A ritual is usually a ceremony that includes a series of actions that are performed according to a certain order. Most of the time rituals originate from myths. In Athens, several people participated in a group of events known as The Eleusinian Mysteries, hoping for a fulfilling and great afterlife. The Eleusinian Mysteries, a cult centered on a myth of Persephone's journey to and from the underworld, were celebrated from the eighth century B.C to the Hellenistic period. To the ancient Greeks, myths had a purpose and that was to basically explain the world around them. The myth and the mysteries itself were a symbol of life, death, and rebirth. The mysteries were created from the story and it was their way of demonstrating their honor and belief of the two goddesses. Events that occurred during the Eleusinian Mysteries symbolized a part of the myth of Demeter and Persephone, which is proof that the rituals practiced are associated with the myth.
Anyone except those who could not speak Greek or have committed murder were allowed to participate in these rituals. Although most things that occurred in the Hall of Initiation were meant to be kept secret, some have been revealed. The mysteries were divided into two parts, the Lesser Mysteries and the Greater Mysteries. The Lesser Mysteries, which happened annually, was a preparation for the Greater Mysteries and represented Persephone's first time being in the underworld. Hades, god of the underworld, saw Persephone and wanted to make her his wife. Persephone did not like him so he abducted her and took her to the underworld. Persephone was the main focal point and was honored during these rituals. Before moving on,
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participants had to purify themselves to turn away fr...
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... participants did not wear crowns or eat pomegranate seeds that had touched the ground because Persephone had been stolen while gathering flowers, and because she had eaten the pomegranate seeds in the underworld (Foley, 72/Taylor 1995).
Works Cited
"The Ancient Mysteries and Secret Societies." Secret Teachings of All Ages: , Part Three. N.p., 30 June 2007. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.
"The Ecole Initiative: The Eleusinian Mysteries." The Ecole Initiative: The Eleusinian Mysteries. N.p., 01 Nov. 2007. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.
"The Eleusinian Mysteries." For Your Faith. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.
"The Eleusinian Mysteries and the Cult of Demeter." By Tim Harry. N.p., 24 Oct. 2013. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.
Taylor, Kelly B. "Seasons of Death: The Eleusinian Rites of Demeter." Seasons of Death: The Eleusinian Rites of Demeter. N.p., 4 Dec. 1995. Web. 05 Dec. 2013.
In The Odyssey and Hymn to Demeter, both Penelope and Demeter love and miss their family members. When Demeter hears her daughter Persephone’s cry, “a sharp grief took hold of Demeter in
Demeter shows the theme of isolation when she disguises herself as an old woman of no childbearing and lives among the mortals, shunning herself from the gods and turning her grief into anger against Zeus. So when she arrives at Elusis, she take upon the duty of raising the child of Keleus and Meraneria, Demophoön. The part of the myth show Demeter's anger when she attempts to make Demophoön into a god. It symbolizes the fact the she is replacing a female child with a males, meaning...
Euripidies, Medea. ""Into realms of the semi-celestials": from mortal to mythic in The Awakening." Galegroup.net. 2005. Web. 3 Jan. 2010. .
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The parallels between the protagonists, Laura and Persephone, are quite evident. First and foremost, Laura’s mother, Mrs. Sheridan, stands as a counterpart for Demeter, Persephone’s mother. Mrs. Sheridan chose to pass down her black hat to Laura, the youngest of all of her children (Masfield 251). Laura and her mother share an intimate relationship that mirrors that of Persephone and Demeter. This display of affection expresses how comfortable mother and daughter are around each other. Mrs. Sheridan thinks highly of Laura, she sees her as a mature young lady. In comparison, when Persephone is whisked away to the Underworld without her consent, Demeter is overcome with grief and depression. Demeter’s life was centered on Persephone; she had the sensation that something was the matter. When he daughter vanished, Demeter lost her sense of direction. In addition, bot...
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Demeter, also, had secret rites performed for her. These were known as the Eleusian Mysteries, and were held in the town of the same name. The ceremonies were held twice every five years, in September and in March. Initiation was open to all; they were sworn to secrecy. Initiates were purified in the sea, then proceeded from Athens to Eleusis. This all took place over a period of nine days, after which the initiates went back to their very ordinary lives.
So, Persephone now resides in the underworld six months out of every year. When the Olympians overthrew their father Cronus, the Olympians drew straws to see who would rule what part of the world. Even though Hades, also known as the Roman God Pluto, drew the straw for the underworld, there are many gods, goddesses and personifications within the underworld besides him.... ... middle of paper ...
The image that has been produced over time about the Goddess of Desire, the renowned Aphrodite, is one of a longhaired beauty, riding atop a scallop shell to bestow her beauteous wonders upon the mortal earth and Olympus. This is an icon of femininity and perfection, the most stunning of the already statuesque gods and goddesses. Doves and sparrows are her counterparts as is the sweet and playful Cupid in later Roman myths. However, this seemingly flawless picture of delicacy and sensual delights is far from perfect. In fact, when looked at a little more closely, the mien of Aphrodite becomes distorted, her beauty playing out to actually be her curse. In the next pages we will delve into the true nature of the Love Goddess, contemplate the source of her ‘deeds’ and then determine how high a pedestal she actually rests upon.
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The myth is a rather interesting one, as it starts off with the King of Argos, Acrisius, travels to the Oracle of Delphi and is told that his daughter will have a son who is destined to kill him. He takes extreme measures to make sure that doesn’t come true and locks his daughter, Danae, inside a tower so that she has no way to conceive. It is almost like an overprotective father in current times, where they never let their daughters go anywhere or be anywhere near boys. However, just like an overprotective father, you can’t always keep your eye on your daughter 24/7, so of course chaos erupts. Zeus, who has been unfaithful to his wife Hera for quite a while now, is unfaithful again when he spots Danae through a portal of her ceiling. He transforms into a shower of gold (again we see the color gold incorporated in a Greek myth) and has sex with her, and thus, Perseus is conceived. Eventually Acrisius finds out about the baby, and locks both Danae and Perseus in a chest and throws it into the sea.
Perseus entered the ceremony and announced that he came with a wedding present for Polydectes. Quickly shouting to his mother to close her eyes, he unleashed Medusa's head and turned the whole room to stone. Among one of those guests was his grandfather, Acrisius, thus fulfilling the
So in the explanation of what is a ritual it can be defined as a formal behavior for occasions not performed very often for our normal routines, having reference to beliefs in mystical beings or powers.
Damrosch, David, and David Pike. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. The Ancient World. Volume A. Second Edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. Pgs. .656-691. Print.
According to “Persephone, Demeter, and Hades” It starts off with “Persephone who is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of agriculture (farming). Hades who is her uncle, abducts Persephone while she was picking flowers with her companions in a meadow.” According to “Classical Mythology” it states “Hades had other plans for Persephone: he would steal her innocence and virginity and turn her into the dreaded goddess of the Underworld.” It also states how “Persephone was gathering flowers one day on a plain in Sicily. Hades appeared, thundering across the plain in his four-horse chariot. The god then jumped down upon Persephone, and scooped her up with one arm. After abducting her, he carries her off to the Underworld. Demeter who is Persephone’s mother soon came to retrieve her daughter, but was unable to find a trace of Persephone. She traveled to the corners of the earth, searching for nine full days and nights without ever stopping to eat, drink, bathe, or rest. Demeter was in a fury so in retaliation she destroyed lands, crops, and livestock as she complained to the loss of her daughter. She threatened to make the earth unproductive forever and thus destroy all of humankind if she did not find her