ANCIENT eleusis
TELESTERION
(temple of mysteries)
HEROS SQUARE
(temple of Artemis Propylaea)
ARENA
ANCIENT PATH
(to temple of Artemis Propoylaea)
KALYVIA
(6th day stopping point)
TOWN HALL
CONSTANTINE MEMORIAL
KEPHISOS
(temple of Cephissus)
AVENUE OF TOMBS
(passage to eleusis)
CHURCH OF ST DEMETRIUS
ELEFSINA'S HISTORY
Image 1: Ruins at the archeological museum
Image 2: Elefsinian mysteries painting, 4th century BC
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Pre - day 1
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Day 1
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Day 2
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Day 3
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Day 4
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Day 5
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Day 6
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Day 7 & 8
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Day 9
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Image 3: Elefsinian mysteries
Image 4: The sanctuary of Demetra and Persephone
eLEFSINIAN MYSTERIES
CELEBRATION MYSTERIES
Mystery; the experience of an amalgamation (a result of uniting) symbolic acts
In the ancient Greece, the agricultural festival was held in Eleusis, modern Elefsina. The place of festival took place in the form of ritual, icons, myth and allegory(poem or painting).
Ancient Greeks believed in the physical symbols and with the presence of the site, they felt entering the transcendental realm and experience the presence of their god in the festival.
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Three categories:
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Legomenon; was the statement that expressed by the religious leaders to reveal the truth of their god
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Deiknymena; consisted visual images and holy sanctuaries, places held exhibition with art works
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Dromena; to enable the ritual reach higher level of engagement with the audience and allow the participants to experience the divines
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THE CEREMONY
The festival was divided into two parts.
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The first part during autumn to celebrate the decay as a metaphor of how sad and sorrow of how Demetra feels after Hades stole Persephone.
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The second part during spring. The season of rebirth and productivity was the metaphor for celebration of Demetra and her daughter's return.
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A priest of Demetra announced the arrival of Demetrar’s sacred objects and her entourage, to the priestess of Athena
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“the Gathering” Initiates the Festival, people fasts until evening. As Demeter did not eat while was finding her lost daughter.
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“To the Sea, Initiates!” using sea water to clean the purify the souls
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“Bring Sacred Offerings!” People bring the sacrament to dine with the divine
“Healing Dreams” The temple of Asklepios was built near the enclosure of a sacred spring in a small cave for sleeping.
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“Grand Procession” At the boundary between Athens and Eleusis, beside the river and lakes called Rheitoi, initiates were met by descendants of Krokos (the first inhabitant there), who tied a saffron-yellow strand to the right wrist and left ankle of each initiate, which signaled their connection to the Mother Goddess
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“Nightlong Revelry” A dance were performed by women with torches around Kallichoron near Demeter’s temple at Eleusis.
Offering of sacred bread was celebrated in front of Demeter’s temple at Eleusis. It was baked from the first fruits of the grain,harvest of wheat from Demeter’s sacred fields
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“Nights of the Mysteries”The Drama of the story of Demeter and her daughter were performed inside of Demeter temple by the priestesses and priests
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“Libations, and Return” To remember the ancestors who are dead, and to rethink about one’s way of think about afterlife.
THE END
The rituals were closed down by the Christian Emperor Theodosius in 392 CE as he saw the ancient rites as inspiring resistance to Christianity.
Image 5: Sacrificial pig
sacred way
Walking from Athens to Eleusis
The sacred way connects central Athens to Eleusis. The sacred way was the path involved in the Eleusis processions that occurred twice a year. The celebrations began on the 19th Boedromion (September/October). From what can be gathered from historical evidence this began around 1600-1100 BC for the purpose of accessing Eleusis. It wasn’t until 1100Bc that the path was used as part of processions involving the Goddess Demetra for pilgrims to use. Completion of the road occurred between 650-700 BC and was unified with Athens.
During the rise of Christianity within Greece in the 4th century, the sacred path is one of the few historical elements that remained after the sacking of the Elefsina Sanctuaries by Alarich’s Visgoths due to its important connection from Athens to surrounding villages and to Eleusis. However today the celebrations still occur as a remembrance and is now known as Iερά οδÏŒς translates to ancient road.
THE JOURNEY
They would begin their journey at the cemetery in ΚεραμεικÏŒς, translates to Ceramicus in Latin and is well known for its pottery during ancient period due to its close location to the Eridanos river and is a natural resource of clay mud. Pilgrims would walk though the Sacred Gate located south. The trail continues on to Plato’s Olive Tree (until 2013 when it was stolen), PYTHIONIKE MONUMENT, Diomidous Botanical Gardens, Dafini Monastery, Afea which is where Sanctuary of Aphrodite is located and where she was revered and Skaramangkas shipyards before heading North up to Eleusis.
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THE CONSTRUCTION
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The pavements are made of large stones or calcareous stones and are fixed on the ground at 1.5m depth. It is possible to distinguish three pavement levels:
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The lower layer consists of the ground surface of the natural rock, where the small puddles are filled with pressed soil.
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The middle pavement level consists of a thick layer of pressed soil with small stones.
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The final layer is a pavement width of 0.20 m. Among the three pavements there are thinner layers of fine grained sand. The width of the ancient road varies along the road.
"Its width ... is bounded on either side by the locally placed stones, which stood half over the ground. Where the soil was softly replaced by the plating of small stones and soil, on the surface of this embankment it appeared that medium-sized stone plaques were laid, which were the ground of the road."
On rocky slopes such as the hill of Echos there were carvings or crevices in order to map the course of the road, while on the downhill, the road was supported by built retaining walls. In sandy areas, as around Lake Koumoundourou, the substrate consisted of small stones and soil.
REFERENCES