In that regard, here is a message for artisans and
performers:

For those of you who would like to participate on A&S
or Performing competitions at Chalice of the Sun God
V, here's the lowdown: The theme of the event, hence
of the competitions, will be Persephone's Story.
Anything that has to do with that will go. It can be a
journey through the underworld, it can be weddings, it
can be harvest, it can be pomegranates, you name it. 

Oh, and you can get extra points by explaining how
your entry relates to the theme of Persephone's
legend.

So why giving away the theme so early? Because most
artisans and performers would probably like to have
plenty of time to prepare their entries. To be honest,
some things require plenty of time for research and
knowing what you are doing in advance helps a lot. We
would like to see plenty of people participating.

Persephone's legend is pretty well known, but just in
case, here is a little refresher from Pantheon.org:

"Persephone is the goddess of the underworld in Greek
mythology. She is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter,
goddess of the harvest. Persephone was such a
beautiful young woman that everyone loved her, even
Hades wanted her for himself. One day, when she was
collecting flowers on the plain of Enna, the earth
suddenly opened and Hades rose up from the gap and
abducted her. None but Zeus, and the all-seeing sun,
Helios, had noticed it. 

"Broken-hearted, Demeter wandered the earth, looking
for her daughter until Helios revealed what had
happened. Demeter was so angry that she withdrew
herself in loneliness, and the earth ceased to be
fertile. Knowing this could not continue much longer,
Zeus sent Hermes down to Hades to make him release
Persephone. Hades grudgingly agreed, but before she
went back he gave Persephone a pomegranate (or the
seeds of a pomegranate, according to some sources).
When she later ate of it, it bound her to underworld
forever and she had to stay there one-third of the
year. The other months she stayed with her mother.
When Persephone was in Hades, Demeter refused to let
anything grow and winter began. This myth is a symbol
of the budding and dying of nature. In the Eleusinian
mysteries, this happening was celebrated in honor of
Demeter and Persephone, who was known in this cult as
Kore."

More info to come as we get closer.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Yours in Service,

Belphoebe
Your Friendly Neighborhood Autocrat