Mystery Cults

The word mystery comes from the Greek mystes, which means "initiate." A mystes (pl. mystai) was initiated into a special cult or society and, as a result, knew things that noninitiates did not. In reality, many Greek cults and rituals had their secretive aspects: In the Athenian Arrhephoria, no one knew what objects the Arrhephoroi carried from the Acropolis, and in his Against Neaira, Apollodoros referred to rites enacted by the priestesses of Dionysos that could not be revealed, even in court.

Mystery cults differed in that they were exclusive and voluntary. Quoting M. W. Meyer:

The mysteries were secret religious groups composed of individuals who decided, through personal choice, to be initiated into the profound realities of one deity or another. Unlike the official religions, in which a person was expected to show outward, public allegiance to the local gods of the polis or the state, the mysteries emphasized an inwardness and privacy of worship within closed groups. The person who chose to be initiated joined an association of people united in their quest for personal salvation. (Meyer 1987, 4)

Here, a few terms should be defined. Secret religious groups does not mean that their existence was kept hidden from the majority of the population. Everybody knew about the mystery cults, especially the popular ones such as those of Demeter and Dionysos. Rather, they were secret in that the cult rites and symbols were known only to initiates.

The "profound realities of one deity" did not imply exclusivity. A person initiated into the rites of, say, Isis (the Greeks adopted eastern cults) could still worship, and even be devoted to, other deities. Unlike modern "religions of the Book," the ancient polytheistic religions never had a concept of exclusive worship (with the exception of a brief bout of monotheism in fourteenth-century Egypt). In fact, the last high priest of Demeter at Eleusis was also a high priest of the Aryan god Mithras.

Finally, there was more to the mystery cults than just a concern with the hereafter. Although afterlife issues were important in many mystery cults, this was not so for all of them, nor was this an exclusive concern. Initiates also expected good things from their deities in this life. Mystai dedicated to Isis, for example, could expect extra help from that goddess in healing rituals.

It is difficult to determine when mystery cults came into existence. The earliest, those of Demeter, Kore (Persephone), and Dionysos, were in practice beginning in at least the sixth century b. c.e., probably much earlier. Excavations at Eleusis show that that site may have been used for ritual as far back as the Bronze Age, although we certainly could not argue that the rites were identical, or even related to the later cult. Most mystery cults became prominent late in Greek history, starting in the Hellenistic era, and continued in use through the Roman period. Many cults were based on eastern deities, especially the Anatolian goddess Magna Mater/Cybele, the Aryan god Mithras (especially venerated by Roman soldiers), and the Egyptian deities Isis and Osiris. Earlier, and more local, mystery cults were dedicated to Demeter, Kore, Dionysos, De-spoina (the daughter of Demeter worshipped at Lykosoura), the Kabiroi (dwarfish assistants to Hephaistos and Dionysos), Hermes, and Apollo.

As mystery cults were secret affairs, we have very little information about them. Evidence comes from obscure references in religious texts, archaeology and art history (especially for the cults of Mithras), and the testimonies of initiates who later converted to Christianity and sought to express the absurdities of their former beliefs—in other words, from people who no longer maintained their vows of silence.

Certain nonuniversal commonalities might be derived from a combination of these sources. In general, all mystery cults focused on things recited (legom-ena), things shown (deiknymena), and things done (dromena) (Meyer 1987, 10). The significance of the things recited was clear in the rituals at Eleusis, which admitted only Greek-speakers. The importance of things shown was manifest in the terminology used of initiates: Those who had completed initiation were called epoptes, or "beholders." Possibly related to the notion of things done was another set of words commonly used in regard to mystery cults. The word telein meant "to accomplish" and also "to celebrate" or "to initiate," and the related word telestes was the word for an initiation priest. Mystery cult rituals took place in the telesterion, or the "initiation hall," a place where "things done" could take place. The things recited, shown, and done were all intended to have a strong psychological impact on the participant, not necessarily to teach him/her something new or esoteric. According to Aristotle, those who underwent initiation should not "learn" but "experience" (Burkert 1987, 69). This is one reason why it is still so difficult to understand the mystery rites: Even when we do have some descriptions of what occurred, we do not know how things occurred, or the initiates' state of mind at the time. The rites had to be experienced live.

Mystery rituals took place in special locations. The Eleusinian Mysteries took place only at Eleusis. The rites of Mithras occurred in a Mithraeum, a shrine used exclusively by his initiates for his cult. Such shrines were constructed throughout the eastern Roman Empire. Temples of Isis, complete with water from the Nile, were used throughout the Hellenistic and Roman worlds. By contrast, the rites of Dionysos could take place anywhere that was adequately secluded. Different types of "clergy" attended to the cults. The positions of chief priests and priestesses of Eleusis were hereditary, running in two noble families. By contrast, the priests of Dionysos were mostly itinerant, instructed in the mysteries and then set loose into the world. The temples of Isis had a permanent staff following the Egyptian model, and the personnel of Mithras were distinguished by seven degrees of initiation, the highest being pater patrum, "father of fathers."

Mystery cults made extensive use of the written word, especially books. Aeschines, an Athenian litigator whose mother performed mystery rites, referred to the books he read to accompany his mother. Images of Mithraic priests with books have come to light at Dura Europus, and both Roman art and historiography refer to the use of books in the cults of Dionysos (Burkert 1987, 70). This is not to say that these cults had orthodoxy, or a strict code of beliefs. Except for the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were completely localized, mystery cults had regionalized beliefs and practices. Polytheistic systems tend to be remarkably open-minded and accommodating.

This open-mindedness was best expressed in the eligibility for initiation. Except for the cult of Mithras (open only to men), anyone was technically eligible for initiation—men, women, children, slaves, foreigners. There were, of course, a few catches. First, one had to be able to pay for the initiation; it was not free. Initiation at Eleusis cost 15 drachmai, more than a week's salary for a common worker (Foley 1994, 66). Second, for some cults, one had to speak Greek, so as to understand the "things said." Third, one had to be free of blood guilt—that is, not a murderer. Otherwise, the cults were quite open, cutting across class and ethnic lines perhaps better than any other aspect of ancient Greek culture. Although initiates did not form closely linked communities, the shared experience of initiation was expected to create a sense of bonding among members.

The Eleusinian rites, as stated above, may date back as far as the Bronze Age, although archaeological continuity at the sanctuary only dates to the late seventh century b. c.e. One of the longest-lasting Greek cults, these Eleusinian Mysteries endured until the end of the fourth century c. e., when Eleusis was destroyed by Alaric the Visigoth.

Our earliest document referring to these mysteries is the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, probably of sixth-century b. c.e. creation, which gives details concerning the mysteries' origins. The main body of the tale is related above in the section on Demeter. Relevant here is Demeter's stay in the house of Keleos (ll. 192-211, reprinted above), and her creation of the mysteries at the end of the Hymn (ll. 473-482):

And [Demeter] going to the law-bearing kings showed to Triptolemos, to horse-driving Deokles, and Eumolpos the powerful and Keleos leader of the host, the conduct of her worship and described her rites to all, to Triptolemos and Polyxenos and Deokles, holy rites which in no way might be transgressed nor revealed nor spoken of, for a great awe of the deities restrains the voice.

Happy is he who among earth-dwelling men has seen these.

But the one uninitiated, who has taken no part in these rites, never has an equal portion after death, down in the shadowy gloom.

The Eleusinian rites, to the best we can tell, were a reflection of the pathos of Demeter and a re-creation of Persephone's abduction and return. The cult was dominated by two families believed to be descended from the original royal families of Eleusis. The Eumolpidai ("Good Singers") provided the hierophant ("displayer of sacred things") and the chief priestesses. The Kerykes provided the hierokeryx ("sacred herald") and the daidoukhos ("torch-bearer").

As a prelude to initiation, mystai went through the Lesser Mysteries, performed in Athens. Athens took control of Eleusis in the later sixth century b. c.e., and henceforth Athens was intimately involved in the rites. These Lesser Mysteries occurred in the spring and purified the intended initiate so that he/she was eligible for the Greater Mysteries. These took place in the middle of the month of Boedromion (September/October), and lasted about a week. Starting on the thirteenth of the month, the ephebes (boys around eighteen years old) left Athens for Eleusis to fetch the "holy objects" and escort them to Athens. These objects, tied in boxes with ribbons, were prepared by the Eleusinian priestesses. The next day, the boys returned to deposit the sacred objects in the Eleusinion in Athens.

On the fifteenth, the hierokeryx summoned the would-be mystai to the Stoa Poikile ("Painted Stoa") in Athens. All were welcome save "those impure in hands or incomprehensible in speech," that is, murderers and non-Greek-speakers (Foley 1994, 67). Each mystes had a patron of sorts, called a mysta-goge; this was an initiate who led him/her through the mysteries. The following day, the mystai walked to the beach at Phaleron harbor and purified themselves in the water. This bath was not only for themselves, though: Each initiate had to sacrifice a piglet as part of the ritual, and the piglet had to be purified in the sea, too. Pigs were, in fact, a rare offering in ancient Greek religion, but they were common in the cults of Demeter. According to myth, when Hades brought Persephone to the Underworld, a small herd of pigs had been sucked down as well. Sending piglets to death, then, formed part of the recreation of the abduction tale. The pig sacrifice took place later on the same day as the ritual bath (the sixteenth). On the eighteenth, the mystai remained indoors, possibly fasting in imitation of Demeter's fast in the house of Keleos.

On the nineteenth, the mystai walked the 22 kilometers from Athens to Eleusis along a path called the Sacred Way, carrying back the sacred objects brought from Eleusis several days before. Also carried along was a statue of the god lakkhos, usually identified with Dionysos, to whom festive hymns were sung, called lakkhoi (Herodotus 8.65). Other events breaking up the long walk were sacrifices, prayers, singing, and dancing. At a bridge over the Kephisos River, which marked the boundary between Athens and Eleusis, men and women in costumes hurled insults at the mystai. Once they crossed into Eleusis, the mystai had a small picnic. That night, the women took part in nocturnal revels, including more dancing, singing, and obscene language (Foley 1994, 67). The use of obscenities recalls the role of lambe in the Hymn—it was she who, telling dirty jokes to Demeter, finally got the goddess to smile and relax.

The mystery rituals took place in the Telesterion, a giant theater-like building that could accommodate thousands of spectators. At the structure's center was the Anaktoron, or "King's Room," from which the hierophant emerged to lead the rites. Little information is available about what happened after that. We have no idea what those rites were; they were kept secret. The early Christian father Clement of Alexandria, who had undergone initiation before his conversion, related, "I fasted, I drank the kykeon, I have taken from the chest, I worked, and deposited in the basket and from the basket into the chest" (Foley 1994, 68). Kykeon was a drink of barley, water, and mint, recalling the drink Demeter took in her Hymn "for the sake of the rite." Clement added that another part of the ritual included a reenactment of the tale of Demeter and Kore, allowing, we presume, the spectators to share in their sufferings. At the end of the rite, according to another early Christian author, Hippolytos, in his work Refutation of All Heresies (8.39-8.41), "And the Athenians... when they make the initiations of Eleusis and display to the beholders that great and wondrous and most perfect mystery that is to be beheld there is silence, a harvested ear (of grain)... likewise the hierophant himself... , when he celebrates the great and unutterable mysteries by night at Eleusis under a brilliant light, calls out and proclaims these words: 'A holy child is born to the Lady Brimo, Brimos'— that is, to the Strong One, the Strong" (Meyer 1987, 19).

When the rituals were over, the mystai took part in sacrifices and feasts. Later, some returned to Eleusis for higher levels of initiation, provided they could afford it. The mystai's experiences with the goddesses would, as they understood it, not only bring them prosperity in life, but happiness after death. As the horde of mystai expressed it in Aristophanes's Frogs (ll. 440-456):

Go forth now to the goddess's sacred circle, playing in the flowery grove, for those taking part in the holy festival.

And I go with all the maidens and women,

Where they keep the all-night-revels for the goddess, bearing

The holy light.

Let us go to the rosy, flowery meadows, our path the most beautifully danced, playing, whom the happy Muses lead along.

For only on us shines the sun, the joyous light, being initiates.