thumb|288px|The Rape of Proserpina by Hans von Aachen (1587) thumb|Copy of The Rape of Proserpina by Vincenzo de' Rossi, on view near Cliveden House The best-known myth surrounding Proserpina is of her abduction by the god of the Underworld, her mother Ceres' frantic search for her, and her eventual but temporary restitution to the world above. In Latin literature, several versions are known, all similar in most respects to the myths of Greek Persephone's abduction by the King of the underworld, named variously in Latin sources as Dis or Pluto, and in Greek sources as Hades or Pluto. "Hades" can mean both the hidden Underworld and its king ('the hidden one'), who in early Greek versions of the myth is a dark, unsympathetic figure; Persephone is "Kore" ('the maiden'), taken against her will;As in Hesiod's Theogony and the "Homeric Hymn to Demeter; see in the Greek Eleusinian Mysteries, her captor is known as Hades; they form a divine couple who rule the underworld together, and receive Eleusinian initiates into some form of better afterlife. Renamed Pluto, the king of the underworld is distanced from his violent abduction of his consort.As in the Greek Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus) and, in Latin, In 27 BC Vergil presented his own version of the myth, in his Georgics. In the early 1st century AD, Ovid gives two poetic versions: one in Book 5 of his Metamorphoses and another in Book 4 of his FastiFor treatment of Ovid's two versions, and comparison with his probable Greek sources, see An early 5th century AD Latin version of the same myth is Claudian's De raptu Proserpinae; in most cases, these Latin works identify Proserpina's underworld abductor and later consort as Dis. thumb|Votive pillar reading Diti Patri et Proserpin[ae] sacrum, "Holy to Dīs Pater and Proserpina", identifying Dīs Pater as Proserpina's husband thumb|upright|A Pre-Raphaelite Proserpine (1873–1877) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (Tate Gallery, London) In Claudian's version, the unprepossessing Dis yearns for the joys of married love and fatherhood, and threatens to make war on the other gods if he remains alone in Erebus. The Fates (Parcae), who determine the destinies of all, arrange a future marriage for Dis, to prevent the outbreak of war. Jupiter orders Venus to bring love to Dis, in fulfillment of the prophecy. Ceres has already sought to conceal the innocent Proserpina by sending her to safety in Sicily, Ceres' earthly home and sanctuary; but Dis comes out from the volcano at Mount Etna in his chariot, seizes Proserpina at the Pergusa Lake near Enna, and takes her down into the underworld. The poem ends at this point.
thumb|2?88px|The Rape of Proserpina by Hans von Aachen (1587) thumb|Copy of The Rape of Proserpina by Vincenzo de' Rossi, on view near Cliveden House The best-known myth surrounding Proserpina is of her abduction by the god of the Underworld, .her mother Ceres' frantic search for her, and her eventual but temporary restitution to the world above. In Latin literature, several versions are known, all similar in most respects to the myths of Greek Persephone's abduction by the King of the underworld, named variously in Latin sources as Dis or Pluto, and in Greek sources as Hades or Pluto. "Hades" can mean both the hidden Underworld and its king ('the hidden one'), who in early Greek versions of the myth is a dark, unsympathetic figure; Persephone is "Kore" ('the maiden'), taken against her will;As in Hesiod's Theogony and the "Homeric Hymn to Demeter; see in the Greek Eleusinian Mysteries, her captor is known as Hades; they form a divine couple who rule the underworld together, and receive Eleusinian initiates into some form of better afterlife. Renamed Pluto, the king of the underworld is distanced from his violent abduction of his consort.As in the Greek Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus) and, in Latin, In 27 BC Vergil presented his own version of the myth, in his Georgics. In the early 1st century AD, Ovid gives two poetic ve!rsions: one in Book 5 of his Metamorphoses and another in Book 4 of his FastiFor treatment of Ovid's two versions, and comparison with his probable Greek sources, see An early 5th century AD Latin version of the same myth is Claudian's De raptu Proserpinae; in most cases, these Latin works identify Proserpina's underworld abductor and later consort as Dis. thumb|Votive pillar reading Diti Patri et Proserpin[ae] sacrum, "Holy to Dīs Pater and Proserpina", identifying Dīs Pater as Proserpina's husband thumb|upright|A Pre-Raphaelite Proserpine (1873–1877) by Dante Gabriel Rossetti (Tate Gallery, London) In Claudian's version, the unprepossessing Dis yearns for the joys of married love and fatherhood, and threatens to make war on the other gods if he remains alone in Erebus. The Fates (Parcae), who determine the destinies of all, arrange a future marriage for. Dis, to prevent the outbreak of war. Jupiter orders Venus to bring love to Dis, in fulfillment of the prophecy. Ceres has already sought to conceal the innocent Proserpina by sending her to safety in Sicily, Ceres' earthly home and sanctuary; but Dis comes out from the volcano at Mount Etna in his chariot, seizes Proserpina at the Pergusa Lake near Enna, and takes her down into the underworld. The poem ends at this point.