Graduate Research Library: A Library Guide to Jung's Collected Works: Kore/Maiden

Reference publications: Kore/Maiden

"Kore". In Jung lexicon: A primer of terms & concepts by Sharp, D. (Ed.).
Call Number: BF109.J8S53 1991
ISBN: 9780919123489
Publication Date: 1991
Ebook available as a free download from the publisher
Kore: "In Greek mythology, a term for the personification of feminine innocence (e.g., Persephone); psychologically, in man or wom-an, it refers to an archetypal image of potential renewal."

"Demeter and Kore, mother and daughter, extend the feminine consciousness both upwards and downwards. They add an "older and younger," "stronger and weaker" dimension to it and widen out the narrowly limited conscious mind bound in space and time, giving it intimations of a greater and more comprehensive personality which has a share in the eternal course of things. . . ." ["The Psychological Aspects of the Kore," CW 9i, par. 311.]
The phenomenology of the Kore is essentially bipolar (as is that of any archetype), associated with the mother-maiden dyad. When observed in the products of a woman's unconscious, it is an image of the supraordinate personality or self. In a man, the Kore is an aspect of the anima and partakes in all the symbolism attached to his inner personality. (Sharp, 1991) [Read more]

"Maiden, Mother, Crone" In Encyclopedia of women's folklore and folklife by Miri Hunter Haruach
ISBN: 9780313340505
Publication Date: 2008
"The Maiden is the first aspect of the Goddess, into which human females are born, and which, like the Mother and Crone, is known in non-monotheistic mythologies by many names. Among them are Kore and Kali. The waxing moon represents new growth; it is the beginning and considered the best time to start new projects." [Read more]
"Persephone" in Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines by Patricia Monaghan
ISBN: 9780313349898
Publication Date: 2009
Persephone:"Some scholars suggest that Persephone was originally the queen of death, and that Demeter's daughter was originally Kore ('maiden'). As Greek theology assimilated various figures into fewer but more complex ones, these two goddesses were joined in one occasionally self-contradicting narrative. Such a theory explains variants of Persephone's story, like one that shows the goddess sitting in a cave, guarded by snakes and weaving the world on a loom. Zeus came to her as a snake and had intercourse with her; she gave birth to the wine god Dionysus. The occasional connection of Persephone with Aphrodite suggests an association with women's affairs (marriage and family) rather than with death." (p.429) [Read more]
"Demeter and Persephone" in the Encyclopedia of Religion
ISBN: 9780028657332
Publication Date: 2004
Demeter and Persephone: Demeter cults: A wealth of sources testifies to the cult of Demeter throughout the area to which Hellenism spread, from the islands of the Aegean and Asia Minor to Magna Graecia. Sicily was particularly devoted to the worship of Demeter. A characteristic aspect of Demeter cults was the central importance of the abduction and search for Kore; in many parts of Greece and the colonies, and in particular in Sicily, the foundation of the cult and the structure of its places of worship are often linked to the mythical theme of the goddess visiting human hosts. (pp. 2268-2271) [Read more]

"Kore/The Maiden" in A Guided Tour of the Collected Works of C. G. Jung by Robert H. Hopcke
Call Number: REF BF173 .J85 H66
ISBN: 9781570624056
Publication Date: 1999
Kore/The Maiden: "Literally the Maiden, Kore is also the name for Persephone of Greek mythology, Demeter's daughter, Hades' forced bride, and the focal fgure in the Eleusinian mysteries. This multiplicity of her roles in Greek mythology—virgin, daughter, bride and queen of the underworld—is mirrored in the multiplicity of ways Jung sees this figure from his archetypal perspective. She is the companion to the puer, his feminine counterpart, the puella aeterna, as subsequent writers have dubbed her, and as such she shares with the puer all his playfulness, his potentialities, his heroism-to-be; she is Persephone in her springtime charm." (Hopcke, p. 110) [Read more]

Jung on the Kore/Maiden archetype

Jung's essays on the Kore/Maiden archetype from the Collected Works:

The psychological aspects of the Kore (pp. 182-203)
Jung, C. G. (1969). The psychological aspects of the Kore (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). In H. Read et al. (Eds.), The collected works of C. G. Jung: Vol. 9 pt. 1. Archetypes and the collective unconscious (2nd ed., pp. 182-203). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1951) https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850969.182
Psychological aspects of the mother archetype (pp. 73-110)
Jung, C. G. (1968). Psychological aspects of the mother archetype (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.). In H. Read et al. (Eds.), The collected works of C. G. Jung: Vol. 9 pt. 1. Archetypes and the collective unconscious (2nd ed., pp. 75-110). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1954) https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850969.75

Additional resources on the Kore/Maiden archetype

Books: Kore/Maiden archetype
Articles: Kore/Maiden archetype

Ebooks on the Kore/Maiden archetype available from the library:

Eleusis: Archetypal image of mother and daughter by Carl Kerényi; Ralph Manheim (Trans.)
Call Number: BL795.E5K413 1991
ISBN: 9780691097046
Publication Date: 1967
"The Sanctuary of Eleusis, near Athens, was the center of a religious cult that endured for nearly two thousand years and whose initiates came from all parts of the civilized world. Looking at the tendency to "see visions," C. Kerenyi examines the Mysteries of Eleusis from the standpoint not only of Greek myth but also of human nature. Kerenyi holds that the yearly autumnal "mysteries" were based on the ancient myth of Demeter's search for her ravished daughter Persephone--a search that he equates not only with woman's quest for completion but also with every person's pursuit of identity. As he explores what the content of the mysteries may have been for those who experienced them, he draws on the study of archaeology, objects of art, and religious history, and suggests rich parallels from other mythologies."
Introduction to the Kore story/Persephone’s dog In Ancient Greece, modern psyche by San Roque, C.; V. B. Rutter & T. Singer (Eds.)
Call Number: BF175.5.A72 A63 2011
ISBN: 9781317551256
Publication Date: 2015
"This Kore Story is, for me, subjectively, an instance of ontopoetic collaboration. It was composed at a marvelous ancient site, with no preconceived expectation. I had prepared the ground, as a painter prepares a canvas, but the words began to flow from voices in my inner ear, describing to me the two women traveling in that landscape at Delphi; and I obeyed, writing down the lines as though from dictation."

Print books on the Kore/Maiden archetype available from the library:

The Kore Goddess: A mythology & psychology by Safron Rossi
Call Number: Lambert and Ladera libraries: BF 1001 .R67
ISBN: 9781736205709
Publication Date: 2021
"The Kore Goddess: A mythology and psychology is an in-depth exploration of an overlooked mythic and psychic pattern. Also known as the Maiden or Virgin, the Kore personifies an archetypal state of youthful being in which a person becomes one-in-herself. By applying Jungian depth psychology to ancient Greek imagery, Safron Rossi traces the reemergence of this archetype in contemporary individuation and soul-making, bringing to light the critical capacity to be psychologically virginal. In her treatment of this theme, Rossi draws on her prior study of Greek triad goddesses, showing how the Kore pattern is woven into configurations such as the Fates, the Furies, the Graces and other bands of female deities. Expanding Jung's little known insight that the Kore is central to women's psychology, Rossi reveals a teleology of soul related to korehood-a deep integrity grounded in one's essential nature and character. Our relationship to this archetypal pattern brings a sense of vitality and sovereignty, as well as a connection to the interior rhythms of life."
"Kore" in Essays on a science of mythology by Carl Kerényi
Call Number: BL313.J83 1969 (Browse shelf(Opens below))
ISBN: 0691098514
Publication Date: 1963
"Essays on a Science of Mythology is a cooperative work between C. Kerényi, who has been called "the most psychological of mythologists," and C. G. Jung, who has been called "the most mythological of psychologists." Kerényi contributes an essay on the Divine Child and one on the Kore (the Maiden), together with a substantial introduction and conclusion. Jung contributes a psychological commentary on each essay. Both men hoped, through their collaboration, to elevate the study of mythology to the status of a science. In "The Primordial Child in Primordial Times" Kerényi treats the child-God as an enduring and significant figure in Greek, Norse, Finnish, Etruscan, and Judeo-Christian mythology. He discusses the Kore as Athena, Artemis, Hecate, and Demeter-Persephone, the mother-daughter of the Eleusinian mysteries. Jung speaks of the Divine Child and the Maiden as living psychological realities that provide continuing meaning in people's lives."

Makowski, J. F. (1985). Persephone, Psyche, and the mother-maiden archetype. The Classical Outlook, 62(3), 73–78.

"This paper, while acknowledging that the Jungian approach to myth is only one of many and conceding that many of the school's contentions are open to question, has as its aim the examination of two narratives from classical antiquity which lend themselves very well to the Jungian mode of interpretation. The purpose here is not to argue the validity of one psychological theory over another but rather to illustrate how the application of Jungian ideas to myth can contribute to the appreciation of two familiar stories as embodied in two important works of classical literature."

JSTOR

Smith, B. M. (2004). The Kore Observed. Psychological Perspectives, 47(2), 188–202.

"The article discusses ancient cultures, religions and mythologies, the relation of culture and religion with the development of women since ancient time. Particular focus is given to the three facets of Goddess in the development of women including the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. It also focuses on the model of consistency between beliefs and behaviors."

Academic Search Premier

Tait, P. (2010). The Kore: My experiences with the maiden archetype. Psychological Perspectives: A Semiannual Journal of Jungian Thought, 53(2), 175–188.

"An exploration of the living reality of the psyche, this article shows how the ancient Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone is unconsciously incarnated in the 20th-century life of the author as a young woman. Beginning with a numinous childhood dream, she describes her experiences of being possessed by the autonomous archetype of the Kore, how the possession guided her psychological development and influenced her early career as a dancer. Following in the footsteps of the myth, she considers the positive impact of Hades' rape of the Kore, especially as it impacts the development of the animus in a woman. The struggle to establish a healing relationship with Demeter in the face of a deeply negative personal mother complex leads her back to the dance studio for active imagination in movement that releases the transcendent function within her body and in synchronous events in her world."

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