The Eumolpidae ( grc, Εὐμολπίδαι, ''Eumolpidai'') were a family of priests at

Eleusis Elefsina ( el, Ελευσίνα ''Elefsina''), or Eleusis (; Ancient Greek: ''Eleusis'') is a suburban city and municipality in the West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is situated about northwest from the centre of Athens and is part of i ...

who maintained the

Eleusinian Mysteries The Eleusinian Mysteries ( el, Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Elefsina in ancient Greece. They are t ...

during the Hellenic era. As

hierophant A hierophant ( grc, ἱεροφάντης) is a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed ''holy''. As such, a hierophant is an interpreter of sacred mysteries and arcane principles. The word comes from a ...

s, they popularized the cult and allowed many more to be initiated into the secrets of

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, ...

and

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld aft ...

. The legendary genealogy of the Eumolpidae cast them as descendants of Eumolpus, one of the first priests of

at Eleusis, through his second son,

Herald-Keryx In Greek mythology, Ceryx ( grc, Κῆρυξ ''Kērux'', literally "herald") was a member of the Athenian royal family as the son of Hermes by either the princesses, Pandrosus or Agraulus. Mythology Ceryx was, like his father, a messenger. ...

. Eumolpus, "untainted by blame" is named among the archaic leaders of Eleusis in the ''

Homeric Hymn to Demeter The ''Homeric Hymns'' () are a collection of thirty-three anonymous ancient Greek hymns celebrating individual gods. The hymns are "Homeric" in the sense that they employ the same epic meter—dactylic hexameter—as the ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey'', ...

'' 149–156. Through Eumolpus, they were supposedly related to either

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as ...

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orat ...

. The last legitimate

at Eleusis, just before the extinguishing of the mysteries at the time of Alaric's invasion in 396 CE, traced his descent from Eumolpos. Eunapios' biography of Maximos the Neoplatonist is the source, quoted at length by Carl Kerenyi, ''Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter'' 1967:17. The other family with a hereditary Eleusinian priesthood were the

Kerykes The kerykes or ceryces ( grc, Κήρυκες, pl. of , ''Keryx'') of Bronze Age Pylos 1200 BC, home to the aged Homeric hero Nestor and the Neleides, are listed in the Linear B tablets as ''ka-ru-ke'' serving the ''ra-wa-ko-ri'', the commande ...

See also

References

Further reading