Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries

by George Emmanuel Mylonas

The real excavations in Eleusis start in 1882 by the Archaeological Society of Athens, supported by the Greek Government, since in 1877 they had started to disappropriate the village houses that they were all over the place. The first director was Dem. Philios, who was supported by a German architect, named Dorpfeld. Dem. Philios worked in Eleusis till 1894. Andreas Skias took over the leadership and he worked till 1907, when he became a professor in the University of Athens and it was impossible to continue in Eleusis. Excavations started again in 1917 under Kon.Kourouniotis responsibility, always with Archaeological Society of Athens. He cooperated with G.Mylonas, I.Travlos and I.Threpsiades. These three continued after Kourouniotis' death in 1945. G.Mylonas, until his death, in 1985 was involved in studies and researches about Eleusis.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, Greece, Mythology

428 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

Reviews

[Erik Graff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a thorough introduction to Eleusis, the site and the Mysteries, based on both the archeological and textual evidences as known by 1961, the time of composition.

Ever interested in the existential bases of religions, I had hoped for more about the kykeon, the sacred substance ingested by the participants--apparently a psychotropic, possibly containing mushrooms. It is mentioned, but no firm conclusions are drawn. One whould think, however, that some record of the cultivation/collection of the agent would have survived. The event would have required quite a lot of it.

Interestingly, the Christian Scriptures make a reference to something at the very core of the celebration when Jesus is cited as saying that the seed must die in order to be reborn. Of course, this was a commonplace at the time as witness the rites of Attis, the celebrations of the Tammuz gardens and so on.

[kamila gutierrez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for a research paper. Super nice and concise for an academic read! I loved how Mylonas talked about the mysteries as satisfying the longings of the human heart, definitely a sentiment I am going to try and incorporate into my paper somehow.

[Sand Rougelune · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pas tout à fait à l'ordre du jour niveaux recherches, mais ce livre ecrit par l'archéologue lui même est une pépite de connaissances et de theories sur le site lui même et son histoire.
Heureuse de l'avoir dans ma bibliothèque d'Histoire, et Archéologie.

[Alexander Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not read the entire book. What I was primarily looking for was a day by day breakdown of what happened during the mysteries to the best of our knowledge, and this book provides just that. Myloans goes day by day through the initiation. Of course, the inner secrets were kept hidden, but at least this book presents outward forms and rituals.