Editing Persephone (section)

=== Nestis ===
In a [[classical Greek|Classical period text]] ascribed to [[Empedocles]], {{circa|490–430&nbsp;BC,}}{{efn|Empedocles was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher who was a citizen of [[Agrigentum]], a Greek colony in [[Sicily]].}} describing a correspondence among four deities and the [[classical element]]s, the name ''Nestis'' for water apparently refers to Persephone:
: "Now hear the fourfold roots of everything: Enlivening Hera, Hades, shining Zeus, and Nestis, moistening mortal springs with tears."<ref>{{harvnb|Kingsley|1995}} {{pages needed|date=December 2024}}</ref>

Of the four deities of Empedocles' elements, it is the name of Persephone alone that is [[taboo]] – ''Nestis'' is a euphemistic cult title{{efn|Kingsley 1995 identifies ''Nestis'' as a cult title of Persephone.}} – for she was also the terrible Queen of the Dead, whose name was not safe to speak aloud, who was [[euphemism|euphemistically]] named simply as ''Kore'' or "the Maiden", a vestige of her archaic role as the deity ruling the underworld. ''Nestis'' means "the Fasting One" in ancient Greek.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nestis Meaning in Bible - New Testament Greek Lexicon (KJV) |url=https://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/kjv/nestis.html |publisher=Bible Study Tools |website=biblestudytools.com |access-date=19 March 2023}}</ref>