Editing Eleusinian Mysteries (section)

==Mysteries==
[[File:Eleusinian hydria Antikensammlung Berlin 1984.46 n2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Demeter, enthroned and extending her hand in a benediction toward the kneeling [[Metaneira]], who offers the wheat that is a recurring symbol of the mysteries ([[Varrese Painter]], [[red-figure pottery|red-figure]] [[hydria]], c. 340 BC, from [[Apulian vase painting|Apulia]])]]

The Eleusinian Mysteries are believed to have ancient origins. Some findings in the temple ''Eleusinion'' in [[Attica]] suggest that their basis was an old agrarian cult.<ref>Nilsson, Vol I, p. 470</ref> Some practices of the mysteries seem to have been influenced by the religious practices of the [[Mycenaean Greece|Mycenaean]] period, thus predating the [[Greek Dark Ages]].<ref name=Dietrich166 /><ref name=Burkert285 />  Excavations showed that a private building existed under the [[Telesterion]] in the Mycenean period, and it seems that originally the cult of Demeter was private. In the Homeric Hymn is mentioned the palace of the king [[Keleos]].<ref>Nilsson, Vol I, pp. 474, 475</ref>
 
One line of thought by modern scholars has been that the Mysteries were intended "to elevate man above the human sphere into the divine and to assure his redemption by making him a god and so conferring immortality upon him".<ref>Nilsson, Martin P. ''Greek Popular Religion'' "The Religion of Eleusis" New York: Columbia University Press, 1947. pp. 42–64</ref>

Some scholars argued that the Eleusinian cult was a continuation of a [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] cult,<ref>[[Károly Kerényi|Kerényi]] (1976),'' Dionysos. Archetypal image of indestructible life''  [https://books.google.com/books?id=cXL-QIIhn5gC&pg=PA79 p. 79]</ref> and that Demeter was a poppy goddess who brought the poppy from Crete to Eleusis.<ref>Kerenyi, 1976 [https://books.google.com/books?id=cXL-QIIhn5gC&pg=PA23 p. 23]</ref><ref>" Persephone is probably the unnamable mistress of the labyrinth (Mycenean ([[Linear B]]) inscription :'' da-pu-ri-to-jo po-ti-ni-ja'') " : [[Károly Kerényi|Kerényi]]. ''Dionysos. Archetypal image of indestructible life''. pp.  89, 90.</ref> Some useful information from the Mycenean period can be taken from the study of the cult of [[Despoina]] (the precursor goddess of [[Persephone]]) and the cult of [[Eileithyia]], who was the goddess of childbirth.  The megaron of Despoina at [[Lycosura]] is quite similar to the [[Telesterion]] of Eleusis,<ref>Burkert: ''Greek religion'' p. 285</ref> and Demeter is united with the god [[Poseidon]], bearing a daughter, the unnamable ''Despoina'' (the mistress).<ref>Pausanias, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+8.37.9&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 8.37.9]</ref>  In the cave of [[Amnisos]] at [[Crete]], the goddess Eileithyia is related with the annual birth of the divine child, and she is connected with ''Enesidaon '' (The Earth Shaker),<ref>Mycenean ([[Linear B]]) inscription :''E-ne-si-da-o-ne''</ref> who is the [[chthonic]] aspect of [[Poseidon]].<ref>Dietrich ''The origins of Greek Religion'' pp. 220, 221</ref>

At [[Eleusis]] inscriptions refer to "the Goddesses" accompanied by the agricultural god [[Triptolemus]] (probably son of [[Gaia (mythology)|Ge]] and [[Oceanus]]),<ref>Pseudo Apollodorus Biblioteca IV.2</ref> and "the God and the Goddess" ([[Persephone]] and [[Hades|Plouton]]) accompanied by [[Eubuleus]] who probably led the way back from the underworld.<ref>Kevin Klinton (1993), ''Greek Sanctuaries: New Approaches'', Routledge, p. 11</ref> The myth was represented in a cycle with three phases: the "descent", the "search", and the "ascent" (Greek ''anodos'') with contrasted emotions from sorrow to joy which roused the ''mystae'' to exultation.

The main theme was the ascent of Persephone and the reunion with her mother Demeter.<ref>Nilsson, ''Greek popular religion'' p. 51</ref> At the beginning of the feast, the priests filled two special vessels and poured them out, one towards the west and the other towards the east. The people looking both to the sky and the earth shouted in a magical rhyme "rain and conceive". In a ritual, a child was initiated from the hearth (the divine fire). The name ''pais'' (child) appears in the Mycenean inscriptions,<ref>Burkert(1985) p. 285</ref> it was the ritual of the "divine child" who originally was [[Ploutos]]. In the Homeric hymn the ritual is connected with the myth of the agricultural god Triptolemus.<ref>Wunderlich 1972 ''The secret of Creta''  p. 134</ref> The goddess of nature survived in the mysteries where the following words were uttered: "Mighty Potnia bore a great son".<ref name="Dietrich166" /> [[Potnia]] ([[Linear B]] ''po-ti-ni-ja'' : lady or mistress), is a Mycenaean title applied to goddesses,<ref>{{cite book|last = Mylonas|first = George E. |authorlink=George E. Mylonas|title = Mycenae and the Mycenaean Age|year = 1966 |page =159|publisher = Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0691035239}}</ref> and probably the translation of a similar title of [[Pre-Greek substrate|pre-Greek]] origin.<ref>Chadwick: ''The Mycenean world'' p. 92</ref>

The high point of the celebration was "an ear of grain cut in silence", which represented the force of the new life. The idea of immortality did not exist in the mysteries at the beginning, but the initiated believed that they would have a better fate in the underworld. Death remained a reality, but at the same time a new beginning like the plant which grows from the buried seed.<ref name="Burkert285" /> A depiction from the old palace of [[Phaistos]] is very close to the image of the ''anodos'' of Persephone. An armless and legless deity grows out of the ground, and her head turns to a large flower.<ref>Burkert (1985)''Greek Religion''. Harvard University Press.  p. 42</ref>

According to [[George E. Mylonas|George Mylonas]], the lesser mysteries were held "as a rule once a year in the early spring in the month of flowers, the Anthesterion," while "the Greater Mysteries were held once a year and every fourth year they were celebrated with special splendor in what was known as the ''penteteris''.<ref>Mylonas, George E. "Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries". Princeton University Press 1961, pp. 239, 243.</ref> [[Károly Kerényi|Kerényi]] concurs with this assessment: "The Lesser Mysteries were held at Agrai in the month of Anthesterion, our February... The initiates were not even admitted to the ''epopteia'' [Greater Mysteries] in the same year, but only in September of the following year."<ref>[[Károly Kerényi|Kerenyi, Carl]]. ''Eleusis – Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter.'' [[Bollingen Foundation]] 1967, p. 48.</ref> This cycle continued for about two millennia. In the [[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn]] to Demeter, King [[Celeus]] is said to have been one of the first people to learn the secret rites and mysteries of her cult. He was also one of her original priests, along with [[Diocles (mythology)|Diocles]], [[Eumolpos]], [[Polyxeinus]], and Triptolemus, Celeus' son, who had supposedly learned agriculture from Demeter.<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Apollod.+1.5.2 1.5.2].</ref>

Under [[Peisistratos]] of Athens, the Eleusinian Mysteries became [[Hellenes|pan-Hellenic]], and pilgrims flocked from Greece and beyond to participate. Around 300 BC, the state took over control of the mysteries; they were controlled by two families, the [[Eumolpidae]] and the [[Kerykes]]. This led to a vast increase in the number of initiates. The only requirements for membership were freedom from "blood guilt",<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Critchley |first=Simon |date=2019-03-13 |title=Opinion {{!}} Athens in Pieces: What Really Happened at Eleusis? |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/13/opinion/ancient-greece-ritual-mystery-eleusis.html |access-date=2022-12-09 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> meaning never having committed murder, and not being a "barbarian" (being unable to speak Greek). Men, women, and even slaves were allowed initiation.<ref>Smith, William. ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'', London, 1875.</ref>

===Participants===
To participate in these mysteries one had to swear a vow of secrecy.

Four categories of people participated in the Eleusinian Mysteries:
*[[Priest]]s, priestesses, and [[hierophant]]s
*Those who had attained ''épopteia'' (Greek: ἐποπτεία) (contemplation), who had learned the secrets of the greatest mysteries of Demeter
* Those who had already participated at least once – they were eligible for attaining ''épopteia''
* Initiates, undergoing the ceremony for the first time

===Priesthood===
The priesthood officiating at the Eleusinian Mysteries and in the sanctuary was divided into several offices with different tasks.

Six categories of priests officiated in the Eleusinian Mysteries:

* ''[[Hierophant]]es'' – male high priest, an office inherited within the Phileidae or Eumolpidae families.<ref name="Pomeroy 1995"/>
* ''[[High Priestess of Demeter]]'' or ''Priestess of Demeter and Kore'' – an office inherited within the Phileidae or Eumolpidae families.<ref name="Pomeroy 1995"/>
* ''[[Dadouchos]]'' – men serving as torch bearers, the second-highest male role next to ''Hierophantes''.<ref name="Pomeroy 1995"/> 
* ''[[Dadouchousa Priestess]]'' – a female priestess who assisted the Dadouchos, an office inherited within the Phileidae or Eumolpidae families.<ref name="Pomeroy 1995"/>
* ''[[Hierophantides]]'' – two married priestesses, one serving Demeter, and the other Persephone.<ref name="Pomeroy 1995"/> 
* ''[[Panageis]]'' ('the holy') or ''melissae'' ('bees') – a group of priestesses who lived a life secluded from men.<ref name="Pomeroy 1995"/>

The offices of Hierophant, High Priestess, and Dadouchousa priestess were all inherited within the Phileidae or Eumolpidae families, and the Hierophant and the High Priestess were of equal rank.<ref name="Pomeroy 1995">{{cite book |last=Pomeroy |first=Sarah B. |author-link=Sarah B. Pomeroy |year=1995 |title=Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in classical antiquity |publisher=Schocken Books |place=New York}}</ref> It was the task of the High Priestess to impersonate the roles of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone in the enactment during the mysteries, and at Eleusis events were dated by the name of the reigning High Priestess.<ref name="Pomeroy 1995"/>

===Secrets===
The outline below is only a capsule summary; much of the concrete information about the Eleusinian Mysteries was never written down. For example, only initiates knew what the ''kiste'', a sacred chest, and the ''[[calathus (basket)|calathus]]'', a lidded basket, contained.

[[Hippolytus of Rome]], one of the [[Church Fathers]] writing in the early 3rd century AD, discloses in ''[[Refutation of All Heresies]]'' that "the Athenians, while initiating people into the Eleusinian rites, likewise display to those who are being admitted to the highest grade at these mysteries, the mighty, and marvellous, and most perfect secret suitable for one initiated into the highest mystic truths: ''an ear of grain in silence reaped''."<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/050105.htm Hippolytus], ''[[Refutation of all Heresies]]'', in ANF, vol. 5; 5, 3</ref>

===Lesser Mysteries===
There were two Eleusinian Mysteries, the Greater and the Lesser. According to [[Thomas Taylor (neoplatonist)|Thomas Taylor]], "the dramatic shows of the Lesser Mysteries occultly signified the miseries of the soul while in subjection to the body, so those of the Greater obscurely intimated, by mystic and splendid visions, the felicity of the soul both here and hereafter, when purified from the defilements of a material nature and constantly elevated to the realities of intellectual [spiritual] vision." According to Plato, "the ultimate design of the Mysteries ... was to lead us back to the principles from which we descended, ... a perfect enjoyment of intellectual [spiritual] good."<ref>Taylor, p. 49.</ref>

The Lesser Mysteries took place in the month of [[Anthesterion]] – the eighth month of the [[Attic calendar]], falling in mid winter around February or March – under the direction of Athens' ''[[archon basileus]]''. In order to qualify for initiation, participants would sacrifice a piglet{{citation needed|date=November 2024}} to Demeter and Persephone, and then ritually purify themselves in the river Illisos. Upon completion of the Lesser Mysteries, participants were deemed ''mystai'' (initiates) worthy of witnessing the Greater Mysteries.

===Greater Mysteries===
{{quote box|align=right|width=25em|For among the many excellent and indeed divine institutions which your Athens has brought forth and contributed to human life, none, in my opinion, is better than those mysteries. For by their means we have been brought out of our barbarous and savage mode of life and educated and refined to a state of civilization; and as the rites are called "initiations," so in very truth we have learned from them the beginnings of life, and have gained the power not only to live happily, but also to die with a better hope.|Cicero|Laws II, xiv, 36}}
The Greater Mysteries took place in [[Boedromion]] – the third month of the [[Attic calendar]], falling in late summer around September or October – and lasted ten days.

The first act (on the 14th of Boedromion) was the bringing of the sacred objects from Eleusis to the [[Eleusinion]], a temple at the base of the [[Acropolis of Athens]].

On the 15th of Boedromion, a day called the Gathering (''Agyrmos''), the priests (''hierophantes'', those who show the sacred ones) declared the start of the rites (''[[prorrhesis]]''), and carried out the sacrifice (''hiereía deúro,'' hither the victims).

The seawards initiates (''halade mystai'') started out in Athens on 16th Boedromion with the celebrants washing themselves in the sea at [[Phalerum|Phaleron]].

On the 17th, the participants began the ''[[Epidauria (festival)|Epidauria]]'', a festival for [[Asclepius|Asklepios]] named after his main sanctuary at [[Epidaurus|Epidauros]].  This "festival within a festival" celebrated the healer's arrival at Athens with his daughter [[Hygieia]], and consisted of a procession leading to the Eleusinion, during which the ''mystai'' apparently stayed at home, a great sacrifice, and an all-night feast (''pannykhís'').<ref name = "Clinton">Clinton, Kevin. "The Epidauria and the Arrival of Asclepius in Athens", in ''Ancient Greek Cult Practice from the Epigraphical Evidence'', edited by R. Hägg. Stockholm, 1994.</ref>

The procession to Eleusis began at [[Kerameikos]] (the Athenian cemetery) on the 18th, and from there the people walked to Eleusis, along the [[Sacred Way]] (Ἱερὰ Ὁδός, ''Hierá Hodós''), swinging branches called ''[[bacchoi]]''.<ref>{{Citation |title=Mystical Initiation in Ancient Greece: The Eleusinian Mysteries | date=3 July 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kz22-OVMCY |language=en |access-date=2022-12-09}}</ref> At a certain spot along the way, they shouted obscenities in commemoration of [[Iambe]] (or [[Baubo]]), an old woman who, by cracking dirty jokes, had made Demeter smile as she mourned the loss of her daughter. The procession also shouted "Íakch', O Íakche!", possibly an epithet for [[Dionysus]], or a separate deity [[Iacchus]], son of Persephone or Demeter.<ref>Iacchus (Iakchos) has been considered the divine name of the mystic Bacchus at Athens and Eleusis, derived from the boisterous festive song named for him, called Iacchus, and sung during the procession – or the personification of the ritual cry "Íakhe". See Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DI%3Aentry+group%3D1%3Aentry%3Diacchus-bio-1 Iacchus]; Aristophanes, [[s:The Frogs (Aristophanes)|Frogs]] 316 ff, 5th or 4th century BC; Plutarch, [[s:Lives (Dryden translation)/Alcibiades|Life of Alcibiades]] 34. 3; Herodotus, [[Histories (Herodotus)|Histories]], 8. 65. 4; Arrian, [[Anabasis Alexandri]], ii. 16; Virgil, [[Georgics]], i. 166; and Plutarch, [[s:Lives (Dryden translation)/Themistocles|Themistocles]], 15.</ref>

Upon reaching Eleusis, there was an all-night vigil (''pannychis'') according to Mylonas<ref>Mylonas, G. E., 1961 ''Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries'', p. 258</ref> and [[Károly Kerényi|Kerényi]].<ref>Kerenyi, C. ''Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter'', p. 62</ref> perhaps commemorating Demeter's search for Persephone. At some point, initiates had a special drink (''[[kykeon]]''), of barley and [[Mentha pulegium|pennyroyal]], which has led to speculation about its chemicals perhaps having psychotropic effects from [[ergot]] (a fungus that grows on barley, containing psychedelic alkaloids similar to LSD). Discovery of fragments of ergot in a temple dedicated to the two Eleusinian goddesses excavated at the Mas Castellar site (Girona, Spain) provided legitimacy for this theory. Ergot fragments were found inside a vase and within the dental [[Calculus (dental)|calculus]] (plaque) of a 25-year-old man, providing evidence of ergot being consumed (Juan-Stresserras, 2002). This finding seems to support the hypothesis of ergot as an ingredient of the Eleusinian [[kykeon]].

==== Inside the Telesterion ====
[[File:Plaque Campana - Initiation aux mystères d'Eleusis (Louvre, Cp 4154).jpg|thumb|320x320px|Initiation to Eleusinian Mysteries. {{Circa|100–50 BC}}; relief, [[Louvre|Louvre museum]] (Paris, France)]]
On the 19th of Boedromion, initiates entered a great hall called [[Telesterion]]; in the center stood the Palace (''Anaktoron''), built of ruins dating back to the Mycenaean Age,<ref name=":0" /> which only the hierophants could enter, where sacred objects were stored. Before mystai could enter the Telesterion, they would recite, "I have fasted, I have drunk the ''kykeon'', I have taken from the ''kiste'' (box) and after working it have put it back in the ''calathus'' (open basket).<ref>According to [[Clement of Alexandria]]'s ''Exhortation to the Greeks''. See Meyer 1999, 18.</ref>

It is widely supposed that the rites inside the Telesterion comprised three elements:

* ''dromena'' (things done), a dramatic reenactment of the Demeter/Persephone myth
* ''deiknumena'' (things shown), displayed sacred objects, in which the hierophant played an essential role
* ''legomena'' (things said), commentaries that accompanied the ''deiknumena''<ref>See (e.g.) Brisson/Teihnayi 2004, 60</ref>

Combined, these three elements were known as the ''aporrheta'' (unrepeatables); the penalty for divulging them was death.

[[Athenagoras of Athens]], [[Cicero]], and other ancient writers cite that it was for this crime (among others) that [[Diagoras of Melos|Diagoras]] was condemned to death in Athens;<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gagné|first=Renaud|date=2009|title=Mystery Inquisitors: Performance, Authority, and Sacrilege at Eleusis|journal=Classical Antiquity|language=en|volume=28|issue=2|pages=211–247|doi=10.1525/CA.2009.28.2.211|issn=0278-6656}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Filonik|first=Jakub|date=2013|title=Athenian impiety trials: a reappraisal|journal=Dike|language=en|volume=16|pages=46–51|doi=10.13130/1128-8221/4290|issn=1128-8221}}</ref> the tragic playwright [[Aeschylus]] was allegedly tried for revealing secrets of the mysteries in some of his plays, but was acquitted.<ref>[[Aristotle]], [[Nicomachean Ethics]] 1111a8-10.</ref> The ban on divulging the core ritual of the mysteries was thus absolute, which is probably why almost nothing is known about what transpired there.

'''Climax'''

As to the climax of the mysteries, there are two modern theories.

Some hold that the priests were the ones to reveal the visions of the holy night, consisting of a fire that represented the possibility of life after death, and various sacred objects. Others hold this explanation to be insufficient to account for the power and longevity of the mysteries, and that the experiences must have been internal and mediated by a powerful psychoactive ingredient contained in the ''kykeon'' drink (see [[#Entheogenic theories|Entheogenic theories]] below). Although this hypothesis continues to receive attention, it was not well received by classicists<ref>{{cite book |last=Bowden |first=Hugh |title=Mystery Cults in the Ancient World |year=2010 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |page=53}}</ref>
. 

Following this section of the Mysteries was an all-night feast (''Pannychis'')<ref>{{LSJ|pannuxi/s|παννυχίς|ref}}</ref> accompanied by dancing and merriment. This portion of the festivities was open to the public.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Evans |first=Nancy |title=Sanctuaries, Sacrifices, and the Eleusinian Mysteries |date=2002-01-01 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/nu/49/3/article-p227_1.xml |journal=Numen |language=en |volume=49 |issue=3 |pages=227–254 |doi=10.1163/156852702320263927 |issn=1568-5276}}</ref> The dances took place in the [[Rarian Field]], rumored to be the first spot where grain grew. A bull sacrifice also took place late that night or early the next morning. That day (22nd Boedromion), the initiates honoured the dead by pouring [[libation]]s from special vessels.

On the 23rd of Boedromion, the mysteries ended and everyone returned home.<ref>Boardman, Griffin, and Murray. ''The Oxford History of the Classical World''. Oxford University Press 1986. {{page?|date=November 2023}}</ref>