The Eleusinian mysteries were more than just a ritual reenactment of a myth. They allowed for people all over the ancient Mediterranean, regardless of age, gender, or social standing – which was not common in a lot of ancient rites – to come together and create new traditions and a community that allowed them to share in the secret revelations bestowed upon them at the end of the ritual. That sense of understanding and togetherness will stay with them, even after death, regardless of where they end up after everything is all said and done. Set in the Hellenic period of Greece, the Eleusinian mysteries were a highly secretive ritual done each year to reenact the cycle of grief that the goddess Demeter followed when she learned of her daughter’s abduction and to gain a secret revelation that would reveal to them the secret to a blessed afterlife, “According to the Hymn to Demeter, the Mysteries at Eleusis originated in the two-fold story of Demeter’s life—her separation from and reunion with her daughter and her failure to make the queen’s son immortal” (“Eleusinian Mysteries”). The ritual began with a procession from Athens to Eleusis, about a 13 mile walk. After initiates arrived at the Sanctuary of Demeter in Eleusis, they would be taken to the Telesterion, “or Hall of Initiation”, to perform rites that still remain secret to this day. Whatever was revealed to the participants during their time in the Telesterion would secure them a blessed afterlife (“Eleusinian Mysteries”). The Eleusinian mysteries were one of the most respected cults in the ancient Greek world, so much so that the central rite is still unknown to us today because the ancients respected the fact it was meant to be kept secret.
