through the fire; all which rites were attended with incantations and other usages equally insignificant and ridiculous. Last of all, a young sow was sacrificed to Ceres; and this animal, according to the ritual, behoved to be with pigs: and before it was killed, it was to be washed in Castrum, one of the three harbours which formed the Piraeus.
All these ceremonies duly performed, the candidate was carried into the hall appointed for the purpose of initiation. There he was taught the first elements of those arcana which were afterwards to be more fully and more clearly revealed in the more august mysteries of Eleusis. The pupils at Agrae were called Mystae, which may intimate probationers; whereas those of Eleusis were denominated Epoptae, importing that they saw as they were seen.
The lesser mysteries were divided into several stages, and candidates were admitted to them according to their quality and capacity respectively. Those who were initiated in the lowest were obliged to wait five years before they were admitted to the greater. Those who had partaken of the second kind underwent a noviciate of three years; those who had been admitted to the third, one of two years; and those who had gone through the fourth were admitted to the greater at the end of one year; which was the shortest period of probation a candidate for that honour could legally undergo. Such was the process generally observed in administering the lesser mysteries.
With respect to the greater mysteries, it is probable that originally none but the natives of Attica were admitted to partake of them. In process of time, however, the pale was extended so far and wide as to comprehend all who spoke the Greek language. All foreigners were debarred from those sacred rites. They tell us, however, that Hercules, Bacchus, Castor and Pollux, Æsculapius, and Hippocrates, were initiated in an extraordinary manner, from a regard to their high character and heroic exploits. All barbarians, too, were excluded; yet Anacharsis the Scythian was indulged that privilege, in consequence of his reputation for science and philosophy. All persons guilty of manslaughter, though even accidentally or involuntarily, all magicians, enchanters; in a word, all impious and profane persons, were expressly prohibited the benefit of this Pagan sacrament. At last, however, the gate became wider, and crowds of people, of all nations, kindreds, and languages, provided their character was fair and irreproachable, rushed in by it.
In process of time the Athenians initiated even their infants; but this, we imagine, must have been a kind of lustration or purification, from which it was supposed that they derived a kind of moral ablation from vice, and were thought to be under the peculiar protection of the goddess.
The celebration of the mysteries began on the 15th day of the month Boedromion; and, according to most ancient authors, lasted nine days. Meursius has enumerated the transactions of each day, which are much too numerous to fall within the compass of this article; we must therefore refer our curious reader to the author just mentioned. Some days before the commencement of the festival, the praecones, or public criers, invited all the initiated, and all the pretenders to that honour, to attend the festival, with clean hands and a pure heart, and the knowledge of the Greek language.
On the evening of the 15th day of the month called Boedromion the initiations commenced. Our readers will observe, that all the most sacred and solemn rites of the Pagan superstition were performed during the night: they were indeed generally works of darkness. On this day there was a solemn cavalcade of Athenian matrons from Athens to Eleusis, in carriages drawn by oxen. In this procession the ladies used to rally one another in pretty loose terms, in imitation, we suppose, of the Isaac procession described by Herodotus, which has been mentioned above. The most remarkable object in this procession was the Mundus Cereris, contained in a small coffin or basket. This was carried by a select company of Athenian matrons, who, from their office, were styled Camphorae. In this coffin were lodged the comb of Cereris, her mirror, a serpentine figure, some wheat and barley, the pudenda of the two sexes, and perhaps some other articles which we have not been able to discover. The procession ended at the temple, where this sacred charge was deposited with the greatest solemnity.
We have no description of the temple of Eleusis upon record. Pausanias intended to have described it; but says he was diverted from his design by a dream. Strabo informs us that the mystic sanctua-ry was as large as a theatre, and that it was built by Ictinus. In the porch, or outer part of this temple, the candidates were crowned with garlands of flowers, which they called Himera, or "the desirable." They were at the same time dressed in new garments, which they continued to wear till they were quite worn out. They then washed their hands in a laver filled with holy water; a ceremony which intimated the purity of their hearts and hands. Before the doors were locked, one of the officers of the temple proclaimed with a loud voice a stern mandate, enjoining all the uninitiated to keep at a distance from the temple, and declaring the most terrible menaces if any should dare to disturb or pry into the holy mysteries. Nor were these menaces without effect: for if any person was found to have crowded into the sanctuary even through ignorance, he was put to death without mercy. Every precaution having been taken to secure secrecy, the initiatory ceremonies now began. But before we describe these, we must lay before our readers a brief account of the ministers and retainers of these secrets of paganism.
The chief minister of these far-famed mysteries was the hierophant. He was styled King, and enjoyed that dignity during life, and was always by birth an Athenian. He presided in the solemnity, as is evident from his title. This personage, as we learn from Eusebius, represented the Demiurgus, or Creator of the world. "Now in the mysteries of Eleusis (says that father) the hierophant is dressed out in the figure of the demiurgus." What this demiurgus was, we learn from the same writer. As this whole institution was copied from the Egyptians, we may rest assured that the figure of the Eleusinian Demiurgus was borrowed from the same quarter. "As for the symbols of the Egyptians (says he, quoting from Porphyry), they are of the following complexion. The Demiurgus, whom the Egyptians call Cneph, is figured..." as a man of an azure colour, shaded with black, holding in his right hand a sceptre and in his left a girdle, and having on his head a royal wing or feather wreathed round." Such, we imagine, was the equipment of the Eleusinian hierophant. This person was likewise styled Prophet. He was to be of the family of the Eumolpide; was obliged to make a vow of perpetual chastity; and even his voice, hair, and attitude, were adjusted to the ritual.
The next minister was the daduchus, or torch-bearer; who, according to the father above quoted, was attired like the sun. This minister resembled the sun, because that luminary was deemed the visible type of the supreme Demiurgus, and his vicegerent in governing and arranging the affairs of this lower world.
The third was the person who officiated at the altar. He was habited like the moon. His office was to implore the favour of the gods for all the initiated. We should rather imagine, that the person at the altar, as he resembled the moon, was intended to represent the goddess herself: for the Egyptian Isis, who was the archetype of Ceres, was sometimes the moon and sometimes the earth.
The sacred herald was another principal actor in this solemn exhibition. His province was to recite every thing, that, according to the ritual, was to be communicated to the novices; and he probably represented Thoth or Thoth, that is Hermes or Mercury, the interpreter of the gods.
Besides these, there were five epimeletae or curators, of whom the king was one, who jointly directed the whole ceremonial. Lastly, There were ten priests to offer the sacrifices. There were no doubt many officers of inferior note employed upon these occasions; but these were only insignificant appendages, whose departments have not been transmitted to posterity.
After this detail of the ministers of this solemn service, we return to the mystæ, or candidates for initiation. Some of the fathers of the church mention a hymn composed by the celebrated Orpheus, which was sung by the mystagogue or king upon that occasion. This hymn appears to us one of those spurious compositions which abounded in the first ages of Christianity, and which the pious apologists often adopted without sufficient examination. That some sacred hymn was chanted upon that occasion, we think highly probable; but that the one in question was either composed by Orpheus, or used at the opening of these ceremonies, to us appears somewhat problematical.
Before the ceremony opened, a book was produced, which contained every thing relating to the telete. This was read over in the ears of the mystæ; who were ordered to write out a copy of it for themselves. This book kept at Eleusis in a sacred repository, formed by two stones exactly fitted to each other, and of a very large size. This repository was called petromæ.
At the annual celebration of the greater mysteries, these stones were taken asunder, and the book taken out; which, after being read to the mystæ, was replaced in the same casement.
The initiations began with a representation of the wanderings of Ceres, and her bitter and loud lamentations for the loss of her beloved daughter. Upon this occasion, no doubt, a figure of that deity was displayed to the mystæ, while loud lamentations echoed from every corner of the sanctuary. One of the company having kindled a firebrand at the altar, and sprung to a certain place in the temple, waving the torch with the utmost fury, a second snatched it from him, roaring and waving it in the same frantic manner; and a third, fourth, &c. in the most rapid succession. This was done to imitate Ceres, who was said to have perlostrated the globe of the earth with a flaming pine in her hand, which she had lighted at Mount Etna.
When the pageant of the goddess was supposed to arrive at Eleusis, a solemn pause ensued, and a few put to the trifling questions were put to the mystæ: What these mystæ questions were, is evident from the answers. "I have fasted; I have drunk the liquor; I have taken the contents out of the coffin; and having performed the ceremony, have put them into the hamper: I have taken them out of the hamper, and put them again in the coffin." The meaning of these answers, we conjecture, was this: "I have fasted, as Ceres fasted while in search of her daughter; I have drunk off the worst as she drank when given her by Banbo; I have performed what Ceres taught her first disciples to perform, when she committed to them the sacred hamper and coffin." After these interrogatories, and the suitable responses, the mundus Cereris was displayed before the eyes of the mystæ, and the mystagogue or hierophant, or perhaps the sacred herald by his command, read a lecture on the allegorical import of those sacred symbols. This was heard with the most profound attention; and a solemn silence prevailed throughout the fane. Such was the first act of this religious farce, which perhaps consisted originally of nothing more.
After the exposition of the mundus Cereris, and the traditions import of her wanderings, many traditions were communicated to the mystæ concerning the origin of the universe and the nature of things. The doctrines delivered in the greater mysteries, says Clem. Alex., "relate to the nature of the universe. Here all instruction ends. Things are seen as they are; and nature, and the things of nature, are given to be comprehended."
To the same purpose Cicero: "Which points being explained and reduced to the standard of reason, the nature of things, rather than that of the gods, is discovered." The father of the universe, or the supreme demiurgus, was represented as forming the chaotic mass into the four elements, and producing animals, vegetables, and all kinds of organized beings, out of those materials. They say that they were informed of the secrets of the anomalies of the moon, and the eclipses of the sun and moon; and, according to Virgil,
Unde hominum genus, et pecudes, unde imber et ignes.
What system of cosmogony those hierophants adopted, is evident from the passage above quoted from Eusebius; and from the account immediately preceding, it was that of the most ancient Egyptians, and of the orientals in general. This cosmogony is beautifully and energetically exhibited in Plato's Timæus, and in the genuine spirit of poetry by Ovid in the beginning of his Metamorphoses.
The next scene exhibited upon the stage, on this solemn occasion, consisted of the exploits and adventures of the gods, demigods, and heroes, who had from time and to time, being advanced to divine honours. These were displayed as passing before the mystic in pageants fabricated for that important purpose. This was the original mode among the Egyptians, and was no doubt followed by their Eleusinian pupils. These adventures were probably demonstrated to have been allegorical, symbolical, hieroglyphical, &c., at least they were exhibited in such a favourable point of view as to dispel those absurdities and inconsistencies with which they were sophisticated by the poets and the vulgar.
With respect to the origin of those fictitious deities, it was discovered that they had been originally men who had been exalted to the rank of divinity, in consequence of their heroic exploits, their useful inventions, their beneficent actions, &c. This is so clear from the two passages quoted from Cicero, by Bishop Warburton, that the fact cannot be contradicted. But that prelate has not informed us so precisely, whether the mystagogues represented them as nothing more than dead men, in their present state, or as beings who were actually existing in a deified state, and executing the functions assigned them in the rubric of Paganism. Another query naturally occurs; that is, to what purpose did the mystagogues apply this communication? That the hierophants did actually represent those deified mortals in the latter predicament, is obvious from another passage quoted from Cicero by the same prelate, which we shall transcribe as translated by him: "What think you of those who assert that valiant, or famous, or powerful men, have obtained divine honours after death; and that these are the very gods now become the objects of our worship, our prayers, and adoration?" Euhemerus tells us, when these gods died, and where they lie buried. I forbear to speak of the sacred and august rites of Eleusis. I pass by Samothrace and the mysteries of Lemnos, whose hidden rites are celebrated in darkness, and amidst the thick shades of groves and forests." If, then, those deified mortals were become the objects of worship and prayers, there can be no doubt of the belief of their deified existence. The allusion to the Eleusinian and other Pagan mysteries towards the close of the quotation, places the question beyond the reach of controversy. But though, according to this account, "there were gods many and lords many;" yet it is evident from the passage quoted from Eusebius in the preceding part of this article, that the unity of the Supreme Being was maintained, exhibited, and inculcated. This was the original doctrine of the hierophants of Egypt: It was maintained by Thales and all the retainers of the Ionian school. It was the doctrine of Pythagoras, who probably gleaned it up in the country just mentioned, in connexion with many other dogmas which he had the assurance to claim as his own.
But however the unity, and perhaps some of the most obvious attributes, of the Supreme Author of nature, might be illustrated and inculcated, the tribute of homage and veneration due to the subordinate divinities was by no means neglected. The initiated were taught to look to the *dei majorum gentium* with a superior degree of awe and veneration, as beings endowed with an ineffable measure of power, wisdom, purity, goodness, &c. These were, if we may use the expression, the prime favourites of the Monarch of the universe, who were admitted into his immediate presence, and who received his behests from his own mouth, and communicated them to his subordinate officers, prefects, lieutenants, &c. These they were exhorted to adore; to them they were to offer sacrifices, prayers, and every other act of devotion, both on account of the excellency of their nature and the high rank they bore at the court of heaven. They were instructed to look up to hero gods and demigods, as being exalted to the high rank of governors of different parts of nature, as the immediate guardians and protectors of the human race; in short, as gods near at hand, as prompters to a virtuous course, and assistants in it; as ready upon all occasions to confer blessings upon the virtuous and deserving. Such were the doctrines taught in the teletæ with respect to the nature of the Pagan divinities, and the worship and devotion enjoined to be offered them by the mysteries.
As the two principal ends proposed by these initiations were the exercise of heroic virtues in men, and the practice of sincere and uniform piety by the candidates for immortal happiness, the hierophants had adopted a plan of operations excellently accommodated to both these purposes. The virtuous conduct and heroic exploits of the great men and demi-gods of early antiquity, were magnified by the most pompous eulogiums, enforced with suitable exhortations to animate the votaries to imitate so noble and alluring an example. But this was not all: the heroes and demi-gods themselves were displayed in paragons, or vehicles of celestial light. Their honours, offices, habitations, attendants, and other appendages, in the capacity of demons, were exhibited with all the pomp and splendour that the sacerdotal college were able to advise. The sudden glare of mimic light, the melting music stealing upon the ear, the artificial thunders reverberated from the roof and walls of the temple, the appearance of fire and ethereal radiance, the vehicles of flame, the effigies of heroes and demons adorned with crowns of laurel emitting rays from every sprig, the fragrant odours and aromatic gales which breathed from every quarter, all dexterously counterfeited by sacerdotal mechanism, must have filled the imagination of the astonished votaries with pictures at once tremendous and transporting: Add to this, that every thing was transacted in the dead of night amidst a dismal gloom; whence the most bright effulgence instantaneously burst upon the sight. By this arrangement the aspirants to initiation were wonderfully animated to the practice of virtue while they lived, and inspired with the hope of a blessed immortality when they died. At the same time, their awe and veneration for the gods of their country were wonderfully enhanced by reflecting on the appearances above described. Accordingly Strabo very judiciously observes, "that the mystical secrecy of the sacred rites preserves the majesty of the Deity, imitating its nature, which escapes our apprehension." For these reasons, in celebrating the teletæ, the demons were introduced in their deified or glorified state.
But as all the candidates for initiation might not aspire to the rank of heroes and demi-gods, a more easy and a more attainable mode of conduct, in order to arrive at the palace of happiness, behoved to be opened. Private virtues were inculcated, and these too were to meet a condign reward. But alas! this present life is too often a chequered scene, where virtue is depressed and trodden under foot, and vice lifts up its head and rides triumphant. It is a dictate of common sense, that virtue should sooner or later emerge, and vice sink into contempt and misery. Here then the conductors of the mysteries, properly and naturally, adopted the doctrine of a future state of rewards and punishments. The dogma of the immortality of the human soul was elucidated, and carefully and pathetically inculcated. This doctrine was likewise imported from Egypt; for Herodotus informs us, "that the Egyptians were the first people who maintained the immortality of the human soul." The Egyptian immortality, however, according to him, was only the metempsychosis or transmigration of souls. This was not the system of the ancient Egyptians, nor indeed of the teletae. In these, a metempsychosis was admitted; but that was carried forward to a very distant period, to wit, to the grand Egyptian period of 36,000 years.
As the mystagogues well knew that the human mind is more powerfully affected by objects presented to the eyes than by the most engaging instructions conveyed by the ear, they made the emblems of Elysium and Tartarus pass in review before the eyes of their novices. There the Elysian scenes, so nobly described by the Roman poet, appeared in mimic splendour; and, on the other hand, the gloom of Tartarus, Charon's boat, the dog of hell, the Furies with tresses of snakes, the tribunal of Minos and Rhadamanthus, &c., were displayed in all their terrific state. Tantalus, Ixion, Sisyphus, the daughters of Danaus, &c., were represented in pageants before their eyes. These exhibitions were accompanied with most horrible cries and howlings, thunders, lightnings, and other objects of terror which we shall mention in their proper place.
No contrivance could be better accommodated to animate the pupils to the practice of virtue on the one hand, or to deter them from indulging vicious passions on the other. It resembled opening heaven and hell to a hardened sinner. The practices inculcated in celebrating the mysteries are too numerous to be detailed in this imperfect sketch. The worship of the gods was strictly enjoined, as has been shown above. The three laws generally ascribed to Triptolemus were inculcated, 1. To honour their parents; 2. To honour the gods with the first fruits of the earth; 3. Not to treat brute animals with cruelty. These laws were imported from Egypt, and were communicated to the Eleusinians by the original missionaries. Cicero makes the civilization of mankind one of the most beneficial effects of the Eleusinian institutions: "Nullum mihi, cum multo eximia divinaque videntur Athenae tuae perisse; tum nihil melius illis mysteriis, quibus ex agresti immanique vita, exculti ad humanitatem, et mitigati sumus; initiaque, ut appellantur, eius revera principia vitae cognovimus; neque solum cum lectitia vivendi rationem accepimus, sed etiam cum spe meliore moriendi." Hence it is evident that the precepts of humanity and morality were warmly recommended in these institutions. The virtue of humanity was extended, one may say, even to the brute creation, as appears from the last of Triptolemus's laws above quoted. Some articles were enjoined in the teletae which may appear to us of less importance, which, however, in the symbolical style of the Egyptians, were abundantly significant. The initiated were "commanded to abstain from the flesh of certain birds and fishes; from beans, from pomegranates and apples, which were deemed equally polluting. It was taught, that to touch the plant of asparagus was as dangerous as the most deadly poison. Now, says Porphyry, whoever is versed in the history of the visions, knows for what reason they were commanded to abstain from the flesh of birds."
The initiated then bound themselves by dreadful oaths to observe most conscientiously and to practise every precept tendered to them in the course of the teletae, and at the same time never to divulge one article of all that had been heard or seen by them upon that occasion. In this they were so exceedingly jealous, that the mystagogue the tragedian was in danger of capital punishment, for having only alluded to one of the Eleusinian arcana in a tragedy of his; and one of the articles of indictment against Diagoras the Melian was, his having spoken disrespectfully of the mysteries, and dissuaded people from partaking of them. It must then be allowed, that the institution of the mysteries was of infinite advantage to the Pagan world. They were indeed a kind of sacraments, by which the initiated bound themselves by a solemn vow to practise piety towards the gods, justice and humanity towards their fellow men, and gentleness and tenderness towards the inoffensive part of the brute creation. The Pagans themselves were so thoroughly convinced of this fact, that in their disputes with the apologists for Christianity, they often appealed to the teletae, and contrasted their maxims with the most sublime doctrines of that heavenly institution.
In order to impress these maxims the more deeply upon the minds of the novices, and to fix their attention more steadfastly upon the lectures which were delivered them by the mystagogue or the sacred herald, a mechanical operation was played off at proper intervals during the course of the celebration. "Towards the end of the celebration (says Stobæus), the whole scene is terrible; all is trembling, shuddering, sweat, and astonishment. Many horrible spectres are seen, horrible and strange cries and howlings uttered. Light succeeds darkness; and again the blackest darkness most glaring light. Now appear open plains, flowery alternate meadows, and waving groves; where are seen dances and exhibitions; and various holy phantasies enchant the sight, ed. Melodious notes are heard from far, with all the sublime symphony of the sacred hymns. The pupil now is completely perfect, is initiated, becomes free, released, and walks about with a crown on his head, and is admitted to bear a part in the sacred rites." Aristide de Myst. Eleus. calls Eleusis "a kind of temple of the whole earth, and of all that man beholds done in the most dreadful and the most exhilarating manner. In what other place have the records of fable sung of things more marvellous? or in what region upon earth have the objects presented to the eye borne a more exact resemblance to the sounds which strike the ear? What object of sight have the numberless generations of men and women beheld comparable to these exhibited in the ineffable mysteries?" To the same purpose, Plutarch, in the oracles of Zoroastres, informs us, "that frightful and shocking apparitions, in a variety of forms, used to be displayed to the mystic in the course of their initiation." And a little after, he adds, "that thunder and lightning and fire, and every thing terrible which might be held symbolical of the divine presence, were introduced." Claudian, in his poem *De Rapta Proserpina*, gives an elegant, though brief, description of this phenomenon, which throws some light on the passages above quoted.
*Jam mihi cernuntur trepidis delubra moveri* *Sedibus et clarum dis pergere culmina lucem,* *Adventum testata Dea, jam magnus ab imis* *Auditur fremitus terris, templumque renuit* *Ceropidum.*
The sight of those appearances was called the *Antopsis*, or "the real presence:" hence those rites were sometimes called *Epoptica*. The *Epoptae* were actually initiated, and were admitted into the *Sanctum Sanctorum*, and bore a part in the ceremonial: whereas the *myste*, who had only been initiated in the lesser mysteries at Aegae, were obliged to take their station in the porch of the temple. The candidates for initiation bathed themselves in holy water, and put on new clothes, all of linen, which they continued to wear till they were quite torn, and then they were consecrated to Ceres and Proserpine. From the ceremony of bathing they were denominated *Hydrani*; and this again was a kind of baptismal ablution. Whether the phrases of washing away sin, putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, putting off the old man with his deeds, putting on a robe of righteousness, being buried in baptism, the words mystery, perfect, perfection, which occur so frequently in the New Testament, especially in the writings of the apostle St Paul, are borrowed from the Pagan mysteries, or from usages current among the Jews, we leave to our more learned readers to determine.
The *Epoptae* having sustained all those fiery trials, heard and seen every thing requisite, taken upon them the vows and engagements above narrated, and, in a word, having shown themselves good soldiers of Ceres and Proserpine, were now declared *perfect men*. They might, like Cebes's *virtuous man*, travel wherever they chose; those wild beasts (the human passions) which tyrannise over the rest of mankind, and often destroy them, had no longer dominion over them. They were now not only *perfect* but *regenerated* men. They were now crowned with laurel, as was said above, and dismissed with two barbarous words, *κορυφαίους*, *κορυφαῖοι*, of which perhaps the hierophants themselves did not comprehend the import. They had been introduced by the first Egyptian missionaries, and retained in the sacra after their signification was lost. This was a common practice among the Greeks. In the administration of their religious ceremonies, they retained many names of persons, places, things, customs, &c. which had been introduced by the Phoenicians and Egyptians, from whom they borrowed their system of idolatry. These terms constituted the language of the gods, so often mentioned by the prince of poets. To us the words in question appear to be Syriac, and to signify, *Be vigilant, be innocent*.
Numerous and important were the advantages supposed to redound to the initiated, from their being admitted to partake of the mysteries, both in this life and that which is to come. First, They were highly honoured, and even revered by their contemporaries. Indeed, they were looked up to as a kind of sacred persons: they were, in reality, consecrated to Ceres and Proserpine. Secondly, They were obliged by their oath to practise every virtue, religious, moral, political, public, and private. Thirdly, They imagined, that sound advice and happy measures of conduct were suggested to the initiated by the Eleusinian goddesses. Accordingly, says Pericles the celebrated Athenian statesman, "I am convinced, that the deities of Eleusis inspired me with this sentiment, and that this stratagem was suggested by the principle of the mystic rites." There is a beautiful passage in Aristophanes's comedy of the *Act I.* Rane to the very same purpose, of which we shall subjoin the following periphrasis. It is sung by the chorus of the initiated.
*Let us to flow'ry meads repair,* *With deathless roses blooming,* *Whose balmy sweets impregn the air,* *Both hills and dales perfuming.* *Since fate benign our choir has join'd,* *We'll trip in mystic measure;* *In sweetest harmony combind'* *We'll quaff full draughts of pleasure.* *For us alone the pow'r of day.* *A milder light dispenses;* *And sheds benign a mellow'd ray* *To cheer our ravish'd senses:* *For we beheld the mystic show,* *And brav'd Eleusis' dangers.* *We do and know the deeds we owe* *To neighbours, friends, and strangers.*
Euripides, in his *Bacchae* (*E*), introduces the chorus extolling the happiness of those who had been acquainted with God, by participating in the holy mysteries, and whose minds had been enlightened by the mystical rites. They boast, "that they had led a holy and unblemished life, from the time that they had been initiated in the sacred rites of Jupiter Ideus, and from the time that they had relinquished celebrating the nocturnal rites of Bacchus, and the banquets of raw flesh torn off living animals." To this sanctity of life they had no doubt engaged themselves, when they were initiated in the mysteries of that god. The Eleusinian *Epoptae* derived the same advantages from their sacramental engagements. Fourthly, The initiated were imagined to be the peculiar wards of the Eleusinian goddesses. These deities were supposed to watch over them, and often to avert impending danger, and to rescue them when beset with troubles.—Our readers will not imagine that the initiated reaped much benefit from the protection of his Eleusinian tutelary deities; but it was sufficient that they believed
(*E*) Act I. near the beginning, and in many other places.
The happy influences of the teletæ were supposed to administer consolation to the Eoptæ in the hour of dissolution; for, says Isocrates, "Ceres bestowed upon the Athenians two gifts of the greatest importance; the fruits of the earth, which were the cause of our no longer leading a savage course of life; and the teletæ, for they who partake of these entertain more pleasant hopes both at the end of life, and eternity afterwards." Another author tells us, "that the initiated were not only often rescued from many hardships in their lifetime, but at death entertained hopes that they should be raised to a more happy condition."
Sixthly, After death, in the Elysian fields, they were to enjoy superior degrees of felicity, and were to bask in eternal sunshine, to quaff nectar, and feast upon ambrosia, &c.
The priests were not altogether disinterested in this salutary process. They made their disciples believe, that the souls of the uninitiated, when they arrived in the infernal regions, should roll in mire and dirt, and with very great difficulty arrive at their destined mansion. Hence Plato introduces Socrates observing, "that the sages who introduced the teletæ had positively affirmed, that whatever soul should arrive in the infernal mansions unhousel'd and unannoint'd, should lie there immersed in mire and filth." And as to a future state (says Aristides), "the initiated shall not roll in mire and grope in darkness; a fate which awaits the unholy and uninited." It is not hard to conceive with what a commanding influence such doctrines as these must have operated on the generality of mankind.
When the Athenians advised Diogenes to get himself initiated, and enforced their arguments with the above considerations, "It will be pretty enough (replied the philosopher) to see Agesilaus and Epaminondas wallowing in the mire, while the most contemptible rascals who have been initiated are strutting in the islands of bliss."
When Antisthenes was to be initiated in the Orphic mysteries, and the priest was boasting of the many astonishing benefits which the initiated should enjoy in a future state, "Why, forsooth, (says Antisthenes), 'tis wonder your reverence don't even hang yourself in order to come at them sooner."
When such benefits were expected to be derived from the mysteries, no wonder if all the world crowded to the Eleusinian standard. After the Macedonian conquests, the hierophants abated much of their original strictness. By the age of Cicero, Eleusis was a temple whither all nations resorted to partake of the benefits of that institution. We find that almost all the great men of Rome were initiated. The hierophants, however, would not admit Nero on account of the profligacy of his character. Few others were refused that honour; even the children of the Athenians were admitted. But this, we think, was rather a lustration or consecration, than an initiation. Perhaps it paved the way for the more august ceremony, as the Christian baptism does among us for the other sacrament.
That this institution gradually degenerated, can hardly be questioned; but how much, and in what points, we have not been able to investigate. The fathers of the church, from whom that charge is chiefly to be collected, are not always to be trusted, especially when they set themselves to arraign the institutions of Paganism. There were indeed several ancient authors, such as Melanthius, Menander, Sotades, &c. who wrote purposely on the subject in question; but their works are long since irrecoverably lost. For this reason, modern writers, who have professedly handled it, have not always been successful in their researches. The two who have laboured most indefatigably, and perhaps most successfully, in this field, are Meursius and Warburton. The former, in his Liber Singularis, has collected every thing that can be gleaned from antiquity relating to the ceremonial of these institutions, without, however, pointing out their original, or elucidating the end and import of their establishment. The latter has drawn them into the vortex of a system which has in many instances led him to ascribe to them a higher degree of merit than we think they deserve. These instances we would willingly have noticed in our progress, had the limits prescribed us admitted such a discussion.
If we may believe Diodorus the Sicilian, these mysteries, which were celebrated with such wonderful secrecy at Eleusis, were communicated to all mankind among the Cretans. This, however, we think, is rather problematical. We imagine that excellent historian has confounded the mysteries of Cybele with those of the Eleusinian Ceres. These two deities were undoubtedly one and the same, that is, the moon or the earth. Hence it is probable, that there was a striking resemblance between the sacred mysteries of the Cretans and Eleusinians.
This institution continued in high reputation to the age of St Jerome, as appears from the following passage: "Hierophante quoque Atheniensium legant usque hodie cicute sorbitione castrari." The emperor Valentinianus intended to have suppressed them; but Zoizimus informs us, that he was diverted from his design by the proconsul of Greece. At length Jovin, Theodosius the elder, by an imperial edict, prohibited the celebration of these as well as of all the other sacraments of Paganism. These mysteries, instituted in the reign of Erechtheus, maintained their ground to the period just mentioned, that is, near 2000 years; during which space, the celebration of them never had been interrupted but once. When Alexander the Great massacred the Thebans and razed their city, the Athenians were so much affected with this melancholy event, that they neglected the celebration of that festival.
There were almost numberless other mysterious institutions among the ancient Pagans, of which these stories sketched above were the most celebrated. Among the Thracian mysteries, instituted in honour of the Cabiri, were likewise of considerable celebrity, and were supposed to confer much the same blessings with the Eleusinian, but were not of equal celebrity. The Cabiri were Phoenician and likewise Egyptian deities. The learned Bochart has explained their origin, number, names, and some part of their worship. The Orphic mysteries were likewise famous among the Thracians. Orpheus learned them in Egypt, and they were nearly the same with the sacra Bacchanalia of the Greeks. There were likewise the mysteries of...
of Jupiter Ideans in great request among the Cretans, those of the Magna Mater or Cybele, celebrated in Phrygia. To enumerate and detail all these would require a complete volume. We hope our readers will be fully satisfied with the specimen exhibited above. We are convinced many things have been omitted which might have been inserted, but we have collected the most curious and the most important.—Every one of the positions might have been authenticated by quotations from authors of the most undoubted credibility, but that process would have swelled the article beyond all proportion.