Ī popular folk etymology is from φέρειν φόνον, pherein phonon, 'to bring (or cause) death'.

The theonyms have been traced back to the Indo-European *pers-é-bʰ(h₂)n̥t-ih₂ ('she who brings the light through'). The name of the Albanian dawn-goddess, goddess of love and protector of women, Premtë or P(ë)rende, is thought to correspond regularly to the Ancient Greek counterpart Περσεφάττα ( Persephatta), a variant of Περσεφόνη ( Persephone). The combined sense would therefore be 'she who beats the ears of corn', i.e., a 'thresher of grain'. The second constituent, phatta, preserved in the form Persephatta ( Περσεφάττα), would in this view reflect Proto-Indo European *-gʷn-t-ih, from the root *gʷʰen- 'to strike/beat/kill'. According to a recent hypothesis advanced by Rudolf Wachter, the first element in the name ( Perso- (Περσο-) may well reflect a very rare term, attested in the Rig Veda (Sanskrit parṣa-), and the Avesta, meaning 'sheaf of corn'/'ear (of grain)'. The etymology of the word 'Persephone' is obscure. The existence of so many different forms shows how difficult it was for the Greeks to pronounce the word in their own language and suggests that the name may have a Pre-Greek origin. There are also the forms Periphona (Πηριφόνα) and Phersephassa ( Φερσέφασσα). On 5th century Attic vases one often encounters the form ( Φερρϖφάττα) Plato calls her Pherepapha ( Φερέπαφα) in his Cratylus, 'because she is wise and touches that which is in motion'. In other dialects, she was known under variant names: Persephassa ( Περσεφάσσα), Persephatta ( Περσεφάττα), or simply Korē ( Κόρη, 'girl, maiden'). The Homeric form of her name is Persephoneia (Περσεφονεία, Persephoneia). Persephonē ( Greek: Περσεφόνη) is her name in the Ionic Greek of epic literature. In a Linear B Mycenaean Greek inscription on a tablet found at Pylos dated 1400–1200 BC, John Chadwick reconstructed the name of a goddess, *Preswa who could be identified with Perse, daughter of Oceanus and found speculative the further identification with the first element of Persephone.

National archaeological museum in Palermo, Italy Persephone or 'the deceased woman' holding a pomegranate. Myths similar to Persephone's descent and return to earth also appear in the cults of male gods including Attis, Adonis, and Osiris, and in Minoan Crete. She was identified by the Romans as the Italic goddess Libera, who was conflated with Proserpina. In Latin, her name is rendered Proserpina. Her name has numerous historical variants. The city of Epizephyrian Locris, in modern Calabria (southern Italy), was famous for its cult of Persephone, where she is a goddess of marriage and childbirth in this region. In Athens, the mysteries celebrated in the month of Anthesterion were dedicated to her. The origins of her cult are uncertain, but it was based on ancient agrarian cults of agricultural communities. Persephone as a vegetation goddess and her mother Demeter were the central figures of the Eleusinian Mysteries, which promised the initiated a happy afterlife. She may appear as a mystical divinity with a sceptre and a little box, but she was mostly represented in the process of being carried off by Hades. In Classical Greek art, Persephone is invariably portrayed robed, often carrying a sheaf of grain.

The myth of her abduction, her sojourn in the underworld, and her temporary return to the surface represents her functions as the embodiment of spring and the personification of vegetation, especially grain crops, which disappear into the earth when sown, sprout from the earth in spring, and are harvested when fully grown. She became the queen of the underworld after her abduction by and marriage to her uncle Hades, the king of the underworld. In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( / p ər ˈ s ɛ f ə n iː/ pər- SEF-ə-nee Greek: Περσεφόνη, romanized: Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( / ˈ k ɔːr iː/ KOR-ee Greek: Κόρη, romanized: Kórē, lit.'the maiden'), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter.

Hades greek god symbol meaning