The Psychology of Secrecy in the Eleusinian Mysteries

The notion of secrecy in the ancient mystery cults has been recently discussed through the approach of the cognitive science of religion (Panagiotidou 2018; Larson 2021). The notion of “secrecy” however is not a straightforward term to define. Although it originates in Greece, it has been also attested in other mystery cults in the wider Mediterranean, including the cult of Mithras (Bjørnebye 2012; Friese 2015). The notion of “secrecy” was first associated with the mystery cult of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis, the so-called Eleusinian Mysteries. Secrecy is most commonly recognised with the term “τά ἀπόρρητα”, as identified, for instance, in a letter of the emperor Commodus (IEleusis 513, 16-17): “the secrets (τά ἀπόρρητα) of the initiation during the mysteries (τῆς κατὰ τὰ μυστήρια τελετῆς)”.

The concealing of revealing the hidden information of mystery initiations became one of the distinctive elements for the identification either of specific religious communities (e.g. Sarapiastai) or of other mystery cults (e.g. ‘Kabeiroi’, Mithras, Isis). Some authors speak in general terms about “secrecy”, referring not to specific gods, but to worshippers’ experience. Strabo (10.3.9), for example, says that: “the secrecy (ἥ τε κρύψις) with which the mystery rites (ἡ μυστικὴ τῶν ἱερῶν) are concealed induces reverence for the divine (σεμνοποιεῖ τὸ θεῖον) since it imitates the nature of the divine, which is to avoid being perceived by our human senses”.

This paper proposes to identify how the norm of secrecy could affect worshippers’ emotions and mindsets during and after the initiation in the Eleusinian Mysteries. To do so, I will investigate the psychological dimension of secrecy through the lens of the textual sources. Ancient authors limit their discussions on “secrecy” either in general to the experience and emotions of the ancient worshippers or more specifically, to the consequences of the violation of secrecy, like Alcibiades who had been publicly disgraced and cursed by the priests after he had violated the sanctified secrecy of the Mysteries (e.g. μιμούμενος τὰ ἱερὰ ἐπεδείκνυε τοῖς ἀμυήτοις καὶ εἶπε τῇ φωνῇ τὰ ἀπόρρητα, Lys. 6.51). In other sources, we find that dreams could act as emotional triggers for the maintenance of secrecy. For instance, Pausanias mentions (1.38.7) that “a dream forbade me from writing the things inside the wall of the sanctuary since the uninitiated are clearly forbidden to learn about what they have been debarred from seeing”.

By comparing and contrasting the literary evidence, this paper argues that we can reconstruct the psychological dimensions of secrecy in the context of the Eleusinian Mysteries, especially its impact in human consciousness and emotions. The main research questions that will structure the discussion of this paper are the following: first, what forms did secrecy take in the Mysteries at Eleusis? Second, through which strategies, the secrecy was shaped and regulated by the local state authorities? Third, how certain narratives concerning transgressive religious behaviour (i.e. revealing the secret information) may have affected other worshippers to become more reticent and preserve the required discreet silence?