architectural fragment

The earliest remains in the area of the sanctuary of Demeter at Eleusis date back to the Bronze Age, but whatever structures there were at that time were abandoned at the end of Mycenaean civilization, around 1200 BCE. However, the nature of these structures are highly unclear and it is unknown if they represent an early form of a sanctuary. Instead, the evidence for the existence of a sanctuary proper stretches from the eighth century BCE until the end of the fourth century CE, when Eleusis was sacked by the Goths. There was no attempt to rebuild the sanctuary after the sack and the mysteries faded into obscurity.

The sanctuary was in some ways similar to that of other gods in the Greek world, but in other ways very different. It was enclosed by a wall and contained a number of buildings associated with the cult. However, the central structures found in nearly all sanctuaries, a temple housing a cult statue and an altar, were absent. Instead, the central building in the sanctuary was the so-called Telesterion, the Hall of Mysteries, where the mysteries proper took place. The Telesterion was, in its final form, a huge square building capable of holding around 3 000 people. Internally its layout was that of a hypostyle hall with a series of steps around its edges, reminiscent of a theater. In the center of the great hall stood a smaller structure, sometimes referred to as the Anaktoron, meaning “palace”. However, in antiquity the terms Anaktoron and Telesterion were both used to refer to the structure as a whole.

This architectural piece supposedly originates from Eleusis, although it is unknown if it belongs to the sanctuary or to the surrounding city. It is a marble fragment of a Corinthian (or composite) column capital, with one volute and part of an acanthus leaf preserved. It was bequeathed to the museum in 1974 by H.M. King Gustaf VI Adolf.