Editing Eleusinion (section)

===Overview of archaeological remains===
The sanctuary consists of an upper area and three terraces, descending down the slope from south to north. The original sanctuary consisted of only section II and the upper terrace, but it was later expanded to incorporate the middle terrace. It is unclear whether the lower terrace was actually part of the sanctuary.
;Section II 
The upper (southernmost) area is "Section II", a steep slope, located outside the [[peribolos]] wall, but apparently part of the original sanctuary area, since archaeological evidence reveals votive deposits. There is also a circular building of Hellenistic date.{{sfn|Miles|1998|pp=13-14}} A vaulted branch of the aqueduct of [[Hadrian]], built in the mid-2nd century AD, runs along the north side of the section, ultimately feeding into the [[nymphaeum]] in the southeast of the Agora.{{sfn|Miles|1998|p=76, 79}} To the south of that was a narrow Roman road, which led to a gate in the Post-Herulian wall.{{sfn|Miles|1998|p=79}} 
;Upper terrace
The upper terrace, formed by a flat section of bedrock was the original core of the sanctuary.{{sfn|Miles|1998|p=14}} It contains a "rocky outcrop" at the western edge, which is 2 metres wide, 3 metres long and rises above the surrounding area. Such outcrops were often important in cults of Demeter throughout the Greek world.{{sfn|Miles|1998|pp=20-21}} The area is enclosed by a [[polygonal]] limestone wall ("the Archaic [[peribolos]]"), built around 575-550 BC.{{sfn|Miles|1998|pp=25-26}} It varied between 0.9 and 1.15 metres in thickness at the base; the whole 22 metre-long stretch is preserved on the western side; the foundation trench and shorter stretches are preserved on the northern and southern sides for 26 and 28 metres respectively. The eastern wall has not been uncovered.{{sfn|Miles|1998|p=25}} The original entrance to the precinct was on the south side, 3 metres from the western end, opening onto "Section II".{{sfn|Miles|1998|p=25}} A second entrance was built on the same wall, 20 metres to the east, in the period 350-325 BC, possibly part of the construction work of 329/8 BC.{{sfn|Miles|1998|p=61}} In the Hellenistic period, the south peribolos wall was demolished and the South Stoa was built over the top of it, separating the upper terrace from "Section II" and sealing both entrances.A propylon (gateway) was built into the peribolos wall on the west side, near the southern end, at the same time as the South Stoa was built, and served as the main entrance to the Eleusinion thereafter.{{sfn|Miles|1998|p=25}} The north edge was of the upper terrace was formed by a retaining wall 6.8 metres north of the Stoa, which was demolished in the 4th century AD.{{sfn|Miles|1998|p=78}} 
;Middle terrace
The middle terrace was added to the sanctuary at the end of the 6th century, doubling the size of the sanctuary.{{sfn|Miles|1998|pp=28-29}} The temple of Triptolemus stood here, with its entrance facing onto the edge of the upper stoa.{{sfn|Miles|1998|pp=28-29, 58}} The area was surrounded by the "early 5th-century peribolos wall," which is preserved in small stretches on the west and north. It is made of limestone and was 1.10 metres wide. The northern wall has been revealed for a length of 28 metres. The western wall was 21 metres long and continues the archaic peribolos. The northern and western parts of the peribolos were covered over by a massive retaining wall in the 4th century BC.{{sfn|Miles|1998|pp=30-31, 59-60}} It may have supported a platform for viewing the Panathenaic procession.{{sfn|Miles|1998|p=60}} There were steps on the outer west face of this retaining wall for inscribed stelae.{{sfn|Miles|1998|p=60}} A 0.8 metre-wide dividing wall runs north–south to the east of the temple, diving the it off from the inner sanctuary.{{sfn|Miles|1998|pp=30-31}} 
;Lower terrace
The lower terrace, originally a marsh, was created at the end of the 6th century BC with the rubble from clearing the middle terrace of houses.{{sfn|Miles|1998|p=33}} It was outside the peribolos wall of the Eleusinion and it is unclear whether it was part of the sanctuary.{{sfn|Miles|1998|pp=87-88}} A 6-meter-long east–west wall at the western end of this terrace, just north of the retaining wall, was built in the fourth century BC, it may have been the peribolos for a small adjunct shrine, of which no trace now remains.{{sfn|Miles|1998|p=60}} In the 1st century AD, the area was flattened and a complex was built on the western edge of the terrace, consisting of four rooms, three bases for monuments or altars, and an offering table.{{sfn|Miles|1998|p=87}} This complex may have been a workshop, a separate sanctuary, or - most likely - a set of storerooms for the Eleusinion's grain supply.{{sfn|Miles|1998|pp=87-88}} The northern edge of the lower terrace was bound by an east–west street from the 6th century BC until the Ottoman period.{{sfn|Miles|1998|p=87}} Abutting this street and the Panathenaic Way, in the northwest corner of the sanctuary, was a small precinct, probably for [[Hecate]].{{sfn|Miles|1998|pp=87-88}}