Mystics of the World's Religions: The Eleusian Mysteries

*Preached at Grace North Church July 6, 2003.*

I have to confess that I painted myself into a bit of a corner when designing this series. I wanted not only to highlight individuals whose mystical insights have inspired millions throughout the ages, but also to give a good grounding in the religions of the world along the way. If we follow this chronologically, we must begin with the Native traditions, the introduction to which we heard last week. But where to go from there? The native traditions emerged from pre-literate societies, so there are few if any writings associated with them. Thus, we have no writings of any particular poets or mystics. The exception is, perhaps, Black Elk, a mystic of the native American tradition-but he lived and wrote in the twentieth century, turning my chronological order for these things on its head.

There is no easy solution to this, other than to skip the Native Traditions altogether. But there are some amazing mystical insights in these traditions, and to ignore them would be a mistake. Thus, for the next few weeks, we will be looking at specific native traditions or schools, specifically, the Eleusian mysteries of the Greeks, the Celtic Druids, the Yoruba faith of Africa, and the mystical visions of the Native American Black Elk. We could spend an entire series on native traditions, and these four are far from comprehensive or representative, but we have many many more mystics to hear from, and so these few will have to suffice for us. In the name

In the mythology of the Greeks, there is a story of Persephone, who was the daughter of the goddess of grain, Demeter. One day, Persephone was out gathering flowers in the fields, when the earth opened up, and Hades, the lord of death and the underworld, erupted from the fissure riding in a golden chariot. He snatched up Persephone and seating her beside him in the chariot, rode back into the earth to the underworld. There Hades kept Persephone captive, and forced her to marry him and become his queen. Just to make everything kosher, Hades had requested her hand in marriage from her father, Zeus, who granted the request.

Unfortunately, no one had bothered to inform Demeter of the whereabouts of her daughter, nor asked her permission for the marriage. For nine days and nights, Demeter wandered the earth with a torch in hand, searching for her kidnapped daughter. The sun finally let her in on what had happened, and furious at Zeus, she left Olympia and roamed the earth as a bitter crone. In her journeys, she was entertained kindly at Eleusis, where she decided to settle down. She revealed herself as the grain goddess, and the Eleusians began constructing a temple in her honor.

But this did not please her, as the light of her life had still been stolen from her. In her wrath, she refused to allow any crops to grow for an entire year. Oxen and men ploughed in vain; prayers were said, but to no effect. Humans quailed as the saw their extinction looming, and the gods were likewise terrified, because they needed the sacrifices of humans for their own sustenance. Finally, Zeus realized that he had to do something, or the whole world would end. He summoned Hades and made him return his new bride to the world of the living.

Hades reluctantly agreed, but before Persephone left, Hades gave her four pomegranate seeds to sustain her on her journey. Persephone found her way to the surface, and found her mother at Eluesis. When they saw each other, the two embraced and wept for joy. Then Demeter asked her a very strange question: "Did you eat anything while you were down there?" "Yes, mum," Persephone told her, "Four pomegranate seeds. Why?"

Her mother was horrified, because if anyone eats of the food of the underworld they may never return. Indeed, Hades made just that kind of claim over her. "Four months out of every year," he announced to the horrified Demeter, "she will be mine. One month in exchange for every seed she ate."

Demeter had to agree to this arrangement, but she wasn't going to do it without exacting her own sneaky price. "Very well," she said, "and for those four months, nothing will grow upon the earth."

This, for the early Greeks, explained why the earth grew cold and hard in winter, and yielded no fruit at that time; and why in spring the green and the grain returned.

Now, no parent can listen to this tale without horror. There is nothing as terrifying as the kidnapping of a child, and there is no parent anywhere who has not been struck with panic when his or her child is out of sight in a public place. As a corollary, there is no relief greater than finding them to be safe again, either. What parent cannot relate to Demeter's agony, who does not understand her nine days vigil? Most of us, I dare say, would search far longer if need be. There is an archetypal aspect to this story that makes it truly universal.

The current Disney/Pixar film, Finding Nemo, seems to be a retelling of this myth. The little fish Nemo is being reared by his father, a widowed clownfish, when he is captured by a dentist from Sydney Austrailia, and finds himself trapped in his dental office's aquarium. Nemo's father searches for him doggedly, and after many harroing adventures, Nemo gains his freedom and the two are reunited.

Finding Nemo seems to be the Persephone myth seen inverted, as in a mirror. Nemo is a fish, not a human, and it is the story of a father searching for his son, rather than a mother searching for her daughter. And while Persephone is plucked from the surface and dragged to the depths, Nemo is plucked from the depths and brought to the surface. Both are held captives, and while Demeter is wed ot he Lord of the Dead, Nemo is promised to the dentist's niece, a little girl who kills fish. Finally, both Persephone and Nemo are rescued through the persistance of their grieving parents.

All the elements of the story are there, and if the box office receipts are any indication, the story resonates as strongly today as it did three thousand years ago in ancient Greece. There is even an initiation ceremony in the Nemo film, which bear resemblence to the Masonic rites which descend from those at Eluesis, which makes me wonder just how conscious the Pixar people were of the many parrallels between their story and the myth.

In any case, the Eluesian rites were among the most popular in Greek history. At first they were held every three years, but before long the celebration became an annual festival. It was not a casual spiritual path, however, but required great dedication. To be admitted to the rites, one had to be deemed a moral person. Legend has it that Hercules at one point presented himself as an initiate, but was rejected because of the bloodshed on his hands. He was given penance to do to cleanse himself of his iniquity and make him worthy. These austerities he performed dutifully, and was eventually admitted to the rites.

Initiates experienced their initiation in three stages. First, were the things that were DONE; second, there were the things which were SAID, and finally, there were sacred objects which were SHOWN. And afterwards, there was much wine merrymaking, and indiscriminate nookie.

In the first part, in which things were DONE, the initiates lived through the horror of Persephone's ordeal. They were blindfolded and taken into a dark cave-their abduction to the underworld. Following the torches of other initiates-probably representing Demeter's searching for her daughter, they finally find their way to the bright sunlight of the Elesian fields.

Later, there were things which were SAID: these were liturgies which retold the drama which the initiates had just lived through, commenting and explicating their experience. This was a kind of theological instruction to help the initiates integrate their experience and make connections between the ritual and their everyday lives.

Finally, the initiates were SHOWN sacred objects which no one may behold except those who have gone through the mysteries. Unfortunately, no one was allowed to reveal what these objects were, and they have not survived. This part of the mysteries will indeed forever remain a mystery. At the end of this portion of the ritual, however, the heirophant was revealed. This was a great high priest or priestess selected from the people for their piety. The real name of a heirophant was never spoken aloud in connection to the rites, although monuments of prominent Greek citizens often revealed that this or that person had been a heirophant at some point.

I believe these three initiatory experiences, DOING, SAYING, and SHOWING are instructive, as they reveal three varieties of mysticism embodied by the rites: a physical mysticism, a psychological mysticism, and a spiritual mysticism. These understandings are not exclusive to one another, but complementary and necessary to one another, as one mystery builds upon another.

First, there is the physical mysticism, those things which are DONE. This form is the most primitive, and it is this aspect out of which the myth arises. Why is there winter? Why does the grain refuse to grow? How do we alleviate the anxiety of this time of famine, and encourage the life to come again in the spring? This is pure nature mysticism, in which the rites are performed as a way to participate in the natural cycles of the planet, to encourage the cycles to continue. Humans, the gods and the earth are all part of one piece, the gods need humans, humans need the earth, and the earth needs the gods. Each has their place and is dependent on the other. Survival depended on keeping all in balance, and in motion. This is an important and sufficient understanding of the mysteries, and for thousands of years, was the core of the religion.

But humans are clever folks, and are forever making creative connections that inspire us and invite us into greater depth and meaning. This instinct led the Greeks to personalize the myth: we are all Persephone, we are all dragged into hell periodically. This is a psychological mysticism which proclaims the universality of the human experience. Like the earth herself, we all go through fallow times. Like Persephone, we are taken against our will into hell. In the underworld we encounter those aspects of ourselves that we seek to divorce ourselves from, our own personal Hades, if you will, who has power over us only so long as we are ignorant of him, as Demeter was.

In this myth we are also given the hope that we will return from hell. Like the seasons, this experience is cyclic. We enter hell and return several times in our lives. In this way we are at one with the gods and the world. As above, so below. The gods live in us, and we replay the myths in our own lives again and again.
Each time we are invited to enter the process with greater awareness and maturity. Each time, the experience adds to our character, and our lives are given greater depth and meaning. The way through this is by talking about it, historically with our friends, loved ones, or the clergy. In more recent times, one's therapist or spiritual director can help one navigate the journey through the underworld. This corresponds to the second experience of the initiate, that of SAYING. We speak our way through the underworld, and we speak ourselves out of it again as well.

But there was a still deeper mystery revealed to the initiates at Eleusis. Like many Greek and Gnostic notions making the rounds at the time, later Eleusian mystics held that unless one dies BEFORE one dies, one cannot gain eternal life. Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living" and the Eleusians took this further, believing that the unexamined life will not be rewarded after death, either. The Gnostics, likewise, taught that one was not born with a soul, one must grow it during one's life if there is to be anything to carry on after one's death. We can see echoes of this in the Eleusian's rituals. According to them, one must become one with death and resurrection, one must ritually experience the journey to the underworld, one must identify oneself with Persephone to guarantee one's return to the Elesian fields after death.

Those who have not gone through the initiation are lost-they will not know the way back. But those who have gone through the ritual, who have died, and been led back to the surface are assured that this knowledge will keep them safe in the hereafter. This is an experiential mysticism, where one is SHOWN the reality of the mysteries. One lives through them, and afterwards, one LIVES through them. In this mysticism a person becomes one with the gods, with death, and with resurrection. We are ourselves the kernel of wheat that falls to the earth in death, and sprouts green in the spring.

Much of this mysticism has been carried over into the Christian faith as well. St. Paul says that unless we die with Christ Jesus we cannot know eternal life through him either. We must lose our life to find it. Unless a seed fall to the earth and die, it cannot live again. Very familiar ideas, no? They were not original to St. Paul or the evangelists of course, but were living and vibrant ideas very popular at the time they writing. The Pauline authors simply gave these ideas a spin, and replaced the Eleusian ritual with Christian analogues. The correspondences are many and very worthy of study in themselves.

Today, many pagan groups have resurrected the Eluesian rituals, but one need not become an initiate to benefit from the wisdom of this ancient mystery religion. Its mysticism is not exclusive to it, no matter what its adherents once had to say about the matter. For all three types of mysticism celebrated in its history are available to us today.

We know there are things to be DONE: we can acknowledge and celebrate ourselves as part of this planet and its natural cycles. By giving caring attention to the environment we encourage these natural cycles and thus ensure the survival of life. Secondly, there are stories to be TOLD: in reciting our own journeys to the underworld and back again, we create meaning in our own lives and give hope to those around us who have also found themselves in difficult places. And finally, there are things to be SHOWN: we are invited to pursue the enlightenment that comes about when we die to our ego, and identify with something larger than ourselves. For when that happens, death has no more hold over us. Though we may seem to die, we hold fast to the promise that we will return to the place of the sun. For we know the way OUT of the darkness. Let us pray

Loving creator, we know that there is nothing in heaven or earth that is not likewise in us. Just as Jesus descended into hell, and returned in a glorious resurrection, give us strength for our own journeys to the underworld and back again. Give us proper reverence for the earth, and kindle in us a fire of responsibility and care for her. Give us the will to narrate our journeys, so that those who go after us will not have to go alone. And give us the grace to die to ourselves now, that we may live forever as new creatures. For we ask this in hope that every grain which falls to earth will sprout again, and will bear new fruit, even Jesus, even us. Amen.