Meanings
Eleusinian Mysteries1
- Ancient GreeceInitiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone, based at Eleusis in ancient Greece, now named Elefsina.
Eleusinian mysteries2
- alternativepluralplural onlyAlternative form of Eleusinian Mysteries.
Their origins are in the ancient Greek cult, in particular the most famous one, the Eleusinian mysteries.
1983, Walter Burkert, Homo Necans: The Anthropology of Ancient Greek Sacrificial Rigual and Myth, page 2482 more examples
This, to be sure, was an error in interpretation, but it made it possible to associate with the Eleusinian mysteries also a notion familiar from other contexts, the notion of mystical rebirth as a child of the godhead.
1978, Joseph Campbell, The Mysteries, page 22Mystical and scholarly interest in the mystery religions, especially the Eleusinian mysteries of Ceres-Isis which were celebrated annually in August, was strong from the Renaissance on, its strength deriving in part from the emotional call of the feminine on the one hand and tantalising lack of evidence as to what actually went on at the celebration of the mysteries on the other.
1985, Douglas Brooks-Davies, Pope's Dunciad and the Queen of Night, page 121
Origin
- Ancient GreekἘλευσίνια Μυστήρια
- EnglishEleusinian Mysteries
Calque of Ancient Greek Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια (Eleusínia Mustḗria).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Polish misteria eleuzyjskie
- misteria eleuzyjskieinitiations in Ancient Greece
Cite this entry
Eleusinian Mysteries. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Eleusinian%20Mysteries
“Eleusinian Mysteries.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Eleusinian%20Mysteries. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Eleusinian Mysteries,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Eleusinian%20Mysteries.
Source: Eleusinian Mysteries on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.