Eleusis. Detailed history

Eleusis, a town in Attica approximately twelve miles northwest of Athens, lies on a landlocked bay east of the Rharian plain, opposite the island of Salamis on the main north-south road. The site was well protected with an acropolis, and until the seventh century, it remained independent of Athens. Having its own king and history, Eleusis was a Mycenaean site, and its religious rites were already well established, including the remains of a megaron, or porched house that was a shrine, probably to Demeter, the goddess of agriculture.

During the seventh century, Eleusis was ultimately taken over by Solon and incorporated into the Athenian political system. It was during the time of the tyrant Pisistratus that the cult of Demeter was appropriated and taken to Athens and the telesterion, or Hall of Initiation, was constructed there. Pisistratus initiated at Athens a festival in honor of the goddess.

The Athenians were able to elevate the Festival of Greater Eleusinia to Panhellenic status. The festival was performed every four years during the second year of the Olympiads. Two Athenian families were involved—the Eumolpidae, who provided the initiating priests, and the Ceryces, who administered the Mysteries at Eleusis.

The word mystery came from the Greek word muein, meaning “to keep silent,” and therefore it probably conveyed the idea that the nocturnal celebrations were meant to be held in secret, only for those who believed in the goddess. The Mysteries revolved around being a family initiation, although in later times, over 4,000 people could fit into the Initiation Hall and anyone—men, women, children, and even slaves—could be admitted into the rites, so long as they had not committed homicide.

The Mysteries are one of the better-known rites for which information is available. It seems that the rites acted out the rape of Persephone, the daughter of Demeter, probably including the god Hades kidnapping her and taking her to the Underworld. This was then followed by Demeter coming to Eleusis to find her. During the rites, torches were thrown into the air. There was then a fertility procession in which models of genitalia and statues of men and women engaged in sexual acts were displayed and obscene invectives shouted out. This reflected the idea that human sex acts improved the fertility of the soil and crops.

What made the festivals and rites popular was the fact that anyone could participate. This was not a religion reserved for the rich and powerful; it also appealed to women, the half of society who could not take part in many of the state functions. It also stressed the individual, unlike the state religion, which focused on communal actions.

In addition, the Mysteries promoted the possibility of an afterlife. Through successive initiations, one could be reborn, like the crops that Demeter sowed. This is different from the Homeric legends and hymns, which viewed the afterlife as one of pain and suffering. Demeter and Persephone became models for posthumous salvation.

After the first day of sacrifices, the initiates remained at home and fasted, only taking in a barley-water drink called kykeon, flavored with pennyroyal. During their procession to Eleusis, the initiates shouted obscenities in the form of abusive joking to honor Iambe, an old woman who had made Demeter smile after the loss of her daughter. Rhythmic shouts were also raised during the procession, and some viewed it as a reference to Dionysus. Once arriving at the Hall of Initiation, the priest would show the sacred objects to the initiates. During the ceremony in the dark hall, a light revealed the birth of the divine child Persephone.

The city became important during the Reign of the Thirty Tyrants in Athens in 403; after their expulsion, the tyrants were allowed to go to Eleusis with their families. This in turn allowed Eleusis to become separate and autonomous, except that the temple of Demeter and its Mysteries were open to all of Attica. Once at Eleusis, these individuals agreed to give up their eligibility to hold public office, but they did retain their Athenian citizenship and property. Two years later, in 401, Eleusis was retaken by the Athenians and incorporated once again into the city-state.

While the city of Eleusis lost its political freedom and position, it retained its religious status for over a thousand years. From the time of Mycenae, when the first religious rites were celebrated there, until 396 CE when the rites were disbanded by the Roman emperor Theodosius, Eleusis was closely connected with the Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone.