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Myth and cult. The iconography of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The Martin P. Nilsson Lectures on Greek Religion, delivered 19–21 November 1990 at the Swedish Institute at Athens

By Kevin Clinton

Iconography serves as the starting part for the treatment of central aspects of the myth and cult of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The presence of the Mirthless Rock in artistic presentations, its location in the sanctuary, and its relation to the Callichoron Well provide a perspective for assessing the aetiological elements in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and the relation of the Hymn to Eleusis. The Iconography of Eubouleus, Iakchos, and Eumolpos is established, and that of Triptolemos and Ploutos is discussed extensively. The importance of Eubouleus in artistic representations is seen to correspond to his importance in the Mysteries, and the identification of him in certain scenes reveals his function in the myth of the Mysteries. Discussion of his role in the Thesmophoria leads to an examination of the relation of the Mysteries to the Thesmophoria. The various roles of all these figures in artistic representations provide a basis for revised interpretations of several works of art, and these interpretations are exploited in turn to gain a more precise idea of the myth that was enacted in the Mysteries and to speculate on how it was enacted.

Contents

Preface
Abbreviations and select bibliography
1. Sacred landscape
2. Eleusinian gods
3. More gods, the scenes, and the myth of the mysteries
4. Conclusions
Appendices
Catalogs
List of illustrations
List of figures
Indices
Plates

Bibliographical information

Kevin Clinton, Myth and cult. The iconography of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The Martin P. Nilsson Lectures on Greek Religion, delivered 19–21 November 1990 at the Swedish Institute at Athens (Skrifter utgivna av Svenska Institutet i Athen, 8°, 11), Stockholm 1992. ISSN 0081-9921. ISBN 978-91-7916-025-8.

Reviews

Revue Archéologique 1997, 136–137 (Henri Metzger) https://www.jstor.org/stable/41737897
Gnomon 72, 2000, 246–249 (Erika Simon) https://www.jstor.org/stable/40493259