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libra mythology

Libra, the Scales of Balance and Final Judgment dates back to Egyptian afterlife rituals - wherein a scale was allegedly used to weigh the souls of the dead. Anubis weighs the heart of the deceased against the feather of Ma'at, goddess of truth and justice.

In Greek mythology, the stars of Libra came to represent the Golden Chariot of Pluto. The story of Pluto's abduction of Persephone is a widely known Greek myth, perhaps because it has such a strong astronomical association.

Pluto (Hades) was a brother of Zeus and of Poseidon; he was usually ignorant of the happenings of the Upperworld, only emerging rarely from his dark kingdom.

It was considered imprudent and dangerous to mention the names of certain gods and goddesses.?Thus the Furies, or Cronies, were called Eumenides (Kindly Ones), and Hades was called Pluto (Rich One).

His golden chariot was pulled by four jet-black horses. While he used the chariot to periodically visit the Upperworld, in order to seduce a beautiful nymph, he rarely wished the relationship to last. Until he saw Persephone, the daughter of Demeter and Zeus. When he took Persephone back to Tartarus, the deepest part of Hades, the Upperworld would change forever.

Deep beneath the Earth, he owned all its mineral riches, but his favorite possession was a gift from the Cyclopes: a helmet that rendered him invisible. Demeter was the sister of Zeus and Hades, and one of the most important of goddesses as she was responsible for Agriculture, and all growing things.

Hades is so enamoured by the beauty of Persephone, he wants her for his own, so takes her by force down to his kingdom, where she becomes the Queen of the Underworld. Demeter mourns for her lost daughter and begs the other gods for help.

Theseus and Peiritheus descend into Hades in search of Persephone, but are unsuccessful. In fact, they are held captive by Hades, and Heracles is sent to rescue them. He can only manage to bring back Theseus; Peiritheus is condemned to remain forever in Hades.

Demeter is so distraught about the loss of her daughter she neglected her godly duties and no seeds sprouted.?A vast drought spreads throughout the Upperworld. Zeus becomes vexed, for he is owed a certain tribute, and if the drought continues his tribute will not be forthcoming. Some accounts give Zeus a more noble reason for acting on his sister's behalf: that he empathizes with Demeter and wishes to rectify her loss. In any event, he convinces his brother Hades to give up Persephone, so that the Upperworld can again become green and lush.

Zeus rules that she must forever divide her time between the Upperworld and the Underworld; four months out of the year she must stay with her husband, while the rest of the year she may visit her mother, in the Upperworld.?Thus every year the world retreats briefly into a cold and forbidding place, until the 21st of March, when Persephone is allowed to emerge from the Underworld, bringing Spring with her.

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