The temple complex, dedicated to the goddess Demeter, found in 2011 in the Anapa region, has once again attracted the attention of specialists in archeology and history. A new assumption says that in ancient times one of the most mysterious rituals took place on the territory of the complex - the Eleusinian mysteries.
The authors of the ancient Greek scriptures argued that suffering awaits everyone in the afterlife, and only those initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries will find a blessed existence there.
The Eleusinian Mysteries originated from an ancient agricultural cult dating back to the Minoan era. They were dedicated to the goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone. Little is known about what happened in the Mysteries, since the initiates took an oath on pain of death not to divulge what they learned. Moreover, anyone who accidentally saw what was happening during this ceremony was doomed to death, - say the press service of the Archeology Foundation.
More or less detailed information about what happened during the Eleusinian Mysteries can be found in the early Christian authors. According to them, the initiation ceremony took place in several stages. In the course of the Mysteries, the neophytes were given the opportunity to contemplate sacred symbols and eat sacred food; a "complete purification" took place. At the end of the rite, according to Plutarch's stories, the initiates had to experience something terrible, after which there was a genuine contemplation of the deity.
The duties of the high priest could be performed only by a representative of the Eumolpid family. According to legend, it was their progenitor, Eumolpus Dimetra, who discovered the essence of the Eleusinian mysteries and made him a high priest. In Roman times, having become related to the Eumolpids, even the Roman emperor Hadrian became the supreme priest of the mysteries.
“We know that the Bosporan kings were related to the Eumolpid family. As members of this family, they received the right to fulfill priestly duties in this sacrament. Accordingly, in their homeland, being the high priests of Demeter, they celebrated the mysteries according to the Eleusinian model. During excavations near the village of Vestnik, we came across a monumental structure built in accordance with all the classical ancient Greek canons. This suggests that such a grandiose structure for its time could have been built only with the support and direct participation of the supreme power of the Bosporus kingdom,”says Nikolai Sudarev, head of the Eastern Bosporus Expedition.
Oleg Markov, Development Director of the Archeology Foundation states: “In this case, we are dealing with a unique archaeological monument. An analogue to it can be life, except that known to everyone, Stohenge in England. One has only to imagine that the temple complex in the Bulletin is 50 years older than the Parthenon itself and is located practically on the territory of a no less unique necropolis belonging to representatives of the pre-Greek population of the Taman Peninsula.
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However, the English cult complex is known all over the world, it is studied and visited by tourists from all over the world, and we have a magnificent monument of archeology, we have a history, but there is no funding for its study and the desire to support an interesting tourist site. Therefore, at the moment, we receive real help in studying the temple of Demeter only from volunteers who voluntarily came to the excavations.