Eleusinion
Religious activity is attested in the area from the 7th century BC and construction took place throughout late Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman periods.
Only the western part of the sanctuary has been excavated, which consists of an upper area and three terraces, centring on a small temple for the hero Triptolemus, an outer propylon (gateway) and a South Stoa.
A circular building in the southernmost part of the sanctuary might be a banqueting hall dedicated to Plouton and a precinct at the northernmost edge of the area might have belonged to Hecate.
Sculptural fragments have been discovered from an inner propylon which led to the actual Temple of Demeter and Kore in the unexcavated area to the east and literary sources mention further structures.
[1] Inscriptions, sculpture, and votive vessels relating to the Eleusinian cult are found throughout the Agora, but they cluster mainly in the area of the Eleusinion.
[13] A vaulted branch of the aqueduct of Hadrian, built in the mid-2nd century AD, runs along the north side of the section, ultimately feeding into the nymphaeum in the southeast of the Agora.
[25] In the 1st century AD, the area was flattened and a complex was built on the western edge of the terrace, consisting of four rooms, three bases for monuments or altars, and an offering table.
[40] An extension was added to the east side of the temple during construction, which measures 2.20-2.355 m wide and is composed of red crystalline blocks originally cut for use in some other context.
The latter probably depicted the bull with gilded horns which was the standard sacrificial offering for Triptolemus according to the late fifth-century First-Fruits decree.
[45] East of this is a 2.20 metre long monument base of yellow poros, running east–west, which was built in the period 450-425 BC; it seems to have been intended to support a set of inscribed stelae (no longer present).
[46] A propylon (gateway) was built into the peribolos wall on the west side, near the southern end, in the 2nd century BC, opening onto the Panathenaic Way.
[52] In the second stage, in the late Roman period, the orthostates were patched using irregular limestone blocks topped brick and mortar (preserved in the eastern portion).
By the 6th century, parts of its structure had been incorporated into new buildings and a ramp had been built through the back wall to allow access to the east–west road behind it.
[64] A Doric frieze on the outside of the gate consisted of metopes and triglyphs with Eleusinian symbols (poppies, myrtle, plemochoae, phialae, bucrania).
[72] The first evidence specifically identifying the site as the Eleusinion are a pair of altars associated with the new temple, which are inscribed with the regulations of the Eleusinian Mysteries and date to ca.
[27] The sanctuary was one of the few sites in Athens not to be occupied by refugees from the countryside at the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War, according to Thucydides, because its walls and gates allowed it to be locked.
A set of ten inscriptions known as the "Attic Stelae", which listed all the property, sales prices, and purchasers, were erected in the Eleusinion, where most of the 77 known fragments have been found.
"[78][79] A series of inscribed accounts describe the contents of the sanctuary in 408/7 BC, including many gold votives, as well as construction materials.
[80][81] A financial account from 329/8 BC describes extensive repairs to the Eleusinion in that year,[82][81] as part of the wider revitalisation of Athens and its cults spearheaded by Lycurgus.
[83] In the second century BC, a major renovation to the sanctuary took place, involving the construction of the South Stoa, the Hellenistic Propylon, and the circular building.
The South Stoa and perhaps the Temple of Triptolemus were demolished at the end of the fourth century, probably as a result of Alaric the Goth's sack of Athens in AD 396.
[56] The area was then covered over with houses[90] and a laundry complex was built on the western end of the south stoa in the 7th century AD, taking advantage of the water supply still provided by the aqueduct of Hadrian.
[53] There was a large fire in the area in the reign of Constans II (641-668), which destroyed the laundry and would have seriously damaged any Classical structures that were still standing.
[91] The churches of Hypapanti and of Christ were built at the south and north ends of the area respectively, in the 17th century, incorporating the gates of the Post-Herulian wall and parts of the sanctuary into their foundations.
[103] Seventh century BC votive deposits consist of terracotta figurines, miniature vessels, pottery, spindles, loomweights, and disks.
[104] The figurines are called "columnar females" because the body is formed from a long column that flares out at the bottom to represent a skirt.
A large marble plemochoe (0.62 metres high) was found in Section II of the Eleusinion, suggesting an association specifically with the shrine of Plouton.
According to Athenaeus, on the last day of the Eleusinian Mysteries two plemochoae were filled with liquid and then tipped over, one to the west and one to the east, while a magic formula was recited.
[106] Their close connection with the Eleusinian cult is shown by the fact that they are rarely found in any context aside from the Eleusinion and the sanctuary of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis.
The surviving inscribed regulations from the City Eleusinion are:[113] Numerous decrees whose topics touched in Eleusinian matters were also erected in the sanctuary.
