Eleusinian Mysteries
The Eleusinian Mysteries were a significant religious cult in ancient Greece, centered around the worship of the goddess Demeter. Originating as early as the Mycenaean period and persisting until 395 CE, these mysteries celebrated the gifts of grain and the hope for a better life after death. The rituals, held annually at Eleusis in late September or early October, involved nine days of purification, processions, fasting, sacrifices, and communal meals. The culmination of the event occurred in the Telesterion, where initiates, known as mystai, experienced a profound revelation that remains a closely guarded secret to this day. This event was overseen by designated priests called hierophantai, who guided participants through the sacred ceremonies. The mysteries were deeply intertwined with the mythological narrative found in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, which outlines the themes of fertility and the cycle of life and death. While much about the Eleusinian Mysteries is lost to history, they are remembered for their profound spiritual significance and the unique sense of community they fostered among initiates.
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Eleusinian Mysteries
Related civilizations: Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman Greece.
Date: seventh century b.c.e.-395 c.e.
Locale: Eleusis, in the region of Attica, Greece
Eleusinian Mysteries
Archaeological evidence indicates that the worship of Demeter began at Eleusis as early as the Mycenaean period and lasted until 395 c.e. This mystery cult was created to celebrate the two gifts of Demeter: grain and the promise of a better life after death. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter (n.d.; The Homeric Hymn to Demeter, 1902) is the major literary source for the myth behind the ritual at the sanctuary, which consisted of nine days of purification, processions, ritual abuse, fasting, sacrifices, special meals and drinks, dancing, and the final revelatory experience.
These Greater (Eleusian) Mysteries (ehl-yoo-SIH-nee-uhn), held at Eleusis in late September or early October, were under the control of specially chosen priests (hierophantai). On the ninth day, the ultimate experience of the event, occurring in the Telesterion, was the disclosure of the unspeakable rite (arretos tells) to the initiates (mystai). The nature of this revelation remains unknown as the initiates were sworn to secrecy. The revealed item may have been as simple as a sheaf of wheat. Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro is quoted in Saint Augustine’sDe civitate Dei (413-427; The City of God, 1610) as saying “Much is transmitted in the mysteries of Demeter, which has only to do with the invention of grain.”
Bibliography
Foley, Helene P. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter: Translation, Commentary, and Interpretive Essays. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999.
Meyer, Marvin W. The Ancient Mysteries: A Sourcebook of Sacred Texts. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1987.
Mylonas, George E. Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1961.
Richardson, N. J. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1974.