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Eleusinion (), also called the City Eleusinion () was a sanctuary on the lower part of the north slope of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, dedicated to Demeter and Kore (Persephone). It was the central hub of Eleusinian Mysteries within Athens and the starting point for the annual procession to Eleusis, in the northwest of Attica. Religious activity is attested in the area from the 7th century BC and construction took place throughout late Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods. The sanctuary was enclosed within the new city walls built after the Herulian sack of Athens in AD 267 and it remained in use until the late fourth century AD.
Only the western part of the sanctuary has been excavated, which consists of an upper area and three terraces, centring on a small temple for the hero Triptolemus, an outer propylon (gateway) and a South Stoa. A circular building in the southernmost part of the sanctuary might be a banqueting hall dedicated to Plouton and a precinct at the northernmost edge of the area might have belonged to Hecate. Sculptural fragments have been discovered from an inner propylon which led to the actual Temple of Demeter and Kore in the unexcavated area to the east and literary sources mention further structures. Many inscriptions, sculptures, pottery vessels, and other offerings from the sanctuary have been recovered.
The general location of the sanctuary was known from references in Xenophon, Philostratus, scholia to Aristophanes, and especially Pausanias, who places it above the Enneakrounos (nine jets) fountain, which he locates in the south central Agora. The site was excavated as part of the American excavations of the Athenian Agora, in 1936-1939 and 1959–1960. Only a strip from the western edge of the sanctuary has been excavated, varying in width from 18 to 40 metres. Many structures known from literary sources have not been found and are presumed to be located further east, under modern housing.
Inscriptions, sculpture, and votive vessels relating to the Eleusinian cult are found throughout the Agora, but they cluster mainly in the area of the Eleusinion. Three inscriptions found in the area specifically state that they were to be set up in the Eleusinion. These factors confirm the identification of the site as the Eleusinion.
Other sources refer to an altar,Andocides 1.112 a source of purifying water,Lysias, 6 ( Against Andocides) 52 a shrine called the Tomb of Immaradus,Clement of Alexandria, Protrepticus 3.45 and a Ploutonion. IG II2 1672, line 168ff.
The foundations are made of gray kara limestone, but yellow poros and limestone from the Acropolis were also used in the walls. Because of the steepness of the slope, the south end of the temple sits directly on the bedrock, while the north end required ten courses of masonry. The cuttings in the bedrock for the temple's foundations are still visible on the western side. The foundations were built of high-quality polygonal masonry, without clamps or dowels. The foundation blocks survive for the whole north side and parts of the western and eastern sides. The foundations of the cross-wall that separated the pronaos from the cella are partially preserved. An extension was added to the east side of the temple during construction, which measures 2.20-2.355 m wide and is composed of red crystalline blocks originally cut for use in some other context. The addition may have been made so that the width:length ratio of the temple would be closer to the golden ratio, which became popular in temple construction at this time.
The remains of the roof consist of 88 fragments from marble tiles (30 cover tiles, 58 pan tiles, 1 end ridge tile) and 4 marble . The workmanship is of a very high standard. The palmettes of the antefixes resemble the archaic Telesterion at Eleusis (510-500 BC), and especially those from the roofs of the treasuries in the sanctuary of Apollo at Delos (478-450 BC). The archaeological remains are identified as the temple of Triptolemus mentioned by Pausanias because his account indicates that it was in the outer part of the sanctuary and archaeology shows that the entrance to the Eleusinion in his time was through the propylon next to this temple. In mythology, Triptolemus was the first human to receive the gifts of farming and initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries from Demeter. He then rode around the world in a winged chariot, informing all people of these gifts.
Pausanias states that there was a statue of Triptolemus inside the temple. This has not been discovered archaeologically, but is probably one of the symbols depicted on fourth-century BC Panathenaic amphorae. There are examples from 364/3 onwards showing the statue standing in a winged chariot holding a branch, with a snake next to the chariots wheels. Pausanias also mentions statues of the semi-legendary seer Epimenides and of a bull in front of this temple. The latter probably depicted the bull with gilded horns which was the standard sacrificial offering for Triptolemus according to the late fifth-century First-Fruits decree. I Eleusis 28a; translation on Attic Inscriptions Online. To the east of the temple, there are the limestone foundations of altar (1.10 x 2.70 metres), probably built in ca. 500 BC. East of this is a 2.20 metre long monument base of yellow poros, running east–west, which was built in the period 450-425 BC; it seems to have been intended to support a set of inscribed stelae (no longer present).
The foundations are consist of poros, conglomerate, and marble blocks - many of them reused - set directly into the bedrock. In the centre, the foundations were covered over by Hymettos pavers, some of which survive. The date of construction is indicated by pottery sherds found in the packing of the foundations and by parallels with other Athenian structures of similar date. It precedes cuttings made into the bedrock to the west in order to lower and pave the Panathenaic Way in the first and second centuries AD.
The propylon was incorporated into the Post-Herulian Wall in the late third century AD.
Three phases of construction are attested in the back (south) wall. In the first, preserved for the western 18.5 metres, the foundation was built from regular yellow poros (0.65 metres high, 1.15 metres long, 0.42 metres thick), connected together with wooden clamps, and topped by dressed masonry. A second-century BC date for this initial phase is indicated by pottery in the fill of the foundations and by the absence of mortar. In the second stage, in the late Roman period, the orthostates were patched using irregular limestone blocks topped brick and mortar (preserved in the eastern portion). Finally, in Byzantine times, the wall was patched again with brick and stone, serving as a wall for later structures. At the north side of the stoa, a 1.5 metre wide cutting runs the whole length of the stoa. Conglomerate blocks sat in this cutting supported the front steps and columns. The short western exterior wall had bases for mounting inscriptions, which could be read by passers-by on the Panathenaic Way.
Destruct debris shows that the stoa went out of use in the late fourth century. By the 6th century, parts of its structure had been incorporated into new buildings and a ramp had been built through the back wall to allow access to the east–west road behind it.
The floor was packed clay and at the exact centre of the room, a 1.35 metre wide millstone was set in the floor. There are no internal supports for a roof, so it may have been a simple flat structure of timber.
Remains of at least five altars were found nearby, confirming that the building served a religious function. Margaret Miles suggests that it was used for ritual dining. This is supported by the discovery of large amounts of cooking ware in the area. A well on the east side of the building may have been connected with this function. In particular, the circular building may have been linked with meals held in honour of Plouton, who is known to have had a shrine in the City Eleusinion. It may also have been connected with the Thesmophoria.
The structure was built in the 2nd century BC, as shown by pottery from the fill of the foundations. Fills from the northwestern and eastern sections show it was dismantled and rebuilt with the same plan but a new floor around AD 100, probably in connection with a new drainage system, which closed the eastern well. A final set of fills show that it was partially dismantled in the late 2nd or 3rd centuries AD.
The fragments closely parallel those from the inner propylon of the sanctuary at Eleusis, which provides the basis for a reconstruction. The main sculptural fragments are two caryatids, which would have stood on the inner side of the gate, supporting a porch. A Doric frieze on the outside of the gate consisted of and with Eleusinian symbols (poppy, myrtus, plemochoe, Patera, bucrania). Parallels between structures at Eleusis and in the city of Athens are typical of those constructed under Hadrian, part of "an imperial Athenianisation of Eleusis."
At the end of the sixth century or the beginning of the fifth century, the middle terrace was cleared of housing and added to the sanctuary, more than doubling its size. The first evidence specifically identifying the site as the Eleusinion are a pair of altars associated with the new temple, which are inscribed with the regulations of the Eleusinian Mysteries and date to ca. 510-500 BC. Construction of the temple of Triptolemus began around 500, was interrupted by the Persian Wars, and was completed between 475 and 450 BC. Three deposits indicate that the sanctuary was damaged during the Persian sack of Athens in 479 BC. It is likely that a new temple of Demeter and Kore was built at this time as well, although there is no archaeological evidence for this, since it has not been excavated.
The sanctuary was one of the few sites in Athens not to be occupied by refugees from the countryside at the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, according to Thucydides, because its walls and gates allowed it to be locked. In 414 BC, following the conviction of Alcibiades and others for the profanation of the mysteries and mutilation of the Herms, their property was seized and auctioned off. A set of ten inscriptions known as the "Attic Stelae", which listed all the property, sales prices, and purchasers, were erected in the Eleusinion, where most of the 77 known fragments have been found.; ; All the Eleusinian officials uttered curses against the convicts, except for the priestess of Demeter and Kore, Theano, who declared that she was "a praying priestess not a cursing priestess."Plutarch, Life of Alcibiades 22 A series of inscribed accounts describe the contents of the sanctuary in 408/7 BC, including many gold votives, as well as construction materials.
A financial account from 329/8 BC describes extensive repairs to the Eleusinion in that year, IG II2 1672. as part of the wider revitalisation of Athens and its cults spearheaded by Lycurgus. This was also the period when most votive relief plaques were dedicated.
In the second century BC, a major renovation to the sanctuary took place, involving the construction of the South Stoa, the Hellenistic Propylon, and the circular building. Two inscriptions honour individuals for undertaking construction in the sanctuary at this time. One is fragmentary; the other honours Satyra priestess of the Thesmophori for repairing all the temples, the sanctuary of Plouton, and paying for annual sacrifices. The period from the 3rd century to the early 1st century BC is also the time when most of the honorific decrees were erected in the sanctuary - seventeen are known, mostly honouring epimeletai (organisers) of the Eleusinian Mysteries.
The Panhellenion, established by Emperor Hadrian in 131/2 AD, seems to have had a role in the administration of the Eleusinion and the Eleusinian cult. They had a letter from an Imperial official inscribed on a stele on the outer west side of the sanctuary. The section of the Panatheniac Way running along the west side of the sanctuary was lowered and paved in two stages in the first and second centuries AD. A branch from the aqueduct of Hadrian was built behind the sanctuary in the mid-second century AD. In the same period, the inner propylon seems to have been built and the circular building was renovated.
The area was then covered over with houses and a laundry complex was built on the western end of the south stoa in the 7th century AD, taking advantage of the water supply still provided by the aqueduct of Hadrian. There was a large fire in the area in the reign of Constans II (641-668), which destroyed the laundry and would have seriously damaged any Classical structures that were still standing. Spoliation of masonry and sculpture from the area took place throughout the Byzantine Greece and Ottoman Greece periods, but especially in the 9th-10th centuries, when there was a quarry on the lower terrace. The churches of Hypapanti and of Christ were built at the south and north ends of the area respectively, in the 17th century, incorporating the gates of the Post-Herulian wall and parts of the sanctuary into their foundations. The Church of Christ had fallen into ruin by the 1850s, but its northern wall is still in situ and its wall paintings are faintly visible. The Church of Hypapanti was deconsecrated and demolished in 1936 to allow the excavations to take place. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the area had a reputation as a good source of marble for use as building material. Marbles from the Eleusinion have been found in old buildings throughout the old centre of Athens, notably in the Little Metropolis. It remained a residential area until excavated in the twentieth century.
At the start of the Eleusinian Mysteries, sacred objects were brought from Eleusis to the Eleusinion by the ephebes. They were stored there for the first five days of the festival. During this time people who wished to be initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries gathered in the Eluesinion to undergo the "pre-initiation" ( myesis) under the guidance of members of the two Eleusinian genos, the Eumolpidae and the Kerykes. Aside from this, non-initiates were not allowed to enter the inner part of the sanctuary, which was demarcated by the inner propylon. On the sixth day of the festival, a great procession took them back to Eleusis, where they were revealed to the initiates at the culmination of the mysteries. After the mysteries, the Council of Five Hundred met in the Eleusinion in order to review the conduct of the festival.
The Eleusinion was probably also one of the sites where women celebrated the Thesmophoria festival.
Two inscriptions from the late fourth century BC and one from the first century BC honour wealthy Athenian men for preparing ritual meals in honour of Plouton. From the late Hellenistic period, these meals may have been held in the circular building in section II.
During the games at the Great Panathenaea festival, several cavalry races were held on the Panathenaic Way, with their end point at the Eleusinion. In the second century BC, these included a chariot race and the apobates.
From the fifth century BC through the 4th century AD, various individuals dedicated monuments in the sanctuary, mostly statues. Twenty-six inscribed bases from these statues are known, of which the earliest is a dedication of two crowns by the priestess Lysistrate around 450 BC. Of the rest, eleven were dedicated in the 4th century BC, one in the 3rd century BC, five in the 2nd century BC, four in the 1st century BC (including a herm of Phaedrus the Epicurean), and one each in the first four centuries AD. Nineteen pieces of sculpture have been recovered, including thirteen votive reliefs. Most of these depict Demeter and Kore and belong to the 4th century BC. Three depict Triptolemus; others show the Eleusinian heroes Iacchus, Eubouleus, and Ploutus; and two show Hecate. There are also fragments from two marble torches. By the second century BC, the priestesses of Demeter and Kore had the right to erect a painted portrait of themselves in the temple of Demeter and Kore.
Andocides says that regulations for the Eleusinion were included in the mid-sixth century BC laws of Solon.Andocides, On the Mysteries 1.111 Literary sources and inscriptions make regular references to regulations and ritual norms. These regulations tend to treat the City Eleusinion, a smaller Eleusinion at Phalerum, and the sanctuary of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis as a single unit. The surviving inscribed regulations from the City Eleusinion are:
Numerous decrees whose topics touched in Eleusinian matters were also erected in the sanctuary. Thirty such decrees have been found, of which between 17 and 21 are honorific. Most of these belong to the Hellenistic period and honour the organisers of the Eleusinian Mysteries.
In the late fifth and fourth centuries BC, inscribed inventories listing all the cult's assets were erected annually by a board of epistatai, who were responsible for the finances of the Eleusinian cult. IG I3 386-387
The Eleusinion fell within the area purchased by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens for their Agora excavations in the 1930s. Excavations of the area were begun in 1936 and continued until 1939, when they were brought to a close due to the Outbreak of World War II. The leaders of the excavation were Arthur W. Parsons, Margaret Crosby, and Rodney Young. The excavations uncovered the archaic temple, the western propylon, the south stoa in the area of the 19th century excavations and extended further south up the slope and further west across the Panathenaic Way. Discoveries of votive figurines, coins associated with the Eleusinian cult, inscriptions connected with the Eleusinian cult, and especially votive pits full of kernoi led to the identification of the site with the Eleusinion in 1938. The excavations of Section II were particularly disrupted by the war; most of the finds were left unlabelled and unsorted. Near three-quarters of pottery finds proved unsalvagable.
A final set of excavations were undertaken in 1959-1960 by Eugene Vanderpool. Four houses were demolished to extend the excavated area to the east. William Bell Dinsmoor and Margaret Miles carried out surveys in 1980-1981 and Miles restudied the pottery finds, which enable the dating of the site's phases, between 1988 and 1992.
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