Pluto and Proserpina
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The Roman equivalent of Hades and Persephone. Pluto was a child of Saturn, who is identified with the Greek god Cronus. Pluto was one of three children who were not consumed by Saturn, along with Neptune and Jupiter. These three gods represented the grave, the water and the air. The Romans believed that none of these things could be consumed by time, represented by Saturn. Pluto was the ruler of Tartarus, the underworld, where he carried off Persephone after being struck by one of Cupid's arrows. Pluto and Proserpina are almost exact replicas of their Greek equivalents, as the Romans' ideas about the spirits of the underworld were very vague before adopting Greek mythology Pluto was originally the Roman god of certain metals and, because these materials are mined, he also took on the role of god of the underworld.
[edit] Further reading
Pluto (or Hades, in Greek) is an alternate name for the Greek god is the brother of Jupiter (or Zeus) and Neptune (or Poseidon). After the defeat of Saturn (or Cronos), the three brothers took control of the world, and divided it into three separate parts for each brother to rule. Jupiter took control of the skies, Neptune of the seas, and Pluto of the underworld. but was more often used in Roman mythology in their presentation of the god of the underworld. Proserpina is an ancient goddess whose story is the basis of a myth of Springtime. She is the Roman equivalent of the Greek goddess Persephone. Persephone was subsumed by the cult of Libera, an ancient fertility goddess, wife of Liber. Her name comes from proserpere meaning "to emerge." She is a life–death–rebirth deity. She was the daughter of Ceres, the goddess of cereals and the harvest, and Jupiter, and was described as a very enchanting young girl. Venus, in order to bring love to Pluto, sent her son Amor, also known as Cupid, to hit Pluto with one of his arrows. Proserpina was in Sicily, at the fountain of Arethusa near Enna, where she was playing with some nymphs and collecting flowers, when Pluto came out from the volcano Etna with four black horses. He abducted her in order to marry her and live with her in Hades, the Greco-Roman Underworld, of which he was the ruler. Notably, Pluto was also her uncle, being Jupiter's (and Ceres's) brother. She is therefore Queen of the Underworld. Ceres vainly went looking for her in any corner of the Earth, but wasn't able to find anything but her daughter’s small belt that was floating upon a little lake (made with the tears of the nymphs). Ceres angrily stopped the growth of fruits and vegetables, bestowing a malediction on Sicily. Ceres refused to go back to Mount Olympus and started walking on the Earth, making a desert at every step. The people of the world were dying, and prayed to Jupiter for help. Worried, Jupiter sent Mercury to order Pluto to free Proserpina. Pluto would have obeyed, but by then, Persephone had eaten four pomegranate seeds and of her own accord. When Jupiter ordered her return, Pluto struck a deal with Jupiter, saying that since she had stolen his four pomegranate seeds, she must stay with him four months of the year in return. For this reason, in spring when Ceres received her daughter back, the crops blossomed and flowers colored in a beautiful welcome to her daughter, and in summer they flourished. In the autumn, Ceres changed the leaves to shades of brown and orange (her favorite colors) as a gift to Persephone before she had to return to the underworld. During the time that Persephone resided with Pluto, the world went through winter, a time when the earth was barren.
