Sunday Afternoon Public Programs
January 21, 2:00 PM  •  Presented by Patricia Fulbright

For more than a thousand years (1400 BCE–400 CE) near Athens, the Eleusinian Mysteries, a ritual lasting nine days, offered Greek-speaking people a life-changing spiritual initiation. Of it the playwright Sophocles says, “Thrice-blessed are those mortals who have seen these rites and thus enter into Hades (the Underworld), for them alone there is life, for the others all is misery.”

This presentation will explore the myths, traditions, and ritual events surrounding the transformational experience at Eleusis. Highlights include the goddesses Demeter and Persephone, evidence for the use of hallucinogenic drugs by initiates, and the significance of the Mysteries.

Patricia Fulbright has taught mythology and literature at Clark College. She is a lifelong student of Neoplatonic philosophy and ancient Greek literature.