ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES AS A WAY OF LIFETIME EXPERIENCE OF DEATH
DOI: 10.23951/1609-624X-2017-9-9-14
The problem of mortality and the experience of death is one of the most urgent for a person. Each culture offers its own solution. In the Ancient Greece of the era of the classics, mysteries were the means of the lifetime experience of death, among which the most widespread were the Eleusinian sacraments. The emergence of the mystery phenomenon is connected with the specificity of the ancient Greek religion, which was a kind of complement in the form of rituals to existing mythological subjects and never turned into an essential cultural dominant that would determine all spheres of life of ancient Greek society. The Eleusinian Mysteries, which arose on the basis of the agrarian myth of Demeter and Persephone, allowed people to survive death without dying, while still alive, and thus not only include it in the circle of being, but also get hope for a better posthumous fate. In this case, the mysteries are more connected with the myth than with the actual Greek religion. They acted as illustrations to the myth, ritualizing it. The problem of the lifetime experience of death with the help of the Eleusinian Mysteries will allow us to understand better the specifics of the ancient Greek culture of the classical epoch, and the findings can be used in the preparation of courses on the history and culture of ancient Greece.
Keywords: Ancient Greece, Eleusinian Mysteries, sacraments, myth
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Issue: 9, 2017
Series of issue: Issue 9
Rubric: WORLD HISTORY
Pages: 9 — 14
Downloads: 899