Eleusis in the context of "Sacred Way"

In Ancient Greece, a deme or demos (Ancient Greek: δῆμος, plural: demoi, δῆμοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, but did not acquire particular significance until the reforms of Cleisthenes in 508 BC. In those reforms, enrollment in the citizen-lists of a deme became the requirement for citizenship; prior to that time, citizenship had been based on membership in a phratry, or family group. At this same time, demes were established in the main city of Athens itself, where they had not previously existed; in all, at the end of Cleisthenes' reforms, Athens was divided into 139 demes. Three other demes were created subsequently: Berenikidai (224/223 BC), Apollonieis (201/200 BC), and Antinoeis (AD 126/127). The establishment of demes as the fundamental units of the state weakened the gene, or aristocratic family groups, that had dominated the phratries.

A deme functioned to some degree as a polis in miniature, and indeed some demes, such as Eleusis and Acharnae, were in fact significant towns. Each deme had a demarchos who supervised its affairs; various other civil, religious, and military functionaries existed in various demes. Demes held their own religious festivals and collected and spent revenue.

The Eleusinian Mysteries (Greek: Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, romanized: Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Eleusis in ancient Greece. They are considered the "most famous of the secret religious rites of ancient Greece". Their basis was a Bronze Age agrarian cult, and there is some evidence that they were derived from the religious practices of the Mycenean period. The Mysteries represented the myth of the abduction of Persephone from her mother Demeter by the king of the underworld Hades, in a cycle with three phases: the descent (loss), the search, and the ascent, with the main theme being the ascent (ἄνοδος) of Persephone and the reunion with her mother. It was a major festival during the Hellenic era, and later spread to Rome.

The rites, ceremonies, and beliefs were kept secret and consistently preserved from antiquity. For the initiated, the rebirth of Persephone symbolized the eternity of life which flows from generation to generation, and they believed that they would have a reward in the afterlife. There are many paintings and pieces of pottery that depict various aspects of the Mysteries. Since the Mysteries involved visions and conjuring of an afterlife, some scholars believe that the power and longevity of the Eleusinian Mysteries, a consistent set of rites, ceremonies and experiences that spanned two millennia, came from psychedelic drugs . The name of the town, Eleusis, seems to be pre-Greek, and is likely a counterpart with Elysium and the goddess Eileithyia.

The A6 motorway, also known as the Attiki Odos (Greek: Αττική Οδός), is a toll motorway in Greece that forms the backbone of the motorway system in Athens, also known as the Attiki Odos after the concessionaire. Connecting Eleusis in the west with the Athens International Airport in the east, it forms the northern beltway of Athens. The length of the motorway is 48 kilometres (30 mi).

Eileithyia or Ilithyia (/ɪlɪˈθaɪ.ə/; Ancient Greek: Εἰλείθυια; Ἐλεύθυια (Eleuthyia) in Crete, also Ἐλευθία (Eleuthia) or Ἐλυσία (Elysia) in Laconia and Messene, and Ἐλευθώ (Eleuthō) in literature) was the Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery, and the daughter of Zeus and Hera. In the cave of Amnisos (Crete) she was related with the annual birth of the divine child, and her cult is connected with Enesidaon (the earth shaker), who was the chthonic aspect of the god Poseidon. It is possible that her cult is related with the cult of Eleusis. In his Seventh Nemean Ode, Pindar refers to her as the maid to or seated beside the Moirai (Fates) and responsible for the creation of offspring. Her son was Sosipolis, who was worshiped at Elis.

Daphni or Dafni (Modern Greek: Δαφνί; Katharevousa: Δαφνίον, Daphnion) is an eleventh-century Byzantine monastery eleven kilometers (6.8 miles) northwest of central Athens in the suburb of Chaidari, south of Athinon Avenue (GR-8A). It is situated near the forest of the same name, on the Sacred Way that led to Eleusis. The forest covers about 18 km (7 sq mi), and surrounds a laurel grove. "Daphni" is the modern Greek name that means "laurel grove", derived from Daphneion (Lauretum).

The Daphni Monastery, along with the famous monasteries of Hosios Loukas near Delphi and Nea Moni on the island of Chios, are designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites for their significant historical and architectural value. These monasteries are famed as masterpieces of middle Byzantine architecture, and are especially noted for their sumptuous interior gold-ground mosaics.

Aigaleo or Egaleo (Greek: Αιγάλεω), and known in antiquity as Poikilon Oros (Ποικίλον Όρος), is a mountain next to the Athens urban area, in Attica, Greece. It lies west of the Athens plain, southeast of Eleusis, and east of the island of Salamis. Most of the mountain is rocky (limestone). It is lower than Hymettus. Most of the forest is to its north where the Daphni Monastery is located. There is also a park in its northern reaches.

With its good view of the Straits of Salamis, Mount Egaleo was the site of Xerxes' throne from which he observed the Battle of Salamis.

Pateras (Greek: Πατέρας) is a mountain of West Attica, Greece, with an elevation of 1,131 meters. Its highest peak is named Leontari. It is situated between the plain of Eleusis (Thriasian Plain) and the plain of Megara, and stretches between the Gulf of Corinth at Aigosthena and the Saronic Gulf near Eleusis. It is separated from its northern neighbour Cithaeron by the plain of Vilia. The mountain is covered with woods with Aleppo pine and Mediterranean maquis. In the tops of the mountain, that belong to a CORINE biotope, there are firs, of species Abies cephalonica.

Settlements around the mountain include Aigosthena to the northwest, Vilia to the north, Mandra to the east, Nea Peramos to the southeast, Megara to the south and Kato Alepochori to the west.

The Ninnion Tablet, dated to approximately 370 BC, is a red clay tablet depicting the ancient Greek Eleusinian Mysteries (religious rites connected to Greek mythology). It was rediscovered in Eleusis, Attica in 1895, and is kept in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

Attiki Odos (Greek: Αττική Οδός) (Attica Road) is a toll motorway system in Greece. The Attiki Odos motorways form the outer beltways of the Greater Athens metropolitan area. The total length of the motorways is 70 kilometres (43 mi). The Attiki Odos system currently consists of the following motorways:

• A6: Eleusis - Athens International Airport
• A62 (Ymittos Ring): Katechaki Avenue - Pallini
• A621: Doukissis Plakentias Avenue - Agia Paraskevi
• A64: Koropi - Athens International Airport
• A65 (Aigaleo Ring): Skaramagas - Ano Liosia