Ancient Eleusis by Mythical Routes

ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE | FIELD GUIDE

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MYTHICAL ROUTES HISTORICAL SERIES

ANCIENT ELEUSIS ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE

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Table of Contents Table of Contents

Historical Series

Cradle of Western civilization

Eleusis

About the Author

Books by G. Baltoyannis

Historical Series collection

Photography Series

Adventure Travel Greece

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Historical Series Mythical Routes Historical Series is a location-based series of architectonical / historical guides based on the best seller books by architect and author G. Baltoyannis. For more information visit Mythical Routes | Books.

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ANCIENT GREEK ARCHITECTURE CHTHONIC AND CELESTIAL ❖

Editor in chief: Angelo Baltoyannis

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Author: George Baltoyannis

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Translation: Chris Loutroutzis

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Text editing: Lorraine Adams

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Graphic design: Angelo Baltoyannis

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Design Layout & Pagination: Mythical Routes IKE

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ISBN: 978-618-84479-0-5

“Mythical Routes inaugural mission is to help spread the ideas and facts of Ancient Hellenic World with the broader geographical meaning throughout the international adventure community”

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Cradle of Western civilization Greece is considered the cradle of Western civilization, being the birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy, Western literature, historiography, political science, major scientific and mathematical principles, Western drama and the Olympic Games.

From the eighth century B.C., the Greeks were organized into various independent city-states (polis), which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Philip of Macedon united most of the Greek mainland in the fourth century B.C., with his son Alexander the Great rapidly conquering much of the ancient world, from the eastern Mediterranean to India. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century B.C., becoming an integral part of the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire, which adopted the Greek language and culture.

The country's rich historical legacy is reflected in part by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  7 of 20

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Eleusis Ritual Center of Greece Eleusis was one of the most important religious centers of Greece. It was founded, according to the archaeological findings, in 1800 B.C. and is located in the Thracian Plain near the gulf of Eleusis. The operation of the site lasted for 2.200 years, when, beginning with Theodosius I in 379 A.D. and later by the accord of Theodosius II the ancient cults were definitively banned. In 395 A.D. Alaric reduced the shrine to ruins. Despite this fact, it was preserved in the memory of people, because a multitude of important persons, like Plato, Aristotle, Aristophanes, Plutarch, Pythagoras, Aeschylus, but also Roman emperors like Augustus, Marcus Aurelius, Hadrian, Sulla, and many others were initiated in this sacred site. What is quite impressive is that this sacred site, 10.000 square meters smaller in surface than the Acropolis of Athens, became so well known. This, of course, is mainly because of Athens, under the supervision of which it operated since the 8th century B.C. The second reason was the spread of the cult of Eleusis, which constitutes a combination of the Orphic and Cabeiri Mysteries, of Delphi and Samothrace or Lemnos, namely of Apollo and Hephaestus. In the following image, we can observe the geographical connection between Delphi, Eleusis, and Lemnos (Volcanoes - Kaveiria). The Eleusinian mysteries were held in remembrance of Demeter and her daughter Persephone; they were celebrated in Eleusis under Athenian jurisdiction. The Eleusinian mysteries later incorporated the Orphic beliefs, when Dionysus was added. They were the oldest ones and were held from 1800 B.C. until the 4th century A.D. when they were definitively banned. The Mysteries of the Cabeiri of Lemnos, Samothrace and Thebes were very important. The Cabeiri were a group of deities of the ancient Greek religion, while in the dictionary of Sudas, Cabeir means Daemon. According to Welcker and Maury, the word Cabeiri is produced by the Greek verb καίω (burn), and are the evil daemons born in the depths of the sea, who expel the flame of their father Hephaestus and destroy the ground. The religion of Hephaestus prevailed in Lemnos (the location of his workshop) and the Cabeiri were

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considered his children, whom he had with Kabeiro, the daughter of Proteus, who accompanied the chariot of Poseidon.

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HISTORICAL SERIES ÂŠ2020 MYTHICAL ROUTES

There is also the opinion, according to Pausanias, that the worship of the Cabeiri is associated with fire worship, which was introduced by the ThracoPelasgians and received by the Achaeans in 2.200 B.C. Apollo is also mentioned as a Cabeiri deity.

! Eleusis ÂŠ 2014 Mythical Routes

Other important Mysteries in Greece were the Hyacinthia Mysteries, which were held in Amyclae, just outside Sparta, in remembrance of Hyacinthus and were celebrated until the end of the Roman era. These Mysteries are of Minoan origin, but they were arrogated by the Dorians when they conquered Laconia in 1104 B.C. It is there that Apollo replaced Hyacinthus and was presented in common worship. Amyclae was the prehistoric capital of the Lacedaemonians. It is the location of the grave of Hyacinthus. Geographically it was built in the southeast of Sparta. In the above image we observe that if we connect the Cabeiri Mysteries of Samothrace to the Hyacinthia of Sparta, an axis will be formed which will pass from Eleusis, so that these three archaeological sites are on the same straight line, with a length of 364 km and a width of 10km, namely they present a deviation of 3%. This axis can be named "Path of the Mysteries" because it

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passes through the basic Mystery shrines of the Greek area. The length of 364 km between Samothrace (Cabeiri) and Amyclae (Hyacinthia) is equal to the

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distance between the Necromanteion and Delos (we shall call this axis "Sacred Path"). Ιt has a width of 5 km, therefore it presents a deviation of only 1,5%. These two axes are not random because, when projected on the astral dome, they create a system of delineation through fixed geographical points, where the "Sacred Path" is the diameter of the Celestial Sphere (EE') and this way we can locate the Solstices and Equinoxes of the celestial Sphere. Namely, it is a delineation similar to the one used by astronauts, traveling in space, because for the travelers of that time anything that was located beyond the Greek world was unknown space, in the same way, we see outer space today.

Without this system of delineation, there would be no colonies.

Telesterion The basic building of the shrine of Eleusis was the Telesterion which was square-shaped, with a surface of about 2.500 s.m., a work by Ictinus. Because of its shape, pretty much like in the case of the Brauronion of the Acropolis, an axis is formed in the center of the temple which, due to its chthonic character, leads downwards, bearing in mind that the mystics appear to be living in Hades. So the Telesterion had no windows, so it was a dark space, like Hades was considered to be, inside which the initiations took place.

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HISTORICAL SERIES ÂŠ2020 MYTHICAL ROUTES

All of the candidate mystics, the number of whom according to Plutarch was large during the Roman period, namely around 3.000 people, headed to the center of the space, where the Palace was located. It was a rectangular building, 14,20x5,60 m., namely a canopy like the one of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, where the sacred relics of Demeter were placed, which symbolized her presence in the temple. Entry in this space was forbidden and only the Hierophant was allowed to enter as it happens nowadays in the Holy Sepulchre. The Palace had a predetermined position and orientation, on the straight line that connects the Necromanteion with Delos (image X). While the Telesterion changed, on occasion, shape, and dimensions, the Palace always remained in its initial position. So at some point in time, a blinding light appeared to be coming from within it, by the same logic that the same thing is happening in the Holy Sepulchre. From darkness (Necromanteion - Death), the initiated was bathed in light (Delos - Life) and that is why the Palace had that particular orientation.

We observe, therefore, how connected the Orphic cult was with Christianity.â&#x20AC;Š

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About the Author George Baltoyannis was born in Athens, Greece in 1941. His father was from Epirus and his mother from Andros. He studied architecture in Rome and took part in art exhibitions (Margutta – San Luca – Artecom – Palazzo Delle Esposizioni etc.). He returned to Athens in 1970 and worked as a freelance architect and at the same time was an employee, successively at the Greek Ministry of National Defence (Pentagon), the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) and the Autonomous Building Organization for Officers (AOOA). Today, alongside the above activities he also researches and lectures on history of art.

His books and theories have been embraced by the Università degli Studi dell'Aquila in Italy, where he was invited several times to give lectures, and the theories of his book “Sacred Architecture” have been integrated into the curriculum of lesson "Elements of Geometry" of the University of Ioannina in Greece.

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Books by G. Baltoyannis With more than 30 years of Historical research on the relation between ancient Greek architecture and ancient religion, George Baltoyannis is the author of five best seller Greek books. Most books are available in English language and eBook reflow format. For more information, visit our Shop.

Sacred Architecture

Sacred Journey to Mystical Greece

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Sacred Astronomy

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HISTORICAL SERIES ÂŠ2020 MYTHICAL ROUTES

Photography Series Mythical Routes Photography Series is dedicated to understanding photography, learning about the history of travel photography and adventure photography specific techniques, mastering equipment and much more.

Angelo Baltoyannis | architect

Angelo Baltoyannis is an Architect and Urban Planner with postgraduate studies in Art and Photography. He was a project partner with Nikon Greece in 2017, contributor in many photographic magazines like iFocus, Overland Times and editor in chief in Mythical Routes Publishing. Angelo has been involved in Travel Photography for over twenty years and focused mainly on Adventure Photography. He has closely worked with the American motorcycle clothing company KLiM, the Swiss motorcycle luggage company Enduristan and the Greek motorcycle gear company Aurora Rally Equipment. His has been marketing and art director for the Greek adventure gear shop Most Wanted Warehouse since 2014 and his work has been featured in the

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German overland magazine Overland Journal, the social accounts of Nikon Greece, and the Austrian Brand Management company Seven MMD GmbH, manager of companies like KTM, Motorex, FMF and more.

Memories from the East

Adventure Travel Photography

“ Live with no excuses and travel with no regrets ” ~ Oscar Wilde

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HISTORICAL SERIES ÂŠ2020 MYTHICAL ROUTES

Adventure Travel Greece Our travels and expeditions showcase the beauty and the hidden historical facts of the Ancient Hellenic World with the broader geographical meaning of the term while riding through the breathtaking scenery of long mountain ridges, forest national reserves, remote dragon lakes and isolated hi-planes.

We organize Off-road Adventure Motorcycle Tours and On-road Cultural and Gastronomy Tours with a Historical approach, that can be ridden with your own motorcycle or with one provided from us. You ride at your own pace, always 19 of 20

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accompanied by a tour leader who will take care of everything for you. Our routes are ideal for dual-sport and adventure motorcycles and are based on the tracks that unfold along with the plot of the best-selling history books of architect and researcher George Baltoyannis (self-guided, SUV, VAN services available). Follow our travels with the #mythicalroutes hashtag, or visit the Mythical Routes social media accounts

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Ancient Eleusis

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Cradle of Western civilization

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Eleusis