Pluto and Proserpine

In Greek mythology there are many stories of how the world came to be. Little meticulous parts put together, most of it having to do with emotions. These human emotions entangled with godly deities are what set mythological gods aside from other gods from different religions.

The story of the four seasons is one that brings obsession and lust. In short, Pluto, the god of the underworld, abducts Proserpine, a daughter of a god that rules that natural world. Pluto is so entranced with her beauty that he takes her for himself. When Proserpine was taken her mother was so distraught that the grain harvest was affected from her sadness. Seeing that the natural world was being manipulated be the mother's sadness, big brother Zeus came to a conclusion: Proserpine would come home for 6 months of the year and then return for the other 6 months to the underworld.

When Proserpine comes home, her mother is so full of joy, that spring turns and then eventually summer. But when she leaves, the sadness quickly fills her and fall begins and then the cold and desolate winter.

Bernini sculpted the highest point of action of this story. The peak of the drama. It is the moment Pluto abducts Proserpine.