Eleusinian Mysteries
Preserved but no longer current.
The religious rites in honour of Demeter or Ceres, performed originally at Eleusis, Attica, but later at Athens as part of the state religion. There were Greater and Lesser Eleusinia, the former being celebrated between harvest and seedtime and the latter in early spring. Little is known about the details, but the rites included sea bathing, processions, religious dramas, etc., and the initiated attained thereby a happy life beyond the grave.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Eleusinian Mysteries” mean?
The religious rites in honour of Demeter or Ceres, performed originally at Eleusis, Attica, but later at Athens as part of the state religion. There were Greater and Lesser Eleusinia, the former being celebrated between harvest and seedtime and the latter in early spring. Little is known about the details, but the rites included sea bathing, processions, religious dramas, etc., and the initiated attained thereby a happy life beyond the grave.
Is “Eleusinian Mysteries” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.