Editing Eleusinian Mysteries (section)

==== 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>