The Homeric Hymn, Den homeriska hymnen

Central to most interpretations of the Eleusinian mysteries is the story of the abduction of Persephone by Hades. Versions of the story were told across the Greek world, but the earliest surviving literary account of it is found in a poem directly associated with Eleusis, the so-called Homeric Hymn to Demeter, written sometime between 650 and 550 BCE. The hymn details how Demeter, in her sorrow over losing her daughter to the underworld, stops the grain from growing. To avoid a catastrophe, Persephone is allowed to return to the earth, but only during a certain time of the year.

At its core, the story is an explanation for the cyclical nature of agriculture: the time Persephone spends in the underworld represents the barren part of the year, while the time she spends with Demeter represents the fertile part of the year. In ancient Greece, winter was the busiest season for agriculture and might correspond to the time when Persephone and Demeter were together. The mysteries themselves were actually celebrated around the time for the autumn sowing.