182 T R A V E L S in G R E E C E .
hand. They beheld frightful apparitions, monfters, and
phantoms of a; canine form. They were .filled with terror,
became perplexed and unable to ftir. The feene then fuddenly
changed to brilliant and agreeable. * The Propylaea pjr ^eftibules
o f the temple were opened, the curtains withdrawn, the
hidden things difplayed. They were introduced by the|hierophant
and daduchus, and the formerdhowed them the my Series.
The>dplendor pf illumination, the glory of the temple and of
the images, the finging and dancing which accompanied the
exhibition, all contributed to footh the mind after its late agitation,
and to render the wondering devotee, tranquil and felf-fatisfied*
After this infpe&ion or, as it ;was called, the Autopfia, they
retired, apd others, advanced. T he fucceeding. days "were employed
in facrifiee,’ iS ?pdmpo“us proceflions, and fpedtacles, at
which they affifted, wearing myrtle-crowns. On the. twenty
third, two vafes were filled, and placed toward the eaft and
weft. • Some myftic words * were pronounced, the -vafesowere
overturned, and the ieftiyal ended. The^rch,on ftylcd* ¥he king
facrificed and repeated the prayer for the people 10f Athens* and
took cognizance of any irregularity, impiety, or a£t injustice
committed during the /eftival. The language. o.f ‘..the
tnyjftedep^ like the letters of the ritual, was jncomprehenfible
to the profane. The pafs-port ito initiation was anSo'Ccult. foc*-
mulary not to Be acquired but at .the lefler myfteries j and:; the
acclamation5 at the conclufion, i f the words had any fignifica-
tion, was intelligible only to the afiembly.
T he ftory of Ceres and Proferpine, the foundation of the
Eleufinian myfteries, was partly loeah 4 It was botb-vexhally
delivered, and reprefented in allegorical Show. Proferpine was
gathering 'flowers when fee was ftolen by Pluto. Hence the
proceffion of the Jhply. balket, which was; placed on a car
-dragged along by oxen and followed by a train pf females, fome
91 ’ ' T<e. Toycvtt.
I name of the g/otyefc wa» ...
1
carrying
T R A V E ,L S --i n G R E E C E. 183
carrying the myftic ehefts, touting, At night a
3 B made with lighted torched to^commemorate the
goddefs fearching for her daughter. A meafnre of barley, the
train which, it was believed, t o had given, was the reward of
gevidtors in the gymnic Aercifes s and * e W a a » n ,
temple had a reference to the legend A knowlege ƒ thefe
things and places, from- which the profane were , was
the amount o f initiation i and * e mode of « , which * M >
devife **? -c ra ft, was fkillfully adapted to the r e ig n in g to
peCftitionsv I T he operation was forcible, and theeflWf m p -
portion. The priefthood. ftooriflaed as piety tncreafed. The
dlfperfation .was corrupt,,but
nr^uced fanaity of manners and an attenoon to the t o ld
duties s a defire to be as diftinguitod by whatwas deemed virtue
as bysfilence-
C I f A P; XL I.
I P S O of iaccbus from A ,l
mountains— The momfiery of Daphne,
g ? to-.'EhuJis— n e Rbitt
I„fcriftln ---In a rfon if (bo L s ^ AtUc*-
T H E f ix * day o f the Klcufiniait myfteries was called'
Iacchusfrom-afon of Jupiter, who was laid to have a c c e p t
hied his mother Ger.es when M k b g Proferpme. An image o f
him, crowned with njyrtle.and bearing a Mrch, was earned
from the P '° c^ b v °
Eleufis, as. itiwere to vifit Ceres and,ins fifter. «attended b^a
vaft multitude, fome with,viftims, touting, i * g « > S “P
cing, and playing on cymbals,; tabors, and o*er.mnfi®l,ii|ttt-
ments. The wfy, on which he paffed with his retmiie, was
called tbefacred. fe It was exactly deferihed by Pplema