Proserpina is abducted by Pluto and becomes queen of the underworld, her annual return heralding spring. In Roman poetry—especially Claudian’s “De Raptu Proserpinae”—she embodies the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Poets use her myth to explore themes of loss, maternal grief (with Ceres), and the duality of innocence and sovereignty, making her a poignant figure in elegiac and seasonal verse.

Proserpina (Greek Persephone) is queen of the underworld and goddess of spring growth; central to Ovid’s Metamorphoses and Claudian’s epic; symbolizes the cycle of life-death-rebirth, female agency, and seasonal change; useful for exploring trauma, marriage, or ecological cycles; students should note her dual role: abducted maiden and powerful queen; her myth explains winter; she is daughter of Ceres and wife of Pluto; later mystery cults promised initiates her salvation.