The word mystikós ( μυστικός), whence English mystic, means 'connected with the mysteries', or 'private, secret' (as in Modern Greek). μυστήριον mystḗrion, means 'mystery or secret rite' and is related with the verb myéō ( μυέω), which means '(I) teach, initiate into the mysteries', and the noun mýstēs ( μύστης), which means 'one initiated'. The ancient Greek word whence English mystery derives, i.e. Her name Ἐλυσία ( Elysia) in Laconia and Messene, probably relates her with the month Eleusinios and Eleusis, but this is debated. The name of the city Eleusis is Pre-Greek, and may be related with the name of the goddess Eileithyia. Etymology Įleusinian Mysteries ( Greek: Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια) was the name of the mysteries of the city Eleusis.

The name of the town, Eleusis, seems to be pre-Greek, and is likely a counterpart with Elysium and the goddess Eileithyia. Since the Mysteries involved visions and conjuring of an afterlife, some scholars believe that the power and longevity of the Eleusinian Mysteries, a consistent set of rites, ceremonies and experiences that spanned two millennia, came from psychedelic drugs. There are many paintings and pieces of pottery that depict various aspects of the Mysteries. For the initiated, the rebirth of Persephone symbolized the eternity of life which flows from generation to generation, and they believed that they would have a reward in the afterlife. The rites, ceremonies, and beliefs were kept secret and consistently preserved from antiquity. Similar religious rites appear in the agricultural societies of the Near East and in Minoan Crete. It was a major festival during the Hellenic era, and later spread to Rome.

The Mysteries represented the myth of the abduction of Persephone from her mother Demeter by the king of the underworld Hades, in a cycle with three phases: the descent (loss), the search, and the ascent, with the main theme being the ascent ( ἄνοδος) of Persephone and the reunion with her mother. Their basis was an old agrarian cult, and there is some evidence that they were derived from the religious practices of the Mycenean period. They are considered the 'most famous of the secret religious rites of ancient Greece'. The Eleusinian Mysteries ( Greek: Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, romanized: Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Eleusis in ancient Greece. A votive plaque known as the Ninnion Tablet depicting elements of the Eleusinian Mysteries, discovered in the sanctuary at Eleusis (mid-4th century BC)

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