Search Results: Kykeon

Kykeon (from the Greek “to mix, stir”) was a beverage of water and barley (sometimes flavored with mint or thyme) popular among the working, 'lower' class of ancient Greece. In Homer's Illiad it is described as a mixture of water, barley...

The Rites of Eleusis, or the Eleusinian Mysteries, were the secret rituals of the mystery school of Eleusis and were observed regularly from c. 1600 BCE - 392 CE. Exactly what this mystic ritual was no one knows; but why the ancient Greeks...

Critias (l. c. 460-403 BCE) was an Athenian politician, poet, and playwright, one of Socrates' followers, Plato's second cousin, a leading member of the Thirty Tyrants of Athens, and leader of the oligarchy they established. He is referenced...

A scene from the interior bowl of a red-figure kylix or stemmed drinking cup (490-480 BCE) depicting a symposiast and hetaira - high-class prostitute. (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

Women in ancient Greece, outside of Sparta, had almost no rights and no political or legal power. Even so, some women broke through the social and cultural restrictions to make their mark on history. All of the women did so at great personal...

Mystery cults, or mystery religions, were ancient religious associations characterized by secrecy and initiation rites. They typically surrounded one primary deity, but some mystery cults venerated multiple deities in their rites. Members...

This is the largest and most important votive relief found at Eleusis. It represents the Eleusinian deities in a scene of mysterious rituel. On the left Demeter, clad in a peplos and holding a scepter in her left hand, offers ears of wheat...

Terracotta votive plaque dedicated by Ninnion to the two great goddesses of Eleusis (Demeter and Persephone). Middle of 4th century BCE. (Archaeological Museum of Athens, Greece)

The Telesterion was a large rectangular hall, probably columned, in the Sanctuary of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis (Greece). It served as the initiation Hall and Temple for the Eleusinian Mysteries. Date of construction: c. 435 BCE - 421 BCE

Demeter was one of the oldest gods in the ancient Greek pantheon. Demeter was a goddess of agriculture and guaranteed the fertility of the earth. She protected both farming and vegetation. The close connection with the earth was inherited...