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mystery religion
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painted Greek vase Persephone being carried off to the underworld Broken marble columns and stone bases stand on a large paved area at the Sanctuary of Eleusis, Greece, with green hills and scattered trees in the background. Praxiteles: Hermes Carrying the Infant Dionysus Plato Khafre Mithraism Elagabalus black-figure pottery Thoth
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sanctuary ruins at Eleusis
mystery religion summary
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painted Greek vase
painted Greek vase Painted Greek vase showing a Dionysiac feast, 450–425 bc; in the Louvre, Paris.

mystery religion

Greco-Roman religion
Written by
Reinhold Merkelbach
Emeritus Professor of Classics, University of Cologne. Author of Roman und Mysterium in der Antike and many others.
Reinhold Merkelbach
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

mystery religion, any of various secret cults of the Greco-Roman world that offered to individuals religious experiences not provided by the official public religions. They originated in tribal ceremonies that were performed by primitive peoples in many parts of the world. Whereas in these tribal communities almost every member of the clan or the village was initiated, initiation in Greece became a matter of personal choice. The mystery religions reached their peak of popularity in...

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