The Lesser Mysteries

## Mysteries of Demeter at Eleusis “There are holy things that are not communicated all at once: Eleusis always keeps something back to show those who come again.”

Seneca, Natural Questions, Book VII, Chapter 30, Section 6, in the Loeb Classical Library edition, translated by Thomas H. Corcoran.

In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, in her grief of searching for her missing daughter eventually comes to Eleusis. Disguised as an old woman, she’s welcome as a nursemaid to the King and Queen’s son, Demophon. Demeter comes to love Demophon and anoints him with ambrosia before putting him in the fireplace each night in a ritual to make him immortal. One evening, the Queen Metaneira interrupts Demeter and the goddess reveals herself. Since the ritual was interrupted, Demophon could no longer become immortal but he would have the highest honors after being in her care. 

Demeter instructs the people of Eleusis to build her a temple and perform her rites. This later becomes the foundation for the Eleusinian mysteries. The hymn ends when Zeus has Persephone returned to Demeter, and Demeter ends the famine on earth.

Source: [[Homeric Hymn 2 To Demeter]] https://www.theoi.com/Text/HomericHymns3.html

## Mystery Cult Like with the many Mystery Cults (Dionysian, Orphic, etc), the Mystery rites were one of the best kept secrets of the Ancient world, initiates were sworn to secrecy and we don’t have any surviving accounts to what went on during these rites. At best, many researchers have theories based on clues found in primary accounts such as from Hesiod or Apollodorus and surviving art. While it is difficult to define what a Mystery Cult is, given the widespread practice and variations in customs depending on the area, Burkert cited in Bremmer offers a definition based on common characteristics “initiation rituals of a voluntary, personal and secret character that aimed at a change of mind through experience of the sacred."

Source: Bremmer, Jan N. Initiation into the Mysteries of the Ancient World. Walter de Gruyter, 2014.

## Lesser Mysteries The Lesser Mysteries were held during Anthesterion (February/March) in Agrai, theorized to be East of the Ilissos River. The Lesser Mysteries were a pre-requisite to any initiate who wanted to participate in the Greater Mysteries held during Boedromion (September/October). (56, Parke)

According to Mylonas, the Lesser Mysteries were said to be for Persephone and the Greater Mysteries for Demeter, where Demeter would attend as an honored guest(240).

This rite was believed to focus on purification where individuals would fast, make sacrifices (likely a piglet), cleaning in the water of the Ilissos, and singing hymns (241, Mylonas).

Sources: Parke, H. W. Festivals of the Athenians. Cornell University Press, 1986. Mylonas, George E. Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries. Princeton University Press, 1961.

## The Initiates Anyone - women, slaves, foreigners - were allowed to become an initiate in the Lesser Mysteries as long as they could pay for the fees. According to Parke, the total for the Lesser and Greater Mysteries was estimated to be 15 drachmas each or around 10 days wages and included the cost of the piglet (61).

Source: Parke, H. W. Festivals of the Athenians. Cornell University Press, 1986.

## The Purification of Herakles The Lesser Mysteries were said to have been established for Herakles in order for him to be able to complete his 12 Labors. The last labor of Herakles was retrieving Cerberus from the Underworld. In order to safely go and return, Herakles needed to cleanse himself of the miasma from killing the centaur (Parke, 123; Mylonas, 166) and be able to be initiated. At the time, foreigners were not allowed to be initiated, Herakles was adopted by Pylius and later purified by Eumolpus being being initiated (Apollodorous).

Sources: Apollodorus, The Library, Book II, Chapter 5, Section 12, in the Loeb Classical Library edition, translated by Sir James George Frazer. Parke, H. W. Festivals of the Athenians. Cornell University Press, 1986. Mylonas, George E. Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries. Princeton University Press, 1961. ## The Rites

“Entering now into the secret dome, he is filled with horror and astonishment. He is seized with loneliness and total perplexity; he is unable to move a step forward, and at a loss to find the entrance to the way that leads to where he aspires to, till the prophet or conductor lays open the anteroom of the Temple.” - Themistius

Source: Themistius. Orations. Edited by Wilhelm Dindorf. Leipzig, Teubner, 1832.

While we will never know for sure what rites were performed but it’s believed the Hierophant revealed the following in the initiation (telete)(Mylonas, 282): - Dromena (enacted) - believed to be a reenactment of the story of Demeter’s wandering search and Persephone’s abduction. - Deiknymena (things shown) - sacred objects, it is not known exactly what these were - Legomena (words spoken) - believed to be short words or phrases or comments and not long sermon or discourse.

Source: Mylonas, George E. Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries. Princeton University Press, 1961.

“In the Mysteries of Demeter all night long with torches kindled they seek for Persephone and when she is found, the whole ritual closes with thanksgiving and the tossing of torches.” - Lacantius

Source: Lactantius. Divine Institutes. Translated by Mary Francis McDonald, Catholic University of America Press, 1964. The Fathers of the Church, vol. 49.