Which goddess did Hermes escort out of the underworld?

Hermes escorted Persephone out of the underworld after Zeus ordered Hades to release her.

The episode appears in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, an ancient poem about Persephone’s abduction and Demeter’s grief. Demeter’s refusal to let crops grow threatened both humans and the gods’ offerings, so Zeus sent Hermes to negotiate with Hades and bring Persephone back.

Hades had given Persephone pomegranate seeds before her departure. Because she had eaten food of the underworld, she could not remain permanently in the upper world. The resulting compromise made her spend part of each year with Hades and the rest with Demeter.

Hermes’s role reflects his wider mythological function as a guide between boundaries. He was not the goddess’s rescuer in the original abduction; he became the divine escort for her return. The seasonal cycle is commonly linked to Persephone’s annual movement between the two realms.