The Eleusinian and Bacchic Mysteries

He had three assistants: the torch-bearer, the kerux (crier), and the minister at the altar. There was also a basileus (king), who was an archon of Athens, four curators elected by popular vote, and ten officials appointed to offer sacrifices.

The sacred Orgies were celebrated every fifth year and began on the 15th of the month of Boëdromian (September). The first day was called the agurmos (assembly), because the worshipers gathered at that time. The second was the day of purification, also called aladé mystai (to the sea, initiates!), from the proclamation: “To the sea, initiated ones!” The third day was the day of sacrifices, for which a mullet fish and barley from a field in Eleusis were offered. The officiating priests were forbidden to taste either; the offering was for Achtheia (the sorrowing one, Demeter) alone. On the fourth day, a solemn procession took place. The kalathos (sacred basket) was carried, followed by women bearing cistæ (chests) containing sesame, carded wool, salt, pomegranates, and poppies, as well as thyrsi (staves tipped with pinecones), a serpent, boughs of ivy, and cakes. The fifth day was known as the day of torches, during which there were torchlight processions and much commotion in the evening.

The sixth day was a great occasion. The statue of Iacchus, the son of Zeus and Demeter, was brought from Athens by the Iacchogoroi (Iacchus-bearers), all crowned with myrtle. Along the way, nothing was heard but an uproar of singing and the beating of brazen kettles, as the devotees danced and ran along. The image was carried through the Sacred Gate, along the Sacred Way, halting by the