Costas Komborozos

Persephone and the Double Spring Costas Komborozos

At Thermopylae, Hercules comes upon the blissful sight of the double spring, which is held sacred to Persephone, who is the wife of the king of the underworld. He saves a woman in distress and then finds himself heavily aged. Then he finds his youth restored upon meeting Persephone and letting her guide him inside the realm hidden inside the double spring. The double spring allows him to experience his mortality as never before as he journeys through the spring, which takes him to a place between the realms of the living and the dead. Hercules learns his purpose in guarding the hot gates as he must face his own mortality. "Herakles stands before Persephone, his mind racing. For a moment, Persephone becomes inseparable from the double spring. She glows before him, looking into his querying eyes. 'Herakles, we have to go to the place between the gates and Hades. This place is where he lives, the man who desires to use the Skyllian fountain to forever replenish his youth and destroy the passageway between the realms of the living and the dead. Join me. In a moment, you will become old again. Think about what I said when you see me again."