Eleusis : Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter

by: Kerenyi, K.

Eleusis : archetypal image of mother and daughter

Authors:Karl Kerényi, Ralph Manheim (Translator)

Summary:The Sanctuary of Eleusis, near Athens, was the centre of a religious cult that endured for nearly two thousand years and whose initiates came from all parts of the civilized world. Looking at the tendency to 'see visions', the author examines the Mysteries of Eleusis from the standpoint not only of Greek myth but also of human nature. He holds that the yearly autumnal 'mysteries' were based on the ancient myth of Demeter's search for her ravished daughter Persephone -- a search that he equates not only with woman's quest for completion but also with every person's pursuit of identity. As he explores what the content of the mysteries may have been for those who experienced them, he draws on the study of archaeology, objects of art, and religious history, and suggests rich parallels from other mythologies

Series:
Bollingen series, 65-4

xxxvii, 257 pages : illustrations ; 20 cm.

Contents:
Part 1: Reconstruction
The geographical and chronological setting
The mythological setting
The lesser mysteries and the preprations for the great mysteries
The secret of Eleusis
Part 2: A hermeneutical essay on the mysteries

Reprint. Originally published: New York : Bollingen Foundation, 1967. (Bollingen series ; 65, v. 4) (Archetypal images in Greek religion ; v. 4)
"First paperback printing, in the Mythos series, 1991

Eleusis : Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter

by: Kerenyi, K.

• ISBN-13: 9780691019154 / 978-0-691-01915-4
• ISBN-03: 0691019150 / 0-691-01915-0
• Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1991