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84-405: In the earliest times Greek divinities were worshipped in the form of a heap of stones or a shapeless column of stone or wood. In many parts of Greece there were piles of stones by the sides of roads, especially at their crossings, and on the boundaries of lands . The religious respect paid to such heaps of stones, especially at the meeting of roads, is shown by the custom of each passer-by throwing

168-545: A "barbarian" (being unable to speak Greek). Men, women, and even slaves were allowed initiation. To participate in these mysteries one had to swear a vow of secrecy. Four categories of people participated in the Eleusinian Mysteries: The priesthood officiating at the Eleusinian Mysteries and in the sanctuary was divided into several offices with different tasks. Six categories of priests officiated in

252-459: A bust of Hermes' head, usually with a beard , sat on the top of the pillar, and male genitals adorned the base. The surmounting heads were not, however, confined to those of Hermes; those of other gods and heroes, and even of distinguished mortals, were of frequent occurrence. In this case a compound was formed: Hermathena (a herm of Athena), Hermares (of Ares), Hermherakles (of Herakles), Hermaphroditus (of Aphrodite—not to be confused with

336-563: A great sacrifice, and an all-night feast ( pannykhís ). The procession to Eleusis began at Kerameikos (the Athenian cemetery) on the 18th, and from there the people walked to Eleusis, along the Sacred Way (Ἱερὰ Ὁδός, Hierá Hodós ), swinging branches called bacchoi . At a certain spot along the way, they shouted obscenities in commemoration of Iambe (or Baubo ), an old woman who, by cracking dirty jokes, had made Demeter smile as she mourned

420-418: A luxuriant beard, and holding a trident . His sacred animals include the horse and the dolphin. His wedding with Amphitrite is often presented as a triumphal procession . In some stories he rapes Medusa, leading to her transformation into a hideous Gorgon and also to the birth of their two children, Pegasus and Chrysaor. His Roman counterpart is Neptune . King of the gods, ruler of Mount Olympus, and god of

504-426: A priest who held torches for the ceremonies. He is standing near the omphalos while an unknown female (probably a priestess of Demeter) sat nearby on the kiste, holding a scepter and a vessel filled with kykeon. Pannychis is also represented. The Myth of Er , part of Plato 's Republic , is thought to be a representation of the teaching of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Er, after being killed in battle and brought to

588-509: A state of civilization; and as the rites are called "initiations," so in very truth we have learned from them the beginnings of life, and have gained the power not only to live happily, but also to die with a better hope. The Greater Mysteries took place in Boedromion – the third month of the Attic calendar , falling in late summer around September or October – and lasted ten days. The first act (on

672-412: A stone on to the heap or anointing it with oil. Later there was the addition of a head and phallus to the column, which became quadrangular (the number four was sacred to Hermes ). In ancient Greece the statues were thought to ward off harm or evil, an apotropaic function, and were placed at crossings, country borders and boundaries as protection, in front of temples, near to tombs, outside houses, in

756-526: A temple dedicated to the two Eleusinian goddesses excavated at the Mas Castellar site (Girona, Spain) provided legitimacy for this theory. Ergot fragments were found inside a vase and within the dental calculus (plaque) of a 25-year-old man, providing evidence of ergot being consumed (Juan-Stresserras, 2002). This finding seems to support the hypothesis of ergot as an ingredient of the Eleusinian kykeon . On

840-437: A terrible drought in which the people suffered and starved, depriving the gods of sacrifice and worship. As a result, Zeus relented and allowed Persephone to return to her mother. According to the myth, during her search Demeter traveled long distances and had many minor adventures along the way. In one she taught the secrets of agriculture to Triptolemus . Finally, by consulting Zeus, Demeter reunited with her daughter and

924-472: Is Ceres , is a daughter of Cronus and Rhea , and was swallowed and then regurgitated by her father. She is a sister of Zeus , by whom she bore Persephone , who is also known as Kore, i.e. "the girl." One of the central myths associated with Demeter involves Hades ' abduction of Persephone and Demeter's lengthy search for her. Demeter is one of the main deities of the Eleusinian Mysteries , in which

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1008-765: Is Jupiter , also known as Jove. The Titan gods and goddesses are depicted in Greek art less commonly than the Olympians. The Gigantes were the offspring of Gaia (Earth), born from the blood that fell when Uranus (Sky) was castrated by their Titan son Cronus , who fought the Gigantomachy, their war with the Olympian gods for supremacy of the cosmos. They include: Eleusinian Mysteries The Eleusinian Mysteries ( Greek : Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια , romanized :  Eleusínia Mystḗria ) were initiations held every year for

1092-476: Is Venus . God of music, arts, knowledge, healing, plague, prophecy, poetry, manly beauty, and archery. He is the son of Zeus and Leto , and the twin brother of Artemis . Both Apollo and Artemis use a bow and arrow. Apollo is depicted as young, beardless, handsome and athletic. In myth, he can be cruel and destructive, and his love affairs are rarely happy. He is often accompanied by the Muses. His most famous temple

1176-477: Is Pre-Greek, and may be related with the name of the goddess Eileithyia . Her name Ἐλυσία ( Elysia ) in Laconia and Messene probably relates her with the month Eleusinios and Eleusis, but this is debated. The ancient Greek word from which English mystery derives, mystḗrion ( μυστήριον ), means "mystery or secret rite" and is related with the verb myéō ( μυέω ), which means "(I) teach, initiate into

1260-418: Is a daughter of Rhea and Cronus , and a sister of Zeus . Not often identifiable in Greek art, she appeared as a modestly veiled woman. Her symbols are the hearth and kettle. She plays little role in Greek myths, and although she is omitted in some lists of the twelve Olympians in favour of Dionysus, no ancient tale tells of her abdicating or giving her seat to Dionysus. Her Roman counterpart Vesta , however,

1344-489: Is a deer. Her Roman counterpart is Diana . Goddess of reason, wisdom, intelligence, skill, peace, warfare, battle strategy, and handicrafts. According to most traditions, she was born from Zeus's forehead, fully formed and armored, after Zeus swallowed her mother, Metis , whole. She is depicted as being crowned with a crested helm, armed with shield and spear, and wearing the aegis over a long dress. Poets describe her as "grey-eyed" or having especially bright, keen eyes. She

1428-469: Is a memorial to Hipparchus: Don't deceive a friend" (229a–b). Socrates is making fun of Hipparchus, and his interlocutor, by this account. The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has a large collection of Roman Herma boundary marker stones in its stored collection. An Aesop's fable makes fun of a statue of Hermes . When a pious dog offers to "anoint" it, the god hastily assures his worshipper that this

1512-427: Is a special patron of heroes such as Odysseus . She is the patron of the city Athens (from which she takes her name) and is attributed to various inventions in arts and literature. Her symbol is the olive tree. She is commonly shown as being accompanied by her sacred animal, the owl. Her Roman counterpart is Minerva . Goddess of grain, agriculture, harvest, growth, and nourishment. Demeter, whose Roman counterpart

1596-480: Is daughter of Zeus and Dione . She was married to Hephaestus , but bore him no children. She had many lovers, most notably Ares , to whom she bore Harmonia , Phobos , and Deimos . She was also a lover to Adonis and Anchises , to whom she bore Aeneas . She is usually depicted as a naked or semi-nude beautiful woman. Her symbols include the magical girdle, myrtle , roses, and the scallop shell. Her sacred animals include doves and sparrows. Her Roman counterpart

1680-448: Is in Delphi , where he established his oracular shrine. His signs and symbols include the laurel wreath , bow and arrow, and lyre . His sacred animals include roe deer , swans, and pythons. Some late Roman and Greek poetry and mythography identifies him as a sun-god, equivalent to Roman Sol and Greek Helios . God of courage, war, bloodshed, and violence. The son of Zeus and Hera , he

1764-461: Is located inside the archaeological site of Eleusis . The Ninnion Tablet , found in the same museum, depicts Demeter, followed by Persephone and Iacchus, and then the procession of initiates. Then, Demeter is sitting on the kiste inside the Telesterion, with Persephone holding a torch and introducing the initiates. The initiates each hold a bacchoi. The second row of initiates were led by Iakchos ,

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1848-554: Is not necessary. In the fantasy novel Lud-in-the-mist by Hope Mirrlees the main character unearths an important object by digging beneath an object called both a " berm " and a "herm". It is described as "the tree yet not a tree, the man yet not a man". List of Greek mythological figures The following is a list of gods , goddesses , and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion . The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house

1932-550: Is related with the annual birth of the divine child, and she is connected with Enesidaon (The Earth Shaker), who is the chthonic aspect of Poseidon . At Eleusis inscriptions refer to "the Goddesses" accompanied by the agricultural god Triptolemus (probably son of Ge and Oceanus ), and "the God and the Goddess" ( Persephone and Plouton ) accompanied by Eubuleus who probably led

2016-460: Is the goddess of marriage, Zeus's many infidelities drive her to jealousy and vengefulness. Her sacred animals include the heifer, the peacock, and the cuckoo. Her Roman counterpart is Juno . God of boundaries, travel, trade, communication, language, writing, cunning and thieves. Hermes was also responsible for protecting livestock and presided over the spheres associated with fertility, music, luck, and deception. The son of Zeus and Maia , Hermes

2100-434: Is the messenger of the gods, and a psychopomp who leads the souls of the dead into the afterlife. He was depicted either as a handsome and athletic beardless youth, or as an older bearded man. His attributes include the herald's wand or caduceus , winged sandals, and a traveler's cap. His sacred animals include the tortoise. His Roman counterpart is Mercury . Virgin goddess of the hearth, home, domesticity and chastity. She

2184-485: The Porcellino bronze boar of Florence (and numerous others like it around the world), where the nose is shiny from being continually touched for good luck or fertility. In Roman and Renaissance versions ( termini ), the body was often shown from the waist up. The form was also used for portrait busts of famous public figures, especially writers like Socrates and Plato . Anonymous female figures were often used from

2268-581: The Renaissance on, when herms were often attached to walls as decoration. In 415 BC, on a night shortly before the Athenian fleet was about to set sail for Syracuse as part of the Sicilian Expedition of the Peloponnesian War , all of the Athenian hermai were vandalized. Many people at the time thought such an impious act would threaten the success of the expedition. Though it was never proven,

2352-449: The calathus (open basket). It is widely supposed that the rites inside the Telesterion comprised three elements: Combined, these three elements were known as the aporrheta (unrepeatables); the penalty for divulging them was death. Athenagoras of Athens , Cicero , and other ancient writers cite that it was for this crime (among others) that Diagoras was condemned to death in Athens;

2436-561: The cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Eleusis in ancient Greece . They are considered the "most famous of the secret religious rites of ancient Greece". Their basis was a Bronze Age agrarian cult, and there is some evidence that they were derived from the religious practices of the Mycenean period . The Mysteries represented the myth of the abduction of Persephone from her mother Demeter by

2520-428: The gymnasia , palaestrae , libraries, porticoes , and public places, at the corners of streets, on high roads as sign-posts, with distances inscribed upon them. Before his role as protector of merchants and travelers, Hermes was a phallic god , associated with fertility, luck, roads and borders. His name perhaps comes from the word herma , referring to a square or rectangular pillar of stone, terracotta , or bronze;

2604-640: The 14th of Boedromion) was the bringing of the sacred objects from Eleusis to the Eleusinion , a temple at the base of the Acropolis of Athens . On the 15th of Boedromion, a day called the Gathering ( Agyrmos ), the priests ( hierophantes , those who show the sacred ones) declared the start of the rites ( prorrhesis ), and carried out the sacrifice ( hiereía deúro, hither the victims). The seawards initiates ( halade mystai ) started out in Athens on 16th Boedromion with

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2688-533: The 19th of Boedromion, initiates entered a great hall called Telesterion ; in the center stood the Palace ( Anaktoron ), built of ruins dating back to the Mycenaean Age, which only the hierophants could enter, where sacred objects were stored. Before mystai could enter the Telesterion, they would recite, "I have fasted, I have drunk the kykeon , I have taken from the kiste (box) and after working it have put it back in

2772-602: The 23rd of Boedromion, the mysteries ended and everyone returned home. In 170 AD, the Temple of Demeter was sacked by the Sarmatians but was rebuilt by Marcus Aurelius . Aurelius was then allowed to become the only lay person ever to enter the anaktoron. As Christianity gained in popularity in the 4th and 5th centuries, Eleusis's prestige began to fade. The last pagan emperor of Rome, Julian , reigned from 361 to 363 after about fifty years of Christian rule. Julian attempted to restore

2856-495: The 4th, 5th and 6th centuries BC, depict Triptolemus holding an ear of corn, sitting on a winged throne or chariot, surrounded by Persephone and Demeter with pine torches. The monumental Protoattic amphora from the middle of the 7th century BC, with the depiction of Medusa's beheading by Perseus and the blinding of Polyphemos by Odysseus and his companions on its neck, is kept in the Archaeological Museum of Eleusis which

2940-486: The Athenians at the time believed it was the work of saboteurs, either from Syracuse or Spartan sympathizers from Athens itself; one suspect was the writer Xenophon . Enemies of Alcibiades , using the anger of the Athenians as a pretext to investigate further desecrations, accused him of other acts of impiety, including mutilations of other sacred objects and mocking performances of religious mystery ceremonies. He denied

3024-491: The Eleusinian Mysteries and was the last emperor to be initiated into them. The closing of the Eleusinian Mysteries in 392 AD by the emperor Theodosius I is reported by Eunapius , a historian and biographer of the Greek philosophers. Eunapius had been initiated by the last legitimate Hierophant , who had been commissioned by the emperor Julian to restore the Mysteries, which had by then fallen into decay. According to Eunapius,

3108-523: The Eleusinian Mysteries became pan-Hellenic , and pilgrims flocked from Greece and beyond to participate. Around 300 BC, the state took over control of the mysteries; they were controlled by two families, the Eumolpidae and the Kerykes . This led to a vast increase in the number of initiates. The only requirements for membership were freedom from "blood guilt", meaning never having committed murder, and not being

3192-414: The Eleusinian Mysteries, a consistent set of rites, ceremonies and experiences that spanned two millennia, came from psychedelic drugs . The name of the town, Eleusis, seems to be pre-Greek, and is likely a counterpart with Elysium and the goddess Eileithyia . Eleusinian Mysteries ( Greek : Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια ) was the name of the mysteries of the city Eleusis . The name of the city Eleusis

3276-408: The Eleusinian Mysteries. In ancient art she is usually depicted as a young woman, usually in the scene of her abduction. God of the sea, rivers, floods, droughts, and earthquakes. He is a son of Cronus and Rhea , and the brother of Zeus and Hades . He rules one of the three realms of the universe, as king of the sea and the waters. In art he is depicted as a mature man of sturdy build, often with

3360-563: The Eleusinian Mysteries: The offices of Hierophant, High Priestess, and Dadouchousa priestess were all inherited within the Phileidae or Eumolpidae families, and the Hierophant and the High Priestess were of equal rank. It was the task of the High Priestess to impersonate the roles of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone in the enactment during the mysteries, and at Eleusis events were dated by

3444-579: The Eleusinian rites, likewise display to those who are being admitted to the highest grade at these mysteries, the mighty, and marvellous, and most perfect secret suitable for one initiated into the highest mystic truths: an ear of grain in silence reaped ." There were two Eleusinian Mysteries, the Greater and the Lesser. According to Thomas Taylor , "the dramatic shows of the Lesser Mysteries occultly signified

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3528-480: The Mysteries was an all-night feast ( Pannychis ) accompanied by dancing and merriment. This portion of the festivities was open to the public. The dances took place in the Rharian Field , rumored to be the first spot where grain grew. A bull sacrifice also took place late that night or early the next morning. That day (22nd Boedromion), the initiates honoured the dead by pouring libations from special vessels. On

3612-463: The Mysteries were intended "to elevate man above the human sphere into the divine and to assure his redemption by making him a god and so conferring immortality upon him". Some scholars argued that the Eleusinian cult was a continuation of a Minoan cult, and that Demeter was a poppy goddess who brought the poppy from Crete to Eleusis. Some useful information from the Mycenean period can be taken from

3696-456: The Romans. His sacred animals include dolphins, serpents, tigers, and donkeys. King of the underworld and the dead. He is also a god of wealth. His consort is Persephone . His attributes are the drinking horn or cornucopia , key, sceptre, and the three-headed dog Cerberus . His sacred animals include the screech owl. He was one of three sons of Cronus and Rhea , and thus sovereign over one of

3780-404: The accusations and offered to stand trial, but the Athenians did not want to disrupt the expedition any further, and his opponents wanted to use his absence to incite the people against him at a time when he would not be able to defend himself. Once he had left on the expedition, his political enemies had him charged and sentenced to death in absentia , both for the mutilation of the hermai, and

3864-426: The agricultural god Triptolemus. The goddess of nature survived in the mysteries where the following words were uttered: "Mighty Potnia bore a great son". Potnia ( Linear B po-ti-ni-ja  : lady or mistress), is a Mycenaean title applied to goddesses, and probably the translation of a similar title of pre-Greek origin. The high point of the celebration was "an ear of grain cut in silence", which represented

3948-509: The celebrants washing themselves in the sea at Phaleron . On the 17th, the participants began the Epidauria , a festival for Asklepios named after his main sanctuary at Epidauros . This "festival within a festival" celebrated the healer's arrival at Athens with his daughter Hygieia , and consisted of a procession leading to the Eleusinion, during which the mystai apparently stayed at home,

4032-526: The earth again. In the central foundation document of the mystery, the Homeric Hymn to Demeter line 415, Persephone is said to stay in Hades during winter and return to her mother in the spring of the year: "This was the day [of Persephone's return], at the very beginning of bountiful springtime." Persephone's rebirth is symbolic of the rebirth of all plant life and the symbol of eternity of life that flows from

4116-600: The earth returned to its former verdure and prosperity: the first spring. Zeus, pressed by the cries of the hungry people and by the other deities who also heard their anguish, forced Hades to return Persephone. However, it was a rule of the Fates that whoever consumed food or drink in the Underworld was doomed to spend eternity there. Before Persephone was released to Hermes, who had been sent to retrieve her, Hades tricked her into eating pomegranate seeds (either six or four according to

4200-439: The force of the new life. The idea of immortality did not exist in the mysteries at the beginning, but the initiated believed that they would have a better fate in the underworld. Death remained a reality, but at the same time a new beginning like the plant which grows from the buried seed. A depiction from the old palace of Phaistos is very close to the image of the anodos of Persephone. An armless and legless deity grows out of

4284-460: The generations that spring from each other. However, a scholar has proposed a different version, according to which the four months during which Persephone is with Hades correspond to the dry Greek summer, a period during which plants are threatened with drought. The Eleusinian Mysteries are believed to have ancient origins. Some findings in the temple Eleusinion in Attica suggest that their basis

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4368-447: The grape vine, and a crown of ivy . He is often in the company of his thiasos , a group of attendants including satyrs , maenads , and his old tutor Silenus . The consort of Dionysus was Ariadne . It was once held that Dionysius was a later addition to the Greek pantheon, but the discovery of Linear B tablets confirm his status as a deity from an early period. Bacchus was another name for him in Greek, and came into common usage among

4452-556: The ground, and her head turns to a large flower. According to George Mylonas , the lesser mysteries were held "as a rule once a year in the early spring in the month of flowers, the Anthesterion," while "the Greater Mysteries were held once a year and every fourth year they were celebrated with special splendor in what was known as the penteteris . Kerényi concurs with this assessment: "The Lesser Mysteries were held at Agrai in

4536-426: The hymn, Demeter's daughter Persephone (also referred to as Kore , "maiden") was assigned the task of painting all the flowers of the earth. Before completion, she was seized by Hades , the god of the underworld , who took her to his underworld kingdom. Distraught, Demeter searched high and low for her daughter. Because of her distress, and in an effort to coerce Zeus to allow the return of her daughter, she caused

4620-402: The initiated, the rebirth of Persephone symbolized the eternity of life which flows from generation to generation, and they believed that they would have a reward in the afterlife . There are many paintings and pieces of pottery that depict various aspects of the Mysteries. Since the Mysteries involved visions and conjuring of an afterlife, some scholars believe that the power and longevity of

4704-659: The king of the underworld Hades , in a cycle with three phases: the descent (loss), the search , and the ascent , with the main theme being the ascent ( ἄνοδος ) of Persephone and the reunion with her mother. It was a major festival during the Hellenic era , and later spread to Rome . Similar religious rites appear in the agricultural societies of the Near East and in Minoan Crete . The rites, ceremonies, and beliefs were kept secret and consistently preserved from antiquity. For

4788-632: The last Hierophant was a usurper, "the man from Thespiae who held the rank of Father in the mysteries of Mithras ". According to Eunapius, in 396 , during his raiding campaign in Attica , the king of the Goths Alaric I looted the remains of the shrines. According to historian Hans Kloft, despite the destruction of the Eleusinian Mysteries, elements of the cult survived in the Greek countryside. There, local peasants and shepherds partially transferred Demeter's rites and religious duties onto Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki , who gradually became

4872-607: The local patron of agriculture and "heir" to the pagan mother goddess. There are many paintings and pieces of pottery that depict various aspects of the Mysteries. The Eleusinian Relief , from the late 5th century BC, displayed in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens is a representative example. Triptolemus is depicted receiving seeds from Demeter and teaching mankind how to work the fields to grow crops, with Persephone holding her hand over his head to protect him. Vases and other works of relief sculpture, from

4956-635: The loss of her daughter. The procession also shouted "Íakch', O Íakche!", possibly an epithet for Dionysus , or a separate deity Iacchus , son of Persephone or Demeter. Upon reaching Eleusis, there was an all-night vigil ( pannychis ) according to Mylonas and Kerényi . perhaps commemorating Demeter's search for Persephone. At some point, initiates had a special drink ( kykeon ), of barley and pennyroyal , which has led to speculation about its chemicals perhaps having psychotropic effects from ergot (a fungus that grows on barley, containing psychedelic alkaloids similar to LSD). Discovery of fragments of ergot in

5040-403: The miseries of the soul while in subjection to the body, so those of the Greater obscurely intimated, by mystic and splendid visions, the felicity of the soul both here and hereafter, when purified from the defilements of a material nature and constantly elevated to the realities of intellectual [spiritual] vision." According to Plato, "the ultimate design of the Mysteries ... was to lead us back to

5124-687: The month of Anthesterion, our February... The initiates were not even admitted to the epopteia [Greater Mysteries] in the same year, but only in September of the following year." This cycle continued for about two millennia. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, King Celeus is said to have been one of the first people to learn the secret rites and mysteries of her cult. He was also one of her original priests, along with Diocles , Eumolpos , Polyxeinus , and Triptolemus, Celeus' son, who had supposedly learned agriculture from Demeter. Under Peisistratos of Athens,

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5208-561: The mysteries", and the noun mýstēs ( μύστης ), which means "one initiated". The word mystikós ( μυστικός ), source of the English mystic , means "connected with the mysteries", or "private, secret" (as in Modern Greek ). The Mysteries are related to a myth concerning Demeter , the goddess of agriculture and fertility as recounted in one of the Homeric Hymns (c. 650 BC). According to

5292-583: The name of the reigning High Priestess. The outline below is only a capsule summary; much of the concrete information about the Eleusinian Mysteries was never written down. For example, only initiates knew what the kiste , a sacred chest, and the calathus , a lidded basket, contained. Hippolytus of Rome , one of the Church Fathers writing in the early 3rd century AD, discloses in Refutation of All Heresies that "the Athenians, while initiating people into

5376-450: The principles from which we descended, ... a perfect enjoyment of intellectual [spiritual] good." The Lesser Mysteries took place in the month of Anthesterion – the eighth month of the Attic calendar , falling in mid winter around February or March – under the direction of Athens' archon basileus . In order to qualify for initiation, participants would sacrifice a piglet to Demeter and Persephone, and then ritually purify themselves in

5460-511: The rites seemed to center around Demeter's search for and reunion with her daughter, which symbolized both the rebirth of crops in spring and the rebirth of the initiates after death. She is depicted as a mature woman, often crowned and holding sheafs of wheat and a torch. Her symbols are the cornucopia , wheat-ears, the winged serpent, and the lotus staff. Her sacred animals include pigs and snakes. God of wine, fruitfulness, parties, festivals, madness, chaos, drunkenness, vegetation, ecstasy, and

5544-444: The river Illisos. Upon completion of the Lesser Mysteries, participants were deemed mystai (initiates) worthy of witnessing the Greater Mysteries. For among the many excellent and indeed divine institutions which your Athens has brought forth and contributed to human life, none, in my opinion, is better than those mysteries. For by their means we have been brought out of our barbarous and savage mode of life and educated and refined to

5628-401: The sky, weather, thunder, lightning, law, order, and justice. He is the youngest son of Cronus and Rhea . He overthrew Cronus and gained the sovereignty of heaven for himself. In art he is depicted as a regal, mature man with a sturdy figure and dark beard. His usual attributes are the royal scepter and the lightning bolt. His sacred animals include the eagle and the bull. His Roman counterpart

5712-442: The son of Zeus and Hera or Hera alone, he is the smith of the gods and the husband of the adulterous Aphrodite . He was usually depicted as a bearded, crippled man with hammer, tongs, and anvil, and sometimes riding a donkey. His sacred animals include the donkey, the guard dog, and the crane. Among his creations was the armor of Achilles . Hephaestus used the fire of the forge as a creative force, but his Roman counterpart Vulcan

5796-414: The son of Hermes and Aphrodite with the same name, Hermaphroditus , who had the genitals of both sexes), Hermanubis , Hermalcibiades , and so on. In Athens , where the hermai were most numerous and most venerated, they were placed outside houses as apotropes for good luck . They would be rubbed or anointed with olive oil and adorned with garlands or wreaths . This superstition persists, for example

5880-461: The statue of a god or goddess, or multiple deities, and might be decorated with relief scenes depicting myths. Divine images were common on coins. Drinking cups and other vessels were painted with scenes from Greek myths. Goddess of beauty, love, desire, and pleasure. In Hesiod 's Theogony (188–206), she was born from sea-foam and the severed genitals of Uranus ; in Homer 's Iliad (5.370–417), she

5964-453: The study of the cult of Despoina (the precursor goddess of Persephone ) and the cult of Eileithyia , who was the goddess of childbirth. The megaron of Despoina at Lycosura is quite similar to the Telesterion of Eleusis, and Demeter is united with the god Poseidon , bearing a daughter, the unnamable Despoina (the mistress). In the cave of Amnisos at Crete , the goddess Eileithyia

6048-511: The supposedly related crime of profaning the Eleusinian Mysteries . In Plato's Hipparchus , Socrates attributes the existence of these statues to Hipparchus. They were meant to educate the people in the country, outside of Athens, and make them admire Hipparchus' wisdom over the wisdom of the Delphic inscriptions. Hence he ordered the carvings of the following two inscriptions: "This is a memorial to Hipparchus: Walk thinking just thoughts" and "This

6132-429: The telling), which forced her to return to the underworld for some months each year. She was obliged to remain with Hades for six or four months (one month per seed) and lived above ground with her mother for the rest of the year. This left a long period of time when Demeter was unhappy due to Persephone's absence, neglecting to cultivate the earth. When Persephone returned to the surface, Demeter became joyful and cared for

6216-401: The theater. He is the twice-born son of Zeus and Semele , in that Zeus snatched him from his mother's womb and stitched Dionysus into his own thigh and carried him until he was ready to be born. In art he is depicted as either an older bearded god (particularly before 430 BC) or an effeminate , long-haired youth (particularly after 430 BC). His attributes include the thyrsus , a drinking cup,

6300-588: The three realms of the universe, the underworld. As a chthonic god, however, his place among the Olympians is ambiguous. In the mystery religions and Athenian literature, Plouton ("the Rich one") was his preferred name, because of the idea that all riches came from the earth. The term Hades was used in this literature to refer to the underworld itself. The Romans translated Plouton as Dis Pater ("the Rich Father") or Pluto. God of fire, metalworking, and crafts. Either

6384-414: The tragic playwright Aeschylus was allegedly tried for revealing secrets of the mysteries in some of his plays, but was acquitted. The ban on divulging the core ritual of the mysteries was thus absolute, which is probably why almost nothing is known about what transpired there. Climax As to the climax of the mysteries, there are two modern theories. Some hold that the priests were the ones to reveal

6468-434: The visions of the holy night, consisting of a fire that represented the possibility of life after death, and various sacred objects. Others hold this explanation to be insufficient to account for the power and longevity of the mysteries, and that the experiences must have been internal and mediated by a powerful psychoactive ingredient contained in the kykeon drink (see Entheogenic theories below). Following this section of

6552-428: The way back from the underworld. The myth was represented in a cycle with three phases: the "descent", the "search", and the "ascent" (Greek anodos ) with contrasted emotions from sorrow to joy which roused the mystae to exultation. The main theme was the ascent of Persephone and the reunion with her mother Demeter. At the beginning of the feast, the priests filled two special vessels and poured them out, one towards

6636-451: The west and the other towards the east. The people looking both to the sky and the earth shouted in a magical rhyme "rain and conceive". In a ritual, a child was initiated from the hearth (the divine fire). The name pais (child) appears in the Mycenean inscriptions, it was the ritual of the "divine child" who originally was Ploutos . In the Homeric hymn the ritual is connected with the myth of

6720-539: Was a major deity of the Roman state. Goddess of spring, Queen of the Underworld , wife of Hades and daughter of Demeter and Zeus . Her symbols include the pomegranate , grain, torches, wheat and the asphodelus . After her abduction by Hades, she was forced to split the year between the world of the dead with her husband and the world of the living with her mother. She was worshipped in conjunction with Demeter, especially in

6804-628: Was an old agrarian cult. Some practices of the mysteries seem to have been influenced by the religious practices of the Mycenaean period, thus predating the Greek Dark Ages . Excavations showed that a private building existed under the Telesterion in the Mycenean period, and it seems that originally the cult of Demeter was private. In the Homeric Hymn is mentioned the palace of the king Keleos . One line of thought by modern scholars has been that

6888-549: Was depicted as a beardless youth, either nude with a helmet and spear or sword, or as an armed warrior. Homer portrays him as moody and unreliable, and as being the most unpopular god on earth and Olympus ( Iliad 5.890–1). He generally represents the chaos of war in contrast to Athena , a goddess of military strategy and skill. Ares is known for cuckolding his brother Hephaestus , conducting an affair with his wife Aphrodite . His sacred animals include vultures, venomous snakes, dogs, and boars. His Roman counterpart Mars by contrast

6972-431: Was feared for his destructive potential and associated with the volcanic power of the earth. Queen of the gods, and goddess of women, marriage, childbirth, heirs, kings, and empires. She is the goddess of the sky, the wife and sister of Zeus , and the daughter of Cronus and Rhea . She was usually depicted as a regal woman in the prime of her life, wearing a diadem and veil and holding a lotus-tipped staff. Although she

7056-555: Was regarded as the dignified ancestor of the Roman people. Virgin goddess of the hunt, wilderness, animals, the Moon and young girls. Both she and Apollo are archery gods. She is the daughter of Zeus and Leto , and twin sister of Apollo . In art she is often depicted as a young woman dressed in a short knee-length chiton and equipped with a silver hunting bow and a quiver of arrows. Her attributes include hunting knives and spears, animal pelts, deer and other wild animals. Her sacred animal

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