Eleusis (mythology)

Eleusis
Eponym of Eleusis
Other names	Eleusinus
Abode	Eleusis
Genealogy
Parents	(1) Hermes and (2) Daeira; (3) Ogygus
Siblings	half-siblings: (2) Immaradus and Semele; (3) Cadmus, Aulis, Alalcomenia, and Thelxinia
Consort	Cothonea
Offspring	Triptolemus

In Greek mythology, Eleusis (/ɪˈljuːsɪs/ ih-LEW-siss) or Eleusinus (Ancient Greek: Ἐλευσῖνι, romanized: Eleusîni, or Ἐλευσῖνα, Eleusîna) was the eponymous hero of the town of Eleusis.

Family

Eleusis was a son of Hermes and the Oceanid Daeira, or of Ogygus. Panyassis wrote of him as father of Triptolemus, adding that "Demeter came to him"; this version of the myth is found in the works of Hyginus and Servius. In other accounts, Eleusis had no offspring.

Mythology

King Eleusis and Cothonea (Cyntinia), parents of Triptolemus, are visited by Demeter, who rears their son, feeding him divine milk by day and placing him into the fire at night, which makes Triptolemus grow faster than mortal children normally do. She eventually kills Eleusis for intervening when the fire ritual is performed. The myth is closely parallel with the one that deals with Demeter visiting Celeus and Metaneira (also possible parents of Triptolemus) and nursing their son Demophon.

In other accounts, Eleusis appears as a female character.

Eleusis in the Early Centuries of the Historic Era

"The four centuries that followed the Dorian invasion are known as the proto-Geometric and the Geometric periods, since their most representative relics are vases covered with a painted decoration mostly composed of geometric designs. We place the end of this period around 700 B.C. There can be little doubt that Eleusis was inhabited during this time and that consequently the cult of Demeter continued to be celebrated at the site." (Mylonas, 1962b, pg.55)

Eleusis in Current Day

"When the new town was built, the ancient hiera hodos was taken into account, and the new road of access also bears this name. But even today Eleusis is not very large, and we need not draw many breaths of the dusty air before we suddenly find ourselves standing on the smooth rectangular stone slabs with which the outer court of the sanctuary was paved under the Roman emperors." (Kerényi, 1967b, pg.67)

Eleusis War and Athens

"Among the events which played an important role in the early history of Athens as it appears in mythology and the Atthidographers were the wars of Athens and Eleusis." (Padgug, 1972, pg.48)

Mudbrick Walls of Eleusis

"The mudbrick wall remains preserved to date in the site of Eleusis are some of the largest preserved in Greece. Following an extensive investigation of the properties of existing mudbricks, material of similar properties from the archaeological site of Eleusis was used to reproduce mudbricks of similar density with the ancient ones after drying with various concentrations of dry grass also from the archaeological site. Actual mudbricks were reproduced and brought to a final equilibrium condition under climatic conditions practically similar to those in Eleusis." (Bardanis, 2023, pg.1)

See also

• List of Greek mythological figures

References

• Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Gaius Julius Hyginus, Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
• Pausanias, Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. ISBN 0-674-99328-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
• Pausanias, Graeciae Descriptio. 3 vols. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.