THE BUILDER JUNE 1919

THE ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES AND RITES
BY BRO. DUDLEY WRIGHT, ASSISTANT EDITOR "THE FREEMASON," LONDON

Many writers, and especially those of the Craft, have called
attention to the resemblances between the rites of the Ancient
Mysteries and those of Freemasonry. Indeed, those resemblances have
given rise to much speculation, and it has been suggested by more
than one writer that such resemblances are more than accidental
Some of us have long been convinced that Freemasonry, if we may not
say that it was historically descended from the instituted
Mysteries of antiquity, it at least perpetuates their ministry
among us.

The Eleusinian Mysteries - those rites of ancient Greece and
afterwards of Rome, of which there is historical evidence dating
back to the seventh century before the Christian era bear very
striking resemblance, in many points, to the rituals of both
Operative and Speculative Freemasonry- As to their origin, beyond
the legendary account put forth, there is no reliable trace. Like
most great human institutions they grew out of a real human need,
to which they ministered, else they could not have held sway for so
many ages.

In the opinion of not a few writers an Egyptian source is
attributed to them, but of this there is no positive proof  though
we may infer as much, remembering the influence of Egypt upon
Greece. There is a legend that St. John the Evangelist a character
honored and revered by Freemasons was an initiate of these
mysteries. Certainly, more than one of the early Fathers of the
Christian Church boasted of his initiation into these Rites. Even
St. Paul was influenced by them, to the extent, at least, of using
some of their imagery, and even some of their technical terms, in
his Epistles.

The series of articles, to which I have the honor thus to call
attention, is one of the first attempts so far made to give a
detailed exposition of the ceremonial of the Mysteries of Greece in
English. As such they have an interest to Masons, but also to
students of antiquity in general, and if the field were familiar,
as it is not, these articles would be worthy of special interest
for the new materials brought forward- Brother Wright, I need
hardly say, is a careful, painstaking, and thorough student, as
readers of THE BUILDER can testify, and among his many services to
the Craft this study will not be reckoned the least.

Such a writer needs no introduction, but I have much pleasure in
emphasizing the importance of these researches in ancient lore,
because they make a real contribution to our knowledge. 
-Joseph Fort Newton.

THE ELEUSINIAN LEGEND

THE legend which formed the basis of the Mysteries of Eleusis,
presence at and participation in which, demanded an elaborate form
or ceremony of initiation, was as follows:

Persephone (sometimes described as Proserpine and as Cora or Kore)
when gathering flowers was abducted by Pluto, the god of Hades, and
carried off by him to his gloomy abode; Zeus, the brother of Pluto
and the father of Persephone, giving his consent. Demeter (or
Ceres), her mother, arrived too late to assist her child or even to
catch a glimpse of her seducer, and neither god nor man was able,
or willing, to enlighten her as to the whereabouts of Persephone or
who had carried her away. For nine nights and days she wandered,
torch in hand, in quest of her child. Eventually, however, she
heard from Helios (the sun) the name of the seducer and his
accomplice. Incensed at Zeus she left Olympos and the gods and came
down to scour the earth disguised as an old woman.

In the course of her wanderings she arrived at Eleusis where she
was honourably entertained by Keleos, the ruler of the country,
with whom and his wife, Metanira, she consented to remain in order
to watch over the education of Demophon, who had just been born to
the aged king, and whom she undertook to make immortal.

Long was thy anxious search 
For lovely Proserpine, nor didst thou break 
Thy mournful fast, till the far-fam'd Eleusis 
Received thee wandering.

Orphic hymn.

Unknown to the parents Demeter used to anoint Demophon by day with
ambrosia and hide him by night in the fire like a firebrand.
Detected one night by Metanira she was compelled to reveal herself
as Demeter, the goddess. Whereupon she directed the Eleusinians to
erect a temple as a peace offering and, this being done, she
promised to initiate them into the form of worship which would
obtain for them her goodwill and favour. "It is I, Demeter, full of
glory, who lightens and gladdens the hearts of gods and men. Hasten
ye, my people, to raise hard by the citadel, below the ramparts, a
fane, and on the eminence of the hill, an altar, above the wall of
Callichorum. I will instruct you in the rites which shall be
observed and which are pleasing to me."

The temple was erected but Demeter was still vowing vengeance
against gods and men and because of the continued loss of her
daughter she rendered the earth sterile during a whole year.

What ails her that she comes not home? 
Demeter seeks her far and wide; 
And gloomy-browed doth ceaseless roam 
From many a morn till eventide. 
"My life, immortal though it be, 
Is naught!" she cries, "for want of thee, 
Persephone Persephone !"


The oxen drew the plough but in vain was the seed sown in the
prepared ground. Mankind was threatened with utter annihilation and
all the gods were deprived of sacrifices and offerings. Zeus
endeavoured to appease the anger of the gods but in vain. Finally
he summoned Hermes to go to Pluto to order him to restore
Persephone to her mother. Pluto yielded but before Persephone left
she took from the hand of Pluto four pomegranate pips which he
offered her as sustenance on her journey. Persephone, returning
from the land of shadows, found her mother in the temple at Eleusis
which had recently been erected. Her first question was whether her
daughter had eaten anything in the land of her imprisonment,
because her unconditional return to earth and Olympos depended upon
that. Persephone informed her mother that all she had eaten was the
pomegranate pips in consequence of which Pluto demanded that
Persephone should sojourn with him for four months during each
year, or one month for each pip taken. Demeter had no option but to
consent to this arrangement, which meant that she would enjoy the
company of Persephone for eight months in every year and that the
remaining four would be spent by Persephone with Pluto. Demeter
caused to awaken anew "the fruits of the fertile plains" and the
whole earth was reclothed with leaves and flowers. Demeter called
together the princes of Eleusis Triptolemus, Diocles, Eumolpus,
Polyxenos, and Keleos and initiated them "into the sacred
rites most venerable into which no one is allowed to make enquiries
or to divulge; a solemn warning from the gods seals our mouths."

Although secrecy on the subject of the nature of the stately
Mysteries is strictly enjoined, the writer of the Homeric Hymn to
Demeter makes no secret of the happiness which comes to all who
become initiates: "Happy is he who has been received, unfortunate
he who has never received the initiation nor taken part in the
sacred ordinances, and who cannot, alas! be destined to the same
lot reserved for the faithful in the darkling abode."

The version of the legend given by Minucius Felix is as follows:

Proserpine, the daughter of Ceres by Jupiter, as she was gathering
tender flowers in the new spring, was ravished from her delightful
abodes by Pluto; and, being carried from thence through thick woods
and over a length of sea, was brought by Pluto into a cavern, the
residence of departed spirits, over whom she afterwards ruled with
absolute sway. But Ceres, upon discovering the loss of her
daughter, with lighted torches and begirt with a serpent, wandered
over the whole earth for the purpose of finding her till she came
to Eleusis; there she found her daughter and discovered to the
Eleusinians the plantation of corn."

In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Persephone gives her own version of
the incident as follows:

"We were all playing in the lovely meadows, Leucippe, and Phaino,
and Electra, and Ianthe, and Melite, and Iache, and Rhodeia, and
Callinhoe, and Melobosis, and Ianeira, and Acaste, and Admete, and
Rhodope, and Plouto, and winsome Calypso, and Styx, and Urania, and
beautiful Galaxame. We were playing there and plucking beautiful
blossoms with our hands; crocuses mingled, and iris, and hyacinth,
and roses, and lilies, a marvel to behold, and narcissus, that the
wide earth bare, a wile for my undoing. Gladly was I gathering them
when the earth gaped beneath and therefrom leaped the mighty
prince, the host of many guests, and he bare me against my will,
despite my grief, beneath the earth, in his golden chariot; and
shrilly did I cry."

On the submission of Eleusis to Athens, the Mysteries became an
integral part of the Athenian religion, so that the Eleusinian
Mysteries became a Panhellenic institution, and later, under the
Romans, a universal worship, but the secret rites of initiation
were well kept throughout their history.

The earliest mention of the Temple of Demeter at Eleusis occurs in
the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, which has already been mentioned. This
was not written by Homer but by some poet versed in Homeric lore
and its probable date is about 600 B. C. It was discovered a little
over a hundred years ago in an old monastery library at Moscow, and
now reposes in a museum at Leyden.

Eleusis was one of the twelve originally independent cities of
Attica, which Theseus is said to have united into a single state.
Leusina now occupies the site and has thus preserved the name of
the ancient city. Theseus is portrayed by Virgil as suffering
eternal punishment in Hades but Proclus writes concerning him as
follows:

Theseus and Pirithous are fabled to have ravished Helen and to have
descended to the infernal regions: i. e., they were lovers of
intelligible and visible beauty. Afterwards Theseus was liberated
by Pericles from Hades, but Pirithous remained there because he
could not sustain the arduous attitude of divine contemplation.

Dr. Warburton, in his Divine Legation of Moses, gives, as his
opinion, that Theseus was a living character who once forced his
way into the Eleusinian Mysteries, for which crime he was
imprisoned on earth and afterwards damned in the infernal regions.

The Eleusinian Mysteries seem to have constituted the most vital
portion of the Attic religion and always to have retained something
of awe and solemnity. They were not known outside Attica until the
time of the Median wars, when they spread to the Greek colonies in
Asia as part of the constitution of the daughter states, where the
cult seems to have exercised a considerable influence both on the
populace and on the philosophers. Outside Eleusis the Mysteries
were not celebrated so frequently nor on so magnificent a scale. At
Celeas, where they were celebrated every third year, a hierophant,
who was not bound by the law of celibacy, as at Eleusis, was
elected by the people for each celebration. Pausanias is the
authority for a statement by the Phliasians that they imitated the
Eleusinian Mysteries. They, however, maintained that their
rendering was instituted by Dysaules, brother of Celeus, who went
to their country after he had been expelled from Eleusis by Ion,
son of Xuthus, at the time when Ion was chosen commander-in-chief
of the Athenians in the war against Eleusis. Pausanias disputed
that any Eleusinian was defeated in battle and forced into exile,
maintaining that peace was concluded between the Athenians and the
Eleusinians before the war was fought out, even Eumolpus himself
being permitted to remain in Eleusis. Pausanias, also, while
admitting that Dysaules might have gone to Phlius for some cause
other than that admitted by the Phliasians, questioned whether
Dysaules was related to Celeus, or, indeed, to any illustrious
Eleusinian family. The name of Dysaules does not occur in the
Homeric Hymn to Demeter, where are enumerated all who were taught
the ritual of the Mysteries by the goddess, though that of Celeus
is mentioned:

She showed to Triptolemus and Dioeles, smiter of horses, 
And mighty Eumolpus and Celeus, leader of people,
The way of performing the sacred rites and explained to all of them
the orgies.

Nevertheless, according to the Phliasians, it was Dysaules who
instituted the Mysteries among them.

The Pheneatians also had a sanctuary dedicated to Demeter, which
they called Eleusinian and in which they celebrated the Mysteries
in honour of the goddess. They had a legend that Demeter went
thither in her wanderings and that out of gratitude to the
Pheneatians for the hospitality they showed her, she gave them all
the different kinds of pulse, except beans. Two
Pheneatians Trisaules and Damithales built a temple to Demeter
Thesuria, the goddess of laws, under Mount Cyllene, where were
instituted the Mysteries in her honour, which were celebrated until
a late period and which were said to be introduced there by Naus,
a grandson of Eumolpus.

"Much that is excellent and divine," wrote Cicero, "does Athens
seem to me to have produced and added to our life, but nothing
better than those Mysteries by which we are formed and moulded from
a rude and savage state of humanity; and, indeed, in the Mysteries
we perceive the real principles of life, and learn not only to live
happily, but to die with a fairer hope." Every manner of
writer religious poet, worldly poet, sceptical philosopher,
orator all are of one mind about this, far the greatest of all the
religious festivals of Greece.

(To be continued)
