The second head of the Stoic school after Zeno was Cleanthes. He’s said to have died in 232 BCE. 

In what would have corresponded to Oct. 6th of that year (the 15th of Boedromion), one of the most significant religious event occurred in Athens under the so-called ‘Painted Colonnade’ (Stoa Poikile) which stood at the north end of the agora: new initiates (mystai) of the Greater Eleusinian Mysteries were beginning the week-long series of rites that culminated in their being admitted into the famous religious cult.

Surely, Cleanthes and his teacher, Zeno, would have had a great familiarity about this cult of the “Two Goddesses”—Demeter and Persephone. This is because of its prominence among the Ancient Greek world but also because of its use of the very stoa that would serve as the namesake of Stoicism. It wouldn’t be surprising if Cleanthes was himself initiated into the mysteries considering the religious sentiments expressed in his “Hymns to Zeus”. Here’s one that Epictetus seems to appreciate (Handbook 53; see also Discourses 3.22.93, 4.1.131, 4.4.34):

Lead me, Zeus, both you and Destiny,
Wheresoe’er you have ordained for me,
And I shall gladly follow. And if I am unwilling
Out of wickedness, still I shall follow.
Whoever complies nobly with necessity
We count as wise and expert in the ways of the gods.

Though we can’t be certain Cleanthes was actually initiated into the mysteries (or any Greek Stoic for that matter), the fact that Marcus Auerlius was initiated 400 years later and that he considered it an important event in his life indicates that the teachings of the mysteries were in some sense consistent with the Stoicism of Marcus Aurelius (and likely that of Epictetus). According to the Historia Augusta, Marcus made a point to be inducted into the Greater Mysteries when he encountered a brief respite during the Marcomannic Wars (in 176 CE):

After [Marcus] had settled affairs in the East he came to Athens, and had himself initiated into the Eleusinian mysteries in order to prove that he was innocent of any wrongdoing, and he entered the sanctuary unattended. (Life of Marcus Aurelius 27.1)

It seems like Marcus was allowed to be initiated alone and perhaps in an expedited fashion (the perks of being an emperor), but normally thousands of initiates would spend an entire week preparing for and carrying out the initiation rites. During the time of Cleanthes, this would take place from the 13th to the 20th day in the lunar month of Boedromion. In 232 BCE (again, the year of Cleanthes’ death), this would correspond to Oct. 4th up through the 10th. The following is the description of the initiation into the Eleusinian Greater Mysteries day by day, which you can follow along yourself—in spirit, of course—in commemoration of Cleanthes and his contribution to religious (pantheistic) Stoicism.

Stages of Initiation

Oct. 4th (13 Boedromion)

On this day, young Athenian soldiers (the epheboi) travel to Eleusis so that they may escort the Eleusian high priests (or, hierophants) on their journey to Athens. Eleusis (modern-day Elefsina) was about 14 miles from Athens.

What we can do today: The first two days detailed here are mere preparation. If anything, you can just prepare for the days to come by reading ahead and making a concrete plan for your practice.

Oct. 5th (14 Boedromion) 

On this day, the Athenian epheboi escort the Eleusinian hierophants and their entourage on their journey to Athens—which itself was very ceremonial. The priests carry with them “the sacred things” (hai hierai) which were in small round boxes (kistai) tied with purple ribbons. Nobody now knows what these “sacred things” were, but scholars speculate that they were ceremonial instruments left over from an ancient Mycenaean shrine that survived from the 13th Century BCE in the Eleusis region. The hierophants and their mystery boxes are conveyed in a wagon most of the way. When the “sacred things” arrive in Athens, the custodian of the Eleusian temple in Athens—called the “Cleaner” (phaidruntēs) of the Two Goddesses—notifies the priestess of Athena on the Acropolis as a sign of courtesy and deference to the patroness of the city. During their residence in Athens, the “sacred things” are kept in a shrine consecrated to Demeter and Persephone called the Eleusinion which was set on the northern slope of the Acropolis.

Oct. 6th (15 Boedromion)

The first official day of initiation was called “The Gathering” (Agurmos). All those seeking initiation into the Greater Mysteries that year gather under the Stoa Poikile in central Athens where the Eleusinian hierophants (from hierophantai, lit. “those who reveal the sacred things”) makes an announcement to the crowd, officially beginning the rites. Each would-be initiate publicly declares to have “a soul conscious of no evil and [to] have lived well and justly” (Inscriptiones Graecae II.2.1078). They are then officially registered before moving on to the next stage. 

Of important note, there was no distinction of age or sex, and both freed men and slaves (and emperors, of course) were in theory equally entitled to admission. In practice, though, the initiation fee of 15 drachmas—at least ten days worth of a laborer’s wages—may have barred entry to people like our friend Cleanthes, who was known to have been relatively impoverished.

What we can do today: It’s likely that most initiates did not have “a soul conscious of no evil”. And, according to Stoics, to “have lived well and justly” is exclusively the stuff of sagehood. So instead of making a false declaration, what we can do is reflect on our most recent encounters with evil (i.e., vice) and acknowledge our faults. Just acknowledging them, says Epictetus, is the starting point of philosophy:

The starting point of philosophy, at any rate for those who go about it in the right way and enter by its front door, is an awareness of one’s own weakness and impotence in matters of supreme importance (i.e., matters regarding “good and bad, right and wrong, seemly and unseemly,” happiness, propriety and duty, and “what they ought to do and avoid doing”). (Discs. 2.11.1, 3)

Oct. 7th (16 Boedromion)

The second day of the initiation was known as “Seaward, Initiates!” (Halade Mystai). Though the initiates (mystai) declared the day before that they were unconscious of defilement, a positive act of ritual cleansing is needed before everyone proceeds. As the name implies, the initiates set out in carriages and carts to drive the eight miles to the Piraeus (the port of Athens)—specifically, the beach of Phaleron. There, they then purify themselves in the saltwater along with a piglet that they were asked to bring along. When they return to Athens, each initiate would sacrifice their piglet to Demeter and sprinkle themselves with its blood (presumably, the long arduous day would end in a feast of suckling pig).

What we can do today: This could be a kind of “day of atonement” prompted by the acknowledgment of vice in the day prior. Once we catalogue our faults, we can make a concrete plan to avoid them in the future. An important point here is the distinction between ordinary shame (aischunē) about our misdeeds and moral shame (aidōs) that the early Stoics made:

Classical Stoic theory … draws a distinction between moral shame and ordinary shame. … whereas ordinary shame is fear of ill repute, an external object, moral shame is directed at justified blame, that is, at a proper evaluation of the agent’s own misdeeds in prospect. (Graver’s Stoicism and Emotion p. 208)

“Atoning” for one’s own vice just involves making a commitment to make progress toward virtue and to try avoiding vice “in prospect”. As long as this commitment is made, there is no room for ordinary shame. But moral shame—which Epictetus connects to self-worth—is an important impetus for moral progress.

Oct 8th (17 Boedromion)

The third day of the initiation was probably known as “Hither the victims” (Hiereia Deuro). Not much is known about what happens on this day, but it appears to be the day of the main state-organized sacrifice in Athens for the Two Goddesses. Those who can afford to show their piety in a public manner will make their own offerings or sacrifices (the “victims”) on this day.

What we can do today: This could be a more public display of the commitment we made in the day prior. A way to ensure follow-through in our plans is to share your journey with a confidant who can help you with accountability.

Oct. 9th (18 Boedromion)

On the fourth day, the initiates are required to spend the day indoors. This doesn’t sound as strange to modern ears, but it would have been very strange since much of life was spent outside. Presumably, this is a time of quiet contemplation which would be suitable preparation for the spiritual experience of the two final days. The day is known as Epidauria or Asklepieia, due to another transplanted festival that originated in Epidaurus which honored Asclepius, the god of healing; it is celebrated by the general public while the initiates are absent.

What we can do today: The plans that we must undertake to make progress toward virtue will invariably interrupt our daily routines and habits. Thus, an important preliminary step is to reset our brains so that they’re more receptive to forming new habits. A reliable way to do this is by limiting external stimuli:

A series of psychological studies over the past twenty years has revealed that after spending time in a quiet rural setting, close to nature, people exhibit greater attentiveness, stronger memory, and generally improved cognition. Their brains become both calmer and sharper. The reason, according to attention restoration theory, or ART, is that when people aren’t being bombarded by external stimuli, their brains can, in effect, relax. They no longer have to tax their working memories by processing a stream of bottom-up distractions. The resulting state of contemplativeness strengthens their ability to control their mind. (Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows p. 219; see Berman, Jonides, and Kaplan’s “The Cognitive Benefits of Interacting with Nature” in Psychological Science, 19, no. 12 (December 2008))

With smartphones, televisions, and computers ubiquitous, spending an entire day indoors is not a wise way to avoid stimuli. Instead, let’s spend today in whatever “quiet rural setting” we can find.

Oct 10th (19 Boedromion)

On the fifth day of initiation into the Greater Mysteries, the “sacred things” are escorted back to Eleusis by the epheboi and all the initiates. The procession starts near the Diplyon Gate in the northwest boundary of Athens and continues on the road known as the “Sacred Way” (Hiera Hodos). The participants wear garlands of myrtle and often carry bacchoi—branches of myrtle tied together with strands of wool. They walk the entire 14 miles to Eleusis, accompanied by flute and harp players, choirs of singers, and other pilgrim onlookers. The procession passes the Academus of Plato and—after climbing over Mount Aegaleus—the sanctuary of the famous ‘Oracle of Delphi’. When they enter the original territory of Eleusis (past “the streams of Rheitoi”), each initiate has a yellow woolen thread tied around their right hand and the left leg which was meant to provide some kind of magical protection. As they cross the bridge over the river “Kēphisos”, the more distinguished initiates have insults hurled at them by the locals (this opportunity to roast the elites seems to be an important aspect of Greek and Roman culture). The initiates reach Eleusis itself after sundown by torchlight. The older ones rest while the more enthusiastic ones celebrate into the night. Special offerings to Demeter are made of different kinds of grains, peas, and beans placed into earthenware dishes called kernoi.

What we can do today: This is a busy day: a long hike, a ritual over a bridge, a ritual with grain in a field, late-night merrymaking. What stands out is the display of humility, gratitude, and then joy—all sentiments that are wholeheartedly encouraged by Stoic philosophers like Seneca:

The wise person will take stock in his mind of how much he has received and from whom, and when, where, why, and how. That’s why we say that only the sage knows how to render thanks, just as only he knows how to confer a benefit. Naturally, this is the same wise person who finds more joy in giving than others do in receiving. (Letters 81.10)

Believe me, real joy is a serious matter. Do you think that it is with a relaxed expression … that one despises death, opens his home to poverty, reins in pleasure, and rehearses the endurance of pain? One who is pondering such things is experiencing a great joy, but hardly a soft or seductive one. (Letters 23.3-4)

We already practiced humility in the previous days. Today, we should practice gratitude and joy by taking stock in how much we have received “and from whom, and when, where, why, and how”. We can plan to share our joy with those who don’t expect anything in return (the gods, but also our dear friends and family).

Oct. 11th (20 Boedromion) 

The sixth day of initiation take place entirely in Eleusis itself. Our information about what happens from here on becomes vague as we approach the secret part of the ceremonies (it’s not called “mystery” for no reason!). It’s likely that the initiates physically fast in order to spiritually prepare themselves. After sundown (the start of the seventh day), they break their fast with a special beverage called kukeon—a concoction of water, flour, pennyroyal (and perhaps ergot, a hallucinogenic grain fungus). The initiates are then escorted into a building known as the Telesterion (or, “Hall of Initiation”) where the final initiation ceremony begins …

The details of the ceremony are ultimately secret, but some things can be gleaned from the reports of early Roman historians and the early Christian Fathers (though we should be careful about much of their accounts since they were usually writing to discredit the Mysteries). 

The elements of the final ceremony are traditionally divided into “things said”, “things done”, and “things revealed”. The “things said” are probably ritual formulae uttered by the hierophants and repeated by the initiates. The “things done” may be ritual acts performed by the hierophants, but also mimetic reenactments of some of the myths of Demeter. The “things revealed” come at the climax: these are likely the “sacred things” which had been escorted under the veil of secrecy to the Eleusinion in Athens and back to the Telesterion in Eleusis (they are usually kept in an inner sanctum—a holy of holies known as the Anaktoron where only the hierophants might enter). After a period of darkness within the shrine, a bright light reveals the “sacred things” to the thousands of assembled initiates in the main hall. Considering everything that they had gone through in the prior days, this collective visual experience likely provokes a lot of emotion (which may be amplified by the hallucinogenic ergot they ingested).

The Platonist philosopher Plutarch compared the progress of the initiate to that of the philosopher seeking wisdom: “at first it was all noise and confusion in a jostling throng, but at last it was a great light beheld in fear and silence” (Progress toward Virtue 81e).

Whatever occurs within the mysteries themselves must have provided spiritual satisfaction considering the universal respect with which the Eleusinian rites were treated throughout the Hellenistic era (they were carried out for thousands of years!)

What we can do today: According to Plutarch, the revealing of the mysteries symbolizes the pursuit of wisdom and virtue. In that sense, life itself is a long journey through “noise and confusion” until finally a “great light” shines through the mind of the philosopher. The sentiments are probably best expressed by the Stoic we know underwent the initiation ceremony and experienced the mysteries firsthand:

In short: the body is nothing but a river; the soul is dream and delusion; life is war and a sojourn in a strange land; and oblivion is all there is to posthumous fame. What, then, can escort us safely on our way? Only one thing: philosophy… (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 2.17)

So what do we do today? And the next day? And every other day for the rest of our lives? Practice philosophy and pursue wisdom.

Oct. 12th (21 Boedromion)

The next day was named Plemochoai after the ritual vessels used. Each initiate takes two plemochoai to the Rharian Fields (supposedly where Demeter first taught man agriculture), fills them up with water, and tips each over—one to the east and one to the west—while uttering a mystic formula. This is likely to encourage an early Autumn rain. 

The initiation is then officially complete. The next day (22 Boedromion), the newly-initiated begin the long journey home, now as epoptai (lit., “those who have seen”).