Eleusinian Mysteries

The Eleusinian Mysteries were yearly initiations into the cult of Demeter and Persephone at Eleusis. They enacted Persephone's ascent and reunion with her mother Demeter, a tale of life's return that promised initiates a reward after death.

Under Peisistratos the rites drew pilgrims from all Greece. Theodosius I closed them in AD 392, and in 396 Alaric looted the shrines.