Write about a myth or legend relating to a famous, long-lost item.

— Myth

"The Seventh Seed"

"Rise and approach,"

says the young queen.

I hesitate.

With my eyes closed,

the herdsman's wrinkled old face

appears

before me

just as it had been,

when lit by the harvest bonfire,

when his resonant voice

had risen

and dipped

and wound

through the landscape

of his words.

I see my brother's face, too,

attentive to the story

that would consume his soul...

Of the daughter of all-nourishing Demeter,

at play in the meadow

in one moment,

and in the next,

hauled,

kicking and wailing,

through the maw of a new-formed cave.

Of the sunless realm

of Lord Haides.

Of the six swallowed seeds.

Of the ruling of Zeus.

Then,

from the story's aftermath,

when the herdsman

had steered his song from the wheel ruts

of a thousand retellings,

my squinted eyes recall

every line of the man's brow

as he drew us

into his conspiracy.

"The maiden kept a seventh seed,"

he'd said,

"with the power

to turn

the wintery seasons

of Demeter's grief

into a Stygian darkness

that could

shrivel forests and fields,

frost the grasslands,

and spread an ice

that would

never

again

know

springtime."

These fire-bright memories

burn

my inner sight,

leaving behind a darkness

as deep

as the shadows

of a nighttime farmhouse.

I hear my brother's excited whisper again

just as it had wormed its way

through the wall

between our bedchambers.

"Pyrrha,

you and I

must quest for that seed."

"You would destroy the world?"

I'd asked.

"I never would,"

Lykomedes had laughed.

"I'd just like to know

that I could."

I open my eyes,

and rise,

never so alone as now,

to approach

the Queen of the Dead.

---

The Myth of the Seventh Seed

In a farm town astride the Asopus, near Mythoversal Thebes, a variant is told of the traditional story of Persephone's abduction by Haides. But only in the most conspiratorial tones to recipients who are sworn to secrecy.

"Red Pomegranate Seeds" by Jessica Lewis from Pexels

This version quickly recaps the six better-known pomegranate seeds consumed by the daughter of Zeus and Demeter during a sojourn in the Underworld. These are the six seeds that consigned Persephone to Underworld for six months and to the Upper World for six months, according to a contract that must be renewed each year. The agreement not only balances the seasons but provides the equilibrium point between the Realm of the Living and the Realm of the Dead.
This myth concerns a seventh seed, unattested in any other source, which remained hidden under Persephone's tongue throughout the original proceedings. As the Court of Zeus determined her fate, Persephone debated with herself whether to swallow the surplus seed or spit it out. If she had disagreed with the outcome, that seventh seed held her ultimate revenge upon the entire cosmos.
However, Persephone was generally pleased by the determination that she should be a part-time queen of an entire realm, as a judge over all mankind, beside a king who adored her, and also serve as the part-time goddess of springtime rebirth and renewal. It was, literally, the best of both worlds.
And so, she removed the seventh seed from her mouth and entrusted it to Prometheus, who hid it away from the Olympian gods. The titan did not reveal the location of the seed to Zeus even under an excruciating torture, which, due to the sensitive topic of the interrogation, was ascribed to a wholly unrelated cause.
The location of the seventh seed is currently unknown.
If it were ever found, if it were ever used, the seventh seed would throw off the delicate balance of the world, ending all mortal life and the existence of the gods themselves.

Historical Basis

Reasons to believe this story is true:

• Seasons exist, just as the legend claims.
• Mortals must go someplace when they die, because we usually don't see them hanging around afterward, which proves the existence of Haides's Realm.
• Since all well-run realms have a queen as well as a king, the Land of the Dead can be no exception.
• Pomegranates are delicious. It's ludicrous to believe anyone could stop at just six seeds.
• Winter is a long, cold, hungry season already without the prospect of adding yet another month!

Reasons to believe this story is false:

• None.

Spread

Because this story is told in secret, orally, without ever being written down, there is no telling how far and wide it may have spread. This is important, because the Guardians of the Seventh Seed must be allowed to conduct their work-
But look at the time! I think I've said enough already.

Variations & Mutation

Because it's so rare that an individual would receive this story from two independent sources, it's not possible to compare these transmissions for variation.

Cultural Reception

The first rule of the Myth of the Seventh Seed is that no one talks about the Myth of the Seventh Seed. Everyone knows that!

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---

Read the Manuscript

Poetry! (Mythic Verse, Vol. 1)

READ

Author

Greg R. Fishbone

Mythology

Greek/Roman

Title

"The Seventh Seed"

Date Published

July 4, 2020

Linked Notes