Keywords
Eleusinian mysteries, ancient Greece, Demeter, Persephone, Eleusis, mythology, sacred rites, pomegranates, afterlife, ancient religion
Summary
This conversation delves into the Eleusinian Mysteries, one of the most significant religious festivals in ancient Greece, dedicated to Demeter and Persephone. The discussion explores the historical context, the sacred rites, and the cultural significance of Eleusis, as well as the symbolism of pomegranates in Greek mythology. The episode emphasizes the mysteries’ promise of a better afterlife and their eventual decline with the rise of Christianity.
Takeaways
- The Eleusinian mysteries were a significant religious festival in ancient Athens.
- The mysteries were dedicated to Demeter and her daughter Persephone.
- Participation in the mysteries was shrouded in secrecy, with no one revealing the rites.
- The ultimate goal of the mysteries was to offer hope for a better afterlife.
- Eleusis was considered part of Athens and was a site of pilgrimage.
- The sacred way led from Athens to Eleusis, symbolizing a journey to the underworld.
- The Telesterion was the temple where the most sacred objects were revealed.
- Pomegranates symbolize life, death, and rebirth in Greek culture.
- The mysteries declined with the rise of Christianity in the 4th century AD.
- Visitors to Eleusis are encouraged to keep an open mind and bring a pomegranate!
Sound Bites
“Death was reversed in this case.”
“Christianity took their place.”
“Pack a pomegranate as well.”
Timeline
00:00 – Introduction
00:11 – The Eleusinian Mysteries: A Journey to Ancient Greece
01:43 – The Sacred Mysteries of Demeter
02:32 – What Were the Eleusinian Mysteries?
03:33 – The Connection Between Eleusis and Athens
04:37 – Exploring the Ancient Site of Eleusis
05:52 – The Underworld and the Telesterion
09:34 – The End of the Eleusinian Mysteries
10:15 – Pomegranates in Greek Culture
11:31 – Advice for Visitors to Eleusis
12:49 – Conclusion
Transcript
Introduction (00:00)
Stephen Parker: Welcome to the Take Me to Europe podcast with your host, cultural anthropologist Monique Skidmore.
The Eleusinian Mysteries: A Journey to Ancient Greece (00:11)
Monique Skidmore: Today we’re off to Greece to understand one of the largest, longest-running and mysterious cults in the ancient world. We’re going to travel to Eleusis and find out about the Eleusinian mysteries. On the way, we’ll see the entrance to the underworld, meet some formidable female gods and learn about the significance of pomegranates to the Greeks.
I’m very excited to be welcoming back to the program Danae Kousouris from Alternative Athens, who told us about the myths and legends of the Acropolis. Today we’re coming back to her hometown of Athens to get to the bottom of the Eleusinian mysteries. I’m hoping by the end of this episode, you’ll be penciling in Eleusis for a visit next time you’re in Greece.
Away from the beautiful tourist areas of Athens and the splendid antiquities centred on the Acropolis are the suburbs home to almost three-quarters of a million Athenians. As Athens grew to reach the neighbouring towns and villages in Attica, it absorbed them into this sprawling city.
What is now an industrial port and a lovely spot for lunch was once a site of pilgrimage for the cult of the goddess Demeter. It is only 18 kilometers or 11 miles from the center of Athens. It was also the birthplace of Aeschylus, the ancient Greek tragedian.
I’m here because it is where the sacred way leads from Athens to Eleusis, and thousands of people have followed this Sacred Way.
The Sacred Mysteries of Demeter (01:43)
Monique Skidmore: These ancient people came to be inducted into the cult of Demeter by participating in the Eleusinian mysteries. These mysteries were the most sacred of all the Greek mysteries.
Demeter was the wife of Zeus, and Persephone was their daughter. The mysteries are reported to have given the initiates a belief in their immortality or at least removed from them the fear of death.
So, in order to find out what these mysteries are and why Eleusis was so important that the sacred way led to its door, let’s turn to our wonderful storyteller and mythology tour writer, Danae Kousouris.
Danae, welcome back. The Eleusinian mysteries were a very big deal for more than a thousand years in which they were practiced. Can you tell us what the Eleusinian Mysteries were?
What Were the Eleusinian Mysteries? (02:32)
Danae Kousouris: Well, hello, Monique. I’m very happy for meeting you again, and thank you for choosing to shed light on this mystical topic and off-the-beaten-path ancient destination.
To answer your question—no, I cannot tell you what the Eleusinian Mysteries were because it’s a mystery.
Well, as far as we know, the Eleusinian Mysteries were the most important religious festival in ancient Athens. They were dedicated to Demeter, the goddess of agriculture, and her daughter, Persephone.
They were called mysteries because the rites that took place during the festival were attended by a specific group of people—the initiates—in total secrecy.
From the thousands of people that had participated in these festivals for a millennium, nobody ever revealed what was going on there.
But what was the ultimate goal of all these practices is something we’re aware of. It was a promise or a hope for a better life after death.
The Connection Between Eleusis and Athens (03:33)
Monique Skidmore: So what was the relationship then between this little town Eleusis and ancient Athens?
Danae Kousouris: Well, Eleusis is located in one of the most fertile valleys of Athens, and although it’s a bit far from Athens city center, the ancient Athenians always considered it as part of their city.
According to the myth, when the gods divided the world into areas of influence, Demeter chose the Eleusinian valley, known as the Thracian Plain. In this area, her greatest shrine was developed.
The Athenians were very interested in the shrine and the area in general, so they connected it with an avenue known as the Sacred Way—a large road, paved for the most part, which started from the ancient Agora of Athens, passed through the central gates of the city, the Kerameikos Cemetery of Athens, and up to the sanctuary of Demeter in Eleusis.
Symbolically, it was like the way to the underworld.
Exploring the Ancient Site of Eleusis (04:37)
Monique Skidmore: Fantastic, so can you show us around? Let’s start arriving at the site. What are we going to see?
Danae Kousouris: As you arrive at the ancient site of Eleusis, you immediately notice that the whole place is divided into three sections: the sanctuary, the wheat warehouses, and the great walls which protected it.
The first thing you see as you enter is the big altar, the Escara, which was used for animal sacrifices—it was like a huge barbecue.
After that is the courtyard with a beautiful pavement, the double gateways—very monumental, built by the Romans—which gave the site great artistic prestige.
When you cross the gates, on your left, you’ll find the sacred well, another important spot. This is where the mythical princesses of Eleusis met Demeter, transformed into an old lady mourning the loss of her daughter, since she was abducted by Pluto.
Then, the modern visitor follows the ancient initiates’ steps on the Sacred Way, leading to the Plutonian on the right side of the road.
The Underworld and the Telesterion (05:52)
Danae Kousouris: What is the Plutonian? It’s actually a cave dedicated to the god of the underworld, and it is through this cave that Persephone returns to her mother for a little while. It is the place where the living world and the world of the dead meet.
Now, the final destination of this journey was the Telesterion. The Telesterion was a special temple of Demeter, a rectangular-shaped construction with a roof, benches carved on the rock, where thousands of participants attended the revelation of the most sacred objects.
We know nothing about these objects, and if indeed they were real objects, but the revelation was definitely something about the real meaning of life and death, the mortality of the body and the immortality of the soul.
And after that, it’s the museum, of course. Even the Romans fell in love with Eleusis, and it became, as you said, a very prestigious place for wealthy and famous Romans to visit as well.
Monique Skidmore: So what was it that was so important? What happened in these rites, in this initiation ceremony, that made the whole of Greece want to travel along the sacred way and undertake these rituals in the Telesterion?
Danae Kousouris: Well, it’s hard to answer this question what really happened, but keep in mind that the mysteries lasted for nine days, and during these days, they had several other rites going on. But at the end, we have the great revelation. Some say it’s about the revelation of the goddess. The goddess herself appears in front of their eyes.
Other scholars believe that it is something that has to do with fertility. And maybe we have a connection between the chief priest with a priestess, a kind of connection, dramatized sexual intercourse, maybe in front of their eyes.
But it could be something very simple. And if we consider that Persephone personifies the grain, Persephone goes down in the underworld, the grain is hidden in the ground. Then Persephone comes up and stays with her mother, and the grain grows, and we have the wheat.
Well, a simple explanation could be the story of Persephone can be the allegory of the cycle of the seasons, the explanation of why the grain grows, why it dies. But if we dive a little bit deeper in this myth, we discover more sophisticated interpretation. Now, people are part of nature, right? Nature dies, and it revives again. The same happens with people.
Now, the average ancient Greek had a very standard view of the afterlife. The defining characteristic of humans is that they are mortals in ancient Greek culture. They will definitely die. And when this happens, there is no other life but being shadows of their previous existence in the underworld. And that’s it. Quite boring. So they wish the death could be reversed.
Now, an initiate in the Eleusinian mysteries wants to ensure that there is a happier, more pleasant status in the afterlife. And after all, Persephone came from the world of the dead. So, death was reversed in this case. But I leave it open.
The End of the Eleusinian Mysteries (09:34)
Monique Skidmore: And that’s really what people were hoping to find in the Eleusinian mysteries. So why did the rites associated with the mysteries stop being practiced?
Danae Kousouris: Because Christianity and a more influential promise of the afterlife took their place, when the ancient religion gradually started fading away, the mysteries lost their prestige, but they were officially banned in the 4th century AD by Byzantine Emperor Theodosius as part of his project to Christianize his empire. And, of course, Greece was part of the Byzantine Empire.
Pomegranates in Greek Culture (10:15)
Monique Skidmore: Let’s go back to food, shall we? Because I’m particularly interested in pomegranates. Can you please tell us about their importance and symbolism in Greek culture?
Danae Kousouris: According to the myth, Persephone she’s down in the underworld and she cannot go back and stay with her mother forever. Before she goes to her mother, tricked by Hades, she ate some seeds of pomegranate. And because of that, she was bounded to this world for six months of the year as the queen of the dead, while the rest of the year is spent in the living world with her mother.
Now, ever since, the pomegranate holds an important place in Greek culture. It was and still is the fruit of the dead. And that’s why it’s offered as a gift.
But also it’s still, even today, nowadays, it’s offered as a gift to the dead. It’s also the symbol of fraternity, the symbol of prosperity, of abundance. That’s why we smash the pomegranate on our doorstep on New Year’s Day. And also the symbol of good luck. And remember, the whole idea of the Eleusinian mysteries was to promise luck and better treatment after death.
Advice for Visitors to Eleusis (11:31)
Monique Skidmore: So if there’s one piece of advice you can give to travelers visiting ancient Eleusis, what would that be?
Danae Kousouris: To keep their mind and spirit open—and definitely to bring a pomegranate to Persephone.
Monique Skidmore: Okay, well, I think it’s fair to say that the mysteries of Eleusis are no longer mysterious after the episode today and that we have found a fascinating piece of ancient Greek mythology in the landscape of suburban Athens.
You might not have thought about Eleusis as a must-see destination on your next trip to Athens, but I hope that Danae and I have convinced you of the critical importance of Eleusis and the Eleusinian mysteries to the lives of the ancient Greeks.
I hope we’ve piqued your curiosity and that you, too, want to peer into the plutonium at the underworld.
And whilst I know you’ll have packed your curiosity, just remember to pack a pomegranate as well, because you never know who you might meet in Eleusis.
I’d like to thank the wonderful and knowledgeable storyteller and tour guide, Dinae Kousouris, from Alternative Athens for being so generous as to come back on the program and fascinate us all over again with tales of the ancient Greek world.
Conclusion (12:49)
Stephen Parker: Thanks for listening to this episode of Take Me to Europe podcast. Visit takemetoeuropetours.com to sign up for our newsletter and subscribe to our podcast series.
