The Sacred Way to Eleusis

I took a day trip today. It was similar to the ten day or two week trips I had taken in the past but we see the sights then come back to Athens. I have been posting about each site separately from the trips and thought that I would post all of today's adventures in one blog, so you could see how jam packed one day is, but then I saw I had over 80 pictures, so I'll be splitting it up into a couple days.
We started off our day driving the sacred path to Eleusis stopping at sites along the way.

I had referenced the Eleusian mysteries when I wrote the blog on the Andanian mysteries. This is another religious cult. The Sacred Way began at the sacred gate in Athens and ended at the Sanctuary of Eleusis. It was nineteen km long. At Eleusis there was a nine-day festival, and a priest gathered all people to be initiated during this festival and they walked this path. 

Our first stop along the way was the Ancient Bridge of the Kifissos River. As the procession of people would cross this bridge, they would be heckled as part of the initiation.

Our next stop was the Byzantine Monastery of Daphni. I don’t remember anything about this.

This is a well top.

Next was the Sanctuary of Aphrodite. Here people would leave votives in niches in hopes of Aphrodite helping them, usually with problems about love.

This is the site layout of where the structures are/were.

This is the sanctuary

A zoom in on the niches in the sanctuary. To this day people will still leave a candle, piece of fruit, and a love letter in the niches.

the stone wall

the sacred house

The last stop before reaching Eleusis was the Ancient Bridge of The Eleusinian Cephisus/Hadrian’s Bridge.

A cylindrical funerary monument at the bridge.

Cistern

We finally arrived at Eleusis – actually it wasn’t even 10am at this point. This was a very large site. I’m sorry for the large amount of pictures to follow. The site itself is a large sanctuary to Demeter and Persephone.

This was a fountain.

This was part of the fountain.

This dog came to visit us.

 

But then he needed a drink from the fountain.

 

torches

The greater Propylon (main entrance way).

The well of the Fair Dances. According to Myth, this is where Demeter rested as she searched for Persephone.

Temple of Athena Propylaia and Poseidon.

Plutonion. A sanctuary to Pluto. This was thought to be where Hades came up and abducted Persephone.

 

marble door way

wells everywhere

 

preserved mud brick

The Telesterion - where the initiations would take place. The seats could hold about 3000 spectators to watch the rituals.

Telesterion

It was said that part of the initiation was a pig sacrifice, and here is where they would burn the pig bones.

Temple of Sabina, the wife of the Emperor Hadrian.

pieces of the temple

the sacred house

views of the site

The triglyphs were huge! (But I was taller)

that sky though

I don't know who this man is, but this was from a Roman arch.

I will save the museum at Eleusis as well as our other stops from the day for tomorrow.