The Site of the Lesser Mysteries in Athens

Zoe S. Kontes (Duke University)

The location of the Lesser Mysteries in ancient Athens is itself a mystery. According to Greek myth, Heracles was initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries there, and ancient testimonia tell us that his purification as part of his initiation took place near fast-flowing water. Because the Eleusinion on the North Slope of the Acropolis was not established until the 6^th century, an earlier site must exist at which this initiation of Herakles, called the Lesser Mysteries, took place. An inscription names the Metroon in Agrai (an area on the Ilissos river), as the site for these mysteries, and gives a connection to Rhea and therefore Demeter in the Ilissos area. However, the exact location of the Metroon has not been determined. This paper will review the literary, epigraphical, and archaeological evidence for the site of the mysteries, and will propose that they took place near the spring of Kallirhoe on the Ilissos. The accurate identification of this site will also help to firmly establish the identification of the buildings between the Olympieion and the Ilissos river, an area which has been the subject of much debate.