ELEUSIS


Meaning of ELEUSIS in English

n.

Greek Elevsís

Town, with ruins of an ancient city, eastern Greece.

Famous as the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries , it is about 14 mi (23 km) west of Athens. It was independent until the 7th century BC, when Athens annexed the city and made the Eleusinian Mysteries a major Athenian religious festival. The Gothic leader Alaric destroyed Eleusis in AD 395. Deserted until the 18th century, it was revived as the modern town of Eleusis (Greek Lepsina), now a suburb of Athens. Some of the ruins have been excavated, including the Hall of Initiation, which dates back some 3,000 years to late Mycenaean times.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.      Краткая энциклопедия Британика.