THE BUILDER JULY 1919

BY BRO. DUDLEY WRIGHT, ASSISTANT EDITOR "THE FREEMASON," LONDON

PART II THE ELEUSINIAN MYSTERTIES

THE Eleusinian Mysteries, observed by nearly all Greeks, but
particularly by the Athenians, were celebrated yearly at Eleusis,
though in the earlier annals of their history, they were
celebrated once in every three years only, and once in every four
years by the Celeans, Cretans, Parrhasians, Pheneteans,
Phliasians, and Spartans. It was the most celebrated of all the
religious ceremonies of Greece at any period of the country's
history and was regarded as of such importance that the Festival
is referred to frequently simply as "The Mysteries." The rites
were guarded most jealously and carefully concealed from the
unnitiated. If any person divulged any part of them he was
regarded as having offended against the divine law and by the act
he rendered himself liable to divine vengeance. It was accounted
unsafe to abide in the same house with him and as soon as his
offence was made public he was apprehended. Similarly, drastic
punishnent was meted out to any person not initiated into the
mysteries who chanced to be present at their celebraion, even
through ignorance or genuine error.

The Mysteries were divided into two parts-the Lesser Mysteries
and the Greater Mysteries. The lesser Mysteries were said to have
been instituted when Hercules, Castor, and Pollux expressed a
desire to be initiated, they happening to be in Athens at the
time of the celebration of the Mysteries by the Athenians in
accordance with the ordinance of Demeter. Not being Athenians
they were ineligible for the honour of initiation, but the
difficulty was overcome by Eumolpus, who was desirous of
including in the ranks of the initited a man of such power and
eminence as Hercules, foreigner though he might be. The three
were first made citizens, and then, as a preliminary to the
initiation ceremony as prescribed by the goddess, Eumolpus
instituted the Lesser Mysteries, which then and afterwards became
a ceremony preliminary to the Greater Mysteries, as they then
became known, for candidates of alien birth. In later times, this
lesser festival, celebrated in the month of Anthesterion, at the
beginning of spring, at Agra, became a general preparation for
the Greater Festival and no persons were initiated into the
Greater Mysteries until they had first been initiated into the
Lesser.

The ceremonies of the Lesser Mysteries were entirely different
from those of the Greater Mysteries. The Lesser Mysteries
represented the return of Persephone to earth which, of course,
took place at Eleusis, and the Greater Mysteries represented her
descent to the infernal regions. The Lesser Mysteries honoured
the daughter more than the mother, who was the principal figure
in the Greater Mysteries. In the Lesser Mysteries, Persephone was
known as Pherrephatta, and in the Greater Mysteries she was given
the name of Kore. Everything was in fact a mystery and nothing
was called by its right name. Lenormant says that it is certain
that the initiated of the Lesser Mysteries carried away from Agra
a certain store of religious knowledge which enabled them to
understand the symbols and representations which afterwards were
displayed before their eyes at the Greater Mysteries at Eleusis.

The object of the Lesser Mysteries was to signify occultly the
condition of the impure soul invested with a terrene body and
merged in a material nature. The Greater Mysteries taught that
he, who, in the present life, is in subjection to his irrational
part, is truly in Hades. If Hades, then, is the region of
punishment and misery, the purified soul must reside in the
region of bliss, theoretically in the present life and according
to a deific energy in the next. They intimated by gorgeous mystic
visions the felicity of the soul, both here and hereafter, when
purified from the defilements of a material nature and
consequently elevated to the realities of intellectual vision.

No one was permitted to attend the Mysteries who had incurred the
capital punishment for treason or conspiracy, but all other
exiles were permitted to be present and were not molested in any
way during the whole period of the Festival. No one could be
arrested for debt during the holding of the Festival.

Scarcely anything is known of the programme observed during the
course of the Lesser Mysteries. They were celebrated on the 19th
to 21st of the month Anthesterion and, like the Greater
Mysteries, were preceded and followed by a truce on the part of
all engaged in warfare. The same officials presided at both
celebrations. The Lesser Mysteries opened with a sacrifice to
Demeter and Persephone, a portion of the victims ofiered being
reserved for the members of the sacred families of Eumolpus and
Keryce. The main object of the Lesser Mysteries was to put the
candidates for initiation in a condition of ritual purification
and, according to Clement of Alexandria, they included certain
instructions and preparations for the Greater Mysteries. Like the
Eleusinian Mysteries, properly so- called, they included dramatic
representations of the rape of Persephone and the wanderings of
Demeter, in addition, according to Stephen Byzantium, to certain
Dionysian representations.

Two months before the full moon of the month of Boedromion,
sphondophoroi or heralds selected from the priestly families of
the Eumolpides and Keryces went forth to announce the forthcoming
celebration of the Greater Mysteries and to claim an armistice on
the part of all who might be waging war. The truce commenced on
the 15th of the month preceding the celebration of the Mysteries
and lasted until the tOth day of the month following the
celebration. In order to be valid the truce had to be proclaimed
in and accepted by each Hellenic city.

All arrangements for the proper celebration of the Mysteries,
both Lesser and Greater, were in the hands of the families of
Eumolpides and Keryces. These were ancient Eleusinian families,
whose origin was traced back to the time when Eleusis was
independent of Athens, and the former family survived as a
priestly caste down to the latest period of Athenian history. Its
members possessed the hereditary and sole right to the secrets of
the Mysteries. Hence the recognition by the State to their
exclusive right and privilege to direct the initiations and to
provide each a half of the religious staff of the temple.
Pausanias relates that following a war between the Eleusinians
and the Athenians when Erectheus, King of Athens, conquered
Immaradus, son of Eumolpus, the subdued Eleusinians, in making
their submission, stipulated that they should remain custodians
of the Mysteries, but in all other respects were to be subject to
the Athenians. This tradition is disputed by more modern writers,
but it was accepted by the Athenians and acted upon generally,
and the right of the two families solely to prepare candidates
for initiation was recognized by a decree of the fifth century B.
C., the privilege being confirmed afterwards at a convention
between the representatives of Eleusis and Athens. The Eumolpides
were the descendants of a mythical ancestor, Eumolpus, son of
Neptune, who is first mentioned in the time of Pisastrus. On the
death of Eumolpus, Ceryx, the younger of the sons was left. But
the Keryces claimed that Ceryx was a son of Hermes by Aglamus,
daughter of Cecrops, and that he was not a son of Eumolpus.

The members of the family of Eumolpides had the first claim upon
the flesh of the sacrificed animals; but they were permitted to
give a portion to any one else as a reward or recompense for
services rendered. But when a sacrifice was offered to any of the
infernal divinities the whole of it had to be consumed by the
fire; nothing must be left. All religious problems relating to
the Mysteries which could not be solved by the known laws were
addressed to the Eumolpides, whose decision was final.

The meaning of the name "Eumolpus" is "a good singer," and great
importance was attached to the quality of the voice in the
selection of the hierophant, the chief officiant at the
celebration of the Mysteries and at the ceremony of initiation,
and who was selected from the family of the Eumolpides. It was
essential that the formulae disclosed to the initiates at Eleusis
should be pronounced with the proper intonation, for otherwise
the words would have no efficacy. Correct intonation was of far
greater importance than syllabic pronunciation. An explanation of
this is given by Maspero who says:

The human voicee is pre-eminently a magical instrument, without
which none of the highest operations of art can be successful:
each of its utterances is carried into the region of the
invisible and there released forces of which the general run of
people have no idea, either as to their existence or their
manifold action. Without doubt, the real value of an evocation
lies in its text, or the sequence of the words of which it is
composed and the tone in which it is enunciated. In order to be
efficacious, the conjuration should be accompanied by chanting,
either an incantation or a song. In order to produce the desired
effect the sacramental melody must be chanted without the
variation of a single modulation: one false note, one mistake in
the measure, the introversion of any two of the sounds of which
it is composed, and the intended effect is annulled. This is the
reason why all who recite a prayer or formula intended to force
the gods to perform certain acts must be of true voice. The
result of their effort, whether successful or unsuccessful, will
depend upon the exactness of their voice. It was the voice,
therefore, which played the most important part in the oblation,
in the prayer of definite request, and in the evocation- in a
word, in every instance where man sought to seize hold of the
god. Apart from a true voice the words were merely dead sounds.

The Hierophant was a revealer of holy things. He was a citizen of
Athens, a man of mature age, and held his office for life,
devoting himself wholly to the service of the temple and living a
chaste life, to which end it was usual for him to anoint himself
with the juice of hemlock, which, by its extreme coldness, was
said to extinguish in a great measure the natural heat. In the
opinion of some writers celibacy was an indispensable condition
of the highest branch of the priesthood, but, according to
inscriptions which have been discovered, some, at any rate, of
the hierophants were married, so that, in all probability, the
rule was that during the celebration of the Mysteries and,
probably, for a certain time before and after, it was incumbent
on the hierophant to abstain from all sexual intercourse. Foucart
is of opinion that celibacy was demanded only during the
celebration of the Mysteries, although Pausanias states
definitely otherwise. In support of Foucart it may be stated that
among the inscriptions discovered at Eleusis there is one
dedicating a statue to a hierophant by his wife. It was essential
that the hierophant should be a man of commandng presence and
lead a simple life. On being raised to the dignity he received a
kind of consecration at a special ceremony, at which only those
of his own rank were permitted to be present, when he was
entrusted with certain secrets pertaining to his high office.
Prior to this ceremony he went through a special purifactory
rite, immersing himself in the sea, an act to which the Greeks
attributed great virtue. He had to be exemplary in his moral
conduct and was regarded by the people as being peculiarly holy.
The qualifications of a hierophant were so high that the office
could not be regarded as hereditary, for it would have been an
exception to find both father and son in possession of the many
various and high qualifications regarded as essential to the
holding of the office. The robe of the hierophant was a long
purple garment; his hair, crowned with a wreath of myrtle, flowed
in long locks over his shoulders, and a diadem ornamented his
forehead. At the celebration of the Mysteries he was held to
represent the Creator of the world. He alone was permitted to
penetrate into the innermost shrine in the Hall of the Mysteries
the holy of holies, as it were and then only once during the
celebration of the Mysteries, when, at the most solemn moment of
the whole mystic celebration, his form appeared suddenly to be
transfigured with light before the rapt gaze of the initiated. He
alone was permitted to reveal to the fully initiated the mystic
objects, the sight of which marked the completion of their
admission into the community. He had the power of refusing
admission to those applicants whom he deemed unfit to be
entrusted with the secrets. He was not inactive during the
intervals between the celebration of the Mysteries. It was his
duty to superintend the instruction of the candidates for
initiation who, for that purpose, were divided into groups and
instructed by officials known as mystagogues. The personal name
of the hierophant was never mentioned: it was supposed to be
unknown, "wafted away into the sea by the mystic law," and he was
known only by the title of the office which he bore. Lucian
refers to this in one passage in Lexiphanes:

The first I met were a torch-bearer, a hierophant, and others of
the initiated, haling Dinias before the judge, and protesting
that he had called them by their names, though he well knew that,
from the time of their sanctification, they were nameless, and no
more to be named but by hallowed names.

In the Imperial inscriptions we find the titles suhstituted for
the proper names. The hierophant was compelled to avoid contact
with the dead, in the same manner as the Cohanim of the Jewish
faith, and with certain animals reputed to be unclean. Contact
with any person from whom blood was issuing also caused impurity.
He was assisted by a female hierophant, or hierophantide an
attendant upon the goddess Demeter and her daughter, Persephone.
She also was selected from the family of the Eumolpides and was
chosen for life She was permitted to marry and several
inscriDtions mention the names of children of hierophantides. On
her initiation into this high degree she was brought forward
naked to the side of a sacred font, in which her right hand was
placed, the priest declaring her to be true and holy and
dedicated to the service of the temple. The special duty of the
female hierophant was to superintend the initiation of female
aspirants, but she was present throughout the ceremony and played
some part in the initiation of the male candidates. An
inscription on the tomb of one hierophantide mentions to her
glory that she had set the myrtle crown, the seal of mystic
communion, on the heads of the illustrious initiates, Marcus
Aurelius and his son, Commodus. Another gloried in the fact that
she had initiated the emperor Hadrian.

Next in rank to the hierophant and hierophantide came the male
and female Dadouchos, who were taken from the family of the
Keryces. They were the torchbearers and their duty consisted
mainly in carrying the torches at the Sacred Festival. They also
wore purple robes, myrtle crowns, and diadems. They were
appointed for life and were permitted to marry. The male
Dadouchos, particularly, was associated with the hierophant in
certain solemn and public functions, such as the opening address
to the candidates for initiation and in the public prayers for
the welfare of the state. The office was frequently handed down
from father to son. Until the first century, B. C., the Dadouchos
was never addressed by his own personal name, but always by the
title of his office.

The Hierocceryx, or messenger of holy tidings, was the
representative of Hermes, or Mercury, who, as the messenger of
the gods, was indispensable as mediator whenever men wished to
approach the Immortals. He also wore a purple-coloured robe and a
myrtle crown. He was chosen for life from the family of the
Keryces. He made the necessary proclamations to the candidates
for initiation into the various degrees and, in particular,
enjoined them to preserve silence. It was necessary for him to
have passed through all the various degrees as his duties
necessitated his presence throughout the ceremonial.

The Phaidantes had the custody of the sacred statues and the
sacred vessels, which they had to maintain in good repair. They
were selected from one or other of the two sacerdotal families.

Among the other officials were: the Liknophori, who carried the
mystic fan; the Hydranoi, who purified the candidates for
initiation by sprinkling them with holy water at the commencement
of the festival; the Spondophoroi, who proclaimed the sacred
truce, which was to permit of the peaceful celebration of the
Mysteries; the Pyrphoroi, who brought and maintained the fire for
the sacrifices; the Hieraules, who played the flute during the
time the sacrifices were heing offered  they were the leaders of
the sacred music, who had under their charge the hynmodoi, the
hymnetriai; the neokoroi, who maintained the temples and the
altars; the panageis, who formed a class between the ministers
and the initiated. Then there were the "initiates of the altar,"
who performed expiatory rites in the name and in the place of all
the initiated. There were also many other minor officials, known
by the general name of Melissae, i.e., bees, perhaps so-called
because bees, being makers of honey, were sacred to Demeter. All
these officials had to be of unblemished reputation and wore
myrtle crowns while engaged in the service of the temple.

The officials, whose duty it was to take care that the ritual was
punctiliously followed in every detail, included nine Archons,
who were chosen every year to manage the affairs of Greece. The
first of these was always the King, or Archon Basileus, whose
duty at the celebration of the Mysteries it was to offer prayers
and sacrifices, to see that no indecency or irregularity was
committed during the Festival and at the conclusion to pass
judgment on all offenders. There were also four Epimeletae, or
curators, elected by the people, one being appointed from the
Eumolpides, another from the Keryces, and the remaining two from
the rank and file of the citizens; and ten Hieropoioi, whose duty
it was to offer sacrifices.

The sacred symbols used in the ceremonies were enclosed in a
special chamber in the Telestrion or Hall of Initiation, known as
the Anactoron, into which the hierophant alone had the right to
penetrate. During the celebration of the Mysteries they were
carried to Athens veiled and hidden from the gaze of the profane,
whence they were taken back to Eleusis. It was permitted only to
the initiated to look upon these "hiera," as they were called.
These sacred objects were in the charge of the Eumolpides family.

Written descriptions, however graphic or eloquent, convey but a
faint impression of the wonderful scenes that were enacted;
Aristides says that what was seen rivalled anything that was
heard. For nine centuries  that period of time being divided
almost equally between the pre-Christian and Christian eras they
were the Palladium of Greek Paganism. In the latter part of their
history, when the restriction, as to admission began to be
relaxed, and in proportion to that relaxation, their essential
religious character disappeared and they became a mere ceremony,
their splendour being their principal attraction, until finally
they degenerated into a mere superstition. Julian strived in vain
to infuse new life into the vanishing cult, but it was too late 
the Eleusinian Mysteries were dead.

The Festival of the Greater Mysteries, and this was, of course,
by far the more important, began on the 15th of the month
Boedromion, corresponding roughly with the month of September,
and lasted until the 23rd of the same month. During that time it
was unlawful to arrest any man present, or present any petition
except for offenses committed at the Festival, heavy penalties
being inflicted for breaches of this law, the penalties fixed
being a fine of not less than a thousand drachmas, and some
assert that transgressors were even put to death.

The following was the programme of the Festival:

First Day. The first day was known as the "Gathering" or the
"Assembly," when all who had passed through the Lesser Mysteries
assembled to assist in the celebration of the greater Mysteries.
On this day the Archon Basileus presided over all the cults of
the city and assembled the people at a place known as the Poikile
Stoa. After the Archon Basileus, with four assistants, had
offered up sacrifices and prayers for the welfare of Greece, the
following proclamation was made by the Archon Basileus, wearing
his robe of office:

Come whoever is clean of all pollution and whose soul has not
consciousness of sin. Come, whosoever hath lived a life of
righteousness and justice. Come all ye who are pure of heart and
of hand, and whose speech can be understood. Whosoever hath not
clean hands, a pure soul, and an intelligible voice, must not
assist at the Mysteries.

The people were then commanded by the hierophant to wash their
hands in consecrated water and the impious were threatened with
the punishment set forth in the law if they were discovered, but
especially, and this in any case, with the implacable anger of
the gods. The Hierocceryx then impressed upon all the duty of
observing the most rigid secrecy with respect to all that they
might witness and bade all be silent throughout the ceremonies
and not utter even an exclamation. The candidates for initiation
assembled outside the temple, each under the guidance and
direction of a mystagogue, who repeated these instructions to the
candidates. Once within the sacred enclosure all the initiated
were subject to a purification by fire ceremonial. All wore
regalia special to the occasion; this is evident from the wording
of inscriptions which have been discovered, but particulars of
this regalia are wanting. We know that extravagant and costly
dresses were regarded by Demeter with disfavour and that it was
forbidden to wear such in the temple. Jewelry, gold ornaments,
purple coloured belts and embroideries were also barred, as were
robes and cloths of mixed colours. The hair of women had to fall
down loose upon the shoulders and must not be in plaits or coiled
upon the head. No woman was permitted to use cosmetics.

Second Day. The second day was known as Halade Mystae, or "To the
sea, ye mystae" from the command which greeted all the initiated
to go and purify themselves by washing in the sea, or in the salt
water of the two lakes, called Rheiti, on what was known as "The
Sacred Way." A procession was formed in which all joined and made
their way to the sea or the lakes where they bathed and purified
themselves. This general purification was akin to that practised
to this day by the Jews at the beginning of the Jewish year. The
day was consecrated to Saturn, into whose province the soul is
said to fall in the course of its descent from the tropic of
Cancer. Capella compares Saturn to a river, voluminous, sluggish,
and cold. The planet signifies pure intellect and Pythagoras
symbolically called the sea a tear of Saturn. The bathing was
preceded by a confession and the manner in which the bathing was
carried out and the number of immersions varied with the degree
of guilt which each confessed. According to-Suidas, those who had
to purify themselves from murder plunged into salt water on two
separate occasions, immersing themselves seven times on each
occaeion On returning from the bath all were regarded as "new
creatures," the bath being regarded as a laver of regeneration,
and the initiated were clothed in a plain fawn skin or a sheep
skin. The purification, however, was not regarded as complete
until the following day when there was added the sprinkling of
the blood of a pig sacrificed. Eaeh had carried to the river or
lake a little pig which was also purified by bathing and on the
next day this pig was sacrificed. On the Eleusinian coinage, the
pig, standing on a torch placed horizontally, appears as the sign
and symbol of the Mysteries. On this day also some of the
initiated submitted to a special purification near the altar of
Zeus Mellichios on the Sacred Way. For each person whom it was
desired to purify, an ox was sacrificed to Zeus Mellichios, the
infernal Zeus, and the skin of the animal was laid on the ground
by the Dadouchos, and the one who was the object of the
lustration remained there squatting on the left foot. 

Third Day. On the third day pleasures of every description, even
the most innocent, were strictly forbidden, and every one fasted
till nightfall, when they partook of seed cakes, parched corn,
salt, pomegranates, and sacred wine mixed with milk and honey.
The Archon Basileus, assisted again by the four Epimeletae,
celebrated in the presence of representatives from the allied
cities, the great sacrifice of the Soteria for the well-being of
the State, the Athenian citizens, and their wives and children.
This ceremony took place in the Eleusinion at the foot of the
Acropolis. The day was known as the Day of Mourning and was
supposed to commemorate Demeter's grief at the loss of
Persephone. The sacrifices offered consisted chiefly of a mullet
and of barley out of Rharium, a field of Eleusis. The oblations
were accounted so sacred that the priests themselves were not
permitted, as was usual in other offerings, to partake of them.
At the conclusion of the general ceremony each one individually
sacrificed the little pig purified in the sea the night before.

Fourth Day. The principal event of the fourth day was a solemn
procession when the holy basket of Ceres (Demeter) was carried in
a consecrated cart, the crowds of people shouting as it went
along, "Hail, Ceres!" The rear end of the procession was composed
of women carrying baskets containing sesamin, carded wool, grains
of salt, serpents, pomegranates reeds, ivy boughs, and cakes
known as poppies.

Fifth Day. The fifth day was known as the Day of Torches from the
fact that at nightfall all the initiated walked in pairs round
the temple of Demeter at Eleusis, the Dadouchos himself leading
the procession. The torches were waved about and changed from
hand to hand to represent the wanderings of the goddess in search
of her daughter when she was conducted by the light of a torch
kindled in the flames of Etna.

Sixth Day. Iacchos was the name given to the sixth day of the
Festival. The "fair young god" Iacchos, or Dionysos, or Sacchus,
was the son of Jupiter and Ceres, and accompanied the goddess in
her search for Persephone. He also carried a torch, hence his
statue has always a torch in the hand. This statue, together with
other sacred objects, were taken from the Iacchion, the sanctuary
of Iacchos in Athens, mounted on a heavy rustic four- wheeled
chariot drawn by bulls, and, accompanied by the Iacchogogue and
other magistrates nominated for the occasion, conveyed from the
Caramicus to Eleusis by the Sacred Way in solemn procession. The
statue, as well as the people accompanying it, was crowned with
myrtle, the people dancing all the way along the route, beating
brass kettles and playing instruments of various kinds and
singing sacred songs. Halts were made during the procession at
various shrines, particularly at a fig-tree which was regarded as
sacred, also upon a bridge built over the river Cephissus where
the by- standers made themselves merry at the expense of the
pilgrims. At each of the shrines sacrifices and libations were
offered, hymns sung, and sacred dances performed. Having passed
the bridge the people entered Eleusis by what was known as the
Mystical Entrance. Midnight had set in before Eleusis was reached
so that a great part of the journey had to be accomplished by the
light of the torches carried by each of the pilgrims and the
nocturnal journey was spoken of as the "night of torches" by many
ancient authors. The pitch and resin of which the torches were
composed were substances supposed to have the virtue of warding
off evil spirits. The barren mountains of the Pass of Daphni and
the surface of the sea resounded with the chant: "Iacchos, O
Iacchos!" At one of the halts, the Croconians, descendants of the
hero Crocon, who had formerly reigned over the Thriasian Plain,
fastened a saffron band on the right arm and left foot of each
one in the procession. Iacchos was always regarded as a child of
Demeter, inasmuch as the vine grows out of the earth. Various
symbols were carried by the people, who numbered sometimes as
many as thirty and forty thousand. These symbols consisted of
winnowing fans the "mystic fan of Iacchos"; plaited reeds and
baskets, both relating to the worship of the goddess and her son.
The distance covered by the procession was 22 kilometres, but
Lyourgus ordered that if any woman should ride in a chariot to
Eleusis she should be mulcted in a fine of 8,000 drachmas. This
was to prevent the richer women from distinguishing themselves
from their poorer sisters. Strange to relate, the wife of
Lyourgus was the first to break thig law and Lyourgus himself had
to pay the fine which he had ordained. He not only paid the
penalty but gave a talent to the informer. Immediately upon the
deposit of the sacred objects in the Eleusinion at the foot of
the Acropolis, one of the Eleusinion priests solemnly announced
their arrival to the priestess of the tutelary goddess of Athens
Pallas Athene. Plutarch, in commenting upon lucky and unlucky
days, says that he is aware that unlucky things happen sometimes
on lucky days, for the Athenians had to receive a Macedonian
garrison "even on the 20th of Boedromion, the day on which they
lead forth the mystic Iacchos."

Seventh Day. On the seventh day the statue was carried back to
Athens. The return journey was also a solemn procession and
attended with numerous ceremonies. Halts were again made at
several places, like the "stations" of Roman Catholic pilgrimage,
when the inhabitants also fell into line with the procession. For
those who remained behind at Eleusis the time was devoted to
sports, the victors in which were rewarded with a measure of
barley, it being a tradition that that grain was first sown in
Eleusis. It was also regarded as a day of preparation for the
initiation ceremony of the following night. The return journey
was conducted with the same splendour as the outward journey. It
comprised comic incidents, the same as on the previous day. Those
who awaited the procession at the bridge over the Athenian river
Cephisson exchanged all kinds of chaff and buffoonery with those
who were in the procession, indulging in what was termed "bridge
fooling." These jests, it is said, were to recall the tactful
measure employed by a maid-servant named Iambe, to rouse Demeter
from her prolonged mourning. During the Peliponnesian war the
Athenians were unable to obtain an armistice from the
Lacedaemonians who held Decelea and it became necessary to send
the statue of Iacchos and the processionists to Eleusis by sea.
Plutarch says: "Under these conditions it was necessary to omit
the sacrifices usually offered all along the road during the
passing of Iacchos."

Eighth Day. The eighth day was called Epidaurion because it
happened once that Aesculapius, coming from Epidaurius to Athens,
desired to be initiated and had the Lesser Mysteries repeated for
that purpose. It therefore became customary to celebrate the
Lesser Mysteries a second time upon this day and to admit to
initiation any such approved candidates who had not already
enjoyed the privilege. There was also another reason for the
repetition of the initiatory rites then. The eighth day was
regarded as symbolical of the soul falling into the lunar orbi
and the repeated initiation, the second celebration of that
sacred rite, was symbolical of the soul bidding adieu to
everything of a celestial nature, sinking into a perfect oblivion
of her divine origin and pristine felicity, and rushing
profoundly into the region of dissimilitude, ignorance, and
error. The day opened with a solemn sacrifice offered to Demeter
and Persephone, which took place within the peribolus. The utmost
precision had to be observed in offering this sacrifice as
regarding the age, colour, and sex of the victim; the chants,
perfumes, and libations. The acceptance or rejection of a
sacrifice was indicated by the movements of the animal as it
approached the altar, the vivacity of the flame, the direction of
the smoke, etc. If these signs were not favourable in the case of
the first victim offered other animals must be slain until one
presented itself in which all the signs were favourable. The
flesh of the animal offered was not allowed to be taken outside
the sacred precincts but had to be consumed within the building.

The following is said to have been an Invocation used during the
celebration of the Mysteries:

Daughter of Jove, Persephone divine,
Come, blessed queen, and to these rites incline; 
Only-begotten, Pluto's honoured wife,
O venerable goddess, source of life: 
'Tis thine in earth's profundities to dwell, 
Fast by the wide and dismal gates of hell. 
Jove's holy offspring, of a beauteous mien, 
Avenging Goddess, subterranean queen. 
The Furies' source, fair-hair'd, whose frame proceeds 
From Jove's ineffable and secret seeds. 
Mother of Bacchus, sonorous, divine, 
And many form'd, the parent of the vine. 
Associate of the Seasons, essence bright, 
All-ruling virgin, bearing heavnly light. 
With fruits abounding, of a bounteous mind, 
Horn'd, and alone desir'd by those of mortal kind. 
O vernal queen, whom grassy plains delight, 
Sweet to the smell, and pleasing to the sight: 
Whose holy forms in budding fruits we view, 
Earth's vig'rous offspring of a various hue: 
Espous'd in autumn, life and death alone 
To wretched mortals from thy pow'r is known: 
For thine the task, according to thy will, 
Life to produce, and all that lives to kill. 
Hear, blessed Goddess, send a rich increase 
Of various fruits from earth, with lovely Peace; 
Send Health with gentle hand, and crown my life 
With blest abundance, free from noisy strife; 
Last in extreme old age the prey of death, 
Dismiss me willing to the realms beneath, 
To thy fair palace and the blissful plains 
Where happy spirits dwell, and Pluto reigns.

Ninth Day. The ninth day was known as the Day of Earthen Vessels
because it was the custom on that day to fill two jugs with wine.
one was placed towards the east and the other towards the west,
and after the repetition of certain mystical formulae both were
overthrown, the wine being spilt upon the ground as a libation.
The first of these formulae was directed towards the sky as a
prayer for rain and the second to the earth as a prayer for
fertility.

On the tenth day the majority of the people returned to their
homes, with the exception of every third and fifth year, when
they remained behind for the Mystery Plays and Sports which
lasted from two to three days.

The ancient sanctuary in which the Mysteries were celebrated was
burnt by the Persians in B. C. 480 or 479, and a new sanctuary
was built, or, at least, begun under the administration of
Pericles. Plutarch says that Coroebus began the Temple of
Initiation at Eleusis, but only lived to finish the lower rank of
columns with their architraves. Metagenes, of the ward of Xypete,
added the rest of the entablature and the upper row of columns,
and Xenocles of Cholargus built the dome on the top. The long
wall, the building of which Socrates says he heard Pericles
propose to the people, was undertaken by Callicrates. Cratinus
satirised the work as proceeding very slowly:

Stone upon stone the orator has pil'd 
With swelling words, but words will build no walls.

In the fourth century of the Christian era the temple at Eleusis
was destroyed by the Goths at the instigation of the monks who
followed the hosts of Alaric.

The revenues from the celebrations must have been considerable.
At both the Lesser Mysteries and the Greater Mysteries a charge
of one obole a day was demanded from each one attending, which
was given to the hierophant. The Hierocceryx received a half
obole a day, and other assistants a similar sum.

(To be continued)
