The Mysteries Of Eleusis

This article comes from a 1910 Knights of Pythias manual written by Capt. Hugh Goold Webb P.C, P.G.R..

“Nothing is more excellent than the mysteries which exalt from a rude and savage state to a true humanity. They initiate us into the true principles of life, for they teach us not only to live pleasantly, but to die with better hopes.” - Cicero

As Pythagoras originally dwelt within the confines of the Grecian Empire, these mysteries were in all probability the first into which he was admitted. The Sacred Festival was celebrated in the city of Eleusis, a city of Attica, situated on the sea shore, northeast of Athens. These mysteries were held in higher honor than any of the others, and it seems that they had been celebrated from the very earliest times of Grecian History. In the Museum of the University of Oxford, England, there is preserved a fragment of marble on which is an inscription giving the date of 1399 B. C, during the reign of Erechtheus, as the date of their institution.

The Festival was held in honor of Demeter or Ceres, the goddess of the earth, and is said to have been instituted by her, in commemoration of the hospitality she received from Celeous, King of Eleusis. At first only Athenians could gain admittance, but in so high an esteem and veneration did these mysteries become, that ultimately not only all Greece proper became its votaries, but all the world clamored for initiation and "from remotest regions men came to be initiated"* and "Eleusis became the common temple of the earth.” All applicants, men, women and children, were ultimately admitted; and kings and princes craved the honor of wearing the mystic cincture of the order. Cicero says "Nothing is more excellent than the mysteries which exalt us from a rude and savage state to true humanity. They initiate us into the true principles of life, for they teach us, not only to live pleasantly, but to die with better hopes."

The origin of the mysteries is given to us by Homer in his hymn to the goddess Ceres. The story he tells is this : Persephone, the maiden daughter or Kore of Ceres, while playing in the Elysian fields, catches sight of the flower of the Narcissus variety, and runs in the gladness of her heart and plucks it. Its exquisite and intoxicating fragrance makes her dance with joy and laugh with delight. Pluto, the god of the lower regions, having thus allured her from her companions, siezes her, and carries her off to the regions below the earth. She cries aloud to Jupiter, her father, but he, having given his consent to her abduction, heeds her not. 

The abductor, however, had been seen by Hecate, while seated in her cave, by Helios, son of Hyperion, and by Ceres herself, who had heard her daughter cry as the earth opened to receive her. She therefore hastened to find her, and for nine days wandered about in vain. On the tenth day she went to the cave where Hecate lived, and asked her help to find her daughter; together they went to Helios, the sun, who told them of the place of her captivity, and also that she had been carried off with the consent of Jupiter; he also tells her that her daughter is the bride of Aidonius. Ceres was smitten with anger and despair, and immediately left Olympus, the dwelling place of the gods, and wandered over the earth in sorrow and fasting; this so changed her features, that, instead of a most beautiful being, she appeared like an old woman, and in this state came to Eleusis. 

While sitting down on a rock near a spring of water, the daughters of the king of that city came to fill their jars. Ceres asks them for employment, and they take her home to the king, who receives her into his household, and she becomes nurse to his only son. In gratitude for her kind reception, Ceres proceeds in making her foster-child immortal, by feeding him with ambrosial — the food of the gods — and bathing him in a bath of flames. The queen, finding out the terrible process through which the child was passed, feared for its life, and grew angry with its nurse. Throwing off all disguises, Ceres reveals herself, and rebuking the queen, tells her that, though her son cannot now become immortal, yet, he would have an eventful and successful life. She then commanded the king and people of Eleusis to build a great temple and altar in her honor, on the hill just above the spring where she had first sat, promising that after a while she would institute the ceremonies to be performed in it.

The temple was built and Ceres took up her abode in it, still angry and refusing to again dwell in Olympia. She dwelt in the temple a whole year, being laughed at and made fun of by Iambe, one of the king's servants, in vain endeavor to find her daughter. In vain the oxen ploughed the ground; in vain was the barley seed scattered in its furrows; Ceres would not allow it to grow; in vain Jupiter tried to conciliate her; and in vain did the gods try to induce her to return to Olympia; but she would not, nor would she return fertility to the earth until she had again seen her daughter. At length Jupiter, in his heavenly abode, interfered, and ordered the restoration of Persephone, but only on conditions that she remain with her mother only two-thirds of the year, and the other third to be spent with her husband. 

So Mercury, the messenger of the gods, was dispatched to the lower regions, and she was brought back. Her mother received her with joy and gladness, and the buried seeds sprouted out from the ground in great abundance. Then having instructed Celeous in the divine services, and in the sacred ceremonies which she required to be celebrated in her honor, she returned to Olympia.

Thus were the mysteries of Eleusis instituted. They were a dramatic reproduction of the different incidents of the legend, kept ever before the people in the annual observances of these rites; and although we see in the beautiful story nothing more than a mere representation of the rejoicing of all nature upon the return of Spring (Persephone) to Mother Earth (Ceres, or Demeter), after the death of Winter, yet to the Eleusinians, this was a genuine and sacred history.

The mysteries were divided into two degrees, the lesser and the greater. The former being a preparatory purification for the latter. The former could be communicated to all; at first, however, only Athenians could enter the order, but, later, all Greeks were taken in, and later still, all mankind were eligible. In the greater degrees, although all must have passed through the lesser, yet we find but few who were allowed to enter, and these only Greeks. There was perhaps a reason for this. We know that the Truth as we know it was eagerly sought after by the more advanced thinkers; all this truth, however, could not be understood or grasped by the uneducated or common people, and therefore they were kept in the lesser degree. And again, although certain truths were taught in the lesser, yet the higher truths were such that, it is said, would destroy the whole system of religion, for they taught that their religion was a delusion; the gods were shown to be only allied mortals, and that the Supreme Cause of all things took their places. Thus the Secrets of the Greater Mysteries were, the detection of polytheism as vulgar and ridiculous; and, the discovery of the doctrine of the Divine Unity. This is proved by several ancient writers.

So sacred were the mysteries held by all, that its great secrets have never really been fully disclosed, and were so jealously guarded, that no punishment was too severe for those who betrayed them. Death was the immediate result, and the punishment did not even end there, for a monument was placed over his grave with a record of his sins, and the penalty meted out to him, as a warning to all others. Aeschylus was thought to have given away some of the secrets of the order, and only escaped with his life, on proving that he had never been initiated. Aristotle, the greatest ancient writer on mathematics and medicine, was tried on the charge of copying the sacrificial rites of Eleusis, and was banished. Membership in the lesser degree was thought as necessary as is baptism to all members of the Christian church today, and the custom of initiating even children was general.

The temple of Eleusis, in which the rites were celebrated, was a magnificent building, supposed to have been erected, as we have seen, by command of the goddess herself, and the site of its ruins is still shown. It is situated on the western side of the hill, and behind it is a terrace cut out of the solid rock some eight or nine feet above the floor of the temple where these ceremonies took place. The length of the terrace is two hundred and seventy feet, and its breadth, in its widest part, is forty-four feet. At the northern end of the terrace is a remnant of a chapel, leading up to which were several steps. This temple had always been held in great veneration and respect; so much so, that when their great conqueror, Xerxes, who destroyed all temples he came across, when he reached Eleusis spared that one. It was, however, destroyed by Alaric, the Goth, during his march from Asia Minor to Rome in 396 A. D.

The ceremonies last ten days. As the goddess was nine days wandering about the earth, so the candidate was nine days purifying himself for the greatest event of his life. This purification took place at Athens. On the first day all the candidates for admission into the mysteries assembled, and to each was appointed one of the order, a Mista, whose duty it was to instruct the candidate in the teachings of his degree, and to attend him throughout the ceremonies. The second day was devoted to the physical purification of the neophytes and their offerings (pigs) by washing and bathing in the sea. The third day was a day of fasting. On the fourth a bucket of pomegranates and poppy seeds were carried in a solemn procession to the Temple of Eleusis. The fifth was held in commemoration of Ceres' visit by torchlight to the cave of Hecate and was called the "Day of Lamps." The other four days were given to teaching, prayers and other preparation for the great event.

On the tenth day, a vast procession, each carrying the narthex, a sort of hollow reed, in which Prometheus is said to have stolen the heavenly fire, left Athens for Eleusis. As the procession marched along, with here and there asses wearing the implements used in the rites, laughter and gibes were heard on every side. Nearing the bridge that crossed the river Cephissus, a woman, or man dressed as such, was stationed to represent lambe, the servant who abused Ceres when sad from the loss of her daughter. This character was privileged to use sarcasm most bitter, and taunts more piercing than ever Aristophanes ever dared to use in his comedies.

Previous to his initiation, the candidate was closely questioned as to his life, as it was required that he be of a clear and unblemished character, and free from the suspicion of any notorious crime. He was required to confess every wicked act he had committed during his life, and was obliged by solemn engagements, to commence a new life of strictest piety and virtue.

There were four superior officers who assisted in the ceremonies of initiation, the Hierophant, the Torch-Bearer, the Sacred Herald, and the Attendant at the Altar. The Hierophant was regarded as the representative of the Creator, and bore as his symbol the Demiurgus, or golden globe. His surroundings were in keeping with his dignity, and wonderfully like a scene described in Revelation. His throne was of gold, arched over with the rainbow and radiant with stars. Before him stood twenty-four attendants clad in white and wearing crowns of gold, while around him burned seven lights, whose brilliancy was increased by thousands of burnished mirrors. His office was to instruct the neophyte, after the trying ordeal of initiation, in the true purport of the mysteries, and to unfold the sublime truths which were to be taught. The Torch Bearer represented the sun and the Attendant at the Altar the moon. The office is sufficiently indicated by the name of its officer. The Herald was the representative of Mercury, the messenger of the gods, and bore the caduecus or wand of Mercury, as his badge.

The initiation into the lesser or Mystic Degrees was conducted as follows : Led by the Mystagogue, an office filled by either a man or woman, the candidate approached the portal of the temple, from which all but the initiate had been forbidden to approach under pain of instant death, and for the sake of greater security, the Herald proclaimed "Hence, hence, ye profane," as the candidate was led into the sacred enclosure. It was a moment of extreme terror and solemnity, and it required him to call up all his boldness and fortitude.

Virgil, at this point, is describing the mysteries, makes use of the following prayer: "Ye gods, to whom the empire of ghosts belong, and ye, O silent shades, and Chaos and Phlegethon, places where silence reigns around the realms of night, permit me to utter the secrets I have heard, give me your divine permission to disclose things buried in death, earth and darkness."

Instantly all was confusion. The most terrible sounds assailed the candidate's terrified ears — the fierce roar of wild beasts, the hissing of serpents, the crash of thunder — and he was unable to move a step further, or find the entrance to the place to which he aspired. Claudean, in speaking of the entrance into the mystic rites, says, "Now I see the shrines shake upon their tottering bases, and lightning, announcing the Deity's approach, shed a lurid glare around. Now a loud warning is heard from the depth of the earth, and the Cecropean temple re-echoes, and Eleusis raises her holy torches, the snakes of Triptolemus hiss and lift their scaly necks rubbed by their curved yokes. So afar the threefold Hecate bursts forth."

Passing on, the bandage is removed from his eyes, and he found himself in what appeared a wild, uncultivated country. Spectral glare supplied the place of sunlight. Beasts of prey menaced him on every side, while the elements, unloosed, threatened him and the world with instant destruction. Recovering from his surprise and terror, and his eyes becoming accustomed to the half light of the place, he discovers before him a door with this inscription: "He who would attain to the highest and most perfect state, and rise to the sphere of absolute bliss, must be purified by fire, and air, and water."

Scarcely had he read these words, when the door turned on its hinges, and he was thrust through the entrance into a vast apartment. A loud plaint of sorrow wailed through the shadowy corridors, filling him with unutterable dread, while, at the same time, two high iron gates crashed open, disclosing to his frightened view a vast yawning gulf of flame. All the sufferings of grim and dread Tartarus was made to pass before him. The terrible purification of fire — the avenging furies and forked tongues of flame; the purification of air, the strong burning wind and the mighty, rolling wheel ; the purification of water, the gloomy lake, with its dense clouds and fearful shadows, all speaking of the awful truths of religion and declaring the great law of retribution, were some of the sights that met his view.

In the sixth book of the Aeneid, Virgil gives the following description of these scenes. He says: "Before the very courts and in the opening jaws of hell, grief and tormenting care have fixed their couches, and pale diseases; repining age, fear and famine — forms terrible to view — and death and toil, then sleep that is akin to death, and criminal joys of the mind ; and in the opposite threshold, murderous war, the iron bed chambers of the furies, and frantic discord. ' '

Hardly had these passed, ere his way was barred by another iron door, before which he halted, while the Hierophant chanted in a solemn voice, the Orphic poem quoted by Eusebius : "I will declare a secret to the initiates, but let the door be shut against the profane. But thou, O Musaeus, the offspring- of bright Silene, attend carefully to my song, for I shall deliver the truth without disguise. Suffer not, therefore, thy former prejudices to debar thee of that happy life which the knowledge of these divine truths will procure unto thee, but carefully contemplate this divine oracle and preserve it in purity of mind and heart. Go on in the right way, and see the sole Governor of the world. He is one and of himself alone and to that one all things owe their being. He operates through all, and was never seen by mortal eyes, but does himself see everyone." This was the first intimation to the candidate of the Divine Unity which these mysteries were about to unfold to him. When the prayer was ended the door before which they stood opened and disclosed a scene of ravishing beauty, and quite the contrast of the gloom just left behind. "Here the air they breathe is more free and enlarged, and clothes the field with radiant light. Here the happy inhabitants know their own sun and their own stars."

This Autopsia was the most sublime part of the whole initiation. The candidate had just seen the horrors of the lost, had looked into the "very courts and open jaws of hell." Gloom, darkness and horror surrounded him; when suddenly Autopsia bursts upon him, and listening to his guide, he is told that in this light without form was imaged the divine splendor — in this beautiful light whose source was unseen — for these initiations took place at midnight — but which illuminated all and spread its radiance over all, was the symbol of the glory that dwelt visibly in the Godhead. It was the first gleam of a one God, soon to be revealed, though imperfectly, for no Paul stood by with words of wonderful power to declare "the unknown God." Yet He was made manifest and the Epopta regained some of the truths that had been well-nigh lost in the shipwreck of humanity. "And now being initiated and perfect the candidates are no longer under restraint, but crowned and triumphant, they walk up and down the regions of the blessed, converse with pure and holy men, and celebrate the mysteries at pleasure.

In the closing scene of these mysteries there is a curious phraseology used as a benediction coux., one, pax. These words were long thought to be inexplicable; but they now prove to be of pure Sanskrit and are used to this day by the Brahmins at the conclusion of their religious rites.

For four hundred years after the beginning of the Christian era, the mysteries were continued and were only finally destroyed by Theodosius the Great who ruled the Western Empire from A. D. 346-395.

It must be remembered that the description here given is of those mysteries after the purity of the institution had passed away and their original meaning lost. It was an Athenian institution, and, as mentioned above, was a copy of the "Mysteries of Isis and Osiris," and was brought to Athens by a learned Greek named Melampsus.

HOMER'S HYMN TO THE EARTH, MOTHER OF ALL

P. B. Shelley

O universal mother, who dost keep
From everlasting thy foundations deep,
Eldest of things, Great Earth, I sing of thee;
All shapes that have their dwelling in the sea,
All things that fly, or on the ground divine
Live, move, and there are nourished — these are thine;
These from thy wealth thou dost sustain;
from thee Fair babes are born, and fruits on every tree
Hang ripe and large, revered Divinity !

The life of mortal man beneath thy sway Is held; 
thy power both gives and takes away!
Happy are they who thy mild favors nourish, 

All things round them grow and flourish.
For them, endures the life sustaining field,
Its load of harvest and their cattle yield
Large increase and their house with wealth is filled.
Such honored dwell in cities fair and free,
And homes of lovely women, prosperously;
Their sons exult in youth's new budding gladness,
And their fresh daughters free from care and sadness.

With bloom-inwoven dance and happy song,
On the soft flowers the meadow grass among.
Leap round them sporting — such delights by thee
Are given, rich power, revered Divinity.
Mother of gods, thou wife of starry heaven, 
Farewell! be thou propitious, and be given