Eleusinian mysteries


plural noun
  1. the mysteries, celebrated annually at Eleusis and Athens in ancient times, in memory of the abduction and return of Persephone and in honor of Demeter and Bacchus.

Origin of Eleusinian mysteries

1
First recorded in 1635–45

Words Nearby Eleusinian mysteries

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Eleusinian mysteries in a sentence

  • Thus (i. 232) controversy, it seems, still rages among scholars as to ‘the object of the Eleusinian mysteries.’

    Modern Mythology | Andrew Lang
  • Pausanias is the authority for a statement by the Phliasians that they imitated the Eleusinian mysteries.

  • Julian strived in vain to infuse new life into the vanishing cult, but it was too late—the Eleusinian mysteries were dead.

  • This fact is sometimes used as an argument in favour of the Egyptian origin of the Eleusinian mysteries.

  • Nero sought admission into the Eleusinian mysteries, but was rejected because of the many slaughters connected with his name.

British Dictionary definitions for Eleusinian mysteries

Eleusinian mysteries

pl n
  1. a mystical religious festival, held in September at Eleusis in classical times, in which initiates celebrated Persephone, Demeter, and Dionysus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012