Eleusinian Mysteries

Eleusinian Mysteries, sacred rituals that were the most important of the religious festivals in ancient Greece. Like the Eleusinia, a biennial festival in honor of the Greek divinities Demeter and Persephone, the Eleusinian mysteries derived their name from the town of Elevsís, in Attica, near Athens. Long before the rise of Athens, the people of Elevsís observed the mysteries, which were subsequently adopted by Athens as an official festival. The Eleusinian priesthood was retained in charge. The most important part of the festival, the initiation of the candidates, took place every year for centuries in the Telesterion at Elevsís. This initiation climaxed a series of rituals that began early in the spring with the celebration of the Lesser Mysteries at Agrae, near Athens. At that time the mystoe, the candidates for the first of four stages in the revelation of the mysteries, were told the legend of Demeter and Persephone, the latter of whom was referred to as Kore (Greek, “the maiden”). Purification rites were also part of the ceremony of the Lesser Mysteries. The autumn ceremonies, called the Greater Mysteries, began with the fetching of sacred objects from Elevsís to Athens by youths known as ephebi. The ceremonies included an address by a priest to the candidates, a cleansing in the sea, a sacrificial rite, and a great procession from Athens to Elevsís, where the initiation occurred in secret ceremonies.

It is believed that the tale of Demeter's search through the underworld for her daughter Persephone, which was probably enacted at the initiation, was related to the seeking after immortality and happiness in a future world, the presumed purpose of the ceremonies. The Eleusinian mysteries were probably celebrated until the 4th century ad, when Alaric I, king of the Visigoths, destroyed Elevsís. Near the village of Lefsina, on the site of Elevsís, modern archaeologists have found the remains of the Telesterion and other sacred buildings.