Demeter and The Eleusinian Mysteries | The Myth of Hades and Persephone Pt. 1

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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
4:08 The Myth of Demeter, Hades and Persephone
12:01 The Eleusinian Mysteries
18:08 Worshipping Demeter
27:22 Why did the Eleusinian Mysteries Stop?

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🏺 Resources:
Hill, Lisa L. “Rereading Persephone; Revisioning Writers’ Talk.” Composition Studies, vol. 25, no. 2, 1997, pp. 63–81. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43501391.
Keller, Mara Lynn. 1988. ‘The Eleusinian Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone: Fertility, Sexuality, and Rebirth’, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 4.1: 27–54 https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25002068.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A795727e052b44c5988c0fe8a3e750ef1&ab_segments=&origin=&initiator=
Images of Eleusis were from this site: https://followinghadrianphotography.com/tag/demeter/
The Homeric Hymn of Demeter can be read here: https://www.earlywomenmasters.net/demeter/myth_015.html

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26 thoughts on “Demeter and The Eleusinian Mysteries | The Myth of Hades and Persephone Pt. 1”

  3. Did the worshippers of Demeter know that bee society was centred around a queen? Aristotle referred to the queen as a king, and this practice was followed by Europeans all the way until the early modern era, changing in English only in 1609.

    ETA: 😈

    Reply

  4. I could never understand why this myth is so romanticized. I mean it's basically a kidnap & sexual assault story. There is nothing romantic about it. Personally i always saw it more as a lesson on "if you don't respect your women you're going to starve". 😅
    😈 A video on the devil would be interesting. Only how the perspective changed over time in judeo-christianity from "a questioning angel" to "the adversary" makes for a fun ride. And of course there's all the symbolism of the snake, and how that evolved. Plenty to talk about 😊

    Reply

  8. 👹 love the content, your presentation, and really just everything about every video you make! Mos def want a devil video! And whatever other video your heart desires to make!

    Reply

  10. As a rule I'm a big fan of modern reinterpretations of Greek mythology as it strikes me very much in keeping with how the Greeks treated their myths themselves (and most cultures I would imagine). But something has always irked me about the way Demeter has been downgraded to "sad mum who cried a lot", ironically a fate suffered by many female characters in fanon.

    Great video Ms.

    Reply

  11. 😈 Lovely coverage, I like that you address the story and the historical context for the change. I look forward to part 2, and a series about devils, oh my.

    Reply

  16. 😈👹💯. I was wondering how Hecate was important to the abduction of Persephone? I've never understood why she was involved. I love your work. Would you ever think about doing something on great ancient women; like Fulvia and Hortensia? I feel it's a shame they were left out of our primary education.

    Reply

  24. 👹 excellent video! Very much looking forward to the next two. I hate the erasure of Ceres/Demeter in modern retellings. She was such a vital figure in the ancient world, and focusing on the Pluto/Proserpina side of things just completely skews purpose of this myth.

    Reply

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