The children of both fexes clofed the pomp of the proceffion.

In this auguft ceremony, the fewds were appointed to fing certain verfes of Homer; a manifeft proof of their eftimation for the works of that poet, even with regard to religion. Hipparchus, fon of Pififtratus, first introduced that cuftom.

I have obferved elsewhere, that in the gymnastic games of this feast an herald proclaimed, that the people of Athens had conferred a crown of gold upon the celebrated physician Hippocrates, in gratitude for the fignal fervices which he had rendered the ftate during the peftilence.

In this feftival the people of Athens put themselves, and the whole republic, under the protection of Minerva, the tutelary goddess of their city, and implored of her all kind of profperity. From the battle of Marathon, in these public acts of worship, exprefs mention was made of the Platæans, and they were joined in all things with the people of Athens.

Feafts of Bacchus.

The worship of Bacchus had been brought out of Egypt to Athens, where several feasts had been established in honour of that god; two particularly more remarkable than all the reft, called the great and the lefs feafts of Bacchus. The latter were a kind of preparation for the former, and were celebrated in the open field about autumn. They were named Lenea, from a Greek word that fignifies a wine-prefs. The great feafts were commonly called Dionyfia, from one of the names of that god, and were folemnized in the spring within the city.

In each of thefe feafts the public were entertained with games, fhows, and dramatic reprefentations, which were attended with a vaft concourfe of people, and exceeding magnificent, as will be feen hereafter; Dionyfus.

* Αηνός.

at

at the fame time the poets difputed the prize of poetry, fubmitting to the judgment of arbitrators, exprefsly chofen, their pieces, whether tragic or comic, which were then reprefented before the people.

Thefe feafts continued many days. Thofe who were initiated, mimicked whatever the poets had thought fit to feign of the god Bacchus. They covered themfelves with the fkins of wild beafts, carried a thyrfus in their hands, a kind of pike with ivy-leaves twifted round it. They had drums, horns, pipes, and other inftruments proper to make a great noife; and wore upon their heads wreaths of ivy and vine-branches, and of other trees facred to Bacchus. Some reprefented Silenus, fome Pan, others the Satyrs, all drest in fuitable mafquerade. Many of them were mounted on affes; others dragged *goats along for facrifices. Men and women, ridicu loufly transformed in this manner, appeared night and day in public; and imitating drunkenness, and dancing with the most indecent poftures, ran in throngs about the mountains and forefts, fcreaming and howling furiously; the women efpecially feemed more outrageous than the men, and quite out of their fenfes, in their + furious tranfports invoked the god, whose feast they celebrated, with loud cries; toi Bánxe, or wŵ laxxe, or Ἰάβακχε, οἱ Ἰὼ Βάκχε.

This troop of Bachanalians was followed by the virgins of the nobleft families in the city, who were called xam@ogo, from carrying baskets on their heads, covered with vine and ivy-leaves.

To thefe ceremonies others were added, obfcene to the laft excefs, and worthy of the god who could be, honoured in fuch a manner. The Ipectators were no fchifmatics: they gave into the prevailing humour, and were feized with the fame frantic fpirit. Nothing was feen but dancing, drunkennefs, debauchery, and all that the most abandoned licentiousness could conceive of

*Goats were facrificed, because they spoiled the vines.

+ From this fury of the Bacchanalians these feasts were distinguished by the name of Orgia Oyng ira, furor.

grofs

grofs and abominable. And this an entire people, reputed the wifeft of all Greece, not only fuffered, but admired and practifed I fay an entire people; for *Plato, fpeaking of the Bacchanals, fays in direct terms, that he had feen the whole city drunk at once.

C

Livy informs us, that this licentiousness of the Bacchanalians having fecretly crept into Rome, the most horrid diforders were committed there under the cover of the night; befides which, all perfons, who were initiated into these impure and abominable mysteries, were obliged, under the most horrid imprecations, to keep them inviolably fecret. The fenate, being apprized of the affair, put a stop to thofe facrilegious feafts by the moft fevere penalties; and firft banifhed the practifers of them from Rome, and afterwards from Italy. Thefe examples inform us, thow far a mistaken fenfe of religion, that covers the greateft crimes with the fa-cred name of the Divinity, is capable of mifleading the. mind of man.

The feast of Eleufs.

There is nothing in all the Pagan antiquity more celebrated than the feaft of Ceres Eleufina. The ceremonies of this feftival were called, by way of eminence, the myfteries, from being, according to Paufanias, as much above all others, as the gods are above men. Their origin and institution are attributed to Ceres herself, who, in the reign of Erechtheus, coming to Eleufis, a fmall town of Attica, in fearch of her daughter Proferpine, whom Pluto had carried away, and finding the Country afflicted with a famine, fhe invented corn as a remedy for that evil, with which fhe rewarded the inhabitants. She not only taught them the use of corn, but inftructed

c Liv. I. xxxix. n. 8, 18.

Πασαν ἔθεασαμην τὴν πόλιν περι τα Διονυσία μεθυσαν. Lib.i. deleg.

p. 63.

+ Nihil in fpeciem fallacius eft quam prava religio, ubi deorum numen prætenditur fceleribus. Liv. xxxix. n. 16

‡ Multa eximia divinaque videntur Athena tuæ peheriffe, atque in vitam ho

inftructed them in the principles of probity, charity, civility, and humanity; from whence her myfteries were called Stopógia and Initia. To these first happy leffons fabulous antiquity afcribed the courtefy, politenefs, and urbanity, fo remarkable amongst the Athenians.

Thefe myfteries were divided into the less and the greater; of which the former ferved as a preparation for the latter. The lefs were folemnized in the month Anthefterion, which anfwers to our November; the great in the month Boedromion, or Auguft. Only Athenians were admitted to these myfteries; but of them each fex, age, and condition, had a right to be received. All ftrangers were abfolutely excluded; fo that Hercules, Caftor, and Pollux, were obliged to be adopted by Athenians, in order to their admiffion; which however extended only to the leffer myfteries. I fhall confider principally the great, which were celebrated at Eleufis.

Those who demanded to be initiated into them, were obliged, before their reception, to purify themselves in the leffer mysteries, by bathing in the river Iliffus, by faying certain prayers, offering facrifices, and, above all, by living in ftrict continence during an interval of time prescribed them. That time was employed in inftructing them in the principles and elements of the facred doctrine of the great myfteries.

When the time for their initiation arrived, they were brought into the temple; and to infpire the greater reverence and terror, the ceremony was performed in the night. Wonderful things paffed upon this occafion. Vifions were seen, and voices heard of an extraordinary kind. A fudden fplendour difpelled the darkness of the place, and disappearing immediately, added new hor

minum attuliffe; tum nihil melius illis myfteriis, quibus ex agrefti immanique vita exculti ad humanitatem et mitigati fumus, initiaque ut appellantur, ita revera prin cipia vitæ cognovimus. Cic. 1. i de le n. 36.

Teque Ceres et Libera, quarum facra, ficut opiniones hominum ac religiones fe runt, longe maximis atque occultiffimis ceremoniis continentur: a quibus initia vita atque victus, legum morum, manfuctudinis, humanitatis exempla hominibus et civi tatis exempla hominibus et civitatibus data ac dispertita esse dicuntur. Id. Cic. in Verr. de fupplic, a 1ês.

rors

rors to the gloom. Apparitions, claps of thunder, earthquakes, improved the terror and amazement; whilft the perfon admitted, ftupid, fweating through, fear, heard trembling the myfterious volumes read to him, if in fuch a condition he was capable of hearing at all. Thefe nocturnal rites were attended with many diforders, which the fevere law of filence, impofed on the perfons initiated, prevented from coming to light, * as St. Gregory Nazianzen obferves. What cannot fuperftition effect upon the mind of man, when once his imagination is heated? The prefident in this ceremony was called Hierophantes. He wore a peculiar habit, and was not admitted to marry. The first who ferved in this function, and whom Ceres herself inftructed, was Eumolpus; from whom his fucceffors were called Eumolpides. He had three colleagues; done who carried a torch; another an herald, whofe office was to pronounce certain myfterious words; and a third to attend at the altar.

ས ་ཏ་་ ཎ་

Befides thefe officers, one of the principal magiftrates of the city was appointed to take care that all the ceremonies of this feast were exactly obferved. He was called the king, and was one of the nine Archons. His bufinefs was to offer prayers and facrifices. The people gave him four affiftants, one chofen from the family of the Eumolpides, a fecond from that of the Cerycians, and the two laft from two other families. He had, besides, ten other minifters to affist him in the difcharge of his duty, and particularly in offering facri fices from whence they derived their name.

The Athenians initiated their children of both fexes very early into these myfteries, and would have thought it criminal to have let them die without fuch an advan. tage. It was their general opinion, that this ceremony was an engagement to lead a more virtuous and regular life; that it recommended them to the peculiar protection of the goddeffes, to whose service they devoted them.

Kngu.

* Βασιλεύς.

h

Δαδέχω. 8 Επιμεληται. Η Ιεροποιοία * Οι δεν Ελευσίν τωυτα καὶ οἱ των σιωπωμένων και επίη οντων άξιων ἐπόπλαι Orat. de facr. lumin.

felves;