Persephone/Proserpina

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Proserpine, 1874, oil on canvas, 125.1 x 61 cm, Tate Britain, London

Persephone (Greek) or Proserpina (Roman) is the daughter of Demeter/Ceres.  Hades/Pluto, the god of the underworld, fell in love with her and abducted her to his kingdom to become his queen.  Enraged, her mother caused the earth to be overwhelmed by drought and famine.  Intervening, Zeus/Jupiter ordered Hades/Pluto to return her, however, she had already eaten a pomegranate seed, tying her to his domain.  Thus, she was forced to spend part of the year on earth, and part in the underworld.  When she was below, her mother would once again cause the crops to wither and die--the origin of winter.   

She is often depicted with her mother, or accompanied by Hermes/Mercury.