Eleusis (redirected from Eleusinian)

Eleusis (ĭl`sĭs), ancient city of Attica, Greece, 12 mi (20 km) NW of Athens. Through ancient times it was the seat of the Eleusinian Mysteries. There was a large temple to Demeter. The Eleusinian games, also held there, were not connected with the mysteries. Excavation of the cemetery began in 1952; graves were found that date from the 7th and 8th cent. B.C. The temple and a type of theater with rock-cut seats for about 3,000 spectators were uncovered near the modern village of Eleusis.

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Eleusis

 Greek Elevsís

Town, with ruins of an ancient city, eastern Greece. Famous as the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries, it is about 14 mi (23 km) west of Athens. It was independent until the 7th century BC, when Athens annexed the city and made the Eleusinian Mysteries a major Athenian religious festival. The Gothic leader Alaric destroyed Eleusis in AD 395. Deserted until the 18th century, it was revived as the modern town of Eleusis (Greek Lepsina), now a suburb of Athens. Some of the ruins have been excavated, including the Hall of Initiation, which dates back some 3,000 years to late Mycenaean times.