Eleusis ~ Unshrouding the Eleusinian Mysteries (original) (raw)
Related papers
Sanctuaries, Sacrifices and the Eleusinian Mysteries
Numen 49, 2002, 227-254
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Eleusis. Sanctuary of the Empire
Eleusis. Sanctuary of the Empire, in Roman Power and Greek Sanctuaries. Forms of Interaction and Communication, a cura di M. Galli, Tripodes 14, Atene 2013, pp. 245-264 (ISBN 978-960-9559-02-7 ISSN 1791-1850), 2013
The present volume examines evidence of the process of dynamic interaction and power relationships that the major cult center of the Greek sacred landscape of Classical-Hellenistic period underwent in the face of the unstoppable force and definitive establishment of the Roman empire in the Mediterranean basin. Although subject of the sacred landscape in ancient Greece has received careful attention and seen innumerable publications, only a modest amount of research has surveyed the post-classical phases of the Greek sanctuaries in the provincia Achaia. Ideas, hints, and data for this book were collected during the four-year research project (2003-2007) 'Formation and transformation of religious identities in the Roman Empire', which I undertook at the Department of Ancient Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome. The project was financed by MIUR (Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca) as part of its scheme "Ritorno degli studiosi italiani impegnati all'estero" (D.M. 26.01.2001). The scope of the project was to define the specific quality of the sacred landscape in the Hellenized cities in Rome's eastern empire. Crucial to this 'work in progress' was the section of the AIAC 2008 (Meetings between Cultures in the ancient Mediterranean) meeting that was entitled Religion as communication: ritual networks in traditional Greek sanctuaries under the Roman domination and kindly chaired by Susan E.
Eleusis at the Intersection of Antiquity and Modernity
The official shutting down of the Eleusinian mysteries around 400 CE after a millennium of worship did not bring an end to Eleusis or the mysteria. What began as a ritual in honor of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone ramified over deep time and across geographical expanses into a variety of discourses that have shaped the concept of mystery as we know it today. This includes the incorporation of the term into Christian theology, Gnosticism, and secret societies whose lore sometimes connected them with a “golden thread” of esoteric wisdom extending back to Eleusis. Beyond religion, mystery has been sexualized to sell romance, exoticized to promote the exploration of strange places, and cosmologized in narratives about the enigmas of the universe. What about these associations is related to ancient meanings that grew out of the Eleusinian cult? Why has mystery continued, long after the suppression of the mysteria, to pique our imagination and resist domestication? While scholarship on the ancient mysteria abounds, none of it has tackled such questions from the perspectives opened by translation studies. Particularly relevant is the recent turn toward cultural translation, which explores how ideology, modes of production, the currency of cliques and trends, and tensions between the local and the global affect intra- and interlingual exchange. This paper seeks to advance the discussion of mystery and the mysteria within such a theoretical frame by juxtaposing two historical moments: 1) the ancient intralingual translation of mysteria-vocabulary in Greek into philosophy, particularly in Plato, and 2) the contemporary interlingual translation of this vocabulary into the discourses of new religious movements and cognitive neuroscience, which has begun exploring the phenomenology of extraordinary spiritual encounters through brain mapping. Linking these two recent discursive fields is what some have called the “archaic revival” in our time, which has been marked by a return to festival and ritualized forms of liminality. Here Eleusis has helped structure a set of loosely connected tropes in the cultural imaginary that combine postmodern forms of expression with a reverence for the pagan past. It has also functioned as a conduit for the return of initiation as a vital dimension of mystery—one that modern subjects are attempting to recreate in alternative culture heterotopias and that science is studying because of the light it casts on altered states of consciousness and transformational experience. This invites a closer look at the relationship between initiation and secrecy, the two main vectors of the Eleusinian mysteria.
The Mystery Sanctuaries at Eleusis and Samothrace. Otto Rubensohn, 1892 Tr. by Robert Hutwohl
Die Mysterienheiligtümer in Eleusis und Samothrake, 1892
The great mystery cults of Eleusis and Samothrace occupy a completely unique position among the Greek forms of religion. The fact that they are secret cults does not alone explain this fact, for there were many other secret cults in Greece besides these mysteries; Rather, there are quite essential things in the content and form of the mysteries mentioned, which allow us to see in them something quite different from what we are used to understanding of Greek god cults. Above all, the strong emphasis on dogma belongs here, which we can observe at least in the Eleusinian cult—unfortunately we know too few details from the cult of Samothrace to be able to consider it more closely here. In the other cults, this is almost entirely secondary to the external acts of worship, so that these latter have almost completely become an end in themselves, and their correct fulfillment forms the main content of the service. In the Eleusinians, on the other hand, the rites of worship serve only as a means to an end and are of great importance only because they are the symbolic expression of the truths of salvation, which in the truest sense constitute the essence of the whole cult. The Mysteries also differ from the other cults in the type and form of the cult activities, which is more important for our special task than what has been mentioned. These are already evident in the participation of the individual participant. At the other festivals, the priest did not have to perform any special religious acts, the priest performed the sacrifices for the congregation and said the prayers, with at most, the congregation took part in the service from time to time through solemn songs, processions or sacred dances. In the mysteries, however, it was not only the individual who had to carry out certain ritual acts, as we know from Clemens Alexandrinus Protrept. II 21 (Dindorf), but the manner in which the individual commented on the mystical “δρώμενα” and “φῆμαι” was also of no small importance. Merely looking and hearing was not enough, and the performing priests did not add any dogmatic instruction, as Lobeck has amply demonstrated; So everyone had to think about it for himself and, with the help of the instruction he received from the mystagogus, strive to recognize the true content of the symbolic actions, for only in this way could he really hope to share in the goods that were promised to the initiate. It is obvious from the outset that these fundamental differences in the content and form of the cult, which are only hinted at here, also resulted in a design of the mystery shrines that was in many respects unique compared to the other known cult sites. Above all, the different types of cult activities gave the temple a completely different role and also a completely different meaning in the mystery cults than was otherwise the case in Greek cult. While at other places of worship the temple is only the house for the god, the cult acts at the great festivals therefore usually take place outside of it, and at most the priest or priests offer the sacrifices for the community in the temple, at the places of worship for the mysteries it is the interior of the temple the very own place for the acts of worship and intended to accommodate the whole congregation watching them. That this was the case can be gathered from hints from old writers, some of which may find a place here. We would be far wrong if we were to assume that the institutions in the two mystery cults were very related. Not only were the worshiped gods different in the two cults, the type of cult was also quite different in Samothrace than in Eleusis, and the mystery cults are different, apart from the one basic idea that unites them, that participation in them gives the initiate the protection of the deities ruling in the underworld and thus providing a certain security for a happy afterlife after death, actually only in their behavior towards the other cults, at least up to the fourth century, and up to then each one definitely had its own independent course of development. The Plan and layout of the Mystery Sanctuary at Eleusis (with the legend descriptions translated from German to English) As a separate file, named: The Mystery Sanctuaries at Eleusis and Samothrace. Eleusis Plan The Plan and layout of the Mystery Sanctuary at Samothrace (with the legend descriptions translated from German to English) As a separate file, named: The Mystery Sanctuaries at Eleusis and Samothrace. Samothrace Plan
The Contemporary Review, 1880
AT the present day it is definitively proved that there was not in the mysteries of Eleusis, any more than in the other mysteries of Greece, any dogmatic teaching; that the proceedings in them were not by way of a communication, made directly by the hierophantês to the mystês, of formal doctrinal beliefs different from the public religion and superior to it. There were, on the nights of the initiations, rites and representations of a symbolic nature, intended to awaken religious impressions in the souls of the initiated; to make them penetrate further into the knowledge of divine things, and into the inner meaning of the myths presented for adoration; and, above all, to apply to them the merits of the vicissitudes in the history of the gods by throwing down the barrier between man and the divinity. But everywhere, at Eleusis as well as at Samothrake and in the other mysteries, the teaching remained closely attached to the ceremonies themselves, and it resulted immediately therefrom for those who could understand them. It did not form a distinct part intended to supply the solution of an enigma which had long been paraded before the eyes.
private talk, 1976
private talk, 1976 The Ancient Mystery Tradition, though less public, continues to pursue spiritual awareness through occult ceremonial and meditation, sharing the same objectives as the Mysteries of old. These ancient ceremonies, enacted in various cultures, used dramatic performances and symbolic regalia to illustrate cosmogony and divine powers, ultimately aiming to achieve Adeptship or perfected humanity. The Eleusinian Mysteries, among others, were the most widely spread and influential of these ancient traditions. The Eleusinian Mysteries, one of the most famous ceremonial orders, were celebrated annually in ancient Greece for seven days. The ceremonies, which took place in Eleusis and Agrae, offered spiritual rebirth and enlightenment to initiates, though the exact rituals and revelations remain unknown due to a strict vow of secrecy. The Mysteries had a profound impact on Greek civilization, promoting peace, wisdom, and a deeper understanding of nature and the divine. Ancient Greek and Christian texts suggest that initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries revealed the nature of death and the afterlife, offering initiates a profound understanding of the spiritual realm. Although the public celebration of these mysteries ceased in the 4th century, the tradition continues privately, manifesting in various spiritual and occult movements today. Aspirants seeking admission to the occult life and association with adepts are encouraged to explore these movements, as the need for enlightened individuals is greater than ever. The Theosophical Society is believed to be an Adept-inspired and founded movement, with references to Adepts in its literature.