Editing Eleusinian Mysteries

{{Short description|Secret religious rites in ancient Greece}}
[[File:NAMA Mystères d'Eleusis.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|A votive plaque known as the [[Ninnion Tablet]] depicting elements of the Eleusinian Mysteries, discovered in the sanctuary at Eleusis (mid-4th century BC)]]

The '''Eleusinian Mysteries''' ({{langx|el|Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια|Eleusínia Mystḗria}}) were [[initiation]]s held every year for the [[Cult (religious practice)|cult]] of [[Demeter]] and [[Persephone]] based at the [[Panhellenic Sanctuary]] of [[Eleusis]] in [[ancient Greece]]. They are considered the "most famous of the secret religious rites of ancient Greece".<ref>''Encyclopædia Britannica''</ref> Their basis was a Bronze Age [[Agrarianism|agrarian]] cult,<ref>[[Martin P. Nilsson]], Vol I, p. 470</ref> and there is some evidence that they were derived from the religious practices of the [[Mycenean Greece|Mycenean period]].<ref name=Dietrich166>Dietrich (1975) ''The origins of Greek Religion''. Bristol Phoenix Press pp. 166, 167</ref><ref name=Burkert285>[[Walter Burkert]]. (1985)''Greek Religion''. Harvard University Press. p. 285</ref> The Mysteries represented the myth of the [[Persephone#Abduction myth|abduction]] of Persephone from her mother Demeter by the king of the underworld [[Hades]], in a cycle with three phases: the ''descent'' (loss), the ''search'', and the ''ascent'', with the main theme being the ''ascent'' ({{lang|el|[[wikt:ἄνοδος|ἄνοδος]]}}) of Persephone and the reunion with her mother. It was a major festival during the [[Hellenistic period|Hellenic era]], and later spread to [[ancient Rome|Rome]].<ref>[[Sergey Uvarov|Ouvaroff, M.]] (alternatively given as Sergei Semenovich Uvarov, or Sergey Uvarov, 1786–1855) (Translated from the French by J. D. Price) [https://archive.org/details/essayonmysterie00chrigoog ''Essay on the Mysteries of Eleusis''], London : Rodwell and Martin, 1817 (Reprint: United States: [[Kessinger Publishing]], 2004). Ouvaroff does write that fixing the earliest foundation date to the Eleusinian Mysteries is fraught with problems.</ref> 

The rites, ceremonies, and beliefs were kept secret and consistently preserved from antiquity.<ref>Tripolitis, Antonia. ''Religions of the Hellenistic-Roman Age''. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, November 2001. pp. 16–21.</ref> For the initiated, the rebirth of Persephone symbolized the [[eternity]] of life which flows from generation to generation, and they believed that they would have a reward in the [[afterlife]].<ref>Burkert, Walter. ''Ancient Mystery Cults''.  Harvard University Press (1987) pp. 20-25. {{ISBN|978-0674033870}}</ref><ref>Bremmer, Jan N. ''The Rise and Fall of the Afterlife''. Routledge (2001) pp 11-25 {{ISBN|978-0415141482}}</ref> There are many paintings and pieces of pottery that depict various aspects of the Mysteries. Since the Mysteries involved visions and conjuring of an afterlife, some scholars believe that the power and longevity of the Eleusinian Mysteries, a consistent set of rites, ceremonies and experiences that spanned two millennia, came from [[Entheogen|psychedelic drugs]] {{Disputed inline|date=March 2024}}.<ref name="Wasson, R 1978">[[R. Gordon Wasson|Wasson, R. Gordon]], [[Carl A. P. Ruck|Ruck, Carl]], [[Albert Hofmann|Hofmann, A.]], ''The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries''. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1978.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Eiland |first=Murray |date=2019 |others=Interview with Carl Ruck |title=Ancient Wellsprings of Religion and Creativity |url=https://www.academia.edu/41425105 |journal=Antiqvvs |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=8–11}}</ref> The name of the town, Eleusis, seems to be pre-Greek, and is likely a counterpart with [[Elysium]] and the goddess [[Eileithyia]].<ref>[[Elysion]]: The island of the happy dead (Hesiod: ''Works and days'' 166ff.).[[Eileithyia]]. A Minoan goddess of childbirth and divine midwifery: F.Schachermeyer(1967). ''Die Minoische Kultur des alten Kreta''. [[W. Kohlhammer]] Stuttgart. pp. 141–142</ref>

==Etymology==
''Eleusinian Mysteries'' ({{langx|el|Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια}}) was the name of the ''mysteries'' of the city ''Eleusis''.

The name of the city [[Eleusis]] is Pre-Greek, and may be related with the name of the goddess [[Eileithyia]].<ref>"Cretan dialect 'Eleuthia' would connect Eileithyia (or perhaps the goddess '[[Eleutheria]]') to [[Eleusis]]".  Willets, p. 222.</ref> Her name ''{{lang|grc|Ἐλυσία}}'' (''Elysia'') in [[Laconia]] and [[Messene]] probably relates her with the month ''Eleusinios'' and Eleusis,<ref>F. Schachermeyer (1967). {{lang|de|Die Minoische Kultur des alten Kreta}}. W.Kohlhammer Stuttgart, p. 141</ref> but this is debated.<ref>"In Laconia there is a temple of Demeter Eleusinia. The name was used very early, and cannot be an influence of the goddess of Eleusis": Nilsson, Vol I, pp. 313–314</ref>

The ancient Greek word from which English ''mystery'' derives, ''mystḗrion'' ({{lang|grc|μυστήριον}}), means "mystery or secret rite"<ref>{{LSJ|musth/rion|μυστήριον|ref}}.</ref> and is related with the verb ''myéō'' ({{lang|grc|μυέω}}), which means "(I) teach, initiate into the mysteries",<ref>{{LSJ|mue/w|μυέω|shortref}}.</ref> and the noun ''mýstēs'' ({{lang|grc|μύστης}}), which means "one initiated".<ref>{{LSJ|mu/sths|μύστης|shortref}}.</ref> The word ''mystikós'' ({{lang|grc|μυστικός}}), source of the English ''mystic'', means "connected with the mysteries", or "private, secret" (as in [[Modern Greek]]).<ref>{{LSJ|mustiko/s|μυστικός|shortref}}.</ref>

==Demeter and Persephone==
{{Further|Demeter}}
[[File:Great Eleusinian Relief.jpg|thumb|[[Triptolemus]] receiving wheat sheaves from [[Demeter]] and blessings from [[Persephone]], [[Great Eleusinian Relief]], 5th-century BC relief, [[National Archaeological Museum of Athens]]]]
The Mysteries are related to a myth concerning [[Demeter]], the goddess of agriculture and fertility as recounted in one of the [[Homeric Hymns]] (c. 650 BC). According to the hymn, Demeter's daughter [[Persephone]] (also referred to as ''Kore'', "maiden") was assigned the task of painting all the flowers of the earth. Before completion, she was seized by [[Hades]], the god of the [[Greek underworld|underworld]], who took her to his underworld kingdom. Distraught, Demeter searched high and low for her daughter. Because of her distress, and in an effort to coerce [[Zeus]] to allow the return of her daughter, she caused a terrible [[drought]] in which the people suffered and starved, depriving the gods of sacrifice and worship. As a result, Zeus relented and allowed Persephone to return to her mother.<ref>[[Helene P. Foley|Foley, Helene P.]], The Homeric "Hymn ro Demeter". Princeton University Press, 1994. Also Vaughn, Steck. ''Demeter and Persephone''. Steck Vaughn Publishing, 1994 {{ISBN?}} {{page?|date=November 2023}}</ref>

According to the myth, during her search Demeter traveled long distances and had many minor adventures along the way. In one she taught the secrets of [[agriculture]] to [[Triptolemus]].<ref>Smith, William. ''A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology and Geography Vol. II''. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2006.</ref> Finally, by consulting Zeus, Demeter reunited with her daughter and the earth returned to its former verdure and prosperity: the first spring.

Zeus, pressed by the cries of the hungry people and by the other deities who also heard their anguish, forced Hades to return Persephone. However, it was a rule of the [[Moirai|Fates]] that whoever consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there. Before Persephone was released to Hermes, who had been sent to retrieve her, Hades tricked her into eating pomegranate seeds (either six or four according to the telling), which forced her to return to the underworld for some months each year. She was obliged to remain with Hades for six or four months (one month per seed) and lived above ground with her mother for the rest of the year. This left a long period of time when Demeter was unhappy due to Persephone's absence, neglecting to cultivate the earth. When Persephone returned to the surface, Demeter became joyful and cared for the earth again.

In the central foundation document of the mystery, the Homeric ''Hymn to Demeter'' line 415, Persephone is said to stay in Hades during winter and return to her mother in the spring of the year: "This was the day [of Persephone's return], at the very beginning of bountiful springtime."<ref>''The Homeric Hymns'' translated by Jules Cashford, Penguin Books, 2003, p. 24.</ref>

Persephone's rebirth is symbolic of the rebirth of all plant life and the symbol of eternity of life that flows from the generations that spring from each other.<ref>Similar ideas appear in many ancient agricultural societies: in the cult of [[Adonis]] in [[Phoenicia]], the cult of [[Osiris]] in [[Egypt]] and the cult of [[Ariadne]] in [[Minoan civilization|Minoan]] [[Crete]]. Also in [[China]]: "There in the buried seed, the end of life is connected with a new beginning": ''The I Ching or book of changes'', transl. Richard Wilhelm p. 45</ref>

However, a scholar has proposed a different version,<ref>Smith, 2006.</ref> according to which the four months during which Persephone is with Hades correspond to the dry Greek summer, a period during which plants are threatened with drought.<ref>Greene, William C. "The Return of Persephone". ''Classical Philology''. University of Chicago Press 1946. pp. 105&ndash;106</ref>

==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>

==Demise==
In 170 AD, the Temple of Demeter was sacked by the [[Sarmatians]] but was rebuilt by [[Marcus Aurelius]]. Aurelius was then allowed to become the only lay person ever to enter the anaktoron. As Christianity [[Christianity in late antiquity|gained in popularity]] in the 4th and 5th centuries, Eleusis's prestige began to fade. The last pagan emperor of Rome, [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]], reigned from 361 to 363 after about fifty years of Christian rule. Julian attempted to restore the Eleusinian Mysteries and was the last emperor to be initiated into them.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.calvin.edu/academic/clas/pathways/eleusis/ehis2.htm |title=Eleusis: Pathways to Ancient Myth |publisher=Calvin.edu |access-date=2012-09-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171109203740/http://www.calvin.edu/academic/clas/pathways/eleusis/ehis2.htm |archive-date=2017-11-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The closing of the Eleusinian Mysteries in 392 AD by the emperor [[Theodosius I]] is reported by [[Eunapius]], a historian and biographer of the Greek philosophers. Eunapius had been initiated by the last legitimate [[Hierophant]], who had been commissioned by the emperor [[Julian the Apostate|Julian]] to restore the Mysteries, which had by then fallen into decay. According to Eunapius, the last Hierophant was a usurper, "the man from [[Thespiae]] who held the rank of Father in the mysteries of [[Mithras]]". According to Eunapius, in [[396]], during his raiding campaign in [[Attica]], the king of the [[Goths]] [[Alaric I]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Eleusis: imagen arquetípica de la madre y la hija|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=So1DxwtDOV4C&pg=PA44|last=Kerényi|first=Karl|author-link=Károly Kerényi|publisher=Ediciones Siruela|pages=44–45|year=2004|isbn=978-8478447725}}</ref> looted the remains of the shrines.<ref>Bernabé, A., "Las religiones mistéricas del mundo grecorromano", en David Castro de Castro y Araceli Striano Corrochano (eds.), Religiones del Mundo Antiguo, SCEC: Madrid, 2010, pp. 111–137.</ref><ref>Burkert, W., Religión griega, arcaica y clásica, Abada: Madrid, 2007.</ref><ref>Clinton, K., Myth and cult. The iconography of the Eleusynian mysteries, Svenska institutet i Athen: Estocolmo, 1992.</ref><ref>Cosmopoulos, M. B. (ed.), Greek mysteries. The archaeology and ritual of ancient Greek secret cults, Psychology Press: Londres-Nueva York, 2003.</ref><ref>González González, M., Creencias y rituales funerarios: el más allá en la antigua Grecia, Síntesis: Madrid, 2018.</ref><ref>Mylonas, G. E., Eleusis and the Eleusinian mysteries, Princeton University Press: Princeton, NJ, 1961.</ref>

According to [[Historian (album)|historian]] Hans Kloft, despite the destruction of the Eleusinian Mysteries, elements of the cult survived in the Greek countryside. There, local peasants and shepherds partially [[religious syncretism|transferred Demeter's rites and religious duties]] onto [[Saint]] [[Demetrius of Thessaloniki]], who gradually became the local patron of agriculture and "heir" to the pagan mother goddess.{{sfnp|Kloft|2010|p=25}}

==In art, literature, and culture==
[[File:Hydrie - Mystères d'Eleusis (face A).jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Eleusinian Mysteries Hydria]], showing the reunion of [[Demeter]] and [[Persephone]] at the start of each spring]]
There are many paintings and pieces of pottery that depict various aspects of the Mysteries. The ''Eleusinian Relief'', from the late 5th century BC, displayed in the [[National Archaeological Museum of Athens]] is a representative example. Triptolemus is depicted receiving seeds from Demeter and teaching mankind how to work the fields to grow crops, with Persephone holding her hand over his head to protect him.<ref>{{cite web|title=Timeline of Art History: Italian Peninsula, 1000 BC – 1 AD |work=[[The Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/god2/ho_14.130.9.htm |access-date=July 26, 2007 }}</ref> Vases and other works of relief sculpture, from the 4th, 5th and 6th centuries BC, depict Triptolemus holding an ear of corn, sitting on a winged throne or chariot, surrounded by Persephone and Demeter with pine torches. The monumental Protoattic amphora from the middle of the 7th century BC, with the depiction of Medusa's beheading by [[Perseus]] and the blinding of Polyphemos by [[Odysseus]] and his companions on its neck, is kept in the [[Archaeological Museum of Eleusis]] which is located inside the archaeological site of [[Eleusis]].

The [[Ninnion Tablet]], found in the same museum, depicts Demeter, followed by Persephone and Iacchus, and then the procession of initiates. Then, Demeter is sitting on the kiste inside the Telesterion, with Persephone holding a torch and introducing the initiates. The initiates each hold a bacchoi. The second row of initiates were led by [[Iakchos]], a priest who held torches for the ceremonies. He is standing near the [[omphalos]] while an unknown female (probably a priestess of Demeter) sat nearby on the kiste, holding a scepter and a vessel filled with kykeon. Pannychis is also represented.

''[[The Myth of Er]]'', part of [[Plato]]'s ''[[Plato's Republic|Republic]]'', is thought to be a representation of the teaching of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Er, after being killed in battle and brought to the underworld, is reincarnated without drinking from the [[Lethe|River Lethe]]. He retains his memories and tells the living about his experience in the underworld. He no longer has a fear of death.<ref name=":1" />

In ''Shakespeare's Mystery Play: A Study of The Tempest'', Colin Still argued that ''[[The Tempest]]'' was an allegory for initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Tamplin|first=Ronald|year=1967|title=The Tempest and The Waste Land|journal=American Literature|volume=39|issue=3|pages=352–372 |doi=10.2307/2923299 |jstor=2923299 }}</ref>  Though widely rejected, this interpretation was supported by Michael Srigley in ''Images of Regeneration''.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Ormsby-Lennon|first=Hugh|title=Review: ''Images of Regeneration''|journal=Modern Philology|year=1988|volume=85|issue=3}}</ref>

[[Carl Gustav Jung]] (1875–1961) borrowed terms and interpretations from the late 19th and early 20th century classical scholarship in German and French as a source of metaphors for his reframing of psychoanalytic treatment into a spiritualistic ritual of initiation and rebirth. The Eleusinian mysteries, particularly the qualities of the Kore, figured prominently in his writings.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/6698999|title=Mysteria: Jung and the Ancient Mysteries (1994) [uncorrected page proofs of a book cancelled prior to publication due to objections by the Jung family]|author=Richard Noll|journal=Academia.edu}}</ref>

[[Dimitris Lyacos]] in the second book of the ''Poena Damni'' trilogy ''[[With the People from the Bridge]]'', a contemporary, avant-garde play focusing on the return of the dead and the [[revenant]] legend combines elements from the Eleusinian mysteries as well as early Christian tradition in order to convey a view of [[collective salvation]]. The text uses the pomegranate symbol in order to hint at the residence of the dead in the underworld and their periodical return to the world of the living.<ref>Julie Kovacs, The nightmare continues in With the People from the Bridge. Exercise Bowler, Issue 21, 2015. http://exercisebowler.com/issue21.htm</ref>

[[Octavio Vazquez]]'s [[symphonic poem]] ''Eleusis'' draws on the Eleusinian Mysteries and on other Western esoteric traditions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lineasadicionales.blogspot.com/2017/10/eleusis-musica-y-misterios-tu-alcance.html|title=Eleusis: música y misterios a tu alcance|author=Julian Carrillo Sanz|year=2017}}</ref> Commissioned by the [[Sociedad General de Autores y Editores]] and the [[RTVE Symphony Orchestra]], it was premiered in 2015 by the RTVE Orchestra and conductor [[Adrian Leaper]] at the [[Teatro Monumental]] in Madrid.

==Entheogenic theories==
Numerous scholars have proposed that the power of the Eleusinian Mysteries came from the [[kykeon]]'s functioning as an [[entheogen]], or [[psychedelic agent]].<ref name="Wasson, R 1978"/> The use of potions or philtres for magical or religious purposes was relatively common in Greece and the ancient world.<ref>Collins, Derek. ''Magic in the Ancient Greek World''. Wiley, 2008</ref> The initiates, sensitized by their fast and prepared by preceding ceremonies (see [[set and setting]]), may have been propelled by the effects of a powerful psychoactive potion into revelatory mind states with profound spiritual and intellectual ramifications.<ref name="Wasson, et al.">Wasson, ''et al.''.</ref> In opposition to this idea, skeptical scholars note the lack of any solid evidence and stress the collective rather than individual character of initiation into the Mysteries.<ref>Burkert, op.cit. Ch.4</ref> 

Many [[psychoactive]] agents have been proposed as the significant element of kykeon, though without consensus or conclusive evidence. These include the [[ergot]] species [[Claviceps paspali]],<ref name="Wasson, R 1978"/> a [[fungus|fungal]] [[parasite]] of [[paspalum]], which contains the alkaloids [[ergotamine]], a precursor to [[LSD]], and [[ergonovine]].<ref name="Wasson, et al."/><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ruck|first=Carl|date=2000|title=Mixing the Kykeon|url=https://vdocuments.mx/mixing-the-kykeon-anew-carl-ap-ruck-peter-webster-sacred-mushrooms-of.html|url-status=live|access-date=2021-02-17|website=vdocuments.mx|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021200924/https://vdocuments.mx/mixing-the-kykeon-anew-carl-ap-ruck-peter-webster-sacred-mushrooms-of.html |archive-date=2021-10-21 }}</ref> However, modern attempts to prepare a kykeon using ergot-parasitized barley have yielded inconclusive results, though [[Alexander Shulgin]] and [[Ann Shulgin]] describe [[ergonovine]] and [[ergine|LSA]] to be known to produce LSD-like effects.<ref>Shulgin & Shulgin. ''Tihkal''. Transform Press, 1997.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.erowid.org/plants/ergot/ergot.shtml |title=Erowid Ergot Vault |publisher=Erowid.org |access-date=2012-09-15}}</ref>

Discovery of fragments of [[ergot]] (fungi containing LSD-like psychedelic alkaloids) in a temple dedicated to the two Eleusinian Goddesses excavated at the Mas Castellar site ([[Girona]], [[Spain]]) provided some legitimacy for this theory. Ergot fragments were found inside a vase and within the dental calculus of a 25-year-old man, providing evidence of ergot being consumed. This finding seems to support the hypothesis of ergot as an ingredient of the Eleusinian [[kykeon]].<ref>Juan-Stresserras, J. , & Matamala, J. C. (2005). Estudio de residuos microscópicos y compuestos orgánicos en utillaje de molido y de contenido de las vasijas [A study of the microscopic residue and organic compounds in grinding tools and jar contents]. In P. Bueno, R. Balbín, & R. Barroso (cur.), ''El dolmen de Toledo'' (pp. 235–241). Alcalá de Henares, Spain: [[University of Alcalá|Universidad de Alcalá]].</ref>

[[Psychoactive mushrooms]] are another candidate. Scholars such as [[Robert Graves]] and [[Terence McKenna]], speculated that the mysteries were focused around a variety of ''[[Psilocybe]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Graves|first=Robert|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/761273872|title=The Greek Myths|date=2011|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-241-95274-0|edition=Complete and definitive|location=London|oclc=761273872}}</ref> Other [[entheogen]]ic fungi, such as ''[[Amanita muscaria]]'', have also been suggested.<ref>McKenna.</ref> A recent hypothesis suggests that the ancient Egyptians cultivated ''[[Psilocybe cubensis]]'' on barley and associated it with the deity [[Osiris]].<ref>{{Cite journal
| author =Stephen R. Berlant
| title =The entheomycological origin of Egyptian crowns and the esoteric underpinnings of Egyptian religion
| publisher =Journal of Ethnopharmacology
| year =2005
| doi =10.1016/j.jep.2005.07.028
| pmid =16199133
| volume =102
| issue =2
| journal =J Ethnopharmacol
| pages =275–88
| s2cid =19297225
}}</ref>

Another candidate for the psychoactive drug is an opioid derived from the [[poppy]]. The cult of the goddess Demeter may have brought the poppy from Crete to Eleusis; it is certain that opium was produced in Crete.<ref>[[Károly Kerényi|Kerényi]].''Dionysos. Archetypal image of indestructible life''. p 24</ref>

Another theory is that the psychoactive agent in kykeon is [[Dimethyltryptamine|DMT]], which occurs in many wild plants of the Mediterranean, including ''[[Phalaris (plant)|Phalaris]]'' and/or ''[[Acacia]]''.<ref>Metzner, Ralph. "The Reunification of the Sacred and the natural". ''Eleusis'' Volume VIII, 1997. pp. 3–13</ref> To be active orally (like in [[ayahuasca]]) it must be combined with a [[monoamine oxidase inhibitor]] such as Syrian rue (''[[Peganum harmala]]''), which grows throughout the Mediterranean.

Alternatively, [[J. Nigro Sansonese]] (1994), using the [[mythography]] supplied by [[George E. Mylonas|Mylonas]], hypothesizes that the Mysteries of Eleusis were a series of practical initiations into [[trance]] involving [[proprioception]] of the human nervous system induced by breath control (similar to [[samyama]] in yoga).<ref>[[J. Nigro Sansonese|Sansonese, J. Nigro]]. ''The Body of Myth.'' Rochester, 1994, pp. 195–215.</ref> Sansonese speculates that the ''kisté'', a box holding sacred objects opened by the hierophant, is actually an esoteric reference to the initiate's [[skull]], within which is seen a sacred light and are heard sacred sounds, but only ''after'' instruction in trance practice. Similarly, the seed-filled chambers of a [[pomegranate]], a fruit associated with the founding of the cult, esoterically describe proprioception of the initiate's [[heart]] during trance.

==Notable participants==
* [[Aeschylus]] (525/524–456/455 BC){{cn|date=July 2023}}
* [[Plato]] (428/427 or 424/423–348/347 BC)
* [[Augustus Caesar|Augustus]] (63 BC–AD 14)
* [[Plutarch]] (c. AD 46–after 119)<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/32/the-eleusinian-mysteries-the-rites-of-demeter/|title=The Eleusinian Mysteries: The Rites of Demeter|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]|access-date=27 April 2019}}</ref>
* [[Hadrian]] (76–138)
* [[Antinous]]  (c. 111–130)
* [[Marcus Aurelius]] (121–180) 
* [[Commodus]] (161–192) 
* [[Gallienus]] (c. 218–268)<ref>The Encyclopedia of Religion, Volume 10, p 233.</ref>
* [[Julian (emperor)|Julian]] (331–363)
* [[Sophocles]]<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Woodward |first=Sam |date=2024-08-15 |title=For Plato, rationalists and mystics can walk the same path |url=https://psyche.co/ideas/for-plato-rationalists-and-mystics-can-walk-the-same-path |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=Psyche |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Cicero]]<ref name=":2" />

==See also==
* [[Cabeiri]]
* [[Lacrateides Relief]]
* [[Christian persecution of paganism under Theodosius I]]
* [[Dionysian Mysteries]]
* [[Kykeon]]
* [[Mycenaean Greece]]
* [[Orphism (religion)|Orphism]]
* [[Poppy goddess]]
* [[Sacerdos Cereris]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Eleusinian Mysteries |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}

==Bibliography==
{{cols|colwidth=26em}}
* Boardman, Griffin, and Murray. ''The Oxford History of the Classical World'' (Oxford University Press 1986). {{ISBN|978-0-19-872112-3}}.
* Bowden, Hugh. ''Mystery Cults of the Ancient World'' (Princeton University Press; 2010)
* Bizzotto, Jacopo. "The hypothesis on the presence of entheogens in the Eleusinian mysteries." ''Medicina Historica'' 2.2 (2018): 85–93.
* [[Luc Brisson|Brisson, Luc]] and Tihanyi, Catherine, 2004. ''How Philosophers Saved Myths: Allegorical Interpretation and Classical Mythology.'' University of Chicago Press. {{ISBN|0-226-07535-4}}
* [[Walter Burkert|Burkert, Walter]], ''Ancient Mystery Cults'', Harvard University Press, 1987. {{ISBN?}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Clinton |first1=Kevin |title=The Sacred Officials of the Eleusinian Mysteries |journal=Transactions of the American Philosophical Society |date=1974 |volume=64 |issue=3 |pages=1–143 |doi=10.2307/1006226 |jstor=1006226 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1006226 |issn=0065-9746}}
* {{cite book |last1=Clinton |first1=Kevin |editor1-last=Hägg |editor1-first=R. |editor2-last=Marinatos |editor2-first=N. |title=Early Greek Cult Practice |date=1988 |location=Stockholm. |pages=69–79 |chapter=Sacrifice at the Eleusinian Mysteries}}
* 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. {{ISBN|91-7916-029-8}}.
* {{cite book |last1=Clinton |first1=Kevin |title=Greek sanctuaries : new approaches |date=1995 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-0203432709 |chapter=The sanctuary of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Clinton |first1=Kevin |title=Epiphany in the Eleusinian Mysteries |journal=Illinois Classical Studies |date=2004 |volume=29 |pages=85–109 |jstor=23065342 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23065342 |issn=0363-1923}}
* {{cite book |last1=Clinton |first1=Kevin |title=Eleusis, the Inscriptions on Stone: Documents of the Sanctuary of the Two Goddesses and Public Documents of the Deme |date=2005 |publisher=Archaeological Society at Athens |isbn=978-960-8145-46-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aFVmAAAAMAAJ |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=Clinton |first1=Kevin |editor1-last=Friese |editor1-first=W. |editor2-last=Handberg |editor2-first=S. |editor3-last=Kristensen |editor3-first=T.M. |title=Ascending and Descending the Acropolis. Movement in Athenian Religion |date=2019 |location=Athens |pages=161–177 |chapter=Journeys to the Eleusinian Mysteria (with an Appendix on the Procession at the Andanian Mysteria)}}
* {{cite book|last=Cosmopoulos|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Cosmopoulos|title=Bronze Age Eleusis and the Origins of the Eleusinian Mysteries|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BPkKCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA8|year=2015|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-316-36823-7}}
* Greene, William C. "The Return of Persephone" in ''Classical Philology''. University of Chicago Press, 1946. pp.&nbsp;105–106.
* [[Karl Kerényi|Kerényi, Karl]]. ''Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter,'' Bollingen Foundation, 1967. {{ISBN|0-691-01915-0}}.
* Metzner, Ralph. "The Reunification of the Sacred and the natural", ''Eleusis'' Volume VIII, pp.&nbsp;3–13 (1997).
* {{cite book|last= Kloft|first= Hans|title = Mysterienkulte der Antike. Götter, Menschen, Rituale|publisher = [[C.H. Beck]]|year = 2010|location = [[Munich]]|language= de|isbn = 978-3-406-44606-1}}
* [[Terence McKenna|McKenna, Terence]]. ''Food of the Gods: Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge''. Bantam, 1993. {{ISBN|0-553-37130-4}}.
* Meyer, Marvin W. (1999). ''The Ancient Mysteries, a Sourcebook: Sacred Texts of the Mystery Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean World''. University of Pennsylvania Press. {{ISBN|0-8122-1692-X}}
* Moore, Clifford H. ''Religious Thought of the Greeks''. (1916). Kessinger Publishing,  2003. {{ISBN|0-7661-5130-1}}.
* Mylonas, George Emmanuel. ''Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries''. Princeton University Press, 1961.
* Muraresku, Brian C. ''[[The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name]]''. Macmillan, 2020. {{ISBN|978-1250207142}}
* [[Martin P. Nilsson|Nilsson, Martin P.]] [http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/gpr/ ''Greek Popular Religion''] 1940.
* {{cite book |last1=Parker |first1=Robert |title=Polytheism and society at Athens |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=978-0191534522 |pages=327–368 |chapter=Eleusinian Festivals}}
* Rosen, Ralph M. "Hipponax fr. 48 DG. and the Eleusinian Kykeon." ''The American Journal of Philology'' 108.3 (1987): 416–426.
* [[J. Nigro Sansonese|Sansonese, J. Nigro]]. ''The Body of Myth.'' Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 1994. {{ISBN|0-89281-409-8}}.
* [[Alexander Shulgin|Shulgin, Alexander]], [[Ann Shulgin]]. ''TiHKAL''. Transform Press, 1997.
* Smith, William, ''A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology and Geography Vol. II''. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2006. {{ISBN|1-4286-4561-6}}.
* Smith, William. ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities''. London, 1875.
* Tonelli, Angelo. ''Eleusis e Orfismo. I Misteri e la tradizione iniziatica greca.'' Feltrinelli, 2015. {{ISBN|978-8807901645}}
* Tripolitis, Antonia. ''Religions of the Hellenistic-Roman Age''. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2001. {{ISBN|0-8028-4913-X}}.
* [[R. Gordon Wasson|Wasson, R]], [[Carl A. P. Ruck|Ruck, C.]], [[Albert Hofmann|Hofmann, A.]], ''The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries''. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1978. {{ISBN|0-15-177872-8}}.
* [[Virgili, Antonio]]. "Culti misterici ed orientali a Pompei". Roma. Gangemi, 2008
* {{cite book |last1=Willoughby |first1=Harold R. |title=Pagan Regeneration: A Study of Mystery Initiations in the Graeco-Roman World |date=1929 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |chapter=The Greater Mysteries at Eleusis}}
{{colend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Eleusinian Mysteries}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030920115808/http://www.uwec.edu/Philrel/faculty/beach/publications/eleusis.html The Eleusinian Mysteries], Edward A. Beach
* {{webarchive |url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20011130233450/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=perseus:text:1999.04.0009&query=head= |title= The Eleusinian Mysteries |date=2001-11-30}}, Thomas R. Martin, from ''An Overview of Classical Greek History from Homer to Alexander''.
* [https://digital.library.cornell.edu/collections/eleusis Images of Inscriptions] about the Mysteries at Eleusis, [[Cornell University Library]]
* [http://www.psychedelic-library.org/eleucont.htm Foreword and first chapter from ''The Road to Eleusis''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121214063643/http://www.psychedelic-library.org/eleucont.htm |date=2012-12-14 }} R. Gordon Wasson, Albert Hofmann, Carl A. P. Ruck
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20190720192225/http://www.psychedelic-library.org/Mixing%20the%20Kykeon%20Final%20Draft.pdf Mixing the Kykeon], Peter Webster, Daniel M. Perrine, Ph.D, and Carl A. P. Ruck. From the pages of ''ELEUSIS: Journal of Psychoactive Plants and Compounds'' New Series 4, 2000
* ''[https://rosicrucian.org/rosicrucian-digest-eleusis Rosicrucian Digest]'' vol. 87 devoted entirely to the Eleusinian Mysteries

{{Greek religion}}
{{Paganism}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Eleusinian Mysteries| ]]
[[Category:Festivals in ancient Greece]]
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[[Category:Festivals in ancient Athens]]