Personal: Eleusinian Context Flashcards
Where the Eleusinina mysteries part of the Athenian calendar ?
As a festival yes
They were incorporated into Athenian civic religion from the late 6th century onward
Who could be initiated ?
Anybody man or woman, free or slave, old or young, Greek or non Greek as long as they spoke Greek and hadn’t been invoked in serious crime such as murder
This is very unique
What did every participant have to do ?
Pay a contribution and sacrifice a pig which allows them to take part in an individual initiation after which they became initiated. This status lasted for lie
They were not allowed to speak on what happened which creates a distinction between those who knew and those did not
What was the punishment for revealing the secret of the mysteries ?
It was a capital crime which was punished by death
For example Alcibiades who mocked the mysteries amongst initiated people. He was convicted
What does Parker argue about the mysteries and its level of personal experience ?
In Attica… most people had probably been initiated
So how personal was this then if most individuals knew ?
What does Evans (2002) argue about the mysteries ?
They offered a more egalitarian experience of the gods
Why is Plutarch ‘on the soul’ important?
Gives us an image into the initiation
- the act of dying is supposed to be reconstructed
- journeys of dead and unending in darkness, fright and treambling
- an extraordinary light and pure regions with meadows offer welcome with dancing and sacred sounds and sighs
Paints a vivid picture of a more enticing and welcoming after life
What are the benefits of being initiated ?
- Hope of an afterlife: Garland describes the Homeric afterlife as pathetic where as Plutarch gives a more pleasant afterlife available to members
- joining a club
- a personal relationship with the gods
- familial tradition
- excitement of initiation ceremony
All of these are valid points but have to be backed up by sources and primary evidence
Who controlled and funded the mysteries ?
The Polis
- Athens funded the mysteries and became part of Athens in the 7th Century BC
- according to Migropolous it was a high valued religious institution in Athens
