ABSTRACT
The most famous collective mysteries of antiquity were the ancient Panhellenic Eleusinian mysteries for Demeter and Kore, well known from both written and archaeological sources. The Eleusinian mysteries of Demeter and Kore were the oldest, most famous and most prestigious of the Greek collective mysteries. This chapter focuses on the Eleusinian and the Theban mysteries, as well as the Andanian mysteries of Messenia. It also focuses on three important aspects of pilgrimage: the processions, the entrance(s) to the sanctuary and the installations for the use of the pilgrims. The processional route to the sanctuary followed by the pilgrims usually took its point of departure in the city with which the sanctuary of the mysteries was associated. As stressed in the case of Samothrace by Wescoat, the entrance area to the sanctuary held special importance, because it constituted a liminal space between the uninitiated and the initiates.
