What was the main thing promised to initiates of the Eleusinian Mysteries?

It included a ritual bath in the sea, three days of fasting, and completion of the still-mysterious central rite. These acts completed the initiation, and the initiate was promised benefits of some kind in the afterlife.

What did the Eleusinian Mysteries promise?

The rites, cultic worships, and beliefs were kept secret as they were believed to unite the worshiper with the gods and included promises of divine power and rewards in the afterlife. In the Gregorian calendar, the date of the celebration of the Eleusinian Mysteries has been estimated to have begun on September 14.

Which goddess is addressed in the Eleusinian Mysteries in the hopes to obtain a better deal in the afterlife?

PERSEPHONE was the goddess queen of the underworld, wife of the god Haides (Hades). She was also the goddess of spring growth, who was worshipped alongside her mother Demeter in the Eleusinian Mysteries. This agricultural-based cult promised its initiates passage to a blessed afterlife.

Who was initiated at Eleusis?

The day before Day One, on the 14th of the month called Boedromion (in mid- September), the priestesses of Demeter and Persephone took the basket of Sacred Objects (Hiera) of the Goddess from her temple in Eleusis to Athens, and carried it on their heads along the Sacred Way (Hieros Hodos) that initiates themselves …

What is the Thesmophoria and why is it significant?

The Thesmophoria was one of the most widespread ancient Greek festivals. The festival was dedicated to Demeter and her daughter Persephone and was celebrated in order to promote fertility, both human and agricultural. It was celebrated only by women, and men were forbidden to see or hear about the rites.

Who heard Persephone’s scream?

Hecate
Hecate, goddess of witchcraft, and Helios, god of the sun, hear Persephone’s cries. Her mother, Demeter, also hears her screams, but she’s too far away to do anything about it. Demeter is terrified when she hears her daughter’s scream. She asks all around, but nobody can tell her what happened.

What is Proserpina the goddess of?

Persephone, Latin Proserpina or Proserpine, in Greek religion, daughter of Zeus, the chief god, and Demeter, the goddess of agriculture; she was the wife of Hades, king of the underworld.

What really happened at Eleusis?

An only daughter lost, abducted, and her mother searches desperately for nine days. We sense the mother’s sadness. After a long and fruitless search, she sits by a rock in Eleusis and weeps. The myth tells of the return of the daughter to her mother and with it the passage from death to life.

What did Athenians do during the festival at Eleusis?

The ceremonies involved “ritual washing in the sacred rivers… enlivened by much joking and laughter. This was followed by several days of sacrifices at minor sanctuaries.” “The great processions gathered on the Acropolis, and made their way on foot to the sacred temples in Eleusis.”

What happened each day of the festival of Dionysus?

The opening of the festival featured a procession to the Theater of Dionysus bearing a wooden statue of the god. As the first day progressed, choruses of men and boys representing the ten political tribes of Athens held dithyrambic competitions. The day concluded with the sacrifice of a bull and a communal feast.

Where did the name Eleusinian Mysteries come from?

Eleusinian Mysteries ( Greek: Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια) was the name of the mysteries of the city Eleusis . The name of the city Eleusis is Pre-Greek, and may be related with the name of the goddess Eileithyia.

What was the purpose of the mysteries of Eleusis?

J. Nigro Sansonese, using the mythography supplied by Mylonas, has recently (1994) hypothesized that the Mysteries of Eleusis originally were a series of practical initiations into trance involving proprioception of the human nervous system induced by breath control (similar to samyama in yoga).

When do they celebrate the Eleusinian Mysteries in Athens?

The Eleusinian Mysteries were celebrated on the 15th day of the month Boedromion (mid August until mid September) and lasted for nine days. The ritual started in Athens, at the sanctuary dedicated to Demeter (Eleusinion), at the foot of the Acropolis.

Are there any cults similar to the Eleusinian Mysteries?

Such cults include the mysteries of Isis and Osiris in Egypt, the Adoniac of Syrian cults, the Persian mysteries, and the Phrygian Cabeirian mysteries. Some scholars argued that the Eleusinian cult was a continuation of a Minoan cult, and that Demeter was a poppy goddess who brought the poppy from Crete to Eleusis.