1. Eleusinian Mysteries - Noun
2. Eleusinian Mysteries - Proper noun
Eleusinian Mysteries
(Ancient Greece) Initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone, based at Eleusis in ancient Greece, now named Elefsina.
Eleusinian mysteries pl (plural only)
Alternative form of Eleusinian Mysteries
Benko, Stephen, The virgin goddess: studies in the pagan and Christian roots of mariology, BRILL, 2004, note 111 on pp. 63 - 4, and p. 175. Her Eleusinian mysteries were open to initiates of any gender or social class. Source: Internet
Because of this association, Hecate was one of the chief goddesses of the Eleusinian Mysteries, alongside Demeter and Persephone. Source: Internet
Julian attempted to restore the Eleusinian Mysteries and was the last emperor to be initiated into them. citation The Roman emperor Theodosius I closed the sanctuaries by decree about 30 years later, in 392 AD. Source: Internet
In the Eleusinian mysteries her return is the symbol of immortality and hence she was frequently represented on sarcophagi. Source: Internet
Persephone as a vegetation goddess and her mother Demeter were the central figures of the Eleusinian mysteries that predated the Olympian pantheon and promised the initiated a more enjoyable prospect after death. Source: Internet
The cults of Persephone and Demeter in the Eleusinian mysteries and in the Thesmophoria were based on very old agrarian cults. Source: Internet