The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth
Edition. 2001-05. |
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Eleusinian
Mysteries |
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(lysn´n) (KEY) , principal religious mysteries of
ancient Greece. The mysteries may have originated as part of an
early agrarian festival peculiar to certain families in Eleusis. The
Athenians later (c.600 B.C.) took over the
ceremonies. Because the mysteries were secret, little is known of
them. Presumably fasting and ritual purification in the sea took
place before the large procession from Athens to Eleusis. The rites,
which fundamentally celebrated the abduction and return of
Persephone, symbolized the annual cycle of death and rebirth in
nature as well as the immortality of the soul. It was believed that
they had originally been instituted in Eleusis by Persephone’s
mother, Demeter. Dionysus was also much honored. The festival at
Eleusis, known as the Greater Mysteries, was celebrated in the early
fall, at sowing time. Another festival, the Lesser Mysteries, was
held in the early spring at Agrae. |
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See G. E. Myloras, Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries
(1962, repr. 1969). |
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The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth
Edition. Copyright © 2001-05 Columbia University
Press. |
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