For more than one thousand years, people from every corner of the Greco-Roman world sought the hope for a blessed afterlife through initiation into the Mysteries of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis. In antiquity itself and in our memory of antiquity, the Eleusinian Mysteries stand out as the oldest and most venerable mystery cult. Despite the tremendous popularity of the Eleusinian Mysteries, their origins are unknown. Because they are lost in an era without written records, they can only be reconstructed with the help of archaeology. This book provides a much-needed synthesis of the archaeology of Eleusis during the Bronze Age and reconstructs the formation and early development of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The discussion of the origins of the Eleusinian Mysteries is complemented with discussions of the theology of Demeter and an update on the state of research in the archaeology of Eleusis from the Bronze Age to the end of antiquity.

Religion in ancient Greece had a strong public character and was, in many respects, a way of integrating the individual into the community. Within this public religion, there were special cults - 'mysteries'. These were selected voluntarily by each person in the polis, allowing them to deal with the gods on an individual basis. Privacy was needed for the practice of the mysteries, and this was secured by an initiation ceremony that brought each person to a new spiritual level, and a higher degree of awareness in relation to the gods.
With the lack of written evidence that exists for the mysteries, archaeology has proved central to explaining their significance, and this welcome volume showcases new research on the archaeology, ritual and history of Greek mystery cults.

Religion in ancient Greece had a strong public character and was, in many respects, a way of integrating the individual into the community. Within this public religion, there were special cults - 'mysteries'. These were selected voluntarily by each person in the polis, allowing them to deal with the gods on an individual basis. Privacy was needed for the practice of the mysteries, and this was secured by an initiation ceremony that brought each person to a new spiritual level, and a higher degree of awareness in relation to the gods.
With the lack of written evidence that exists for the mysteries, archaeology has proved central to explaining their significance, and this welcome volume showcases new research on the archaeology, ritual and history of Greek mystery cults.

Few monuments have fascinated people as much as the Parthenon. Two and a half millennia after its construction, this monument continues to generate important research across a wide range of fields, from classics and art history to archaeology and the physical sciences. This book, which grows out of a conference held at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, presents the latest developments in Parthenon research by an international cast of scholars and scientists. It offers new interpretations of some of the most crucial issues, ranging from the authorship of the frieze to the reconstruction of its missing sculpture, as well as the sociopolitical context in which the monument was created and the application of new technologies in Parthenon studies. Showcasing the most up to date research on the Parthenon, this book not only presents the current state of Parthenon studies but also marks the future direction of scholarship.

A report on six seasons of fieldwalking in northeast Attica by the Oropos Survey Project. The project sought to investigate the effects of political history in Oropos on the rural community, their economy, society, organisation, religion and ideology. This volume outlines the theoretical and methodological premises of the project and presents the finds dating from the Neolithic to Roman period.