Twofold of mystery

Origin of the Mysteries at Eleusis can be traced to two events in Demeter's life, Demeter’s separation from and reunion with her daughter, and second on is her failure to make the queen’s son immortal.

Even after Eleusis was placed under the administration of the city of Athens, local associations with the festival persisted.


Two annual performances of a mystery

The rituals were carried out twice a year

•    There were the Lesser Mysteries, which occurred in the spring, the main purpose of lesser mysteries is to prepare participants for the greater Mystery.
•    The Greater Mysteries, in which those who had already undergone purification participated in September.


Participants must fulfill two prerequisites

•    First, each initiate had to understand the Greek language to know or understand what he is saying during performing mystery
•    Initiates should not be guilty of homicide
 

Rituals of Mysterys

The Eleusinian mysteries are held from mid-August to mid-September and last nine days, called Boedromion. The ritual began in Athens, at the sanctuary dedicated to Demeter.
 

Sacred March

They walk the Sacred Way from Athens to Eleusis, the Sacred Way (IeraOdos), led by a priestess of the goddess Demeter. At Eleusis, they rest by the well where Demeter had sat, fast, and then drink Kykeon, a barley and mint beverage. It has been hypothesized that this drink contains ergot, a psychoactive fungus that amplifies the experience and helps the initiated change.
 

Plutoneionis

While performing rituals they cross the long entrance halls of the sanctuary, which was associated with the entrance to Hades, called Plutoneion. A remarkable thing occurs at this point. To the side of the Plutoneionis a fake well that descended into the darkness. Here someone playing the role of Persephone, most likely a priestess appears before the crowd of initiates. And she walks a few steps from the well so that her face and upper body can be able to see to the participants. Persephone's return from Hades is central to the ritual with great.
 

Telesterion

The initiates move toward Eleusis's most recognizable building the Telesterion, from the cave, is a big hall with a huge sitting space, The Telesterion was recognized for entrance to the Underworld where initiates descended and, after the rituals in the Telesterion, emerged.
 

Anaktoron

Here the sacred things of Demeter were placed. Anaktoron was the stage at which the initiates' audience and the priests were the actors. From here, the story is cloaked in mystery. Because secrecy is required and discussing the ritual is a legal crime, the exact content of the ritual is unknown.
 

Epopteia

The most important step of rituals of the Mysteries was Epopteia which was preserved for those who have performed rites the previous year. The essential symbol of the Epopteia is the ear of wheat which refers to the infinite creative force of Mother Earth.
 

Plemochoai, Libations, and Epistrophe

After the completion of the Mysteries, the initiates honor the dead by pouring libations from special vessels, Perhaps these were libations to the dead, libations for the ancestors. The Athenians called those who had died, Demetrioi, the People of Demeter, and then return home.

Demeter gave human beings two contributions the return to life embodied by Persephone and the cultivation of grain, which also connected with the concept of life. In the Eleusinian Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone, a person could experience the renewal of his or her humanity and also the revival of their connection to divinity, nature, community, and the cosmos.

But more importantly, the myth illustrated the idea of change and the circular nature of life. Because there was no such thing as death, but only a change from one state of being to another, existence did not end with death.