Persephone

Persephone is an enemy in the Castlevania series. She is a demonic maid that served a noble master.
==Origins==
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after her abduction by her uncle Hades, the king of the underworld. Demeter searched long for her with no success before being told that Hades had taken her to be his queen, with the approval of Zeus.
Persephone was not allowed to return to the world above until Demeter prevented all plants from growing, causing a famine and forcing Zeus to demand that Hades let her go. However, since Persephone had already eaten food from Hades' realm, she could not leave. Zeus settled the issue by decreeing that Persephone would spend half of the year in the underworld with her husband (autumn and winter), and the other half above with her mother (spring and summer). 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.
Proserpina is an ancient Roman goddess whose iconography, functions and myths are virtually identical to those of the Greek Persephone.
Despite the divine origin of the eponymous Greek goddess, the Persephone enemy from the Castlevania series is portrayed as a demonic maid for unknown reasons.
==Description==
Persephone is a demonic maid who serves Dracula within the castle. She is very polite and will usually bow to enemies before attacking. Persephone uses martial arts to battle intruders. Sometimes she will use her vacuum to suck-in her victim's clothes, although this won't inflict any damage. Likewise, she is also vulnerable to vacuum-type attacks, such as Soma's Devil Tornado and Magic Vacuum (which is Persephone's own soul), or Charlotte's Dark Gate and Tempest spells, as those attacks attempt to suck her skirt, stunning her as she tries to hold it in place.
==Appearances==
===Castlevania Chronicles===
First appearance of these enemies in the series, referred to simply as Maids. They are rare inhabitants of Count Dracula's Tower, only found in two rooms before the throne room. In the first room downstairs, they will patiently wait in their positions and greet Simon Belmont as he approaches. They are notably agile and will evade attacks by backflipping, during which they will sometimes throw a barrage of daggers in five different directions. If damaged without being killed, they will sometimes turn more vicious-looking and take to hovering, gaining the ability to generate blue flames from their hands, which they will toss on the ground, breaking into four smaller fireballs with homing capabilities. The maids encountered in the next room upstairs are all already transformed in this hideous form.
===Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow===
Persephone appears in the Inner Quarters area of the castle, where they will do a polite curtsy and greet the player in Japanese, saying "Yōkoso." ("Welcome."), before attacking them. They attack by unleashing various kicks. When defeated, they collapse to their knees and fade away.
Gaining dominance over Persephone's soul grants Soma the Magic Vacuum ability, which allows him to steal and absorb HP from enemies through the use of a demonic vacuum.
===Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow===
Persephones now appear in Celia's headquarters, where they take care of the Demon Guest House with extreme dedication. They wear a classic purple maid dress, with simple shoes and simple maid headband. They also have blue hair tied in a ponytail fashion. When one is met, she normally greets the enemy before going into a battle stance and then starts attacking with swing kicks. She's easy to tease by using a sucking effect soul on her, or if she's near a defeated demon who is being sucked back to their realm, which causes her skirt to be pulled, embarrassing her as she holds it tightly. Defeating her will envelop her in flower petals as she vanishes.
Like in the previous game, gaining dominance over her soul grants Soma the Magic Vacuum ability, which allows him to steal and absorb HP from enemies, although this time it can be leveled up three times (up to Level 9) by catching 9 Persephone's souls.
Interestingly, when Soma uses Persephone's soul on her, she will let out a shriek, be unable to move, and her dress will look like it's being sucked in front of her. Oddly enough, when Soma is behind Persephone while using her soul, her dress will still look like it's being sucked from the front. Some other "wind" effects (like the swirl of a dying Devil) can also cause this behavior to occur.
===Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin===
Persephone appears in the Great Stairway area of Dracula's Castle and also in the Sandy Grave. She will sometimes greet the player character by grabbing her skirt, making a little reverence and saying "Welcome". Her vacuum has interesting effects dependent on whoever is being controlled by the player; while Jonathan merely gets his coat stuck on her vacuum, should Charlotte Aulin be near the vacuum, her skirt will be pulled and she will hold it down.
==Enemy Data==
==Item Data==
==Gallery==
AoS 037.png|Persephone enemy list entry from Aria of Sorrow.
Dawn of Sorrow - Persephone - 01.png|Concept art from Dawn of Sorrow.
Persephone - Dawn of Sorrow - 01.png|Summoned Persephone with the Magic Vacuum soul in Dawn of Sorrow.
Por pic 21.jpg|Art from Konami's website for Portrait of Ruin.
Por pic 33.jpg|Persephone, Lerajie and Larva from a special wallpaper available at the Portrait of Ruin website.
PoR Illustrated Maid.JPG|Persephone illustration from Portrait of Ruin.
2800a.png|Harmony of Despair gamerpic.
==Trivia==
*Persephone's name in Japan is "Proserpina" (or Prosperina). Coincidentally, Elizabeth Bartley's castle in Castlevania: Bloodlines is called "Castle Proserpina".
*Marie Korbel, the main antagonist and original final boss of the fighting game Skullgirls (a game published by Konami), may be a nod to Persephone, being that she is also dressed in maid's attire and is in possession of a demonic vacuum.
*It is currently unconfirmed why Persephone in the Castlevania series is portrayed as a maid. One theory points at the relationship between the mythological Persephone with her uncle/husband Hades, where she would have to spend one half of the year in his company in the underworld, possibly acting in a similar manner to his servant, which would be analogous to the relation between the Castlevania Persephone and her master, Dracula.
*Persephone's item drops in both Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Dawn of Sorrow are possibly a reference to her eponymous Greek mythological counterpart. The goddess Persephone had to spend half of the year in the underworld, causing autumn and winter, and the other half with her mother Demeter, bringing back spring and summer. The Castlevania character drops the Scarf and Silk Robe in Aria and Dawn, respectively, two items used to cover the body from cold like that from the winter months; and her other drop in both games is the Strawberry, a fruit that may represent a warm climate like that from the summer months, in which most fruits are known to thrive.
==See also==
*Vampire Maid - Another type of maid.
==External links==
*Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin - Bestiary by Darth Nemesis at GameFAQs.
*Castlevania Realm
es:Persephone
Category:Demons
Category:Female Monsters
Category:Flying Enemies
Category:Greek Gods
Category:Greek Monsters
Category:Aria of Sorrow Enemies
Category:Chronicles Enemies
Category:Dawn of Sorrow Enemies
Category:Grimoire of Souls Enemies
Category:Harmony of Despair Enemies
Category:Portrait of Ruin Enemies