![]() ![]() His recent publications include The Mycenaean Pottery from Grotta, Naxos (2002), The Rural History of Ancient Greek City States (2001), and The Bronze Age Pottery from Eleusis (in press). ![]() ![]() He has published ten books and over seventy papers in archaeological journals and conference proceedings. He has excavated at several ancient Greek sites and is the director of three archaeological projects, at Eleusis, Oropos, and Iklaina. Cosmopoulos is the Hellenic Government–Karakas Foundation Professor of Greek Studies and Professor of Greek Archaeology at the University of Missouri-St. ![]() Written by an international team of acknowledged experts, Greek Mysteries is an important contribution to our understanding of Greek religion and society. The authors’ inter-disciplinary approach extends beyond the archaeological evidence to cover the textual and iconographic sources and provides a better understanding of the history and rituals of those cults. In our mechanized and technology-oriented world, a book on Greek spirituality is both timely and appropriate. The book focuses not only on the major cults of Eleusis and Samothrace, but also on the lesser-known Mysteries in various parts of Greece, over a period of almost two thousand years, from the Late Bronze Age to the Roman Imperial period. In a field where archaeological research constantly brings new data to light, this volume provides a close analysis of the most recent discoveries, as well as a critical re-evaluation of the older evidence. Because of the oath of silence taken by the initiates, a thick veil of secrecy covers those cults and archaeology has become our main tool in deciphering their meaning. Once initiated, the individual was liberated from the fear of death by sharing the eternal truth, known only to the immortals. As these cults had to do with the individual’s inner self, privacy was paramount and was secured by an initiation ceremony, a personal ritual that established a close bond between the individual and the gods. Mystery cults represent the spiritual attempts of the ancient Greeks to deal with their mortality. ![]()
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