,,the ,,eleusinian ,,mysteries ,,and    
,,rites    ,by    ,,dudley ,,wright     
,,introduction ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,j4    
,,fort ,,newton1 ,d4,litt41 ,d4,d4      
,past ,grand ,chaplain of the ,grand    
,lodge of ,iowa1 ,u4,s4,a4      ,,the   
,,theosophical ,,publishing ,,house     
,,london--,,denver    #aiai             
,illustration    ,reproduced by         
permission of the ,encyclopdia          
,britannica4    ,,plan ,,of ,,the       
,,sacred ,,buildings ,,of ,,eleusis4    
#a4 ,temple of ,artemis ,propyla4       
#b4 ,outer ,propylon4       #c4 ,inner  
,propylon4       #d4 ,temple of         
,demeter4       #e4 ,outer ,enclosure of
 the ,sacred ,buildings4       #f4      
,inner ,enclosure4          ,,preface   
,at one time the ,mysteries of the      
various nations were the only vehicle   
of religion throughout the world1 and it
 is not impossible that the very  name  
of religion might have become obsolete  
but for the support of the  periodical  
celebrations which preserved all the    

forms and ceremonials1  rites and       
practices of sacred worship4    ,with   
regard to the connection1 supposed or   
real1 between ,freemasonry and  the     
,mysteries1 it is a remarkable          
coincidence that there is scarcely a    
single ceremony in the former that has  
not its corresponding rite in one  or   
other of the ,ancient ,mysteries4 ,the  
question as to which is the  original is
 an important one to the student4 ,the  
,masonic antiquarian  maintains that    
,freemasonry is not a scion snatched    
with a violent hand  from the           
,mysteries--whether ,pythagorean1       
,hermetic1 ,samothracian1  ,eleusinian1 
,drusian1 ,druidical1 or the like--but  
is the original  institution1 from which
 all the ,mysteries were derived4 ,in   
the opinion  of the renowned ,dr4       
,george ,oliver3 ,there is ample        
testimony to  establish the fact that   
the ,mysteries of all nations were      
originally the  same1 and diversified   
only by the accidental circumstances of 

local  situation and political economy4 
,the original foundation of the         
,mysteries has1 however1 never been     
established4 ,herodotus ascribed the    
institution of the ,eleusinian          
,mysteries to ,egyptian influences1     
while  ,pococke declares them to have   
been of ,tartar origin1 and to have     
combined ,brahmanical and ,buddhistic   
ideas4 ,others are equally of opinion   
that their origin must be sought for in 
,persia1 while at least one  writer--and
 who1 in these days1 will declare the   
theory to be  fanciful8--ventures the   
opinion that it is not improbable that  
they were  practised among the          
,atlanteans4    ,the ,eleusinian        
,mysteries--those rites of ancient      
,greece1 and later of  ,rome1 of which  
there is historical evidence dating back
 to the seventh  century before the     
,christian era--bear a very striking    
resemblance in  many points to the      
rituals of both ,operative and          
,speculative  ,freemasonry4 ,as to their

 origin1 beyond the legendary account   
put forth1  there is no trace4 ,in the  
opinion of some writers of repute an    
,egyptian  source is attributed to them1
 but of this there is no positive       
evidence4  ,there is a legend that ,st4 
,john the ,evangelist--a character      
honoured and  revered by                
,freemasons--was an initiate of these   
,mysteries4 ,certainly1  more than one  
of the early ,fathers of the ,christian 
,church boasted of  his initiation into 
these ,rites4 ,the fact that this is the
 first time  that an attempt has been   
made to give a detailed exposition of   
the  ceremonial and its meaning in the  
,english language will1 it is hoped1    
render the articles of interest and     
utility to students of ,masonic lore4   
,as to the influence of the ,mysteries  
upon ,christianity1 it will be seen     
that in more than one instance the      
,christian ritual bears a very close    
resemblance to the solemn rites of the  
,latin and ,greek ,mysteries4    ,the   

,bibliography at the end does not claim 
to be exhaustive1 but it will  be found 
to contain the principal sources of our 
knowledge of the  ,eleusinian           
,mysteries4      ,,dudley ,,wright4     
,,oxford4          ,,contents           
,,preface    ,,introduction    ,i4 ,,the
 ,,eleusinian ,,legend4    ,,ii4 ,,the  
,,ritual ,,of ,,the ,,mysteries         
,,iii4 ,,programme ,,of ,,the ,,greater 
,,mysteries    ,,iv4 ,,the ,,initiatory 
,,rites    ,v4 ,,their ,,mystical       
,,significance    ,,bibliography4       
,,introduction ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,j4    
,,fort ,,newton1 ,d4,,litt41 ,d4,d41    
,past ,grand ,chaplain of the ,grand    
,lodge of ,iowa4      ,few aspects of   
the history of the human spirit are more
 fascinating than  the story of the     
,mysteries of antiquity1 one chapter of 
which is told in  the following pages   
with accuracy1 insight1 and charm4 ,like
 all human  institutions1 they had their
 foundation in a real need1 to which    
they  ministered by dramatizing the     

faiths and hopes and longings of        
humanity1  and evoking that eternal     
mysticism which is at once the joy and  
solace  of man as he marches or creeps  
or crowds through the welter of doubts1 
dangers1 disease1 and death1 which we   
call our life4    ,once the sway of the 
,mysteries was well-nigh universal1 but 
towards the  end of their power they    
fell into the mire and became corrupt1  
as all  things human are apt to do1 the 
,church itself being no exception4 ,yet 
at  their best and highest they were not
 only lofty and noble1 but elevating    
and refining1 and that they served a    
high purpose is equally clear1 else     
they had not won the eulogiums of the   
most enlightened men of antiquity4      
,from ,pythagoras to ,plutarch the      
teachers of old bear witness to the     
service of the ,mysteries1 and ,cicero  
testified that what a man learned  in   
the house of the ,hidden ,place made him
 want to live nobly1 and gave  him happy
 thoughts for the hour of death4    ,the

 ,mysteries1 said ,plato1 were          
established by men of great genius1 who1
  in the early ages1 strove to teach    
purity1 to ameliorate the cruelty of    
the race1 to exalt its morals and refine
 its manners1 and to restrain  society  
by stronger bonds than those which human
 laws impose4 ,such being  their        
purpose1 he who gives a thought to the  
life of man at large will  enter their  
vanished sanctuaries with sympathy2 and 
if no mystery any  longer attaches to   
what they taught--least of all to their 
ancient  allegory of immortality--there 
is the abiding interest in the rites1   
drama1 and symbols employed in the      
teaching of wise and good and  beautiful
 truth4    ,what influence the          
,mysteries had on the new1 uprising     
,christianity is  hard to know1 and the 
issue is still in debate4 ,that they did
 influence  the early ,church is evident
 from the writings of the ,fathers--more
 than  one of whom boasted of           
initiation--and some go so far as to say

 that the  ,mysteries died at last1 only
 to live again in the ritual of the     
,church4  ,st4 ,paul in his missionary  
journeys came in contact with the       
,mysteries1  and even makes use of some 
of their technical terms in his         
,epistles1 the  better to show that what
 they sought to teach by drama can be   
known only  by spiritual experience4 ,no
 doubt his insight is sound1 but surely 
drama  may assist to that realization1  
else public worship might also come     
under ban4    ,of the ,eleusinian       
,mysteries in particular1 we have long  
needed such a  study as is here offered1
 in which the author not only sums up in
 an  attractive manner what is known1   
but adds to our knowledge some          
important details4 ,an ,egyptian source 
has been attributed to the  ,mysteries  
of ,greece1 but there is little evidence
 of it1 save as we may  conjecture it to
 have been so1 remembering the influence
 of ,egypt upon  ,greece4 ,such         
influences are difficult to trace1 and  

it is safer to say  that the idea and   
use of ,initiation--as old as the ,men's
 ,house of  primitive society--was      
universal1 and took different forms in  
different  lands4    ,such a study has  
more than an antiquarian interest1 not  
only to students  in general1 but       
especially to the men of the gentle     
,craft of  ,freemasonry4 ,if we may not 
say that ,freemasonry is historically   
descended from the instituted ,mysteries
 of antiquity1 it does  perpetuate1 to  
some extent1 their ministry among us4   
,at least1 the  resemblance between     
those ancient rites arid the ceremonials
 of both  ,operative and ,speculative   
,freemasonry are very striking2 and the 
present  study must be reckoned as not  
the least of the services of its author 
to  that gracious ,craft4    ,,the      
,,city ,,temple1 ,,london1 ,e4,c4       
,the ,eleusinian ,mysteries and ,rites  
,i    ,,the ,,eleusinian ,,legend       
,the legend which formed the basis of   
the ,mysteries of ,eleusis1 presence  at

 and participation in which demanded an 
elaborate form or ceremony of           
initiation1 was as follows3--           
,persephone 7sometimes described as     
,proserpine and as ,cora or ,kore71 when
  gathering flowers1 was abducted by    
,pluto1 the god of ,hades1 and carried  
off by him to his gloomy abode2 ,zeus1  
the brother of ,pluto and the  father of
 ,persephone1 giving his consent4       
,demeter 7or ,ceres71 her  mother1      
arrived too late to assist her child1 or
 even catch a glimpse of  her seducer1  
and neither god nor man was able1 or    
willing1 to enlighten  her as to the    
whereabouts of ,persephone or who had   
carried her away4 ,for  nine nights and 
days she wandered1 torch in hand1 in    
quest of her child4  ,eventually1       
however1 she heard from ,helios 7the    
sun7 the name of the  seducer and his   
accomplice4 ,incensed at ,zeus1 she left
 ,olympos and the  gods1 and came down  
to scour the earth disguised as an old  
woman4    ,in the course of her         

wanderings she arrived at ,eleusis1     
where she was  honourably entertained by
 ,keleos1 the ruler of the country1 with
 whom1  and his wife ,metanira1 she     
consented to remain in order to watch   
over  the education of ,demophon1 who   
had just been born to the aged king and 
whom she undertook to make immortal4    
,long was thy anxious search       ,for 
lovely ,proserpine1 nor didst thou break
       ,thy mournful fast1 till the     
far-fam'd ,eleusis       ,received thee 
wandering4                              
,orphic ,hymn4    ,the city of ,eleusis 
is said to derive its name from the hero
 ,eleusis1 a  fabulous personage deemed 
by some to have been the offspring of   
,mercury  and ,daira1 daughter of       
,oceanus1 while by others he was claimed
 as the  son of ,oxyges4    ,unknown to 
the parents ,demeter used to anoint     
,demophon by day with  ambrosia1 and    
hide him by night in the fire like a    
firebrand4 ,detected  one night by      
,metanira1 she was compelled to reveal  

herself as ,demeter1  the goddess4      
,whereupon she directed the ,eleusinians
 to erect a temple as  a peace-offering1
 and1 this being done1 she promised to  
initiate them  into the form of worship 
which would obtain for them her goodwill
 and  favour4 ,it is ,i1 ,demeter1 full 
of glory1 who lightens and gladdens the 
hearts of gods and men4 ,hasten ye1 my  
people1 to raise1 hard by the  citadel1 
below the ramparts1 a fane1 and on the  
eminence of the hill1 an  altar1 above  
the wall of ,callichorum4 ,i will       
instruct you in the rites  which shall  
be observed and which are pleasing to   
me4    ,the temple was erected1 but     
,demeter was still vowing vengeance     
against  gods and men1 and because of   
the continued loss of her daughter she  
rendered the earth sterile during a     
whole year4         ,what ails her that 
she comes not home8         ,demeter    
seeks her far and wide2       ,and      
gloomy-browed doth ceaseless roam       
,from many a morn till eventide4        

,my life1 immortal though it be1        
,is naught6 she cries1 for want of thee1
         ,persephone--,persephone6      
,the oxen drew the plough1 but in vain  
was the seed sown in the prepared       
ground4 ,mankind was threatened with    
utter annihilation1 and all the gods    
were deprived of sacrifices and         
offerings4 ,zeus endeavoured to appease 
the anger of the gods1 but in vain4     
,finally he summoned ,hermes to go to   
,pluto and order him to restore         
,persephone to her mother4 ,pluto       
yielded1  but before ,persephone left   
she took from the hand of ,pluto four   
pomegranate pips which he offered her as
 sustenance on her journey4             
,persephone1 returning from the land of 
shadows1 found her mother in the  temple
 at ,eleusis which had recently been    
erected4 ,her first question  was       
whether her daughter had eaten anything 
in the land of her  imprisonment1       
because her unconditional return to     
earth and ,olympos  depended upon that4 

,persephone informed her mother that all
 she had  eaten was the pomegranate     
pips1 in consequence of which ,pluto    
demanded  that ,persephone should       
sojourn with him for four months during 
each  year1 or one month for each pip   
taken4 ,demeter had no option but to    
consent to this arrangement1 which meant
 that she would enjoy the  company of   
,persephone for eight months in every   
year1 and that the  remaining four would
 be spent by ,persephone with ,pluto4   
,demeter caused  to awaken anew the     
fruits of the fertile plains1 and the   
whole earth  was re-clothed with leaves 
and flowers4 ,demeter called together   
the  princes of ,eleusis--,triptolemus1 
,diocles1 ,eumolpus1 ,polyxenos1 and    
,keleos--and initiated them into the    
sacred rites--most venerable--into      
which no one is allowed to make         
enquiries or to divulge2 a solemn       
warning from the gods seals our mouths4 
,although secrecy on the subject of the 
nature of the stately ,mysteries  is    

strictly enjoined1 the writer of the    
,homeric ,hymn to ,demeter makes no     
secret of the happiness which belonged  
to all who became initiates3  ,happy is 
he who has been received unfortunate he 
who has never received  the initiation  
nor taken part in the sacred ordinances1
 and who cannot1  alas6 be destined to  
the same lot reserved for the faithful  
in the  darkling abode4    ,the earliest
 mention of the ,temple of ,demeter at  
,eleusis occurs in the  ,homeric ,hymn  
to ,demeter1 which has already been     
mentioned4 ,this was not  written by    
,homer1 but by some poet versed in      
,homeric lore1 and its  probable date is
 about #fjj ,b4,c4 ,it was discovered a 
little over a  hundred years ago in an  
old monastery library at ,moscow1 and   
now reposes  in a museum at ,leyden4    
,in this ,homeric ,hymn to ,demeter1    
,persephone gives her own version of the
  incident as follows3 ,we were all     
playing in the lovely                   
meadows--,leucippe1 and ,phaino1 and    

,electra1 and ,ianthe1 and ,melit1 and  
,iach and ,rhodeia1 and ,callinhoe1 and 
,melobosis1 and ,ianeira1 and  ,acast1  
and ,admet1 and ,rhodope1 and ,plouto1  
and winsome ,calypso1 and  ,styx1 and   
,urania1 and beautiful ,galaxam4 ,we    
were playing there and  plucking        
beautiful blossoms with our hands2      
crocuses mingled1 and iris1  and        
hyacinth1 and roses1 and lilies1 a      
marvel to behold1 and narcissus1  that  
the wide earth bare1 a wile for my      
undoing4 ,gladly was ,i gathering  them 
when the earth gaped beneath1 and       
therefrom leaped the mighty  prince1 the
 host of many guests1 and he bare me    
against my will1 despite  my grief1     
beneath the earth1 in his golden        
chariot2 and shrilly did ,i  cry4       
,the version of the legend given by     
,minucius ,felix is as follows3         
,proserpine1 the daughter of ,ceres by  
,jupiter1 as she was gathering  tender  
flowers in the new spring1 was ravished 
from her delightful abode  by ,pluto2   

and1 being carried from thence through  
thick woods and over a  length of sea1  
was brought by ,pluto into a cavern1 the
 residence of  departed spirits1 over   
whom she afterwards ruled with absolute 
sway4 ,but  ,ceres1 upon discovering the
 loss of her daughter1 with lighted     
torches  and begirt with a serpent1     
wandered over the whole earth for the   
purpose  of finding her1 till she came  
to ,eleusis2 there she found her        
daughter1  and discovered to the        
,eleusinians the plantation of corn4    
,according to another version of the    
legend1 ,neptune met ,ceres when she    
was in quest of her daughter1 and fell  
in love with her4 ,the goddess1 in      
order to escape from his attentions1    
concealed herself under the form of  a  
mare1 when the god of the sea           
transformed himself into a horse to     
seduce her1 with which act she was so   
highly offended that after having       
washed herself in a river and reassumed 
human form1 she took refuge in a  cave1 

where she lay concealed4 ,when famine   
and pestilence began to  ravage the     
earth1 the gods made search for her     
everywhere1 but could not  find her     
until ,pan discovered her and apprised  
,jupiter of her  whereabouts4 ,this cave
 was in ,sicily1 in which country ,ceres
 was known  as the black ,ceres1 or the 
,erinnys1 because the outrages offered  
her by  ,neptune turned her frantic and 
furious4 ,demeter was depicted in       
,sicily  as clad in black1 with a       
horse's head1 holding a pigeon in one   
hand and  a dolphin in the other4    ,on
 the submission of ,eleusis to ,athens1 
the ,mysteries became an integral  part 
of the ,athenian religion1 so that the  
,eleusinian ,mysteries became a         
,panhellenic institution1 and later1    
under the ,romans1 a universal  worship1
 but the secret rites of initiation were
 well kept throughout  their history4   
,eleusis was one of the twelve          
originally independent cities of        
,attica1  which ,theseus is said to have

 united into a simple state4 ,leusina   
now  occupies the site1 and has thus    
preserved the name of the ancient city4 
,theseus is portrayed by ,virgil as     
suffering eternal punishment in ,hades1 
but ,proclus writes concerning him as   
follows3 ,theseus1 and ,pirithous  are  
fabled to have ravished ,helen1 and to  
have descended to the infernal          
regions--i4e4 they were lovers of       
intelligible and visible beauty4        
,afterwards ,theseus was liberated by   
,pericles from ,hades1 but ,pirithous   
remained there because he could not     
sustain the arduous attitude of  divine 
contemplation4    ,dr4 ,warburton1 in   
his ,divine ,legation of ,moses1 gives  
it as his  opinion that ,theseus was a  
living character who once forced his way
 into  the ,eleusinian ,mysteries1 for  
which crime he was imprisoned on earth  
and  afterwards damned in the infernal  
regions4    ,the ,eleusinian ,mysteries 
seem to have constituted the most vital 
portion  of the ,attic religion1 and    

always to have retained something of awe
 and  solemnity4 ,they were not known   
outside ,attica until the time of the   
,median wars1 when they spread to the   
,greek colonies in ,asia as part of  the
 constitution of the daughter states1   
where the cult seems to have  exercised 
a considerable influence both on the    
populace and on the  philosophers4      
,outside ,eleusis the ,mysteries were   
not celebrated so  frequently nor on so 
magnificent a scale4 ,at ,celeas1 where 
they were  celebrated every fourth year1
 a hierophant1 who was not bound by the 
law  of celibacy1 as at ,eleusis1 was   
elected by the people for each          
celebration4 ,pausanias is the authority
 for a statement by the  ,phliasians    
that they imitated the ,eleusinian      
,mysteries4 ,they maintained1  however1 
that their rendering was instituted by  
,dysaules1 brother of  ,celeus1 who went
 to their country after he had been     
expelled from  ,eleusis by ,ion1 the son
 of ,xuthus1 at the time when ,ion was  

chosen  commander-in-chief of the       
,athenians in the war against ,eleusis4 
,pausanias disputed that any ,eleusinian
 was defeated in battle and forced  into
 exile1 maintaining that peace was      
concluded between the ,athenians  and   
the ,eleusinians before the war was     
fought out1 even ,eumolpus himself      
being permitted to remain in ,eleusis4  
,pausanias1 also1 while admitting  that 
,dysaules might have gone to ,phlias for
 some cause other than that  admitted by
 the ,phliasians1 questioned whether    
,dysaules was related to  ,celeus1 or1  
indeed1 to any illustrious ,eleusinian  
family4 ,the name of  ,dysaules does not
 occur in the ,homeric ,hymn to         
,demeter1 where are  enumerated all who 
were taught the ritual of the ,mysteries
 by the  goddess1 though that of ,celeus
 is mentioned3--         ,she showed to 
,triptolemus and ,diocles1 smiter of    
horses       ,and mighty ,eumolpus and  
,celeus1 leader of people1       ,the   
way of performing the sacred rites and  

explained           to all of them the  
orgies4    ,nevertheless1 according to  
the ,phliasians1 it was ,dysaules who   
instituted the ,mysteries among them4   
,the ,pheneatians also had a sanctuary  
dedicated to ,demeter1 which they       
called ,eleusinian1 and in which they   
celebrated the ,mysteries in honour  of 
the goddess4 ,they had a legend that    
,demeter went thither in her            
wanderings1 and that1 out of gratitude  
to the ,pheneatians for the  hospitality
 they showed her1 she gave them all the 
different kinds of  pulse1 except beans4
 ,two ,pheneatians--,trisaules and      
,damithales--built a  temple to ,demeter
 ,thesuria1 the goddess of laws1 under  
,mount ,cyllene1  where were instituted 
the ,mysteries in her honour which were 
celebrated  until a late period1 and    
which were said to be introduced there  
by ,naus1  a grandson of ,eumolpus4     
,much that is excellent and divine1     
wrote ,cicero1 does ,athens seem to  me 
to have produced and added to our life1 

but nothing better than those           
,mysteries by which we are formed and   
moulded from a rude and savage  state of
 humanity2 and1 indeed1 in the          
,mysteries we perceive the real         
principles of life1 and learn not only  
to live happily1 but to die with  a     
fairer hope4 ,every manner of           
writer--religious poet1 worldly poet1   
sceptical philosopher1 orator--all are  
of one mind about this1 that the        
,mysteries were far and away the        
greatest of all the religious festivals 
of ,greece4          ,,ii    ,,the      
,,ritual ,,of ,,the ,,mysteries         
,the ,eleusinian ,mysteries1 observed by
 nearly all ,greeks1 but  particularly  
by the ,athenians1 were celebrated      
yearly at ,eleusis1 though  in the      
earlier annals of their history they    
were celebrated once in  every three    
years only1 and once in every four years
 by the ,celeans1  ,cretans1            
,parrhasians1 ,pheneteans1 ,phliasians1 
and ,spartans4 ,it was the  most        

celebrated of all the religious         
ceremonies of ,greece at any period  of 
the country's history1 and was regarded 
as of such importance that  the         
,festival is referred to frequently     
simply as ,the ,mysteries4 ,the  rites  
were guarded most jealously and         
carefully concealed from the            
uninitiated4 ,if any person divulged any
 part of them he was regarded as  having
 offended against the divine law1 and by
 the act he rendered  himself liable to 
divine vengeance4 ,it was accounted     
unsafe to abide in  the same house with 
him1 and as soon as his offence was made
 public he  was apprehended4 ,similarly1
 drastic punishment was meted out to any
  person not initiated into the         
,mysteries who chanced to be present at 
their celebration1 even through         
ignorance or genuine error4    ,the     
,mysteries were divided into two        
parts--the ,lesser ,mysteries and the   
,greater ,mysteries4 ,the ,lesser       
,mysteries were said to have been       

instituted when ,hercules1 ,castor1 and 
,pollux expressed a desire to be        
initiated1 they happening to be in      
,athens at the time of the celebration  
of the ,mysteries by the ,athenians in  
accordance with the ordinance of        
,demeter4 ,not being ,athenians1 they   
were ineligible for the honour of       
initiation1 but the difficulty was      
overcome by ,eumolpus1 who was  desirous
 of including in the ranks of the       
initiated a man of such power  and      
eminence as ,hercules1 foreigner though 
he might be4 ,the three were  first made
 citizens1 and then as a preliminary to 
the initiation  ceremony as prescribed  
by the goddess1 ,eumolpus instituted the
 ,lesser  ,mysteries1 which then and    
afterwards became a ceremony preliminary
 to  the ,greater ,mysteries1 as they   
then became known1 for candidates of    
alien birth4 ,in later times this       
,lesser ,festival1 celebrated in the    
month of ,anthesterion at the beginning 
of spring1 at ,agra1 became a  general  

preparation for the ,greater ,festival1 
and no persons were  initiated into the 
,greater ,mysteries until they had first
 been initiated  into the ,lesser4      
,with regard to ,hercules1 there is a   
legend that on a certain time  ,hercules
 wished to become a member of one of the
 secret societies of  antiquity4 ,he    
accordingly presented himself and       
applied in due form for  initiation4    
,his case was referred to a council of  
wise and virtuous men1  who objected to 
his admission on account of some crimes 
which he had  committed4 ,consequently  
he was rejected4 ,their words to him    
were3 ,you  are forbidden to enter here2
 your heart is cruel1 your hands are    
stained  with crime4 ,go6 repair the    
wrong you have done2 repent of your evil
  doings1 and then come with pure heart 
and clean hands1 and the doors of  our  
,mysteries shall be opened to you4 ,the 
legend goes on to say that  after his   
regeneration he returned and became a   
worthy member of the  ,order4    ,the   

ceremonies of the ,lesser ,mysteries    
were entirely different from  those of  
the ,greater ,mysteries4 ,the ,lesser   
,mysteries represented the  return of   
,persephone to earth--which1 of course1 
took place at ,eleusis2  and the        
,greater ,mysteries represented her     
descent to the infernal  regions4 ,the  
,lesser ,mysteries honoured the daughter
 more than the  mother1 who was the     
principal figure in the greater         
,mysteries4 ,in the  ,lesser ,mysteries1
 ,persephone was known as ,pherrephatta1
 and in the  ,greater ,mysteries she was
 given the name of ,kore4 ,everything   
was1 in  fact1 a mystery1 and nothing   
was called by its right name4 ,lenormant
  says that it is certain that the      
initiated of the ,lesser ,mysteries     
carried away from ,agra a certain store 
of religious knowledge which  enabled   
them to understand the symbols and      
representations which were  displayed   
afterwards before their eyes at the     
,greater ,mysteries at  ,eleusis4       

,the object of the ,lesser ,mysteries   
was to signify occultly the condition   
of the impure soul invested with a      
terrene body and merged in a material   
nature4 ,the ,greater ,mysteries taught 
that he who1 in the present life1  is in
 subjection to his irrational part1 is  
truly in ,hades4 ,if ,hades1  then1 is  
the region of punishment and misery1 the
 purified soul must  reside in the      
region of bliss1 theoretically1 in the  
present life1 and  according to a deific
 energy in the next4 ,they intimated by 
gorgeous  mystic visions the felicity of
 the soul1 both here and hereafter1 when
  purified from the defilements of a    
material nature and consequently        
elevated to the realities of            
intellectual vision4    ,the ,mysteries 
were supposed to represent in a kind of 
moral drama the  rise and establishment 
of civil society1 the doctrine of a     
state of  future rewards and            
punishments1 the errors of polytheism1  
and the ,unity  of the ,godhead1 which  

last article was afterwards demonstrated
 to be  their famous secret4 ,the ritual
 was produced from the sanctuary4 ,it   
was  enveloped in symbolical figures of 
animals which suggested a               
correspondence which was utterly        
inexplicable to the uninitiated4        
,k4,o4 ,mller1 in his ,history of the   
,literature of ,ancient ,greece1        
says3--    ,all the ,greek religious    
poetry treating of death and the world  
beyond  the grave refers to the deities 
whose influence was supposed to be      
exercised in this dark region at the    
centre of the earth1 and were  thought  
to have little connection with the      
political and social  relations of human
 life4 ,these deities formed a class    
apart from the  gods of ,olympus and    
were comprehended under the name of the 
,chthenian  gods 7gods of the           
underworld74 ,the mysteries of the      
,greeks were  connected with the worship
 of those gods alone4 ,that a love of   
immortality first found a support in a  

belief in these deities appears  from   
the fable of ,persephone1 the daughter  
of ,demeter4 ,every year at the  time of
 harvest1 ,persephone was supposed to be
 carried from the world  above to the   
dark dominions of the invisible ,king of
 ,shadows1 and to  return every spring  
in youthful beauty to the arms of her   
mother4 ,it was  thus that the ancient  
,greeks described the disappearance and 
return of  vegetable life in the        
alternations of the seasons4 ,the       
changes of  ,nature1 however1 must have 
been considerable in typifying the      
changes in  the lot of man2 otherwise   
,persephone would have been merely a    
symbol of  the seed committed to the    
ground and would not have become queen  
of the  dead4 ,but when the goddess of  
inanimate nature had become queen of the
  dead1 it was a natural analogy1 which 
must have early suggested itself1  that 
the return of ,persephone to the world  
of light also denoted a  renovation of  
life and a new birth in man4 ,hence the 

,mysteries of  ,demeter1 and especially 
those celebrated at ,eleusis1 inspired  
the most  elevated and animating hopes  
with regard to the condition of the soul
  after death4    ,no one was permitted 
to attend the ,mysteries who had        
incurred the  sentence of capital       
punishment for treason or conspiracy1   
but all other  exiles were permitted to 
be present and were not molested in any 
way  during the whole period of the     
,festival4 ,no one could be arrested for
  debt during the holding of the        
,festival4    ,scarcely anything is     
known of the programme observed during  
the course  of the ,lesser ,mysteries4  
,they were celebrated on the #aith to   
#bast of the  month ,anthesterion1 and1 
like the ,greater ,mysteries1 were      
preceded and  followed by a truce on the
 part of all engaged in warfare4 ,the   
same  officials presided at both        
celebrations4 ,the ,lesser ,mysteries   
opened  with a sacrifice to ,demeter and
 ,persephone1 a portion of the victims  

offered being reserved for the members  
of the sacred families of  ,eumolpus and
 ,keryce4 ,the main object of the       
,lesser ,mysteries was to put  the      
candidates for initiation in a condition
 of ritual purification1  and1 according
 to ,clement of ,alexandria1 they       
included certain  instructions and      
preparations for the ,greater           
,mysteries4 ,like the  ,eleusinian      
,mysteries1 properly so called1 they    
included dramatic  representations of   
the rape of ,persephone and the         
wanderings of ,demeter2  in addition1   
according to ,stephen ,byzantium1 to    
certain ,dionysian  representations4    
,two months before the full moon of the 
month of ,boedromion1  sphondophoroi or 
heralds1 selected from the priestly     
families of the  ,eumolpides and        
,keryces1 went forth to announce the    
forthcoming  celebration of the ,greater
 ,mysteries1 and to claim an armistice  
on the  part of all who might be waging 
war4 ,the truce commenced on the #aeth  

of  the month preceding the celebration 
of the ,mysteries and lasted until  the 
#ajth day of the month following the    
celebration4 ,in order to be  valid the 
truce had to be proclaimed in and       
accepted by each ,hellenic  city4       
,all arrangements for the proper        
celebration of the ,mysteries1 both     
,lesser and ,greater1 were in the hands 
of the families of ,eumolpides and      
,keryces4 ,these were ancient           
,eleusinian families1 whose origin was  
traced  back to the time when ,eleusis  
was independent of ,athens1 and the     
former  family survived as a priestly   
caste down to the latest period of      
,athenian history4 ,its member possessed
 the hereditary and the sole right  to  
the secrets of the ,mysteries4 ,hence   
the recognition by the ,state of  the   
exclusive right and privilege of these  
families to direct the  initiations and 
to provide each a half of the religious 
staff of the  temple4 ,the ,eumolpides  
held so eminent a place in the          

,mysteries that  ,cicero mentions them  
alone1 to the exclusion of the ,keryces4
    ,pausanias relates that1 following a
 war between the ,eleusinians and the   
,athenians1 when ,erectheus1 ,king of   
,athens1 conquered ,immaradus1 son of   
,eumolpus1 the subdued ,eleusinians1 in 
making their submission1  stipulated    
that they should remain custodians of   
the ,mysteries1 but in  all other       
respects were to be subject to the      
,athenians4 ,this tradition  is disputed
 by more modern writers1 but it was     
accepted by the ,athenians  and acted   
upon generally1 and the right of the two
 families solely to  prepare candidates 
for initiation was recognized by a      
decree of the  fifth century ,b4,c41 the
 privilege being confirmed afterwards at
 a  convention between the              
representatives of ,eleusis and ,athens4
 ,the  ,eumolpides were the descendants 
of a mythical ancestor1 ,eumolpus1 son  
of  ,neptune1 who is first mentioned in 
the time of ,pisastrus4 ,on the death   

of ,eumolpus according to one legend1   
,ceryx1 the younger of the sons1 was    
left4 ,but the ,keryces claimed that    
,ceryx was a son of ,hermes by ,aglamus1
  daughter of ,cecrops1 and that he was 
not a son of ,eumolpus4    ,the members 
of the family of ,eumolpides had the    
first claim upon the  flesh of the      
sacrificed animals1 but they were       
permitted to give a  portion to any one 
else as a reward or recompense for      
services rendered4  ,but when a         
sacrifice was offered to any of the     
infernal divinities1 the  whole of it   
had to be consumed by the fire4 ,nothing
 must be left4 ,all  religious problems 
relating to the ,mysteries which could  
not be solved  by the known laws were   
addressed to the ,eumolpides1 whose     
decision was  final4    ,the meaning of 
the name ,eumolpus is a good singer1 and
 great  importance was attached to the  
quality of the voice in the selection of
  the hierophant1 the chief officiant at
 the celebration of the ,mysteries  and 

at the ceremony of initiation1 and who  
was selected from the family  of the    
,eumolpides4 ,it was essential that the 
formul disclosed to the  initiates at   
,eleusis should be pronounced with the  
proper intonation1  for otherwise the   
words would have no efficacy4 ,correct  
intonation was  of far greater          
importance than syllabic pronunciation4 
,an explanation of this is given by     
,maspero1 who says3 ,the human voice  is
 pre-eminently a magical instrument1    
without which none of the highest       
operations of art can be successful3    
each of its utterances is carried  into 
the region of the invisible and there   
releases forces of which the  general   
run of people have no idea1 either as to
 their existence or  their manifold     
action4 ,without doubt1 the real value  
of an evocation  lies in its text1 or   
the sequence of the words of which it is
 composed1  and the tone in which it is 
enunciated4 ,in order to be efficacious1
 the  conjuration should be accompanied 

by chanting1 either an incantation or  a
 song4 ,in order to produce the desired 
effect the sacramental melody  must be  
chanted without the variation of a      
single modulation3 one false  note1 one 
mistake in the measure1 the introversion
 of any two of the  sounds of which it  
is composed1 and the intended effect is 
annulled4  ,this is the reason why all  
who recite a prayer or formula intended 
to  force the gods to perform certain   
acts must be of true voice4 ,the result 
of their effort1 whether successful or  
unsuccessful1 will depend upon  the     
exactness of their voice4 ,it was the   
voice1 therefore1 which played  the most
 important part in the oblation1 in the 
prayer of definite  request1 and in the 
evocation--in a word1 in every instance 
where man  sought to seize hold of the  
god4    ,apart from a true voice the    
words were merely dead sounds4 ,the     
character of the voice plays an         
important part in many religions4 ,the  
,vedas contain in them many invocations 

and hymns which no uninitiated  ,brahman
 can recite3 it is only the initiate who
 knows their true  properties and how to
 put them into use4 ,some of the hymns  
of the  ,rig-,veda1 when                
anagrammatically arranged1 will yield   
all the secret  invocations which were  
used for magical purposes in the        
,brahmanical  ceremonies4 ,some ,parsees
 pay much attention to what is called   
dzd dw  or free voice4 ,it is recorded  
in ,moslem tradition that a revelation  
came to the venerated ,arabian prophet  
resembling the tone of a bell4  ,the    
effects which low1 monotonous chanting  
produce on nervous people and  children 
are well known4 ,even animals and       
serpents are amenable to the  influence 
of sound4    ,the hierophant was a      
revealer of holy things4 ,he was a      
citizen of  ,athens1 a man of mature    
age1 and held his office for life1      
devoting  himself wholly to the service 
of the temple and living a chaste life1 
to  which end it was usual for him to   

anoint himself with the juice of        
hemlock1 which1 by its extreme coldness1
 was said to extinguish in a  great     
measure the natural heat4 ,in the       
opinion of some writers celibacy  was an
 indispensable condition of the highest 
branch of the priesthood2  but1         
according to inscriptions which have    
been discovered1 some at any  rate of   
the hierophants were married1 so that1  
in all probability1 the  rule was that  
during the celebration of the ,mysteries
 and1 probably1 for  a certain time     
before and after1 it was incumbent on   
the hierophant to  abstain from all     
sexual intercourse4 ,foucart is of      
opinion that celibacy  was demanded only
 during the celebration of the          
,mysteries1 although  ,pausanias states 
definitely otherwise4 ,in support of    
,foucart it may be  stated that among   
the inscriptions discovered at ,eleusis 
there is one  dedicating a statue to a  
hierophant by his wife4 ,it was         
essential that  the hierophant should be

 a man of commanding presence and lead a
 simple  life4 ,on being raised to the  
dignity he received a kind of           
consecration  at a special ceremony1 at 
which only those of his own rank were   
permitted to be present1 when he was    
entrusted with certain secrets          
pertaining to his high office4 ,prior to
 this ceremony he went through a        
special purificatory rite1 immersing    
himself in the sea1 an act to which  the
 ,greeks attributed great virtue4 ,he   
had to be exemplary in his moral        
conduct1 and was regarded by the people 
as being particularly holy4 ,the        
qualifications of a hierophant were so  
high that the office could not be       
regarded as hereditary1 for it would    
have been an exception to find both     
father and son in possession of the many
 various and high qualifications        
regarded as essential to the holding of 
the office4 ,the robe of the  hierophant
 was a long purple garment2 his hair1   
crowned with a wreath of  myrtle1 flowed

 in long locks over his shoulders1 and a
 diadem ornamented  his forehead4 ,at   
the celebration of the ,mysteries he was
 held to  represent the ,creator of the 
world4 ,he alone was permitted to       
penetrate  into the innermost shrine in 
the ,hall of the ,mysteries--the holy of
  holies1 as it were--and then only once
 during the celebration of the          
,mysteries1 when1 at the most solemn    
moment of the whole mystic  celebration1
 his form appeared suddenly to be       
transfigured with light  before the rapt
 gaze of the initiated4 ,he alone was   
permitted to reveal  to the fully       
initiated the mystic objects1 the sight 
of which marked the  completion of their
 admission into the community4 ,he had  
the power of  refusing admission to     
those applicants whom he deemed unfit to
 be  entrusted with the secrets4 ,he was
 not inactive during the intervals      
between the celebrations of the         
,mysteries4 ,it was his duty to         
superintend the instruction of the      

candidates for initiation1 who for  that
 purpose were divided into groups and   
instructed by officials known  as       
mystagogues4 ,the personal name of the  
hierophant was never mentioned4  ,it was
 supposed to be unknown1 wafted away    
into the sea by the mystic  law1 and he 
was known only by the title of the      
office which he bore4    ,an interesting
 inscription was found some years ago at
 ,eleusis1 engraved  on the base of a   
statue erected to a hierophant3 ,ask not
 my name2 the  mystic rule 7or packet7  
has carried it away into the blue sea4  
,but when  ,i reach the fated day1 and  
go to the abode of the blest1 then all  
who  care for me will pronounce it4 ,one
 of his sons had written below this     
inscription1 after the death of the     
hierophant3 ,now we1 his children1      
reveal the name of the best of fathers1 
which1 when alive1 he hid in the  depths
 of the sea4 ,this is the famous        
,apollonius4 ,there is extant an        
epigram by a female hierophant1 which   

runs3 ,let my name remain  unspoken3 on 
being shut off from the world when the  
sons of ,cecrops made  me hierophantide 
to ,demeter1 ,i myself hid it in the    
vasty depths4  ,eunapius1 in ,vita      
,maxim1 says3 ,i may not tell the name  
of him who was  then hierophant1 for it 
was he who initiated me4 ,the manner in 
which  the name was committed to the sea
 was either by the immersion of the     
bearer or by writing the name on a      
leaden tablet1 which was cast into  the 
sea4 ,the holy name1 by which the       
hierophant was afterwards known1  was   
derived from the name of some god or    
bore some ritualistic meaning4          
,sometimes the hierophant was known     
simply by the title of his office  with 
the addition of his father's name4 ,the 
rule as to the public  mention of the   
former name of the hierophant was       
occasionally  transgressed1 and there is
 the instance of the atheistic          
philosopher  ,theodorus addressing a    
hierophant by his discarded name of     

,lacrateides1  and also of ,deinias1 who
 was put into prison for the offence of 
addressing a hierophant by his discarded
 family name4    ,lucian refers to this 
in one passage in ,lexiphanes3 ,the     
first ,i met  were a torch-bearer1 a    
hierophant1 and others of the initiated1
 haling  ,deinias before the judge1 and 
protesting that he had called them by   
their names1 though he well knew that1  
from the time of their  sanctification1 
they were nameless1 and no more to be   
named but by  hallowed names4    ,in the
 ,imperial ,inscriptions we find the    
titles substituted for the  proper      
names4#a ,the hierophant was compelled  
to avoid contact with the  dead in the  
same manner as the ,cohanim of the      
,jewish faith1 and with  certain animals
 reputed to be unclean4 ,contact with   
any person from whom  blood was issuing 
also caused impurity4 ,he was assisted  
by a female  hierophant1 or             
hierophantide--an attendant upon the    
goddess ,demeter and  her daughter      

,persephone4 ,she also was selected from
 the family of the  ,eumolpides and was 
chosen for life4 ,she was permitted to  
marry1 and  several inscriptions mention
 the names of children of               
hierophantides4 ,on  her initiation into
 this high degree she was brought       
forward naked to  the side of a sacred  
font1 in which her right hand was       
placed1 the  priest declaring her to be 
true and holy and dedicated to the      
service of  the temple4 ,the special    
duty of the female hierophant was to    
superintend  the initiation of female   
aspirants1 but she was present          
throughout the  ceremony and played some
 part in the initiation of the male     
candidates4  ,an inscription on the tomb
 of one hierophantide mentions to her   
glory  that she had set the myrtle      
crown1 the seal of mystic communion1 on 
the  heads of the illustrious initiates1
 ,marcus ,aurelius and his son1         
,commodus4 ,another gloried in the fact 
that she had initiated the ,emperor     

,hadrian4    ,next in rank to the       
hierophant and hierophantide came the   
male and  female dadouchos1 who were    
taken from the family of the ,keryces4  
,they  were the torch-bearers1 and their
 duty consisted mainly in carrying the  
torches at the ,sacred ,festival4 ,they 
also wore purple robes1 myrtle  crowns1 
and diadems4 ,they were appointed for   
life1 and were permitted to  marry4 ,the
 male dadouchos particularly was        
associated with the  hierophant in      
certain solemn and public functions1    
such as the opening  address to the     
candidates for initiation and in the    
public prayers for  the welfare of the  
,state4 ,the office was frequently      
handed down from  father to son4 ,until 
the first century ,b4,c4 the dadouchos  
was never  addressed by his own personal
 name1 but always by the title of his   
office4    ,the hierocceryx1 or         
messenger of holy tidings1 was the      
representative of  ,hermes1 or ,mercury1
 who1 as the messenger of the gods1 was 

indispensable  as mediator whenever men 
wished to approach the ,immortals4 ,he  
also wore  a purple-coloured robe and a 
myrtle crown4 ,he was chosen for life   
from  the family of the ,keryces4 ,he   
made the necessary proclamations to the 
candidates for initiation into the      
various degrees1 and in particular      
enjoined them to preserve silence4 ,it  
was necessary for him to have  passed   
through all the various degrees1 as his 
duties necessitated his  presence       
throughout the ceremonial4    ,the      
phaidantes had the custody of the sacred
 statues and the sacred  vessels1 which 
they had to maintain in good repair4    
,they were selected  from one or other  
of the two sacerdotal families4         
,among the other officials were3 ,the   
liknophori1 who carried the mystic  fan2
 the hydranoi1 who purified the         
candidates for initiation by  sprinkling
 them with holy water at the            
commencement of the ,festival2 the      
spondophoroi1 who proclaimed the sacred 

truce1 which was to permit of  the      
peaceful celebration of the ,mysteries2 
the pyrphoroi1 who brought  and         
maintained the fire for the sacrifices2 
the hieraules1 who played  the flute    
during the time the sacrifices were     
being offered--they were  the leaders of
 the sacred music1 who had under their  
charge the  hymnodoi1 the hymnetriai2   
the neokoroi1 who maintained the temples
 and  the altars2 the panageis1 who     
formed a class between the ministers and
  the initiated4 ,then there were the   
initiates of the altar1 who  performed  
expiatory rites in the name and in the  
place of all the  initiated4 ,there were
 also many other minor officials1 by the
 general  name of meliss--i4e4 bees1    
perhaps so-called because bees1 being   
makers  of honey1 were sacred to        
,demeter4 ,the diluvian priestesses and 
regenerated souls were called bees4 ,all
 these officials had to be of           
unblemished reputation1 and wore myrtle 
crowns while engaged in the  service of 

the temple4    ,the officials2 whose    
duty it was to take care that the ritual
 was  punctiliously followed in every   
detail1 included nine archons1 who were 
chosen every year to manage the affairs 
of ,greece4 ,the first of these  was    
always the ,king1 or ,archon ,basileus1 
whose duty at the celebration  of the   
,mysteries it was to offer prayers and  
sacrifices1 to see that no  indecency or
 irregularity was committed during the  
,festival1 and at the  conclusion to    
pass judgment on all offenders4 ,there  
were also four  epimelet1 or curators1  
elected by the people1 one being        
appointed from  the ,eumolpides1 another
 from the ,keryces1 and the remaining   
two from the  rank and file of the      
citizens2 and ten hieropoioi1 whose duty
 it was to  offer sacrifices4 ,it may be
 worthy of remark here that ,epimenides 
of  ,crete1 who flourished about the    
year #fjj ,b4,c41 is said by ,diogenes  
,laertius1 in his life of that          
philosopher1 to have been the first to  

perform expiatory sacrifices and        
lustrations in fields and houses and to 
have been the first to erect temples for
 the purpose of sacrifice4    ,the      
sacred symbols used in the ceremonies   
were enclosed in a special  chamber in  
the ,telestrion1 or ,hall of            
,initiation1 known as the  ,anactoron1  
into which the hierophant alone had the 
right to penetrate4  ,during the        
celebration of the ,mysteries they were 
carried to ,athens  veiled and hidden   
from the gaze of the profane1 whence    
they were taken  back to ,eleusis4 ,it  
was permitted only to the initiated to  
look upon  these hiera1 as they were    
called4 ,these sacred objects were in   
the  charge of the ,eumolpides family4  
,written descriptions1 however graphic  
or eloquent1 convey but a faint         
impression of the wonderful scenes that 
were enacted2 ,aristides says  that what
 was seen rivalled anything that was    
heard4 ,another writer has  declared3   
,many a wondrous sight may be seen and  

not a few tales of  wonder may be heard 
in ,greece2 but there is nothing on     
which the  blessing of ,god rests in so 
full a measure as the rites of ,eleusis 
and  the ,olympic games4 ,for nine      
centuries--that period of time being    
divided almost equally between the      
pre-,christian and ,christian           
eras--they were the ,palladium of ,greek
 ,paganism4 ,in the latter part of      
their history1 when the restrictions as 
to admission began to be  relaxed1 and  
in proportion to that relaxation1 their 
essential religious  character          
disappeared1 they became but a ceremony1
 their splendour being  their principal 
attraction1 until finally they          
degenerated into a mere  superstition4  
,julian strived in vain to infuse new   
life into the  vanishing cult1 but it   
was too late--the ,eleusinian ,mysteries
 were dead4    ,the ,athenians were     
pious in the extreme1 and throughout the
 period that  initiation was limited to 
that race the reputation of ,eleusis was

  maintained1 although pilgrims from    
various and remote parts of the world   
visited it at the season of the         
,mysteries4 ,when the ,eleusinian       
,mysteries  were taken to ,rome1 as they
 were in the reign of ,hadrian1 they    
contracted impurities and degenerated   
into riot and vice2 the  spirituality of
 their teachings did not accompany the  
transference or it  failed to be        
comprehended4 ,although the forms of    
initiation were still  symbolical of the
 original and noble objects of the      
institution1 the  licentious ,romans    
mistook the shadow for the substance1   
and while they  passed through all the  
ceremonies they were strangers to the   
objects for  which they were framed4    
,in ,a4,d4 #cfd1 a law prohibiting      
nocturnal rites was published by        
,valentinian1 but ,praetextatus1 whom   
,julian had constituted governor of     
,achaia1 prevailed on him to revoke it1 
urging that the lives of the  ,greeks   
would be rendered utterly unsupportable 

if he deprived them of  this1 their most
 holy and comprehensive festival4 ,much 
has been made by  some writers of the   
fact that the ceremonies were held at   
night1 but in  the early days of        
,christianity also it was the custom for
 ,christians to  forgather either at    
night or before daybreak1 a circumstance
 which led  to their assemblies being   
known as antelucani and themselves as   
lucifug or light-haters1 by way of      
reproach4 ,about the beginning of  the  
fifth century ,theodosius the ,great    
prohibited and almost totally           
extinguished the pagan theology in the  
,roman ,empire1 and the ,eleusinian     
,mysteries suffered in the general      
destruction4 ,it is probable1 however1  
that the ,mysteries were celebrated     
secretly in spite of the severe  edicts 
of ,theodosius and that they were partly
 continued through the  dark ages1      
though stripped of their splendour4 ,it 
is certain that many  rites of the pagan
 religion were performed under the      

dissembled name of  convivial meetings1 
long after the publication of the       
,emperor's edicts1  and ,psellius       
informs us that the ,mysteries of ,ceres
 existed in ,athens  until the eighth   
century of the ,christian era and were  
never totally  suppressed4    ,the      
,festival of the ,greater               
,mysteries--and this was1 of course1 by 
far  the more important--began on the   
#aeth of the month of ,boedromion1      
corresponding roughly with the month of 
,september1 and lasted until the  #bcrd 
of the same month4 ,during that time it 
was unlawful to arrest any  man present1
 or present any petition except for     
offences committed at  the ,festival1   
heavy penalties being inflicted for     
breaches of this law1  the penalties    
fixed being a fine of not less than a   
thousand drachmas1  and some assert that
 transgressors were even put to death4  
,footnote #a3 ,from two inscriptions    
found at ,eleusis it would appear that  
it was customary to make the name public

 after the death of the  hierophant4 ,it
 seems also to have been the practice to
 make the name  known to the initiate   
under the pledge of secrecy4 ,sir ,james
 ,frazer  thinks that the names were1 in
 all probability1 engraved on tablets of
  bronze or lead and then thrown into   
deep water in the ,gulf of ,salamis4    
,,iii    ,,programme ,,of ,,the         
,,greater ,,mysteries      ,the         
following is the programme of the       
,greater ,mysteries1 which  extended    
over a period of ten days4 ,the various 
functions were  characterized by the    
greatest possible solemnity and decorum1
 and the  ceremonies were regarded as   
religious in the highest interpretation 
of  that term4    ,,first ,,day4--,the  
first day was known as the ,gathering1  
or the  ,assembly1 when all who had     
passed through the ,lesser ,mysteries   
assembled to assist in the celebration  
of the ,greater ,mysteries4 ,on this    
day the ,archon ,basileus presided over 
all the cults of the city1 and          

assembled the people at a place known as
 the ,poikile ,stoa4 ,after the  ,archon
 ,basileus1 with four assistants1 had   
offered up sacrifices and  prayers for  
the welfare of ,greece1 the following   
proclamation was made  by the ,archon   
,basileus1 wearing his robe of office3--
    ,come1 whoever is clean of all      
pollution and whose soul has not        
consciousness of sin4 ,come1 whosoever  
hath lived a life of righteousness  and 
justice4 ,come all ye who are pure of   
heart and of hand1 and whose  speech can
 be understood4 ,whosoever hath not     
clean hands1 a pure soul1  and an       
intelligible voice must not assist at   
the ,mysteries4    ,the people were then
 commanded by the hierophant to wash    
their hands in  consecrated water1 and  
the impious were threatened with the    
punishment  set forth in the law if they
 were discovered1 but especially1 and   
this  in any case1 with the implacable  
anger of the gods4 ,the hierocceryx then
  impressed upon all the duty of        

observing the most rigid secrecy with   
respect to what they might witness1 and 
bade them to be silent  throughout the  
ceremonies1 and not utter even an       
exclamation4 ,the  candidates for       
initiation assembled outside the temple1
 each under the  guidance and direction 
of the mystagogue1 who repeated these   
instructions to the candidates4 ,once   
within the sacred enclosure all the     
initiates were subject to a purification
 by fire ceremonial4 ,all wore  regalia 
special to the occasion4 ,this is       
evident from the wording of             
inscriptions which have been discovered1
 but particulars of the regalia  are    
wanting4 ,we know that extravagant and  
costly dresses were regarded  by        
,demeter with disfavour1 and that it was
 forbidden to wear such in the  temple4 
,jewellery1 gold ornaments1             
purple-coloured belts1 and  embroideries
 were also barred1 as were robes and    
cloths of mixed  colours4 ,the hair of  
women had to fall down loose upon the   

shoulders1  and must not be in plaits or
 coiled upon the head4 ,no woman was    
permitted to use cosmetics4    ,,second 
,,day4--,the second day was known as    
,halade ,myst1 or ,to the sea1  ye myst1
 from the command which greeted all the 
initiates to go and  purify themselves  
by washing in the sea1 or in the salt   
water of the two  consecrated lakes1    
called ,rheiti1 on what was known as    
,the ,sacred ,way4  ,the priests had the
 exclusive right of fishing in these    
lakes4 ,a  procession was formed1 in    
which all joined and made their way to  
the sea  or the lakes1 where they bathed
 and purified themselves4 ,this general 
purification was akin to that practised 
to this day by the ,jews at the         
beginning of the ,jewish year4 ,the day 
was consecrated to ,saturn1 into  whose 
province the soul is said to fall in the
 course of its descent  from the tropic 
of ,cancer4 ,capella compares ,saturn to
 a river1  voluminous1 sluggish1 and    
cold4 ,the planet signifies pure        

intellect1 and  ,pythagoras symbolically
 called the sea a tear of ,saturn4 ,the 
bathing was  preceded by a confession1  
and the manner in which the bathing was 
carried out and the number of immersions
 varied with the degree of guilt  which 
each confessed4 ,according to ,suidas1  
those who had to purify  themselves from
 murder plunged into salt water on two  
separate  occasions1 immersing          
themselves seven times on each occasion4
 ,on  returning from the bath all were  
regarded as new creatures1 the bath     
being regarded as a laver of            
regeneration1 and the initiates were    
clothed in a plain fawn-skin or a       
sheep-skin4 ,the purification1 however1 
was not regarded as complete until the  
following day1 when there was  added the
 sprinkling of the blood of a pig       
sacrificed4 ,each had carried  to the   
river or lake a little pig1 which was   
also purified by bathing1  and on the   
next day this pig was sacrificed4 ,the  
pig was offered because  it was very    

pernicious to cornfields4 ,on the       
,eleusinian coinage the pig1  standing  
on a torch placed horizontally1 appears 
as the sign and symbol  of the          
,mysteries4 ,on this day also some of   
the initiated submitted to a  special   
purification near the altar of ,zeus    
,mellichios on the ,sacred  ,way4 ,for  
each person whom it was desired to      
purify an ox was sacrificed  to ,zeus   
,mellichios1 the infernal ,zeus1 the    
skin of the animal was laid  on the     
ground by the dadouchos1 and the one who
 was the object of the  lustration      
remained there squatting on the left    
foot4    ,,third ,,day4--,on the third  
day pleasures of every description1 even
 the  most innocent1 were strictly      
forbidden1 and every one fasted till    
nightfall1 when they partook of seed    
cakes1 parched corn1 salt1              
pomegranates1 and sacred wine mixed with
 milk and honey4 ,the ,archon           
,basileus1 assisted again by the four   
epimelet1 celebrated1 in the  presence  

of representatives from the allied      
cities1 the great sacrifice  of the     
,soteria for the well-being of the      
,state1 the ,athenian citizens1  and    
their wives and children4 ,this ceremony
 took place in the ,eleusinion  at the  
foot of the ,acropolis4 ,the day was    
known as the ,day of ,mourning1  and was
 supposed to commemorate ,demeter's     
grief at the loss of  ,persephone4 ,the 
sacrifices offered consisted chiefly of 
a mullet and of  barley out of ,rharium1
 a field of ,eleusis4 ,the oblations    
were accounted  so sacred that the      
priests themselves were not permitted1  
as was usual  in other offerings1 to    
partake of them4 ,at the conclusion of  
the general  ceremony each one          
individually sacrificed the little pig  
purified in the  sea the night before4  
,the hog of propitiation offered to     
,frey was a solemn sacrifice in the     
,north of ,europe and in ,sweden1 down  
to modern times1 the custom has been    
preserved by baking1 on ,christmas ,eve1

 a loaf or cake in the form of a  hog4  
,,fourth ,,day4--,the principal event of
 the fourth day was a solemn            
procession1 when the holy basket of     
,ceres 7,demeter7 was carried in a      
consecrated cart1 the crowds of people  
shouting as it went along1 ,hail1       
,ceres6 ,the rear end of the procession 
was composed of women carrying  baskets 
containing sesamin1 carded wool1 grains 
of salt1 corn1  pomegranates1 reeds1 ivy
 boughs1 cakes known as poppies1 and    
sometimes  serpents4 ,one kind of these 
cakes was known as ox-cakes2 they were  
made with little horns and dedicated to 
the moon4 ,another kind contained  poppy
 seeds4 ,poppy was used in the          
ceremonies because it was said that     
some grains of poppy were given to      
,demeter upon her arrival in ,greece to 
induce sleep1 which she had not enjoyed 
from the time of the abduction  of      
,persephone4 ,demeter is invariably     
represented in her statues as being     
very rotund1 crowned with ears of corn1 

and holding in her hand a branch  of    
poppy4    ,,fifth ,,day4--,the fifth day
 was known as the ,day of ,torches1 from
 the fact  that at nightfall all the    
initiates walked in pairs round the     
temple of  ,demeter at ,eleusis1 the    
dadouchos himself leading the           
procession4 ,the  torches were waved    
about and changed from hand to hand1 to 
represent the  wanderings of the goddess
 in search of her daughter when she was 
conducted by the light of a torch       
kindled in the flames of ,etna4         
,,sixth ,,day4--,iacchos was the name   
given to the sixth day of the ,festival4
  ,the fair young god1 ,iacchos1 or     
,dionysos1 or ,bacchus1 was the son of  
,jupiter and ,ceres1 and accompanied the
 goddess in her search for  ,persephone4
 ,he also carried a torch1 hence his    
statue has always a torch  in the hand4 
,this statue1 together with other sacred
 objects1 were taken  from the          
,iacchion1 the sanctuary of ,iacchos in 
,athens1 mounted on a  heavy rustic     

four-wheeled chariot drawn by bulls1    
and1 accompanied by  the ,iacchogogue   
and other magistrates nominated for the 
occasion1  conveyed from the            
,kerameikos1 or ,potter's ,quarter1 to  
,eleusis by the  ,sacred ,way in solemn 
procession4 ,it was on this day that the
 solemnity  of the ceremonial reached   
its height4 ,the statue1 as well as the 
people  accompanying it1 were crowned   
with myrtle1 the people dancing all the 
way along the route1 beating brass      
kettles and playing instruments of      
various kinds and singing sacred songs4 
,halts were made during the  procession 
at various shrines1 at the site of the  
house of ,phytalus1  who1 it was said1  
received the goddess into his house1    
and1 according to  an inscription on his
 tomb1 she requited him by revealing to 
him the  culture of the fig2            
particularly at a fig-tree which was    
regarded as  sacred1 because it had the 
renown of being planted by ,phytalus2   
also  upon a bridge built over the river

 ,cephissus1 by the side of which ,pluto
  descended into ,hades with            
,persephone1 where the bystanders made  
themselves merry at the expense of the  
pilgrims4 ,at each of the shrines       
sacrifices and libations were offered1  
hymns sung1 and sacred dances           
performed4 ,having passed the bridge1   
the people entered ,eleusis by what  was
 known as the ,mystical ,entrance4      
,midnight had set in before ,eleusis    
was reached1 so that a great part of the
 journey had to be accomplished  by the 
light of the torches carried by each of 
the pilgrims1 and the  nocturnal journey
 was spoken of as the ,night of ,torches
 by many  ancient authors4 ,the pitch   
and resin of which the torches were     
composed  were substances supposed to   
have the virtue of warding off evil     
spirits4  ,the barren mountains of the  
,pass of ,daphni and the surface of the 
sea  resounded with the chant1 ,iacchos1
 ,o ,iacchos6 ,at one of the halts the  
,croconians1 descendants of the hero    

,crocon1 who had formerly reigned  over 
the ,thriasian ,plain1 fastened a       
saffron band on the right arm and  left 
foot of each one in the procession4     
,iacchos was always regarded as  a child
 of ,demeter1 inasmuch as the vine grows
 out of the earth4 ,various  symbols    
were carried by the people1 who numbered
 sometimes as many as  from thirty to   
forty thousand4 ,these symbols consisted
 of winnowing  fans--the ,mystic ,fan of
 ,iacchos1 plaited reeds and baskets1   
both  relating to the worship of the    
goddess and her son4 ,the fan1 or van1  
as  it was sometimes called1 was the    
instrument that separates the wheat     
from the chaff1 and was regarded also as
 an emblem of the power which  separates
 the virtuous from the wicked4 ,in the  
ancient paintings by  ,bellori two      
persons are represented as standing by  
the side of the  initiate4 ,one is the  
priest who is performing the ceremony1  
who is  represented as in a devout      
posture1 and wearing a veil1 the old    

mark of  devotion1 while another is     
holding a fan over the head of the      
candidate4  ,in some of the editions of 
,southey's translation of the neid the  
following lines appear3--         ,now  
learn what arms industrious peasants    
wield       ,to sow the furrow's glebe1 
and clothe the field3       ,the share1 
the crooked plough's strong beam1 the   
wain       ,that slowly rolls on ,ceres 
to her fane3       ,hails1 sleds1 light 
osiers1 and the harrow's load1          
,the hurdle1 and the mystic van of ,god4
    ,the distance covered by the        
procession was twenty-two kilometres1   
but  ,lycurgus ordered that if any woman
 should ride in a chariot to ,eleusis   
she should be mulcted in a fine of      
#h1jjj drachmas4 ,this was to prevent   
the richer women from distinguishing    
themselves from their poorer  sisters4  
,strange to relate1 the wife of         
,lycurgus was the first to break  this  
law1 and ,lycurgus himself had to pay   
the fine which he had  ordained4 ,he not

 only paid the penalty1 but gave a      
talent to the  informer4 ,immediately   
upon the deposit of the sacred objects  
in the  ,eleusinion1 at the foot of the 
,acropolis1 one of the ,eleusinian      
priests  solemnly announced their       
arrival to the priestess of the tutelary
  goddess of ,athens--,pallas ,athene4  
,plutarch1 in commenting upon lucky and 
unlucky days1 says that he is aware that
 unlucky things happen sometimes  on    
lucky days1 for the ,athenians had to   
receive a ,macedonian garrison  even on 
the #bjth of ,boedromion1 the day on    
which they led forth the  mystic        
,iacchos4    ,,seventh ,,day4--,on the  
seventh day the statue was carried back 
to ,athens4  ,the return journey was    
also a solemn procession1 and attended  
with  numerous ceremonies4 ,halts were  
again made at several places1 like the  
stations of ,roman ,catholic            
pilgrimages1 when the inhabitants also  
fell  temporarily into line with the    
procession4 ,for those who remained     

behind  at ,eleusis the time was devoted
 to sports1 the combatants appearing    
naked1 and the victors were rewarded    
with a measure of barley1 it being  a   
tradition that that grain was first sown
 in ,eleusis4 ,it was also  regarded as 
a day of solemn preparation by those who
 were to be  initiated on the following 
night4 ,the return journey was conducted
 with  the same splendour as the outward
 journey4 ,it comprised comic incidents1
  the same as on the previous day4      
,those who awaited the procession at the
  bridge over the ,athenian river       
,cephisson exchanged all kinds of chaff 
and buffoonery with those who were in   
the procession1 indulging in what  was  
termed bridge fooling4 ,these jests1 it 
is said1 were to recall the  tactful    
measures employed by a maidservant named
 ,iambe to rouse ,demeter  from her     
prolonged sorrowing4 ,there is a strange
 contradiction in the  various          
statements made by the ancient writers  
as to what was  permissible and what was

 forbidden during the ceremonies4       
,demeter1 when  in search of her        
daughter1 broke down with fatigue at    
,eleusis1 where she  sat down on a well1
 overwhelmed with grief4 ,it was        
strictly forbidden to  any of the       
initiated to sit down on this well lest 
it should appear that  they were        
mimicking the weeping goddess4 ,yet the 
mimicking of the jests  of ,iambe were  
part of the ceremonial of the           
,mysteries4 ,according to the  ancient  
writers the jests1 so-called1 would be  
regarded to-day as in  bad taste4       
,having thus spoken1 she drew aside her 
garments       ,and showed all that     
shape of the body which it is           
improper to name--the growth of puberty4
       ,and with her own hand ,iambe    
stripped herself under          the     
breasts4       ,blandly then the goddess
 laughed and laughed in her             
mind1       ,and received the glancing  
cup in which was the          draught4  
,during the ,peloponnesian war the      

,athenians were unable to obtain an     
armistice from the ,lacedmonians who    
held ,decelea1 and it became  necessary 
to send the statue of ,iacchos and the  
processionists to  ,eleusis by sea4     
,plutarch says3 ,under these conditions 
it was necessary  to omit the sacrifices
 usually offered all along the road     
during the  passing of ,iacchos4        
,,eighth ,,day4--,the eighth day was    
called ,epidaurion1 because it happened 
once that sculapius1 coming from        
,epidaurius to ,athens1 desired to be   
initiated1 and had the ,lesser          
,mysteries repeated for that purpose4   
,it  therefore became customary to      
celebrate the ,lesser ,mysteries a      
second  time upon this day1 and to admit
 to initiation any such approved        
candidates who had not already enjoyed  
the privilege4 ,there was also  another 
reason for the repetition of the        
initiatory rites then4 ,the  eighth day 
was regarded as symbolical of the soul  
falling into the lunar  orbi1 and the   

repeated initiation1 the second         
celebration of that sacred  rite1 was   
symbolical of the soul bidding adieu to 
everything of a  celestial nature1      
sinking into a perfect oblivion of her  
divine origin  and pristine felicity1   
and rushing profoundly into the region  
of  dissimilitude1 ignorance1 and error4
 ,the day opened with a solemn          
sacrifice offered to ,demeter and       
,persephone1 which took place within the
  peribolus4 ,the utmost precision had  
to be observed in offering this         
sacrifice as regarding the age1 colour1 
and sex of the victim1 the  chants1     
perfumes1 and libations4 ,the acceptance
 or rejection of a  sacrifice was       
indicated by the movements of the animal
 as it approached  the altar1 the       
vivacity of the flame1 the direction of 
the smoke1 etc4  ,if these signs were   
not favourable in the case of the first 
victim  offered1 other animals must be  
slain until one presented itself in     
which  all the signs were favourable4   

,the flesh of the animal offered was not
  allowed to be taken outside the sacred
 precincts1 but had to be consumed      
within the building4 ,the following is  
said to have been an ,invocation  used  
during the celebration of the           
,mysteries3--         ,daughter of      
,jove1 ,persephone divine1       ,come1 
blessed queen1 and to these rites       
incline2       ,only-begotten1 ,pluto's 
honoured wife1       ,o venerable       
goddess1 source of life3       ',tis    
thine in earth's profoundities to dwell1
       ,fast by the wide and dismal     
gates of hell4       ,jove's holy       
offering1 of a beauteous mien1          
,avenging goddess1 subterranean queen4  
,the ,furies' source1 fair-hair'd1 whose
 frame proceeds       ,from ,jove's     
ineffable and secret seeds4             
,mother of ,bacchus1 sonorous1 divine1  
,and many form'd1 the parent of the     
vine4       ,associate of the ,seasons1 
essence bright1       ,all-ruling       
virgin1 bearing heav'nly light4         

,with fruits abounding1 of a bounteous  
mind1       ,horn'd1 and alone desir'd  
by those of mortal kind4       ,o vernal
 queen1 whom grassy plains delight1     
,sweet to the smell1 and pleasing to the
 sight3       ,whose holy forms in      
budding fruits we view1       ,earth's  
vig'rous offspring of a various hue3    
,espous'd in autumn1 life and death     
alone       ,to wretched mortals from   
thy pow'r is known3       ,for thine the
 task1 according to thy will1           
,life to produce1 and all that lives to 
kill4       ,hear1 blessed ,goddess1    
send a rich increase       ,of various  
fruits from earth1 with lovely ,peace2  
,send ,health with gentle hand1 and     
crown my life       ,with blest         
abundance1 free from noisy strife2      
,last in extreme old age the prey of    
death1       ,dismiss me willing to the 
realms beneath1       ,to thy fair      
palace and the blissful plains          
,where happy spirits dwell1 and ,pluto  
reigns4    ,,ninth ,,day4--,the ninth   

day was known as the ,day of ,earthen   
,vessels1  because it was the custom on 
that day to fill two jugs with wine4    
,one  was placed towards the ,east and  
the other towards the ,west1 and after  
the repetition of certain mystical      
formul both were overthrown1 the  wine  
being spilt upon the ground as a        
libation4 ,the first of these  formul   
was directed towards the sky as a prayer
 for rain1 and the  second to the earth 
as a prayer for fertility4    ,the words
 used by the hierophant to denote the   
termination of the  celebration of the  
,mysteries-,conx ,om ,pax3 ,watch and do
 no evil--are  said to have been        
,egyptian1 and were the same as those   
used at the  conclusion of the          
,mysteries of ,isis4 ,this fact is      
sometimes used as an  argument in favour
 of the ,egyptian origin of the         
,eleusinian ,mysteries4    ,,tenth      
,,day4--,on the tenth day the majority  
of the people returned to  their homes1 
with the exception of every third and   

fifth year1 when they  remained behind  
for the ,mystery ,plays and ,sports1    
which lasted from two  to three days4   
,the ,eleusinian ,games are described by
 the rhetorician ,aristides as the      
oldest of all ,greek games4 ,they are   
supposed to have been instituted as  a  
thank-offering to ,demeter and          
,persephone at the conclusion of the    
corn  harvest4 ,from an inscription     
dating from the latter part of the third
  century ,b4,c4 sacrifices were offered
 to ,demeter and ,persephone at these   
games4 ,they included athletic and      
musical contests1 a horse race1 and a   
competition which bore the name of the  
,ancestral or the ,hereditary  ,contest1
 the nature of which is not known1 but  
which it is thought may  have had its   
origin in a contest between the reapers 
on the sacred  ,rharian plain to see    
which should first complete his allotted
 task4    ,the ancient sanctuary in     
which the ,mysteries were celebrated was
 burnt  by the ,persians in #dhj or #dgi

 ,b4,c41 and a new sanctuary was        
built--or1  at least1 begun--under the  
administration of ,pericles4 ,plutarch  
says  that ,corcebus began the ,temple  
of ,initiation at ,eleusis1 but only    
lived  to finish the lower rank of      
columns with their architraves2         
,metagenes1  of the ward of ,xypete1    
added the rest of the entablature and   
the upper  row of columns1 and that     
,xenocles of ,cholargus built the dome  
on the  top4 ,the long wall1 the        
building of which ,socrates says he     
heard  ,pericles propose to the people1 
was undertaken by ,callicrates4         
,cratinus  satirized the work as        
proceeding very slowly3--         ,stone
 upon stone the orator has pil'd        
,with swelling words1 but words will    
build no walls4    ,according to some   
writers the ,temple was planned by      
,tetinus1 the  architect of the         
,parthenon1 and ,pericles was merely the
 overseer of the  building4 ,we are told
 by ,vitruvius that the ,temple at      

,eleusis consisted  at first of one cell
 of vast magnitude1 without columns1    
though it was  probable that it was     
meant to be surrounded in the customary 
manner2 a  prostyle1 however1 only was  
added1 and that not until the time of   
,demetrius ,phalereus1 some ages after  
the original structure was erected4  ,it
 is probable that the uncommon magnitude
 of the cell1 added to the  various and 
complicated rites of initiation to the  
,eleusinian ,mysteries1  of which it was
 the scene1 prevented its being a       
peristyle1 the expense  of which would  
have been enormous4 ,the ,temple was one
 of the largest of  the sacred edifices 
of ,greece4 ,its length was #fh metres1 
its breadth  #ed1ff metres and its      
superficial area #cgaf1hh square metres4
 ,the  monumental altar of sacrifice was
 placed in front of the facade1 close   
by the eastern angle of the enclosure4  
,according to ,virgil the words  ,far   
hence1 ,o be ye far hence1 ye profane   
ones1 were inscribed over the  main     

portal4    ,in the fourth century of the
 ,christian era the ,temple of ,eleusis 
was  destroyed by the ,goths1 at the    
instigation of the monks1 who followed  
the hosts of ,alaric4    ,the revenues  
from the celebrations must have been    
considerable4 ,at both  the ,lesser     
,mysteries and the ,greater ,mysteries a
 charge of one obole a  day was demanded
 from each one attending1 which was     
given to the  hierophant4 ,the          
hierocceryx received a half-obole a day1
 and other  assistants a similar sum4   
,in current coinage an obole was of the 
value  of a fraction over #a #a_/d;d4   
,,iv    ,,the ,,initiatory ,,rites      
,two important facts must be set down   
with regard to the ,mysteries3  first1  
the general custom of all ,athenian     
citizens1 and afterwards of  all ,greeks
 generally1 and eventually of many      
foreigners1 to seek  admission into the 
,eleusinian ,mysteries in the only      
possible  manner--viz4 by initiation2   
and1 second1 the scrupulous care        

exercised  by the ,eumolpides to ensure 
that only persons duly qualified1 of    
irreproachable--or1 at any rate1 of     
circumspect1 character passed the       
portals4 ,in the earlier days of the    
,mysteries it was a necessary  condition
 that the candidates for initiation     
should be free-born  ,athenians1 but in 
course of time this rule was relaxed1   
until eventually  strangers 7as         
residents outside ,athens were called71 
aliens1 slaves1 and  even courtesans1   
were admitted1 on condition that they   
were introduced  by a mystagogue1 who   
was1 of course1 an ,athenian4 ,an       
interesting  inscription was discovered 
a few years ago demonstrating the fact  
that  the public slaves of the city were
 initiated at the public expense4 ,from 
historical records we learn that ,lysias
 was enabled without difficulty  to     
secure the initiation of his mistress1  
,metanira1 who was then in the  service 
of the courtesan ,nicareta4 ,there      
always prevailed1 however1 the  strict  

rule that no one could be admitted who  
had been guilty of murder  or homicide1 
wilful or accidental1 or who had been   
convicted of  witchcraft1 and all who   
had incurred the capital penalty for    
conspiracy  or treason were also        
excluded4 ,nero sought admission into   
the ,eleusinian  ,mysteries1 but was    
rejected because of the many slaughters 
connected  with his name4 ,antoninus1   
when he would purge himself before the  
world  of the death of ,avidius         
,cassius1 elected to be initiated into  
the  ,eleusinian ,mysteries1 it being   
recognized at that time that none was   
admitted into them who was justly guilty
 of heinous immorality or crime4        
,apollonius of ,tyana was desirous of   
being admitted into the ,eleusinian     
,mysteries1 but the hierophant refused  
to admit him on the ground that he  was 
a magician1 and had intercourse with    
divinities other than those of  the     
,mysteries1 declaring that he would     
never initiate a wizard or throw  open  

the ,mysteries to a man addicted to     
impure rites4 ,apollonius  retorted3    
,you have not yet mentioned the chief of
 my offences1 which is  that1 knowing1  
as ,i do1 more about the initiatory     
rites than you do  yourself1 ,i have    
nevertheless come to you as if you were 
wiser than ,i  am4 ,the hierophant1 when
 he saw that the exclusion of           
,apollonius was  not by any means       
popular with the crowd1 changed his tone
 and said3 ,be  thou initiated1 for thou
 seemest to be some wise man that has   
come  here4 ,but ,apollonius replied3 ,i
 will be initiated at another time1 and 
it is 7mentioning a name7 who will      
initiate me4 ,hereon1 says              
,philostratus1 he showed his gift of    
prevision1 for he glanced at the one    
who succeeded the hierophant he         
addressed1 and presided over the temple 
four years later when ,apollonius was   
initiated4    ,persons of both sexes and
 of all ages were initiated1 and neglect
 of the  ceremony came to be regarded   

almost in the light of a crime4         
,socrates  and ,demonax were reproached 
and looked upon with suspicion because  
they  did not apply for initiation4     
,persians were always pointedly excluded
  from the ceremony4 ,athenians of both 
sexes were granted the privilege of     
initiation during childhood on the      
presentation of their father1 but  only 
the first degree of initiation was      
permitted4 ,for the second and  third   
degrees it was necessary to have arrived
 at full age4 ,the ,greeks  looked upon 
initiation in much the same light as the
 majority of  ,christians look upon     
baptism4 ,so great was the rush of      
candidates for  initiation when the     
restrictions were relaxed that ,cicero  
was able to  write that the inhabitants 
of the most distant regions flocked to  
,eleusis in order to be initiated4 ,thus
 it became the custom with all  ,romans1
 who journeyed to ,athens to take       
advantage of the opportunity to  become 
initiates4 ,even the ,emperors of ,rome1

 the official heads of the  ,roman      
religion1 the masters of the world1 came
 to the ,eumolpides to  proffer the     
request that they might receive the     
honour of initiation and  become        
participants in the ,sacred ,mysteries  
revealed by the goddess4    ,while      
,augustus1 who was initiated in the year
 #ba ,b4,c41 did not hesitate  to show  
his antipathy towards the religion of   
the ,egyptians1 towards  ,judaism and   
,druidism1 he was always scrupulous in  
observing the pledge  of secrecy        
demanded of initiates into the          
,eleusinian ,mysteries1 and on  one     
occasion1 when it became necessary for  
some of the priests of the  ,eleusinian 
temple to proceed to ,rome to plead     
before his tribunal on the  question of 
privilege1 and in the course of the     
evidence to speak of  certain ceremonial
 in connection with the ,mysteries of   
which it was not  lawful to speak in the
 presence of the uninitiated1 he ordered
 every one  who had not received the    

privilege of initiation to leave the    
tribunal  so that he and the witnesses  
alone remained4 ,the ,eleusinian        
,mysteries  were not deemed inimical to 
the welfare of the ,roman ,empire as    
were the  religions of the ,egyptians1  
,jews1 and ancient ,britons4            
,claudius1 another imperial initiate1   
conceived the idea of transferring  the 
scene of the ,mysteries to ,rome1 and1  
according to ,suetonius1 was  about to  
put the project into execution1 when it 
was ruled that it was  obligatory that  
the principal scenic presentation of the
 ,mysteries must  be celebrated on the  
ground trodden by the feet of ,demeter  
and where the  goddess herself had      
ordered her temple to be erected4       
,the initiation of the ,emperor ,hadrian
 7who succeeded where ,claudius had     
failed1 in introducing the celebration  
of the ,mysteries into ,rome7 took      
place in ,a4,d4 #abe1 when he was       
present at the ,lesser ,mysteries in the
  spring and at the ,greater ,mysteries 

in the following autumn4 ,in            
,september1 ,a4,d4 #abi1 he was again at
 ,athens1 when he presented himself  for
 the third degree1 as is known from     
,dion ,cassius1 confirmed by a  letter  
written by the ,emperor himself1 in     
which he mentions a journey  from       
,eleusis to ,ephesus made by him at that
 time4 ,hadrian is the only  imperial   
initiate1 so far as is known1 who       
persevered and passed through  all three
 degrees4 ,since he remained at ,eleusis
 as long as it was  possible for him to 
do so after the completion of his       
initiation1 it is  not rash to assume   
that he was inspired by something more  
than curiosity  or even by a desire to  
show respect4    ,it is uncertain       
whether the ,emperor ,antonin was       
initiated1 although from  an inscription
 it seems probable that he was and that 
he should be  included in the list of   
imperial initiates4 ,both ,marcus       
,aurelius and  ,commodus1 father and    
son1 were initiated at the same time1 at

 the ,lesser  ,mysteries in ,march1     
,a4,d4 #agf1 and at the ,greater        
,mysteries in the  following ,september4
 ,septimius ,severus was initiated      
before he ascended  the throne4         
,there was1 as stated1 three degrees1   
and the ordinary procedure with  regard 
to initiation was as follows3--    ,in  
the month of ,anthesterion1 the flower  
month of spring1 corresponding  with    
,february-,march1 an applicant could1 if
 approved1 become an initiate  into the 
first degree at the celebration of the  
,lesser ,mysteries and  take part in    
their celebration at the ,eleusinion at 
,agra1 near to  ,athens4 ,the ceremony  
of initiation into this first degree was
 on a far  less imposing scale than the 
ceremony of initiation into the second  
and  third degrees at the ,greater      
,mysteries4 ,the candidate1 however1 had
 to  keep chaste and unpolluted for nine
 days prior to the ceremony1 which  each
 one attended wearing crowns and        
garlands of flowers and observed by     

offering prayers and sacrifices4        
,immediately previous to the celebration
  the candidates for initiation were    
prepared by the ,mystagogues1 the       
special teachers selected for the       
purpose from the families of the        
,eumolpides and ,keryces4 ,they were    
instructed in the story of ,demeter and 
,persephone1 the character of the       
purification necessary and other        
preliminary rites1 the fast days1 with  
particulars of the food  permissible and
 forbidden to be eaten1 and the various 
sacrifices to be  offered by and for    
them under the direction of the         
mystagogues4    ,without this           
preparation no one could be admitted to 
the ,mysteries4  ,there was1 however1   
neither secret doctrine nor dogmatic    
teaching in  this preliminary           
instruction4 ,revelation came through   
contemplation of  the sacred objects    
displayed during the ceremonies by the  
hierophant1  the meaning of which was   
communicated by means of the mystic     

formul2  but the preparation demanded of
 the initiates1 the secrecy imposed1 the
  ceremonies at which the initiates     
assisted1 all of which were performed   
in the dead of night1 created a strong  
impression and lively hope in  regard to
 the future life4 ,no other cult in     
,greece1 still less the cold  ,roman    
religion1 had anything of the kind1 or  
approaching to it1 to  offer4 ,fasting  
from food and drink for a certain period
 before and after  initiation was       
essential1 but the candidates did not   
attach to this act  any idea of         
maceration or expiation of faults3 it   
was simply the  reproduction of an event
 in the life of the goddess1 and        
undergone in  order that the body might 
become more pure4 ,bowls or vases of    
consecrated or holy water were placed at
 the entrance of the temple for  the    
purposes of aspersion4 ,in cases of     
special or particular impurity an  extra
 preparation extending over two or three
 days longer became  necessary1 and     

unctions of oil or repeated immersions  
in water were  administered4 ,the       
outward physical purity1 the result of  
immersion prior  to initiation1 was but 
the symbol of the inward purity which   
was  supposed to result from initiation4
 ,one of the duties of the mystagogues  
was to see that the candidates were in a
 state of physical cleanliness  both    
before and throughout the ceremony4     
,according to inscriptions which  have  
been discovered there appear to have    
been temples or buildings set  apart for
 the cleansing of candidates from       
special impurities4  ,initiation into   
the ,lesser ,mysteries only permitted   
the neophyte to go  as far as the outer 
vestibule of the temple4    ,in the     
following autumn1 if of full age and    
approved by the hierophant1  the        
neophyte could be initiated into the    
,greater ,mysteries1 into the  second   
degree1 that of ,mysta4 ,this1 however1 
did not secure admission to  all the    
ceremonies performed during the         

celebration of the ,greater  ,mysteries4
 ,a further year1 at least1 had to      
elapse before the third  degree1 that of
 ,epopta1 was taken1 before he could see
 with his own eyes  and hear with his   
own ears1 all that took place in the    
temple during the  celebration of the   
,mysteries4 ,even then1 there was one   
part of the  temple and one portion of  
the ceremony which could be entered and 
witnessed only by the hierophant and    
hierophantide4    ,according to         
,plutarch1 ,demetrius1 when he was      
returning to ,athens1 wrote  to the     
republic that on his arrival he intended
 to be initiated and to  be admitted    
immediately1 not only to the ,lesser    
,mysteries1 but to the  ,greater as     
well4 ,this was unlawful and            
unprecedented1 though when the  letter  
was read1 ,pythodorus1 a torch-bearer1  
was the only person who  ventured to    
oppose the demand1 and his opposition   
was entirely  ineffectual4 ,stratocles  
procured a decree that the month of     

,munychion  should be reputed to be and 
called the month of ,anthesterion1 to   
give  ,demetrius the opportunity for the
 initiation into the first degree4 ,this
  was done1 whereupon a second decree   
was issued by which ,munychion was      
again changed into ,boedromion1 and     
,demetrius was admitted to the          
,mysteries of the next degree4          
,philippides1 the poet1 satirized       
,stratocles in the words3 ,the man who  
can contract the whole year into  one   
month1 and ,demetrius1 with reference to
 his lodging in the  ,parthenon1 in the 
words3 ,the man who turns the temples   
into inns and  brings prostitutes into  
the company of the virgin goddess4      
,the design of initiation1 according to 
,plato1 was to restore the soul to  that
 state from which it fell1 and ,proclus 
states that initiation into  the        
,mysteries drew the souls of men from a 
material1 sensual1 and merely  human    
life and joined them in communion with  
the gods4 ,happy is the  man1 wrote     

,euripides1 who hath been initiated into
 the ,greater  ,mysteries and leads a   
life of piety and religion1 and         
,aristophanes  truly represented public 
opinion when he wrote in ,the ,frogs3   
,on us  only does the sun dispense his  
blessings2 we only receive pleasure from
  his beams2 we1 who are initiated1 and 
perform towards citizens and  strangers 
all acts of piety and justice4 ,the     
initiates sought to  imitate the        
allegorical birth of the god4 ,the epopt
 were supposed to  have experienced a   
certain regeneration and to enter upon a
 new state of  existence1 and they were 
fantastically deemed to have acquired a 
great  increase of light and knowledge4 
,hitherto they had been exoteric and    
profane2 now they had become esoteric   
and holy4    ,jevons1 in his            
,introduction to the ,study of          
,religion1 says that no  oath was       
demanded of the initiate1 but that      
silence was observed  generally as an   
act of reverence rather than as an act  

of purposed  concealment4 ,there seems1 
however1 to be conclusive evidence that 
an  oath of secrecy was demanded of and 
taken by the candidates for  initiation1
 at any rate1 into the second and third 
degrees1 if not into  the first degree4 
,moreover1 there are on record several  
prosecutions of  citizens for having    
broken the pledge of secrecy they had   
given4  schylus was indicted for having 
disclosed in the theatre certain        
details of the ,mysteries1 and he only  
escaped punishment by proving that  he  
had never been initiated and1 therefore1
 could not have violated any            
obligation4 ,a ,greek scholiast says    
that in five of his tragedies  schylus  
spoke of ,demeter and therefore may be  
supposed in these cases  to have touched
 upon subjects connected with the       
,mysteries1 and  ,heraclides of ,pontus 
says that on this account he was in     
danger of being  killed by the populace 
if he had not fled for refuge to the    
altar of  ,dionysos and been begged off 

by the ,areopagites and acquitted on the
  ground of his exploits at ,marathon4  
,an accusation was brought against      
,aristotle of having performed a funeral
 sacrifice in honour of his wife  in    
imitation of the ,eleusinian ceremonies4
 ,alcibiades was charged with  mimicking
 the sacred ,mysteries in one of his    
drunken revels1 when he  represented the
 hierophant2 ,theodorus1 one of his     
friends1 represented  the herald2 and   
another1 ,polytion1 represented the     
dadouchos2 other  companions attending  
as initiates and being addressed as     
myst4 ,the  information against him     
ran3--    ,thessalus1 the son of ,cimon1
 of the ward of ,lacais1 accuseth       
,alcibiades1 the son of ,clinian1 of the
 ward of ,scambonis1 of  sacrilegiously 
offending the goddess ,ceres and her    
daughter1 ,persephone1  by              
counterfeiting their ,mysteries and     
showing them to his companions in  his  
own house1 wearing such a robe as the   
high priest does when he shows  the holy

 things2 he called himself high priest2 
as did ,polytion  torch-bearer2 and     
,theodorus1 of the ward of ,thyges1     
herald2 and the rest  of his companions 
he called persons initiated and         
,brethren of the  ,secret2 therein      
acting contrary to the rules and        
ceremonies established  by the          
,eumolpides1 the ,heralds and ,priests  
at ,eleusis4    ,alcibiades did not     
appear in answer to the charge1 and he  
was condemned  in his absence1 an order 
being made that his goods were to be    
confiscated4 ,this occurred in #dae     
,b4,c4 and the incident created quite a 
panic1 as many prominent citizens1      
,andocides included1 were implicated4   
,this man1 said the accuser of          
,andocides1 vested in the same costume  
as a hierophant1 has shown the sacred   
objects to men who were not  initiated  
and has uttered words which it is not   
permissible to repeat4  ,andocides      
admitted the charge1 but turned king's  
evidence1 and named  certain others as  

culprits with him4 ,he was rewarded with
 a free pardon  under a decree which    
,isotmides had issued1 but those whom he
 named were  either put to death or     
outlawed and their goods were           
confiscated4  ,andocides afterwards     
entered the temple while the ,mysteries 
were in  progress and was charged with  
breaking the law in so doing4 ,he       
defended  himself before a court of     
heliasts1 all of whom had been initiated
 into  the ,mysteries1 the president of 
the court being the ,archon ,basileus4  
,the  indictment was lodged by          
,cephisius1 the chief prosecutor1 with  
the  ,archon ,basileus1 during the      
celebration of the ,greater ,mysteries  
and  while ,andocides was still at      
,eleusis4 ,andocides was acquitted1 and 
it is  stated that ,cephisius having    
failed to obtain one-fifth of the votes 
of  the court1 the result1 according to 
the law1 was that he had to pay a  fine 
of a thousand drachmas and to suffer    
permanent exclusion from the            

,eleusinian shrine4 ,diagoras was       
accused of railing at the sanctity of   
the ,mysteries of ,eleusis in such a    
manner as to deter persons from  seeking
 initiation1 and a reward of one talent 
was offered to any one  who should kill 
him or two talents to any one who should
 bring him  alive4 ,the ,greek talent   
was of the value of about #bjj4    ,an  
ancient theme of oratorical composition 
and one set even in the sixth  century  
of the ,christian era ran3--    ,the law
 punishes with death whoever has        
disclosed the ,mysteries3 some  one to  
whom the initiation has been revealed in
 a dream asks one of the  initiated if  
what he has seen is in conformity with  
reality3 the  initiate acquiesces by a  
movement of the head2 and for that he is
  accused of impiety4    ,every care1   
therefore1 was taken to prevent the     
secrecy of the ,mysteries  from being   
broken and the ceremonial becoming known
 to any not  initiated4 ,details have1  
nevertheless1 come to light in various  

ways1  but chiefly through the ancient  
writings and inscriptions4 ,step by step
  and piece by piece the diligent       
researcher has been rewarded by the     
discovery of disconnected and isolated  
fragments which1 by themselves1  supply 
no precise information1 but1 taken in   
the aggregate1 form a  perfect mosaic4  
,though it was strictly forbidden to    
reveal what took  place within the      
sacred enclosure and in the ,hall of    
,initiation1 it was  permissible to     
state clearly the main object of        
initiation and the  advantages to be    
derived from the act4 ,not only was the 
breaking of the  obligation of secrecy  
given by an initiate visited with       
severe1  sometimes even with capital1   
punishment1 but the forcing of the      
temple  enclosure by the uninitiated1 as
 sometimes happened1 was an offence of  
an equally impious and heinous          
character4 ,by virtue of the unwritten  
laws and customs dating back to the most
 remote periods the penalty of  death   

was frequently pronounced for faults not
 grave in themselves1  although the     
forcing of the temple enclosure was1 of 
course1 a grave  crime1 but because they
 concerned religion4 ,it was probably by
 virtue of  those unwritten laws that   
the priests ordered the death of two    
young  ,arcananians who had penetrated1 
through ignorance1 into the sacred      
precincts4 ,they happened inadvertently 
to mix with the crowd at the  season of 
the ,mysteries and to enter the temple1 
but the questions asked  by them1 in    
consequence of their ignorance of the   
proceedings1 betrayed  them1 and their  
intrusion was punished with death4 ,this
 was in #bjj ,b4,c41  and ,rome made war
 upon ,philip ,v of ,macedonia on the   
complaint of the  government of ,athens 
against that king who wished to punish  
them for  having rigorously applied the 
ancient laws to those two offenders1 who
  were found guilty merely of entering  
the sanctuary at ,eleusis without       
having previously been initiated4 ,no   

judicial penalty1 however1 was  meted   
out to the fanatical ,epicurean eunuch  
who1 with the object of  proving that   
the gods had no existence1 forced       
himself blaspheming into  that part of  
the sanctuary into which the hierophant 
and the  hierophantide alone had the    
right of entry4 lianus states that a    
divine  punishment in the form of a     
disease alone overtook him4 ,horace     
declared  that he would not risk his    
life by going on to the water with a    
companion who had revealed the secret of
 the ,mysteries4    ,the two days prior 
to initiation into the second and third 
degrees were  spent by the candidates in
 solitary retirement and in strict      
fasting4 ,it  was a retreat in the      
strictest sense of the word4 ,fasting   
was  practised1 not only in imitation of
 the sufferings of ,demeter when        
searching for ,persephone1 but because  
of the danger of the contact of  holy   
things with unholy1 the clean with the  
unclean4 ,this also is one of  the      

reasons why it was held to be impious   
even to speak of the ,mysteries  to one 
who had not been initiated and          
especially dangerous to allow such      
unclean and profane persons to take any 
part1 even that of a viewer1 in  the    
ceremonies4 ,hence the punishment meted 
out by the ,state was in lieu  of1 or to
 avert1 the divine wrath which such     
pollution might bring on  the community 
at large4    ,at the entrance to the    
temple tablets were placed containing a 
list of  forbidden foods4 ,the list     
included several kinds of fish--the     
whistle-fish1 gurnet1 crab1 and mullet4 
,in all probability the  whistle-fish is
 that known as ,scina aquila1 a         
,mediterranean fish that  makes a noise 
under the water which has been compared 
to bellowing1  buzzing1 purring1 or     
whistling1 the air bladder being the    
sound-producing organ4 ,the fish was    
greatly esteemed by the ,romans4  ,there
 is a large ,scina1 not aquila1 though  
very like it1 in the  ,fish ,gallery of 

the ,british ,museum 7,natural ,history7
 opposite the  entrance from the        
,zoological ,library4 ,the whistle-fish 
and crab were  held to be impure1 the   
first because it laid its eggs through  
the mouth1  and the second because it   
ate filth which other fish rejected4    
,the  gurnet was rejected because of its
 fecundity as witnessed in its annual   
triple laying of eggs1 but1 according to
 some writers1 it was rejected  because 
it ate a fish which was poisonous to    
mankind4 ,it may well be  that other    
fish were interdicted1 but ,porphyry was
 probably exaggerating  when he said    
that all fish were forbidden4 ,birds    
bred at home1 such as  chickens and     
pigeons1 were also on the banned list1  
as were beans and  certain vegetables   
which were forbidden for a mystical     
reason which  ,pausanias said he dare   
not reveal save to the initiated4 ,the  
probable  reason was that they were     
connected in some way with the          
wanderings of  ,demeter4 ,pomegranates  

were1 of course1 forbidden1 from the    
incident of  the eating of the          
pomegranate seeds by ,persephone4       
,the candidates were carefully          
instructed in these rules before the    
beginning of the celebration4           
,originally the instruction of the      
candidates was in the hands of the      
hierophant1 who1 following the  example 
of his ancestor1 ,eumolpus1 claimed the 
privilege of preparing  the candidates  
as well as that of communicating to them
 the knowledge of  the divine           
,mysteries4 ,but the continually        
increasing number of  candidates made it
 necessary to employ auxiliary          
instructors1 and this  particular work  
was handed over to the charge of the    
mystagogues1 who  prepared the          
candidates either singly or in groups1  
the hierophant  reserving to himself the
 general direction of the instruction4  
,in the  course of the initiation       
ceremony certain words had to be spoken 
by the  candidates1 and these were made 

known to them in advance1 although1 of  
course1 apart from their context4       
,admission to the second degree took    
place during the night between the      
sixth and seventh days of the           
celebration of the ,mysteries1 the      
candidates being led blindfolded into   
the temple and the ceremony opened  with
 prayers and sacrifices by the second   
,archon4 ,the candidates were  crowned  
with myrtle wreaths1 and1 on entering   
the building1 they  purified themselves 
in a formal manner by immersing their   
hands in the  consecrated water4 ,salt1 
laurel-leaves1 barley1 and crowns of    
flowers  were also employed in the      
purification4 ,the priests1 vested in   
their  sacerdotal garments1 then came   
forward to receive the candidates4 ,this
  initial ceremony took place in the    
outer hall of the temple1 the temple    
itself being closed4 ,a herald then came
 forward and uttered the  proclamation3 
,begone ye profane4 ,away from here1 all
 ye that are not  purified1 and whose   

souls have not been freed from sin4 ,in 
later years  this formulary was changed1
 and in its stead the herald proclaimed3
 ,if  any atheist1 or ,christian1 or    
,epicurean1 is come to spy on the       
orgies1  let him instantly retire1 but  
let those who believe remain and be     
initiated1 with good future4 ,it was the
 final opportunity for the  retirement  
of any who were not votaries who had by 
chance entered the  precincts3 if       
discovered afterwards the punishment was
 death4 ,in order  to make certain that 
no intruders remained behind all who    
were present  had to answer certain     
specified questions4 ,then all again    
immersed their  hands into the          
consecrated water and renewed their     
pledge of secrecy4  ,the candidates for 
initiation then took off their ordinary 
garments and  put on the skins of young 
does4 ,this done1 the priests wished    
them joy  of all the happiness their    
initiation would bring them1 and then   
left  the candidates alone4 ,within a   

few minutes the apartment in which they 
were was plunged in total darkness4     
,lamentations and strange noises were   
heard2 terrific peals of thunder        
resounded1 seemingly shaking the very   
foundations of the temple2 vivid flashes
 of lightning lit up the  darkness1     
rendering it more terrible1 while a more
 persistent light from  a fire displayed
 fearful forms4 ,sighs1 groans1 and     
cries of pain  resounded on all sides1  
like the shrieks of the condemned in    
,tartarus4  ,the novitiates were taken  
hold of by invisible hands1 their hair  
was  torn1 and they were beaten and     
thrown to the ground4 ,then a faint     
light  became visible in the distance   
and a fearful scene appeared before     
their  eyes4 ,the gates of ,tartarus    
were opened and the abode of the        
condemned  lay before them4 ,they could 
hear the cries of anguish and the vain  
regrets of those to whom ,paradise was  
lost for ever4 ,they could1  moreover1  
witness their hopeless remorse3 they    

saw1 as well as heard1  all the tortures
 of the condemned4 ,the ,furies1 armed  
with relentless  scourges and flaming   
torches1 drove the unhappy victims      
incessantly to  and fro1 never letting  
them rest for a moment4 ,meanwhile the  
loud voice  of the hierophant1 who      
represented the judge of the earth1     
could be  heard expounding the meaning  
of what was passing before them1 and    
warning and threatening the initiates4  
,it may well be imagined that all  these
 fearful scenes were so terrifying that 
very frequently beads of  anguish       
appeared on the brows of the novices4   
,howling dogs and even  material demons 
are said actually to have appeared to   
the initiates  before the scene was     
changed4 ,proclus1 in his ,commentary on
  ,alcibiades1 says3 ,in the most holy  
of the ,mysteries1 before the  presence 
of the god1 certain terrestrial demons  
are hurled forth1 which  call the       
attention from undefiled advantages to  
matter4 ,at length the  gates of        

,tartarus were closed1 the scene was    
suddenly changed1 and the  innermost    
sanctuary of the temple lay open before 
the initiates in  dazzling light4 ,in   
the midst stood the statue of the       
goddess ,demeter  brilliantly decked and
 gleaming with precious stones2 heavenly
 music  entranced their souls2 a        
cloudless sky overshadowed them2        
fragrant  perfumes arose2 and in the    
distance the privileged spectators      
beheld  flowering meads1 where the      
blessed danced and amused themselves    
with  innocent games and pastimes4      
,among other writers the scene has been 
described by ,aristophanes in ,the      
,frogs3--         ,heracles4 ,the voyage
 is a long one4 ,for you will come      
directly to       a very big lake of    
abysmal depth4         ,dionysos4 ,then 
how shall ,i get taken across it8       
,heracles4 ,in a little boat just so    
high3 an old man who plies       that   
boat will take you across for a fee of  
two oboles4         ,dionysos4 ,oh dear6

 ,how very powerful those two oboles are
 all       over the world4 ,how did they
 manage to get here8         ,heracles4 
,theseus brought them4 ,after this you  
will see serpents       and wild beasts 
in countless numbers and very terrible4 
,then a       great slough and          
overflowing dung2 and in this you'll see
 lying any       one who ever yet at any
 place wronged his guest or beat his    
mother1       or smote his father's jaw1
 or swore an oath and foreswore         
himself4444 ,and next a breathing of    
flutes shall be wafted around       you1
 and you shall see a very beautiful     
light1 even as in this       world1 and 
myrtle groves1 and happy choirs of men  
and women1 and a       loud clapping of 
hands4         ,dionysos4 ,and who are  
these people1 pray8         ,heracles4  
,the initiated4    ,it was regarded as  
permissible to describe certain scenes  
of the  initiation1 and this has been   
done by many writers1 but a complete    
silence was demanded as to the means    

employed to realize the end1 the  rites 
and ceremonies in which the initiate    
took part1 the emblems which  were      
displayed1 and the actual words uttered1
 and the slightest  contravention of    
this rule rendered the offender liable  
to the strongest  possible condemnation 
and chastisement4    ,in the course of  
the ceremony the hierophant asked the   
candidates a  series of questions1 to   
which written answers had been prepared 
and  committed to memory by the         
candidates4 ,the holy ,mysteries were   
revealed  to them from a book called    
,petroma1 a word derived from petra1 a  
stone1 and so called because the        
writings were kept between two cemented 
stones which fitted in to each other4   
,the ,pheneatians used to swear by  and 
on the ,petroma4 ,the domed top held    
within it a mask of ,demeter which  the 
hierophant wore at the celebration of   
the ,mysteries1 or during part  of the  
ceremonial4 ,the garments worn by the   
initiates during the  ceremony were     

accounted sacred and equal to           
incantations and charms in  their power 
to avert evils4 ,consequently they were 
never cast off until  torn and tattered4
 ,nor was it usual1 even then1 to throw 
them away1 but  it was customary to make
 them into swaddling clothes for        
children or to  consecrate them to      
,demeter and ,persephone4    ,admission 
to the third degree took place during   
the night between the  seventh and      
eighth days of the celebration of the   
,greater ,mysteries4  ,this1 the final  
degree1 with the exception of those     
called to be  hierophants1 was known as 
the degree of ,epopta4 ,exactly in what 
the  ceremonial consisted1 save in one  
particular presently to be described1   
is unknown4 ,hippolytus is practically  
the only authority for the main         
incident of the degree4 ,certain words  
and signs were1 however1  communicated  
to the initiated which1 it was stated1  
would1 when  pronounced at the hour of  
death1 ensure the eternal happiness of  

the  soul4    ,the most solemn part of  
the ceremony was that which has been    
described  by some writers as the       
hierogamy1 or sacred marriage of ,zeus  
and  ,demeter1 although some have       
erroneously referred to it as the       
marriage  of ,pluto and ,persephone4    
,during the celebration of the          
,mysteries the  hierophant and          
hierophantide descended into a cave or  
deep recess and1  after remaining there 
for a time1 they returned to the        
assembly1  surrounded seemingly by      
flames1 and the hierophant1 displaying  
to the  gaze of the initiated an ear of 
corn1 exclaimed with a loud voice3 ,the 
divine ,brimo has given birth to the    
holy child ,brimos3 ,the strong has     
brought forth strength4 ,the scene was  
dramatic and symbolical1 and  there     
could have been nothing material in the 
incident4 ,the torches of  the multitude
 were extinguished while the throng     
above awaited with  anxious suspense the
 return of the priest and priestess from

 the murky  place into which they had   
descended1 for they believed their own  
salvation to depend upon the result of  
the mystic congress4 ,the charges       
brought against the ,eleusinian         
,mysteries of rioting and debauchery    
during their ,grecian history are       
brought by those who were not permitted 
to share their honours1 or who were     
prejudiced in favour of some other  form
 of religion4 ,in the opinion of the    
majority of contemporary writers  these 
charges were wholly gratuitous1 and they
 maintain that the  ,eleusinian         
,mysteries produced a sanctity of       
manners and a cultivation of  virtue4   
,they could not1 of course1 make a man  
virtuous against his will  and          
,diogenes1 when asked to submit to      
initiation1 replied that  ,pataecion1 a 
notorious robber1 had obtained          
initiation4    ,the ,athenians1 says    
,hippolytus1 in the initiation of       
,eleusis1 show to  the epopt the great1 
admirable1 and most perfect mystery of  

the epopt3  an ear of corn gathered in  
silence4 ,the statement is so clear as  
to  leave no doubt whatever on the      
subject2 indeed1 it has never been      
called  into question4 ,the presentation
 of the ear of corn was regarded as a   
special1 indeed the most important1     
feature of the ,mysteries of ,eleusis1  
and it was reserved for the final       
degree4 ,much has been made of this     
incident by many who can see no beauty  
in pre-,christian or non-,christian     
systems of religion1 their comments     
being based mainly on a statement of    
,gregory ,nazianus1 who stands almost   
alone in discerning lewdness in the     
,eleusinian ceremonial4 ,he says3 ,it is
 not in our religion that you will  find
 a seduced ,cora1 a wandering ,demeter1 
a ,keleos1 and a ,triptolemus  appearing
 with serpents2 that ,demeter is capable
 of certain acts and  that she permits  
others4 ,i am really ashamed to throw   
light on the  nocturnal orgies of the   
initiations4 ,eleusis knows as well as  

the  witnesses the secret of the        
spectacle1 which is with reason kept so 
profound4    ,apart from this isolated  
statement the ,eleusinian ,mysteries    
have not  been charged1 as many other   
ancient rites were1 with promoting and  
encouraging immorality4 ,in his account 
of the doings of the false  prophet     
,alexander of ,abountichos1 ,lucian     
describes how the impostor  instituted  
rites which were a close parody of those
 celebrated at  ,eleusis1 and he        
narrates the details of the travesty4   
,among the mimetic  performances were   
not only the epiphany and birth of a god
 but the  enactment of a sacred         
marriage4 ,all preliminaries were gone  
through1 and  ,lucian says that but for 
the abundance of lighted torches the    
marriage  would actually have been      
consummated4 ,the part of the hierophant
 was  taken by the false prophet        
himself4 ,from the travesty it is       
evident that  in the genuine ,mysteries1
 in silence1 in darkness1 and in perfect

  chastity the sacred marriage was      
symbolized and that immediately         
afterwards the hierophant came forward  
and standing in a blaze of  torchlight  
made the announcement to the initiates4 
,the name ,brimo1 expressed at full     
length ,obrimo1 seems to be a  variation
 of the compound term ,ob-,rimon1 the   
lofty serpent goddess4         ,the     
birth of ,brimo2 and the mighty deeds   
,of the ,titanic hosts2 the servitude   
,of ,jove2 and the mysterious mountain  
rites       ,of ,cybel1 when with       
distracted pace she sought              
,through the wide world the beauteous   
,proserpine2       ,the far-fam'd       
labours of the ,machian ,hercules2      
,th' ,idan orgies2 and the giant force  
,of the dread ,corybantes2 and the      
wanderings       ,of ,ceres1 and the    
woes of ,prosperpine3       ,with these 
,i sung the gifts of the ,cabiri2       
,the ,mysteries of ,bacchus2 and the    
praise       ,of ,lemnos1 ,samothrace1  
and lofty ,cyprus1       ,fair ,adonean 

,venus2 and the rites       ,of dread   
,ogygian ,praxidic2       ,arinian      
,minerva's nightly festival2       ,and 
,egypt's sorrow for the lost ,osiris4   
,orphic ,hymn4    ,dr4 ,jevons maintains
 that this ear of corn was the totem of 
,eleusis1 and  this view has been       
adopted by ,m4 ,reinach1 who says3 ,we  
find in the  texts a certain trace not  
only of the cult but of the adoration   
and the  exaltation 7in the ,christian  
meaning of the word7 of the ear of corn4
  ,but he has omitted to quote the texts
 on which he relies for this  assertion4
 ,it would be interesting to know why1  
among all the plants  which die and     
revive in the course of a year1 wheat   
was chosen for  preference1 why the ear 
more than the grain1 why it should be   
emphasized  that it was gathered1 for   
what reason the spectacle was reserved  
for the  epopt1 and in what manner it   
secured or ensured for the individual a 
blissful existence after death4 ,the    
demonstration presupposes that the      

preceding rites were leading up to this 
supreme display4    ,after this         
demonstration the epopt partook of      
barley meal flavoured  with pennyroyal1 
as a solemn form of communion with      
,demeter4 ,according  to ,eustathius1   
the compound was a kind of thick gruel1 
half-solid1  half-liquid4 ,this done1   
each of the initiated repeated after the
  hierophant the following words3 ,i    
have fasted1 ,i have drank 'cyceon4' ,i 
have taken from the cystos1 and after   
having tasted of it ,i placed it in  the
 calathos4 ,i again took it from the    
calathos and put it back in the  cystos4
 ,this formula1 notwithstanding its     
length1 is said to have been  the       
password leading to the third degree4   
,justin ,martyr gives the oath of       
initiation as follows3 ,so help me      
heaven1 the work of ,god who is great   
and wise3 so help me the word of  the   
,father which he spake when he          
established the whole universe in his   
wisdom4    ,with this ceremony the third

 degree ended1 save that the epopt were 
placed upon exalted seats1 around which 
the priests circled in mystic  dances4  
,the day succeeding admission into the  
final degree was regarded  as a rigorous
 fast1 at the conclusion of which the   
epopt drank of the  mystic cyceon and   
ate of the sacred cakes4    ,according  
to ,theo of ,smyrna1 the full or        
complete initiation consisted  of five  
steps or degrees1 which he sets out as  
follows3--    ,again1 philosophy may be 
called the initiation into true sacred  
ceremonies1 and the tradition of genuine
 mysteries2 for there are five  parts of
 initiation2 the first of which is      
previous purgation1 for  neither are the
 ,mysteries communicated to all who are 
willing to receive  them1 but there are 
certain characters who are prevented by 
the voice of  the crier1 such as those  
who possess impure hands and an         
inarticulate  voice1 since it is        
necessary that such as are not expelled 
from the  ,mysteries should first be    

refined by certain purgations1 but after
  purgation the tradition of the sacred 
rite succeeds4 ,the third part is       
denominated inspection4 ,and the fourth1
 which is the end and design of         
inspection1 is the binding of the head  
and fixing the crown1 so that the       
initiated may1 by this means1 be enabled
 to communicate to others the  sacred   
rites in which he has been instructed4  
,whether after this he  becomes a       
torch-bearer1 or an interpreter of the  
,mysteries1 or sustains  some other part
 of the sacerdotal office4 ,but the     
fifth1 which is  produced from all      
these1 is friendship with divinity1 and 
the enjoyment  of that felicity which   
arises from intimate converse with the  
gods4  ,according to ,plato1            
purification is to be derived from the  
five  mathematical disciplines1 viz4    
arithmetic1 geometry1 stereometry1      
music1  and astronomy4    ,apuleius is  
represented as saying to himself3--     
,i approached the confines of death2    

and1 having crossed the threshold  of   
,proserpine1 ,i at length returned1     
borne along through all the  elements4  
,i beheld the sun shining in the dead of
 night with luminous  splendour3 ,i saw 
both the infernal and the celestial     
gods4 ,i approached  and adored them4   
,themistius represents initiation in the
 following words3--    ,entering now the
 mystic dome1 he is filled with horror  
and amazement4  ,he is seized with      
solicitude and a total perplexity4 ,he  
is unable to  move a step forward2 and  
he is at a loss to find the entrance to 
that  road which is to lead him to the  
place he aspires to4 ,but now1 in the   
midst of his perplexity1 the prophet    
7hierophant7 suddenly lays open to  him 
the space before the portals of the     
temple4 ,having thoroughly  purified    
him1 the hierophant now discloses to the
 initiated a region all  over           
illuminated and shining with a divine   
splendour4 ,the cloud and  thick        
darkness are dispersed2 and the mind1   

which before was full of  disconsolate  
obscurity1 now emerges1 as it were1 into
 day1 replete with  light and           
cheerfulness1 out of the profound depth 
into which it had been  plunged4    ,the
 fee for initiation was a minimum sum of
 fifteen drachmas 7a drachma  being of  
the value of #g #c_/d;d471 in addition  
to which there were the  usual honoraria
 to be bestowed upon the various        
officials1 to which  reference has      
already been made4 ,presumably1 also1   
gifts in kind were  made to the         
principal officials1 for an inscription 
of the fifth century  ,b4,c41 found at  
,eleusis1 reads3--    ,let the          
,hierophant and the ,torch-bearer       
command that at the ,mysteries  the     
,hellenes shall offer first-fruits of   
their crops in accordance with          
ancestral usage4444 ,to those who do    
these things there shall be many  good  
things1 both good and abundant crops1   
whoever of them do not injure  the      
,athenians1 nor the city of ,athens1 nor

 the two goddesses4    ,the ,telestrion 
or ,hall of ,initiation1 sometimes      
called ,the ,mystic  ,temple1 was       
surrounded on all sides by steps1 which 
presumably served  as seats for the     
initiated while the sacred dramas and   
processions took  place on the floor of 
the hall4 ,these steps were partly built
 in and  partly cut in the solid rock2  
in later times they appear to have been 
covered with marble4 ,there were two    
doors on each side of the hall with  the
 exception of the north-west1 where the 
entrance was cut out of the  solid rock1
 a rock terrace at a higher level       
adjoining it4 ,this was  probably the   
station of those not yet admitted to    
full initiation4 ,the  roof of the hall 
was carried by rows of columns which    
were more than  once renewed4 ,the ,hall
 itself did not accommodate more than   
four  thousand people4 ,the building was
 perhaps more accurately described by   
,aristophanes1 who called it3 ,the      
,house that welcomed the ,myst1 and he  

carefully distinguished it from the     
,temple of ,demeter4 ,it was not the    
dwelling-place of any god1 and it1      
therefore1 did not contain any holy     
image4 ,it was built for the celebration
 of a definite ritual1 and the          
,eleusinian ,hall of ,initiation was    
therefore the only known church of      
antiquity1 if by that term we mean the  
meeting-place of the  congregation4     
,mr4 ,james ,christie1 in his work on   
,greek ,vases1 contends that the        
phantasmal scenes in the ,mysteries were
 shown by transparencies1 such as  are  
yet used by the ,chinese1 ,javanese1 and
 ,hindus4          ,v    ,,their        
,,mystical ,,significance      ,life1 as
 we know it1 was looked upon by the     
ancient philosophers as  death4 ,plato  
considered the body as the sepulchre of 
the soul1 and in  the ,cratylus         
acquiesces in the doctrine of ,orpheus  
that the soul is  punished through its  
union with the body4 ,empedocles1       
lamenting his  connection with this     

corporeal world1 pathetically           
exclaimed3--         ,for this ,i weep1 
for this indulge my woe1       ,that    
e'er my soul such novel realms should   
know4    ,he also calls this material   
abode1 or the realms of generation1     
a joyless region1       ,where          
slaughter1 rage1 and countless ills     
reside4    ,philolaus1 the celebrated   
,pythagorean1 wrote3 ,the ancient       
theologists  and priests testify that   
the soul is united with the body for the
 sake  of suffering punishment1 and that
 it is buried in the body as in a       
sepulchre2 while ,pythagoras himself    
said3 ,whatever we see when awake  is   
death1 and when asleep a dream4    ,this
 is the truth intended to be expressed  
in the ,mysteries4 ,sallustius1  the    
neo-,platonic philosopher1 in his       
treatise ,peri ,theon kai ,kosmou1      
,concerning the gods and the existing   
state of things1 explains the  rape of  
,persephone as signifying the descent of
 the soul4 ,other writers  have         

explained the real element of the       
,mysteries as consisting in the         
relations of the universe to the soul1  
more especially after death1 or  as     
intimating obscurely by splendid visions
 the felicity of the soul  here and     
hereafter when purified from the        
defilements of a material  nature4 ,the 
intention of all mystic ceremonies1     
according to ,sallustius1  was to       
conjoin the world and the gods4         
,plotinus says that to be plunged  into 
matter is to descend and then fall      
asleep4 ,the initiate had to  withstand 
the dmons and spectres1 which1 in later 
times1 illustrated  the difficulties    
besetting the soul in its approach to   
the gods1 so also  the ,uasarian had to 
repel or satisfy the mystic crocodiles1 
vipers1  avenging assessors1 dmons of   
the gate1 and other dread beings whom he
  encountered in his trying passage     
through the valley of the shadow of     
death4 ,pindar1 speaking of the         
,eleusinian ,mysteries1 says3 ,blessed  

is  he who1 on seeing those common      
concerns under the earth1 knows both the
  end of life and the given end of      
,jupiter4    ,psyche is said to have    
fallen asleep in ,hades through rashly  
attempting  to behold corporeal beauty1 
and the truth intended to be taught in  
the  ,eleusinian ,mysteries was that    
prudent men who earnestly employed      
themselves in divine concerns were1     
above all others1 in a vigilant  state1 
and that imprudent men who pursued      
objects of an inferior nature  were     
asleep1 and engaged only in the delusion
 of dreams2 and that if  they happened  
to die in this sleep before they were   
aroused they would  be afflicted with   
similar1 but still sharper1 visions in a
 future state4    ,matter was regarded  
by the ,egyptians as a certain mire or  
mud4 ,they  called matter the dregs or  
sediment of the first life4 ,before the 
first  purification the candidate for   
initiation into the ,eleusinian         
,mysteries  was besmeared with clay or  

mud which it was the object of the      
purification to wash away4 ,it also     
intimated that while the soul is in a   
state of servitude to the body it lives 
confined1 as it were1 in bonds  through 
the dominion of this ,titanic life4     
,thus the ,greeks laid great  stress    
upon the advantages to be derived from  
initiation4 ,not only were  the         
initiates placed under the protection of
 the ,state1 but the very act  of       
initiation was said to assist in the    
spreading of goodwill among men1  keep  
the soul from sin and crime1 place the  
initiates under the special  protection 
of the gods1 and provide them with the  
means of attaining  perfect virtue1 the 
power of living a spotless life1 and    
assure them of  a peaceful death and of 
everlasting bliss hereafter4 ,the       
hierophants  assured all who            
participated in the ,mysteries that they
 would have a  high place in ,elysium1 a
 clearer understanding1 and a more      
intimate  intercourse with the gods1    

whereas the uninitiated would for ever  
remain  in outer darkness4 ,indeed1 in  
the third degree the epopt were said to 
be admitted to the presence of and      
converse with the goddesses ,demeter    
and ,persephone1 under whose immediate  
care and protection they were said  to  
be placed4 ,initiation was referred to  
frequently as a guarantee of  salvation 
conferred by outward and visible signs  
and by sacred formul4    ,the ,lesser   
,mysteries were intended to symbolize   
the condition of the  soul while        
subservient to the body1 and the        
liberation from this  servitude1 through
 purgative virtues1 was what the wisdom 
of the  ,ancients intended to signify by
 the descent into ,hades and the speedy 
return from those dark abodes4 ,they    
were held to contain perfective  rites  
and appearances and the tradition of the
 sacred doctrines  necessary to the     
perfection or accomplishment of the most
 splendid  visions4 ,the perfective     
part1 said ,proclus1 precedes           

initiation1 as  initiation precedes     
inspection4    ,hercules1 said ,proclus 
also in ,plat4 ,polit41 being purified  
by  sacred initiations and enjoying     
undefiled fruits1 obtained at length a  
perfect establishment among the gods2   
that is1 freed from the bondage  of     
matter ascending beyond the reach of its
 hands4    ,plutarch wrote3--    ,to die
 is to be initiated into the great      
mysteries1444 ,our whole life  is but a 
succession of errors1 of painful        
wanderings1 and of  long-journeys by    
tortuous ways1 without outlet4 ,at the  
moment of  quitting it1 fears1 terrors1 
quiverings1 mortal sweats1 and a        
lethargic  stupor come and overwhelm us2
 but1 as soon as we are out of it1 we   
pass  into delightful meadows1 where the
 purest air is breathed1 where sacred   
concerts and discourses are heard2      
where1 in short1 one is impressed  with 
celestial visions4 ,it is there that    
man1 having become perfect  through his 
new initiation1 restored to liberty1    

really master of  himself1 celebrates1  
crowned with myrtle1 the most august    
mysteries1  holds converse with just and
 pure souls1 and sees with contempt the 
impure multitude of the profane or      
uninitiated1 ever plunged and sinking   
itself into the mire and in profound    
darkness4    ,dogmatic instruction was  
not included in the ,mysteries2 the     
doctrine of  the immortality of the soul
 traces its origin to sources anterior  
to the  rise of the ,mysteries4 ,at     
,eleusis the way was shown how to secure
 for  the soul after death the best     
possible fate4 ,the miracle of          
regeneration1 rather than the eternity  
of being1 was taught4    ,plato         
introduces ,socrates as saying3 ,in my  
opinion those who  established the      
,mysteries1 whoever they were1 were well
 skilled in human  nature4 ,for in these
 rites it was of old signified to the   
aspirants that  those who died without  
being initiated stuck fast in mire and  
filth2 but  that he who was purified and

 initiated should1 at his death1 have   
his  habitation with the gods4          
,plato1 again1 in the seventh book of   
the ,republic says3 ,he who is not  able
 by the exercise of his reason to define
 the idea of the good1  separating it   
from all other objects and piercing as  
in a battle through  every kind of      
argument2 endeavouring to confute1 not  
according to  opinion but according to  
evidence1 and proceeding with all these 
dialectical exercises with an unshaken  
reason--he who cannot accomplish  this1 
would you not say that he neither knows 
the good itself1 nor  anything which is 
properly demonstrated good8 ,and would  
you not assert  that such a one when he 
apprehended it rather through the medium
 of  opinion than of science1 that in   
the present life he is sunk in sleep    
and conversant with delusions and       
dreams2 and that before he is roused  to
 a vigilant state he will descend to    
,hades1 and be overwhelmed with  sleep  
perfectly profound8    ,olympiodorus1 in

 his ,,ms4 ,commentary on the ,georgias 
of ,plato1 says of  the ,elysian fields3
 ,it is necessary to know that the      
fortunate islands  are said to be raised
 above the sea4444 ,hercules is reported
 to have  accomplished his last labour  
in the ,hesperian regions1 signifying by
  this that1 having vanquished an       
obscure and terrestrial life1 he        
afterwards lived in open day--that is1  
in truth and resplendent light4  ,so    
that he who in the present state        
vanquishes as much as possible a        
corporeal life1 through the exercise of 
the cathartic virtues1 passes in        
reality into the fortunate islands of   
the soul1 and lives surrounded  with the
 bright splendours of truth and wisdom  
proceeding from the sun  of good4       
,the esoteric teaching was not1 of      
course1 grasped by all the initiates2   
the majority merely recognized or       
grasped the exoteric doctrine of a      
future state of rewards and punishments4
 ,virgil1 in his description1 in  the   

neid1 of the ,mysteries1 confines       
himself to the exoteric  teaching4 neas1
 having passed over the ,stygian lake1  
meets with the  three-headed ,cerberus4 
,by ,cerberus must be understood the    
discriminative  part of the soul1 of    
which a dog1 by reason of its sagacity1 
is an  emblem4 ,the three heads signify 
the intellective1 dianoetic1 and doxatic
  powers4 ,he dragg'd the three-mouth'd 
dog to upper day--i4e4 by  temperance1  
continence1 and other virtues he drew   
upwards the various  powers of the soul4
 ,the teaching of the ,mysteries was not
 in opposition  to the ordinary creed3  
it deepened it rather1 revived it in a  
spiritual  manner and gave to religion a
 force and a power it had not hitherto  
possessed4    ,the fable of ,persephone1
 as belonging to the ,mysteries1 was    
properly of  a mixed nature1 composed of
 all four species of fable--theological1
  physical1 animistic1 and material4    
,according to the arcana of ancient     
theology1 the ,coric order--i4e4 that   

belonging to ,persephone--is  twofold1  
one part supermundane and the other     
mundane4    ,proclus says3 ,according to
 the rumour of theologists1 who         
delivered to  us the most holy          
,eleusinian ,mysteries1 ,persephone     
abides on high1 in  those dwellings of  
her mother which she prepared for her in
 inaccessible  places1 exempt from the  
sensible world4 ,but she likewise dwells
 with  ,pluto1 administering terrestrial
 concerns1 governing the recesses of the
  earth and imparting soul to beings    
which are of themselves inanimate and   
dead4    ,the ,orphic poet describes    
,persephone as the life and the death of
  mortals1 and as being the mother of   
,eubuleus or ,bacchus by an ineffable   
intercourse with ,jupiter4 ,porphyry    
asserts that the wood pigeon was  sacred
 to her and that she was the same as    
,maia1 or the great mother1  who is     
usually claimed as the parent of the    
,arkite god ,mercury4    ,according to  
,nsselt the following may be taken as   

the meaning of the  myth of ,demeter and
 her lost daughter3 ,persephone1 the    
daughter of the  all-productive earth   
7,demeter71 is the seed4 ,the earth     
rejoices at the  sight of the plants and
 flowers1 but they fade and wither1 and 
the seed  disappears quickly from the   
face of the earth when it is strewn on  
the  ground4 ,the dreaded monarch of the
 underworld has taken possession of  it4
 ,in vain the mother searches for her   
child1 the whole face of nature  mourns 
her loss1 and everything sorrows and    
grieves with her4 ,but1  secretly and   
unseen1 the seed develops itself in the 
lap of the earth1  and at length it     
starts forth3 what was dead is now      
alive2 the earth1  all decked with fresh
 green1 rejoices at the recovery of her 
long-lost  daughter1 and everything     
shares in the joy4    ,demeter was      
worshipped in a twofold sense by the    
,greeks1 as the  foundress of           
agriculture and as goddess of law and   
order4 ,they used to  celebrate yearly  

in her honour the ,thesmorphoria1 or    
,festival of ,laws4  ,according to some 
ancient writers the ,greeks1 prior to   
the time of  ,demeter and ,triptolemus1 
fed upon the acorns of the ilex1 or the 
evergreen oak4 ,acorns1 according to    
,virgil1 were the food in ,epiros1 and  
in ,spain1 according to ,strabo4 ,the   
,scythians made bread with acorns4      
,according to another tradition1 before 
,demeter's time1 men neither  cultivated
 corn nor tilled the ground1 but roamed 
the mountains and  woods in search for  
the wild fruits which the earth         
produced4 ,isocrates  wrote3 ,ceres hath
 made the ,athenians two presents of the
 greatest  consequence3 corn1 which     
brought us out of a state of brutality2 
and the  ,mysteries1 which teach the    
initiated to entertain the most         
agreeable  expectations touching death  
and eternity4 ,the coins of ,eleusis    
represented ,demeter in a car drawn by  
dragons or serpents which were          
sometimes winged4 ,the goddess had two  

ears of corn in her right hand or1  as  
some imagined1 torches1 indicating that 
she was searching for her  daughter4    
,george ,wheler1 in his ,journey into   
,greece1 published in  #afhb1 says3 ,we 
observed many large stones covered with 
wheat-ears and  bundles of poppy bound  
together2 these being the characters of 
,ceres4  ,at ,copenhagen there is a     
statue representing ,demeter holding    
poppies and  ears of corn in her left   
hand4 ,on a coin of ,lampsacus of the   
fourth  century ,b4,c41 ,persephone is  
described in the act of rising from the 
earth4    ,according to ,taylor1 the    
,platonist1 ,demeter in the legend      
represents the  evolution of that       
self-inspective part of our nature which
 we properly  determine intellect1 and  
,persephone that vital1 self-moving1 and
 animate  part which we call soul4      
,pluto signifies the whole of our       
material  nature1 and1 according to     
,pythagoras1 the empire of this god     
commences  downwards from the ,galaxy or

 ,milky ,way4    ,sallust says that     
among the mundane divinities ,ceres is  
the deity of the  planet ,saturn4 ,the  
cavern signifies the entrance into      
mundane life  accomplished by the union 
of the soul with the terrestrial body4  
,demeter1 who was afraid lest some      
violence be offered to ,persephone on   
account of her inimitable beauty1       
conveyed her privately to ,sicily and   
concealed her in a house built on       
purpose by the ,cyclops1 while she      
herself directed her course to the      
temple of ,cybele1 the mother of the    
gods4 ,here we see the first cause of   
the soul's descent1 viz4 her  desertion 
of a life wholly according to intellect1
 occultly signified by  the separation  
of ,demeter and ,persephone4 ,afterwards
 ,jupiter instructed  ,venus to go and  
betray ,persephone from her retirement1 
that ,pluto might  be enabled to carry  
her away1 and1 to prevent any suspicion 
in the  virgin's mind1 he commanded     
,diana and ,pallas to bear her company4 

,the  three goddesses on arrival found  
,persephone at work on a scarf for her  
mother1 on which she had embroidered the
 primitive chaos and the  formation of  
the world4 ,venus1 says ,taylor1 is     
significant of desire1  which1 even in  
the celestial regions 7for such is the  
residence of  ,persephone until she is  
ravished by ,pluto71 begins silently and
  fraudulently in the recesses of the   
soul4 ,minerva is symbolical of the     
rational power of the soul2 and ,diana  
represents nature1 or the merely        
natural and vegetable part of our       
composition1 both ensnared through the  
allurements of desire4    ,in ,ovid we  
have ,narcissus1 the metamorphosis of a 
youth who fell a  victim to love of his 
own corporeal form4 ,the rape of        
,persephone1  according to the ,homeric 
,hymn to ,demeter1 was the immediate    
consequence  of her gathering this      
wonderful flower4 ,by ,narcissus falling
 in love  with his shadow in the limpid 
stream we behold the representation of a

  beautiful soul1 which1 by prolonged   
gaze upon the material form1 becomes    
enamoured of a corporeal life and       
changed into a being consisting wholly  
of the mere energies of nature4 ,plato1 
forcing his passage through the  earth1 
seizes on ,persephone and carries her   
away1 despite the resistance  of        
,minerva and ,diana1 who were forbidden 
by ,jupiter to attempt her  deliverance 
after her abduction4 ,this signifies    
that the lapse of the  soul into a      
material nature is contrary to the      
genuine wish and proper  condition4     
,pluto having hurried ,persephone into  
the infernal regions1  marriage         
succeeds4 ,that is to say1 the soul     
having sunk into the  profoundities of a
 material nature1 unites with the dark  
tenement of the  material body4 ,night  
is with great beauty and propriety      
introduced1  standing by the nuptial    
couch and confirming the oblivious      
league4 ,that  is to say1 the soul1 by  
union with a material body1 becomes     

familiar  with darkness and subject to  
the empire of night1 in consequence of  
which she dwells wholly with delusive   
phantoms and till she breaks her        
fetters is deprived of the perception of
 that which is real and true4    ,the   
nine days of the ,festival are said to  
be significant of the descent  of the   
soul4 ,the soul1 in falling from her    
original1 divine abode in the  heavens1 
passes through eight spheres1 viz4 the  
inerratic sphere and the  seven planets1
 assuming a different body and employing
 different  energies in each1 finally   
becoming connected with the sublunary   
world  and a terrene body on the ninth4 
,demeter and the foundation of the art  
of tillage are said to signify the      
descent of intellect into the realms  of
 generation1 the greatest benefit and   
ornament which a material nature  is    
capable of receiving4 ,without the      
possibility of the participation of     
intellect in the lower material sphere  
nothing but an irrational and a  brutal 

life would subsist4    ,but1 according  
to some writers1 the initiates into the 
third degree were  taught that the gods 
and goddesses were only dead mortals1   
subject while  alive to the same        
passions and infirmities as themselves2 
and they were  taught to look upon the  
,supreme ,cause1 the ,creator of the    
,universe1 as  pervading all things by  
,his virtue and governing all things by 
,his  power4 ,thus the meaning of       
,mystes is given as one who sees things 
in  disguise1 and that of ,epopt as one 
who sees things as they are1  without   
disguise4 ,the ,epopt1 after passing    
through the ceremonial of  exaltation1  
was said to have received ,autopsia1 or 
complete vision4  ,virgil declared that 
the secret of the ,mysteries was the    
,unity of the  ,godhead1 and ,plato     
owned it to be difficult to find the    
,creator of the  ,universe1 and1 when   
found1 impossible to discover ,him to   
all the world4  ,varro1 in his work ,of 
,religions1 says that there were many   

truths  which it was inconvenient for   
the ,state to be generally known2 and   
many  things which1 though false1 it was
 expedient the people should believe1   
and that1 therefore1 the ,greeks shut up
 their ,mysteries in the silence  of    
their sacred enclosures4 ,the ,mysteries
 declared that the future life  was not 
the shadowy1 weary existence which it   
had hitherto been supposed  to be1 but  
that through the rites of purification  
and sacrifices of a  sacramental        
character man could secure a better hope
 for the future4  ,thus the ,eleusinian 
,mysteries became the chief agent in the
 conversion  of the ,greek world from   
the ,homeric view of ,hades to a more   
hopeful  belief as to man's state after 
death4 ,tully promulgated a law         
forbidding  nocturnal sacrifices in     
which women were permitted to take part1
 but  made an express exception in      
favour of the ,eleusinian ,mysteries1   
giving  as his reason3 ,athens hath     
produced many excellent1 even divine    

inventions and applied them to the use  
of life1 but she has given  nothing     
better than those ,mysteries by which we
 are drawn from an  irrational and      
savage life and tamed1 as it were1 and  
broken to  humanity4 ,they are truly    
called ,initia1 for they are indeed the 
beginnings of a life of reason and      
virtue4    ,secrecy was enjoined because
 it was regarded as essential that the  
profane should not be permitted to share
 the knowledge of the true  nature of   
,demeter and ,persephone1 as if it were 
known that these  goddesses were only   
mortal women their worship would become 
contemptible4 ,cicero says that it was  
the humanity of ,demeter and            
,persephone1 their places of interment1 
and several facts of a like  nature that
 were concealed with so much care4      
,diagoras1 the ,melian1 was  accounted  
an atheist because he revealed the real 
secret of the  ,eleusinian4 ,mysteries4 
,the charge of atheism was the lot of   
any who  communicated a knowledge of the

 one1 only ,god4 ,pindar says1 referring
 to  the ,mysteries3 ,happy is he who   
has seen these things before leaving    
this world3 he realizes the beginning   
and the end of life1 as ordained  by    
,zeus2 and ,sophocles wrote3 ,oh1 thrice
 blessed the mortals1 who1  having      
contemplated these ,mysteries1 have     
descended to ,hades2 for those  only    
will there be a future life of          
happiness--the others there will  find  
nothing but suffering4                  
,,bibliography      ,andocides4 ,de     
,mysteriis4    ,antiquities of ,ionia4  
,apollodorus4    ,aristides4            
,aristophanes4    ,aristotle4 ,nico4    
,ethics4    ,arnobius4 ,disputationes   
adversus ,gentes4      ,barthelemy4     
,voyage du ,jeune ,anacharsis en ,grce4 
,blackwood's ,magazine1 #ahec4          
,chandler4 ,travels in ,greece4         
,cheetham1 ,s4 ,mysteries1 ,pagan and   
,christian4    ,cicero4    ,clement of  
,alexandria4    ,contemporary           
,review1#ahhj4    ,cornutus4 ,theologies

 ,grca ,compendium4    ,corpus inscript4
 ,attic4    ,corpus inscript4 ,gr4      
d',aliviella4 ,eleusinia4    ,decharme4 
,mythologie de la ,grce antique4        
,diodorus ,siculus4    ,dion ,cassius4  
,dodwell4 ,tour4    ,duncan4 ,religions 
of ,profane ,antiquity4    ,dyer4 ,the  
,gods in ,greece4      ,encyclopdia     
,britannica4    ,eunapius4 ,vita ,maxim4
    ,eusebius4 ,preparatio ,evangelii4  
,farnell4 ,cults of the ,greek ,states4 
,firmicus ,maternus4 ,de errore         
profanarum religionum4    ,foucart4 ,les
 mystres d',eleusis4    ,frazer4 ,golden
 ,bough4      ,gardner4 ,new ,chapters  
in ,greek ,history4    ,gardner and     
,jevons4 ,manual of ,greek ,antiquities4
    ,gibbon4    ,gregory of ,nazianzus4 
,grote4 ,history of ,greece4            
,guerber1 ,h4,a4 ,myths of ,greece and  
,rome4      ,harrison1 ,j4,e4           
,prolegomena4    ,hatch1 ,edwin4        
,hibbert ,lectures4    ,herodianus4     
,herodotus4    ,hippolytus4    ,horace4 
,international ,folk ,lore ,congress1   

#ahia4 ,papers and ,transactions4       
,isocrates4      ,lactantius4    ,lang1 
,andrew4 ,myth1 ,ritual1 and ,religion4 
,ditto4 ,translation of ,homeric ,hymns4
    ,lenormant1 ,f4 ,eleusis4           
,libanius4    ,livy4    ,lobeck4        
,aglaophamus4    ,lucian4 ,dialogues of 
the ,dead4    ,lysias4 ,contra          
,andocidem4      ,mahaffy1 ,j4,p4       
,rambles and ,studies in ,greece4       
,mannhardt1 ,w4 ,mythologische          
,forschungen4    ,meursius4    ,maury1  
,a4 ,les ,religions de la ,grce4        
,mommsen4 ,feste der ,stadt ,athen in   
,altertum4      ,ditto4 ,heortologie4   
,nsselt and ,hall4 ,mythology1 ,greek   
and ,roman4      ,olympiodorus4         
,pater1 ,walter4 ,greek ,studies4       
,paton1 ,w4,r4 ,the ,holy ,names of the 
,eleusinian ,priests4    ,pausanius4    
,description of ,greece4    ,philios1   
,demetrius4 ,eleusis1 ses mystres1 ses  
ruines1 et son muse4    ,phlegon de     
,tralles4 ,frag4 hist4 gr4    ,pindar4  
,plato4    ,plethos4    ,plotinus4      

,plutarch4    ,pollux4    ,philostratus4
 ,appollonius of ,tyana4    ,porphyry4  
,preller4 ,demeter und ,persephone4     
,preller-,robert4 ,griechische          
,mythologie4    ,pringsheim4 ,arch4     
,beitrage4    ,proclus4      ,reinach4  
,cultes1 mythes1 et ,religions4         
,revue de l'histoire des ,religions4    
,revue de ,philologie1 #ahic4    ,revue 
des  tudes grecques1#aijf4    ,rohde1   
,e4 ,psyche4      ,saglio-,pottier4     
,dictionnaire des ,antiquits4           
,sallustius4    ,schomann4 ,griechische 
,antherthmer4    ,sophocles4    ,strabo4
    ,suetonius4    ,suidas4             
,taylor1 ,t4 ,the ,eleusinian and       
,bacchic ,rites4      ,ditto4 ,the      
,mystical ,hymns of ,orpheus4           
,tertullian4    ,themistius4            
,theodoretus4      ,varro4 ,of          
,religions4    ,virgil4    ,voltaire4   
,waechter4 ,reinheitsvorschriften4      
,welcker1 ,f4,g4 ,griechische           
,gtterlehre4    ,wheler4 ,journey into  
,greece4      ,xenophon4