invented traditions

With such a tight-knit, secretive community of participants, it makes sense that the initiates of Eleusis would create their own traditions and identities apart from their individual identities as Greeks. They make their own “invented traditions” as a way of “creating a national identity promoting national unity, and legitimising certain institutions or cultural practices” (Hobsbawm 1). By participating in the mysteries, initiates are strengthening their sense of nationalism. Though not a modern concept, the rituals allowed for the people of ancient Greece to come together and be allowed to let go of the societal barriers that surrounded them. The procession offered a chance for mortals to unite and support each other in their anxieties about the afterlife (Mitropoulos).