Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries

by George Emmanuel Mylonas

Crosses scratched by Early Christians on the marble pavements of the great Temple of Demeter at Eleusis symbolized the triumph of a new religion over a cult that endured for almost 2000 years & embraced the entire civilized world. The extraordinary & central fact of this cult for our times is that the initiates, sworn to secrecy concerning the rites of initiation, remained faithful to their pledge. The vast rubble field of marble & stone marking the destruction of the Sanctuary by the hordes of Alaric offers no key to the Mysteries, the final rites of initiation, which the Goddess herself had decreed "no one may in any way transgress or pry into or utter." Beginning with the legendary arrival of Demeter at Eleusis, the author traces the history of the cult in the archeological remains, from the first signs of habitation at the site to its final grandeur & decay in Imperial Roman times.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction, Greece, Mythology

416 pages, Kindle Edition

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.