Dr. Maria Sotirakou

“Blessed is he who sees them and goes beneath the earth; he knows the end of life”

Pindar, in speaking of the Eleusinian mysteries

Mankind, ever since its first appearance on earth, has been trying to interpret the constant changes of the natural environment, but also the mysteries of life and death, failing to understand the beginning and the end of its existence.

In early times, humans formed the belief that beyond the world of senses and directly perceived events there was another reality; a transcendent dimension, shaped by eternal universal forces, which directly or indirectly affected human existence.

To understand this transcendent reality and to harmonize with it, mankind created religions on a collective level and sacramental rituals on an individual level, as expressions of higher spiritual reflection. These types of worship were called Mysteries (Kosmopoulos, 2003).

Etymologically, the Greek word «μύστης» (mystic) comes from the “μύω”, which means “to close the eyes and mouth”. Initially it refered the someone who kept silent and did not reveal what he saw or heard during the secret and symbolic ritual of initiation (Babiniotis, 2004).

In ancient times, the Mysteries were sometimes referred to as «όργια» (orgies). This term originally denoted sacrifices and sacred rituals, mainly associated with the worship of Dionysus. One version attributes the origin of the word to “ἔοργα”, from the verbs έργω or ἔρδω, with the meaning of “do” or “work” (Kallergi, 1981).

The Ancient Mysteries were an integral part of religious life and an expression of the human quest for the superior and the divine. They were considered God-inspired systems, with strictly defined ritual procedures. They included teachings, admonitions, devotional practices, purifications, and a set of beliefs, evolving alongside public religion (Christakou, 2012).

The Ancient Greek Mysteries, despite the fragmentary information that has survived, are today a brilliant example of the spiritual greatness of the Greek cultural heritage. Their existence presupposed a high level of intellectual and cultural development, where the concept of gods and a transcendent world beyond the senses was a basic prerequisite.

The Mysteries taught, in a symbolic and allegorical way, Cosmogony, Theogony, faith in the Divine, the immortality of the soul, the importance of life and death, the posthumous continuity of the soul and Theurgy, in direct correlation with the study of nature and its laws.

The main purpose of the Mysteries was to reveal the eternal truth and the ultimate mystery of death, that is, the “passage” from one state of consciousness to another. The initiates, through initiation, experienced the symbolic death of the old self and spiritual rebirth, with the ultimate goal of union with the Divine.

Initiation was a deeply personal and individual experience, through which the initiate was led to self-knowledge and the discovery of the most occult aspects of their existence. Men and women participated equally in the initiation processes, having previously undergone cleansing of the body, emotions and thoughts, with the ultimate goal of spiritual integration and regeneration (Kerenyi et al., 2005).

The change of the inner state of the initiates towards higher spiritual levels had a lasting character, which demonstrates the intense pedagogical role of the Mysteries.

The observance of silence, according to L. Martin, functioned as a discipline exercise (sacra disciplina), enhancing the transmission of knowledge through oral tradition, as there were no sacred texts during classical and Greco-Roman times.

The formative power of the Mysteries is praised by Diodorus of Sicily:

”  Men who have taken part in the mysteries become both more pious and more just and better in every respect than they were before”, (Kathitziotis, 1967).

The initiation ceremonies in ancient times consisted of, the purgation ceremonies, the so-called purification, the public rituals and sacrifices with the gathering of the initiates for the ritual dance or procession, the so-called composition, the procession of the initiates from the center of public worship to the sacred place of the worshiped deity and the initiation – ceremony the encounter, that is, with the sacred element, in the presence of the divine surface, (Christakou, 2012).

During the purification and initiation – ceremony, the uninitiated could not participate, while the initiates, by oath, were forbidden to announce anything and therefore any information available is incomplete and the researchers make an effort to confirm, as much as possible, and record the data of that time.

Almost all the Mysteries had the same principles, the same purposes and several common rituals, as we will in fact discover later there were similar significant influences between them.

Socrates in Plato’s “Phaedo” is shown saying:  “… and all experience shows that if we would have pure knowledge of anything we must be quit of the body… for if while in company with the body the psūkhē cannot have pure knowledge, one of two things seems to follow—either knowledge is not to be attained at all, or, if at all, after death.”

The role of women in the Mysteries is of particular importance. In many cultures – from Vedic India to the Mysteries of Isis in Egypt and almost all Greek Mysteries – female initiation was central (Syre, 1981). In the Cabeirian, Cretan, Orphic, Pythagorean and Eleusinian Mysteries, women participated equally, either as initiates or as members of the priesthood.

According to Iordanis Poulkouras (2008), the archetypal myths of the Mysteries date back to early matriarchal societies, where women first established ceremonies based on lunar cycles, fertility and the rebirth of nature. The archetypal image of the Holy Mother and the Divine Infant, who dies and is reborn, permeates almost all the sacramental traditions.

Based on the above, the decisive role of women in the formation and establishment of the Ancient Mysteries, which aimed at the study of life through death and the spiritual rebirth of mankind, is highlighted.

In conclusion, the Ancient Mysteries, much like Freemasonry, are systems of moral and spiritual cultivation, based on initiatory experience, self-knowledge and the search for Truth, with the ultimate goal of the moral and spiritual elevation of mankind.

SOURCES

• K. Kathitziotis, “FREEMASONRY AND ANCIENT MYSTERIES”. MASONIC SPIRITUAL SYMPOSIUM, S:. F. Adonis, Nicosia 1974
• EVA CANTARELLA: “THE WOMEN OF ANCIENT GREECE”, Papadima Publications, Athens 1998

• Kerenyi C., Walter Otto, Walter Wili, Paul Schmitt, “Greek Mysteries”, IAMVLICHOS publications, Athens 2005
• Kosmopoulos Michalis, “Greek Mysteries“, Enalios Publications, Athens 2003
• Maltezos G.Th. “Mysteries of Prehistoric Times”, Athens 1934
• Babiniotis Giorgos, “Dictionary for the school and the office”, lexicology  center, Athens 2004
• Passa I. ,”THE TRUE PREHISTORY“, Helios PUBLICATIONS, Athens 1985
• Poulkouras Iordanis “The Eleusinian Mysteries”, 7th Esoteric Quest Conference on The Mysteries and Philosophies of Antiquity, Samothrace 2008.
• Syre Edward “The great initiates“, KAKTOS publications Athens 1981
• Christakou Maria, ” Religion as a System during the Classical Years”, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki 2012
• “Archaeological Mysteries in Greece“, edited by Dora Gianniou, ARCHETYPON Publications, Athens 2005

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