The Eleusinian Mysteries: The History of Ancient Greece's Most Famous Religious Rites

Ancient Greece and its mythology has fascinated people for thousands of years, and few elements have intrigued people quite like the Eleusinian Mysteries, which the Greeks believed transformed the initiates and gave them knowledge that eased both the living of life on earth and allayed fears of death, allowing an acceptance of their ultimate fate. The influence of the Eleusinian Mysteries was also far-reaching; for example, the Telesterion is reminiscent of the labyrinthine, symbolic structures that can be found all over pre-historic Europe, ranging from those in Ireland to Malta and Crete to the Shetlands. The larger precinct of Eleusis, combining as it did caves, terraces and buildings carved into the rock again, all echo that ancient past. The external journey of the initiate is mirrored in his internal journey, and what can be seen is that the spiritual torch of classical Greece, as exemplified in these rites, hides the much older worship of deities. It was the spirit of those older gods and goddesses that ultimately pervaded Eleusis.

However, it would be unwise to see the Eleusinian Mysteries as something separate from the other aspects of the Greek belief system, or even worse, seeing them as somehow more spiritual than the others. The fact that a considerable element of the Eleusinian Mysteries suggests a tendency towards spiritual monotheism has led to many false conclusions about their nature. They were not a unique phenomenon in Greek religious tradition, and the concepts of secrecy and revelation of mysteries only to initiates had parallels in the cults of Dionysius and Cybele. Similarly, the mystical dimensions of the rites, with their emphasis on a personal encounter with the deity, can be found in other cultic activities.