Editing Elefsina (section)

== History ==

[[File:Overall view of the Telesterion, the "place for initiation", Eleusis (16177191605).jpg|thumb|250px|The Telesterion, the "place for initiation"]]
[[File:The Lucurgan enclosure wall of the Sanctuary of Demeter at Eleusis.jpg|thumb|250px|Sanctuary of Demeter (4th c. BC)]]

=== Ancient ===

Eleusis was a [[deme]] of [[ancient Attica]], belonging to the [[phyle]] [[Hippothoöntis]]. It owed its celebrity to its being the chief seat of the worship of [[Demeter]] and [[Persephone]], and to the mysteries celebrated in honour of these goddesses, which were called the ''[[Eleusinian Mysteries|Eleusinia]]'', and continued to be regarded as the most sacred of all the Grecian mysteries down to the fall of paganism.

Eleusis stood upon a height at a short distance from the sea, and opposite the island of [[Salamis Island|Salamis]].<ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Eleusis |volume=9 |page=262 |first=Ernest Arthur |last=Gardner}}</ref> Its situation possessed three natural advantages. It was on the road from [[ancient Athens|Athens]] to the [[Isthmus of Corinth]]; it was in a very fertile plain; and it was at the head of an extensive bay, formed on three sides by the coast of Attica, and shut in on the south by the island of Salamis. The town itself dates from the most ancient times.

The caves on the coast of Eleusis are home to a mythological place for the Greek world. There is a cave said to be the very spot where Persephone was abducted by Hades himself and the cave was considered a gateway to Tartarus. At the spot of this abduction was a sanctuary ([[Ploutonion]]) dedicated to Hades and Persephone.<ref>{{Cite web|date=16 April 2013|title=Archaeologists Find a Classic Entrance to Hell|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/130414-hell-underworld-archaeology-mount-olympus--greece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210428212646/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/130414-hell-underworld-archaeology-mount-olympus--greece|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 April 2021|access-date=3 May 2021|website=Adventure|language=en}}</ref>

The Rharian plain is also mentioned in the ''[[Homeric Hymn]] to Artemis'';<ref>''[[Homeric Hymn]] to Artemis'' 450</ref> it appears to have been in the neighbourhood of the city; but its site cannot be determined.

==== Mythology and Proto-history ====

It appears to have derived its name from the supposed advent (ἔλευσις) of Demeter, though some traced its name from an eponymous hero Eleusis.<ref name="Cite Pausanias|1|38|7">{{Cite Pausanias|1|38|7}}</ref> It was one of the 12 independent states into which Attica was said to have been originally divided.<ref>{{Cite Strabo|ix. p.397}}</ref>

"When Athens had only just become Athens, it went to war with another city built thirteen miles away: Eleusis," [[Roberto Calasso]] wrote of the ancient provenance of the relationship between temple-city and the [[Attica|Attic]] seat of power.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Calasso|first=Roberto|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1114975938|title=The celestial hunter|date=2020|others=Richard Dixon|isbn=978-0-241-29674-5|location=[London], UK|pages=361|oclc=1114975938}}</ref> "It was a war usually described as mythical, since it has no date. And it was a theological war, since Athens belonged to [[Athena]] and Eleusis to [[Poseidon]]. [[Eumolpus]] and [[Erechtheus]], the founding kings of the two cities, both died in it."<ref name=":0" />

It is related that in the reign of [[Eumolpus]], king of Eleusis, and [[Erechtheus]], king of Athens, there was a war between the two states, in which the Eleusinians were defeated, whereupon they agreed to acknowledge the supremacy of Athens in everything except the celebration of the mysteries, of which they were to continue to have the management.<ref>{{Cite Thucydides|2.15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Pausanias|1|38|3}}</ref> Eleusis afterwards became an Attic deme, but in consequence of its sacred character it was allowed to retain the title of ''[[polis]]'' (πόλις)<ref>{{Cite Strabo|ix. p.395}}</ref><ref name="Cite Pausanias|1|38|7" /> and to coin its own money, a privilege possessed by no other town in Attica, except Athens. The history of Eleusis is part of the history of Athens. Once a year the great Eleusinian procession travelled from Athens to Eleusis, along the [[Sacred Way]].

==== Eleusinian Mysteries ====

{{Main|Triptolemus}}
[[File:Great Eleusinian relief fragments Met 14.130.9 n01.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Great Eleusinian Relief]] (c 430 BC) depicting the ritual of the Mysteries, Athens museum]]

[[File:Large relief, marble, torso, Hades and Persephone, 100-90 BC, AM Eleusis, 081148.jpg|thumb|The large [[Lacrateides Relief]], 100-90 BC]]

[[File:Bust of Eubouleus (4th cent. B.C.) from Eleusis at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens on 15 September 2018.jpg|thumb|200px|Eubuleus (4th c. BC) from Eleusis (Athens Museum)]]

[[File:Eleusis (15986825818).jpg|alt=|thumb|280x280px|Roman relief with inscription and wheat decorations from the archeological site]]

Eleusis was the site of the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]], or the Mysteries of [[Demeter]] and [[Persephone|Kore]], which became popular in the Greek-speaking world as early as 600 BC, and attracted initiates during Roman Empire before declining mid-late 4th century AD.<ref name="CurtaHolt2016">{{cite book | author1=Florin Curta | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dgF9DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA64 | title=Great Events in Religion: An Encyclopedia of Pivotal Events in Religious History | publisher=ABC-CLIO | date=28 November 2016 | author2=Andrew Holt | page=64 | isbn=978-1-61069-566-4}}</ref> These Mysteries revolved around a belief that there was a hope for life after death for those who were initiated. Such a belief was cultivated from the introduction ceremony in which the hopeful initiates were shown a number of things including the seed of life in a stalk of grain. The central [[Greek mythology|myth]] of the Mysteries was Demeter's quest for her lost daughter (Kore the Maiden, or [[Persephone]]) who had been abducted by [[Hades]]. It was here that Demeter, disguised as an old lady who was abducted by pirates in [[Crete]], came to an old well where the four daughters of the local king [[Keleos]] and his queen [[Metaneira]] ([[Kallidike]], [[Kleisidike]], [[Demeter|Demo]] and [[Kallithoe]]) found her and took her to their palace to nurse the son of Keleos and Metaneira, [[Demophon of Eleusis|Demophoon]]. Demeter raised Demophoon, anointing him with nectar and ambrosia and placing him at night in the fire in order to endow him with immortality, until Metaneira found out and insulted her. Demeter arose insulted, and casting off her disguise, and, in all her glory, instructed Meteneira to build a temple to her. Keleos, informed the next morning by Metaneira, ordered the citizens to build a rich shrine to Demeter, where she sat in her temple until the lot of the world prayed to [[Zeus]] to make the world provide food again.

The Great Eleusian relief which was famous in antiquity and was copied in the Roman period, is the largest and most important votive relief found and dates to 440-430 BC. It represents the Eleusinian deities in a scene depicting a mysterious ritual. On the left Demeter, clad in a [[peplos]] and holding a sceptre in her left hand, offers ears of wheat to Triptolemos, son of Eleusinian king Keleos, to bestow on mankind. On the right Persephone, clad in chiton and mantle and holding a torch, blesses Triptolemos with her right hand. The original marble relief was found at the sanctuary of Demeter, the site of the Eleusinian mysteries. A number of Roman copies also survive.<ref>[[Gisela M. A. Richter]]. “A Roman Copy of the Eleusinian Relief.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, vol. 30, no. 11, 1935, pp. 216–221. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3255443</ref>

==== Classical Greek and Roman History ====

During the [[Greco-Persian Wars]], the ancient temple of Demeter was burnt down by the [[ancient Persia|Persians]] in 484&nbsp;BC;<ref>{{Cite Herodotus|9.65}}</ref> and it was not until the administration of [[Pericles]] that an attempt was made to rebuild it. When the power of the [[Thirty Tyrants]] was overthrown after the [[Peloponnesian War]], they retired to Eleusis, which they had secured beforehand, but where they maintained themselves for only a short time.<ref>{{Cite Hellenica|2.4.8, ''et seq.''; 2.4.43}}</ref>

The town of Eleusis and its immediate neighbourhood were exposed to inundations from the river [[Cephissus (Athenian plain)|Cephissus]], which, though almost dry during the greater part of the year, is sometimes swollen to such an extent as to spread itself over a large part of the plain. [[Demosthenes]] (384 – 322 BC) alludes to inundations at Eleusis;<ref>[[Demosthenes]], ''c. Callicl.'' p. 1279.</ref>

[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] ({{Circa|110|180 AD}}) has left us only a very brief description of Eleusis;<ref>{{Cite Pausanias|1|38|6}}</ref>
{{quote|The Eleusinians have a temple of [[Triptolemus]], another of [[Artemis]] Propylaea, and a third of [[Poseidon]] the Father, and a well called Callichorum, where the Eleusinian women first instituted a dance and sang in honour of the goddess. They say that the Rharian plain was the first place in which corn was sown and first produced a harvest, and that hence barley from this plain is employed for making sacrificial cakes. There the so-called threshing-floor and altar of Triptolemus are shown. The things within the wall of the Hierum [i.e., the temple of Demeter] a dream forbade me to describe.}}

Under the [[Roman Greece|Romans]] Eleusis enjoyed great prosperity, as initiation into its mysteries became fashionable among the Roman nobles.

[[Hadrian]] was initiated into the Mysteries in about 125<ref>Eusebius: Chronicle</ref> and raised embankments in the plain of the river in consequence of a flood which occurred while he was spending the winter at Athens.<ref>Euseb. Chron. p. 81</ref>

To the same emperor most likely Eleusis was indebted for a supply of good water by means of the aqueduct, completed in about 160 AD. Apart from satisfying the need for drinking water, it also enabled the construction of public fountains and baths. It was fed by springs in Mount Parnitha and used mainly underground tunnels. It crossed the Thriasian Plain and turned abruptly towards the south at the outskirts of Eleusis. The best visible remains are on the east side of Dimitros Street.

It was destroyed by [[Alaric I]] in 396&nbsp;AD, and from that time disappears from history.

===Monuments===

[[File:Roman bridge Eleusis.jpg|thumb|Roman bridge at Elefsina]]

The [[Telesterion]], or temple of Demeter, was the largest in all Greece,{{cn|date=July 2022}} and is described by [[Strabo]] as capable of containing as many persons as a theatre.<ref name=Strabo>{{Cite Strabo|ix. p. 395}}</ref> The building was initially designed by [[Ictinus]], the architect of the [[Parthenon]] at Athens; but it was many years before it was completed, and the names of several architects are preserved who were employed in building it. 

During its long history, the temple underwent subsequent building phases. Much of that visible today is of the Classical era (5th century BC). Its portico of 12 columns was added in the time of [[Demetrius Phalereus]], about 318&nbsp;BC, by the architect [[Philo (architect)|Philo]].<ref name=Strabo /><ref>[[Plutarch]] ''Per.'' 13.</ref> When finished, it was considered one of the four finest examples of Grecian architecture in marble.

Modifications were also carried out in Roman times (2nd c. AD).

The Roman bridge that carried the ancient Sacred Way over the [[Cephissus (Athenian plain)|Kephissus]] river is visible about 1 km from the Sanctuary of Demeter. The bridge is in very good condition and is an outstanding example of ancient bridge building. It consists of a central 30 m-long main bridge with 4 arches and 10 m-long sloping access on either side.

The Sacred Way was the main road from Athens and led to Demeter's sanctuary, and was also the road used by the procession every year of the celebration of the Great Mysteries escorting the sacred objects back to Eleusis. Its course is visible in some places and has been accurately traced by rescue excavations and ran parallel to its namesake in the modern city only a few metres to the south. Roadside cemeteries from different periods throughout antiquity are found next to it and prehistoric graves witness its existence by 1600 BC. During the Hellenistic and mainly Roman eras the road was used for the exhibition of wealth and social power, with costly burial monuments being erected all along it. The road was in use until at least the 6th century AD.

=== Medieval and early Modern era ===

[[File:The post-Byzantine church of Hagios Zaharias at Eleusis on 2 April 2019.jpg|thumb|The [[Early Christian art and architecture|Paleo-Christian]] Church of [[Zechariah (Hebrew prophet)|Agios Zacharias]], rumored to be the only one in Greece dedicated to that saint.|alt=]]

It is indicative that writers of the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine era]] refer to it as a "small village", and shortly before the Ottoman domination the area was deserted by wars, raids and captives. During this period was settled by [[Arvanites]]. European travelers during the [[Ottoman Greece|Ottoman domination]] described Eleusis as having few inhabitants and many ancient ruins.

=== Modern Elefsina ===
[[File:Kronos Eleusis.jpg|thumb|The old factory of Kronos at the seafront of Elefsina.]]
[[File:Elefsina from Eleusis.jpg|thumb|220x220px|View of the lower area of the town from the hill of the archeological site.|alt=]]

In 1829, after the [[Greek War of Independence]], Elefsina was a small settlement of about 250 inhabitants. By the late 19th century Elefsina changed drastically as new buildings were erected by the new merchant settlers. Also during that period Eleusis became one of the main industrial centers of the [[Modern Greek state]] with concrete factory [[Titan Cement|TITAN]], Charilaou Soap Factory as well as the distilleries of Botrys and Kronos being established in the area.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.eleusina.gr/history/syntomo_istoriko.aspx?sflang=en | title=History of the town of Eleusis | access-date=6 September 2018 | archive-date=19 June 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619064137/http://www.eleusina.gr/history/syntomo_istoriko.aspx?sflang=en | url-status=dead }}</ref>

Arvanitika is still spoken in the village, with the locals qualifying their dialect more "noble" and "refined" than those of rural Arvanites.<ref>Adamou&nbsp;E. & Drettas&nbsp;G. 2008, Slave, Le patrimoine plurilingue de la Grèce&nbsp;– Le nom des langues&nbsp;II, E.&nbsp;Adamou (éd.), BCILL&nbsp;121, Leuven, Peeters, p.56.</ref> 
Many Greek families of [[Anatolia|Asia Minor]] settled in Elefsina after the [[Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)|1922 Asia Minor Catastrophe]] and created the settlement of Upper Elefsina, doubling its total population and enriching the region culturally and economically.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.arxeion-politismou.gr/2017/12/Mouseio-Istorias-Laografias-SYllogou-Mikrasiaton-Elefsinas.html | title=Museum of Greeks of Minor Asia}}</ref>

During the [[Axis occupation of Greece]] (1941–1945), strong resistance developed within the city, the factories and the military airport, which once stationed Squadron&nbsp;80, the squadron that [[Roald Dahl]]<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dImS-_HRoQAC&pg=PA128 | title=Going Solo | publisher=Cape | last=Dahl | first=Roald | year=1986 | page=128 | isbn=978-0-224-02407-5}}</ref> was assigned to in the RAF. After [[World War II]], workers from all parts of Greece moved to Elefsina to work in the industries in the region. Industrial activity, however, developed anarchically on the antiquities and next to the residential area.

[[Pollution|Environmental pollution]] has taken on large dimensions. During the 20th century, at the time of sustainable development, archaeological discoveries and industrial formation shaped the image of contemporary Eleusis.

In 1962, a large house of priests from the [[Roman Greece|Roman era]] was discovered. Pollution thanks to citizens' struggles gradually has fallen.

Today, the city has become a suburb of [[Athens]], to which it is linked by the [[A6 motorway (Greece)|A6 motorway]] and [[Greek National Road&nbsp;8]]. Eleusis is nowadays a major industrial area, and the place where the majority of crude oil in Greece is imported and refined. The largest refinery is located on the west side of town, right beside where the annual Aeschylia Festival is held in honor of the great tragic poet Aeschylus.

[[Elefsis Shipyards]] is located here.

There is a [[Elefsina Air Base|military airport]] a few kilometers east of Elefsina. Elefsina Airfield played a crucial role in the final British evacuation during the 1941 [[Battle of Greece]], as recounted by [[Roald Dahl]] in his autobiography ''[[Going Solo]]''.

Elefsina is home to the football club [[Panelefsiniakos F.C.]], and the basketball club [[Panelefsiniakos B.C.]]