Pagan Origin of Partialist Doctrines. John Claudius Pitrat
before the Christian era. He thus relates the mysteries of Eleusis:
"I shall speak of the most important point of the religion of the Athenians, of those mysteries whose origin is lost in the night of ages; whose ceremonies inspire no less terror than veneration; and whose secret has never been revealed, except by a few persons who were immediately devoted to death, and to public execration; for the law not only pronounces against them the confiscation of their property and the loss of their life, but it orders that a column be erected, to perpetuate the rememberance of their crime and of their punishment.
"Of all the mysteries established in honor of the gods, none were more celebrated than those of Ceres. This goddess herself, it is said, regulated them, while she was wandering on the earth for the purpose of finding Proserpine, ravished by Pluto, she arrived in the plain of Eleusis. Pleased with the welcome extended to her by the inhabitants, she presented them with two signaled blessings, agriculture, and initiation to a sacred doctrine. It is added, that the minor mysteries which are preparatory to the major, were instituted to the honor of Hercules.
"People believe, that, wherever the Athenians established the mysteries of Eleusis, the spirit of union and humanity became more general; because they free the soul from ignorance and stains; procure the particular assistance of the gods; the means of arriving at the perfection of virtue; the sweets of a holy life; the hope of a peaceable death, and of an endless bliss. Those initiated will occupy a distinguished place in the Elysian fields; they will enjoy a pure light, and they will dwell in the bosom of the Deity; whereas, those who are profane will dwell hereafter in abodes of darkness and of horror.
"In order to avoid such an alternative the Greeks flocked from everywhere to Eleusis to find the promised bliss. Though young, the Athenians are admitted to the ceremonies of the initiation; and those who never participated to them ask this favor before they die; the menaces and the pictures of the sufferings of another life, before considered as a subject of derision, cause a more vivid impression on the mind; and then terror generates weakness. However, there are enlightened men who do not believe that there is any need for them to be initiated in order to be virtuous. Socrates constantly declined joining the mysteries; and, one day, Diogenes being solicited, in my presence, to ask for initiation, answered: 'Patæcion, a famous thief, was initiated; Epaminondas and Agesilas never asked for it. Can I believe that the former will go to the Elysian fields and the latter to the Tartarus.'
"All the Greeks can aspire to participate to the mysteries: an ancient law excludes the foreigners. The major mysteries are celebrated every year on the fifteenth of the month of Boedromion. The celebration of the minor mysteries is also annual, and takes place six months before. During the celebration of the major mysteries the tribunals are closed. The day following, the senate pronounces the penalty of death against those who have willfully disturbed the ceremonies. This severity is required to maintain order among the immense multitude of people. In time of war the Athenians send to their foes safe conducts to induce them to assist at the celebration.
"On the fourteenth of Boedromion, in the second year of the one hundred and ninth Olympiad, I left Athens with several of my friends. The gate through which the Athenians pass to go to Eleusis is called sacred. The space between these two cities is of about one hundred stadiums. After crossing a high hill decked with rosy laurels, we entered the territory of Eleusis; and we arrived on the banks of two small brooks consecrated, the one to Ceres, and the other to Proserpine. I mention them because the priests of the temple are the only ones who are permitted to fish in them; and because their waters are salted, and are used in the ceremonies of initiation. Farther, on the bridge of a river named Cephize, we had to bear the mockeries of a numerous populace, who stand there to criticize the comers, and more especially the most distinguished men of the Republic. It is an old tradition that Ceres had been welcomed on this very spot by an old woman, called Yambe.
"At a short distance from the sea there is a high and long hill, at the eastern end of which the famous temple of Ceres and Proserpine has been reared. Further down is the small city of Eleusis. In the vicinity, and on the hill itself, there are chapels and altars, and rich country-seats. The temple, built under the care of Pericles, on the bare rock, is of pantelic marble; and is turned towards the Orient. It is so vast as magnificent; its enclosure at the south is of about three hundred and eighty-four feet, and at the east of three hundred and twenty-five. The most celebrated artists have adorned this temple with master-pieces of art.
"Among the numerous priests who officiate in the temple, there are four principal. The first is the Hierophant; his name designates the one who reveals the sacred things, and his main office is to initiate the postulants to the mysteries. He appears with a distinguished tunic; his forehead is decked with a diadem, and his hair is floating on his shoulders. His age must be mature enough to correspond with the gravity of his ministry, and his voice fine enough to be pleasing to the ears. His priesthood is for life; and he is obliged to keep celibacy. The second priest carries the sacred flambeau in the ceremonies, and purifies the candidates; he has also the privilege of wearing a diadem. The two others are the sacred herald, and the assistant at the altar.
"The holiness of their ministry is rendered even more respectable by their noble birth. The Hierophant is chosen in the family of the Eumolpides, one of the most ancient of Athens; the sacred herald in that of the Ceryces, which is a collateral branch of the other; the two other priests belong also to illustrious families. These four priests have under their command other ministers, such as the interpreters, the singers, and other officers, who have the direction of the processions and other ceremonies. Also there are at Eleusis priestesses consecrated to Ceres and to Proserpine. They have the privilege of initiating certain persons on particular days, and to offer sacrifices.
"The celebrations are presided by the second of the Archontes, whose duty is to keep order, and to prevent any change or alteration in the worship. They last several days. Sometimes those initiated interrupt their sleep to continue their pious exercises: we saw them during the night crossing the enclosure, walking in silence two by two, and holding each one a lighted torch. When they reentered the sacred asylum they hastened their march; and I learned that they were going to figure the courses of Ceres and of Proserpine; and that, in their rapid evolutions, they shook their torches, and handed them to each other. The light which springs out, it is said, has the virtue of purifying the souls, and becomes the symbol of the light which ought to instruct them.
"One day games were celebrated in the honor of the two goddesses. Famous champions had come from various parts of Greece, and the prize was a measure of barley, raised in the neighboring plain, whose inhabitants hold from Ceres the art of cultivating this sort of wheat. On the sixth day, the most brilliant of all, the priests of the temple, and those initiated, carried from Athens to Eleusis, the statue of Iacchus, said to be the son of Ceres or of Proserpine. The god, crowned with myrtle, held a flambeau. About thirty thousand people followed, making the air resound with the name of Iacchus. The march, led by the sound of instruments and the singing of hymns, was sometimes suspended to perform dances and sacrifices. The statue was introduced in the temple of Eleusis, and then taken back in his own, with the same splendors, and the same ceremonies.
"Many of those who composed the procession had been initiated only to the minor mysteries, annually celebrated in a small temple, situated near the Illissus. There a priest examines and prepares the candidates; he excludes them if they are guilty of enormous crimes, and particularly if they have committed murder, even without purpose. He imposes upon the others frequent expiations, and teaches them the first rudiments of the sacred doctrine. This noviciate sometimes lasts several years, but generally one only. During the time of probation, the candidates assist at the celebration of the major mysteries; but they remain at the door of the temple.
"The initiation to the great mysteries had been appointed for the night following. One of the preparatory ceremonies was the offering of sacrifices, for the prosperity of the state, presided by the second of the Archontes. The novices were crowned with myrtle. Their robes seem to contract such a holiness that many of them wear them until they are worn out; others make of them swaddling-clothes for their children, or hang them in the temple. We saw them enter in the sacred hall; and, on the next morning, one of my friends, who had been newly initiated, related to me many of the ceremonies which he had witnessed.
"He