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The Eumolpidae /ˌjuːˈmɒlpɪdiː/ (Ancient Greek: Εいぷしろんὐμολπίδαι, Eumolpidai) were a family of priests at Eleusis who maintained the Eleusinian Mysteries during the Hellenic era. As hierophants, they popularized the cult and allowed many more to be initiated into the secrets of Demeter and Persephone.^[1]

The legendary genealogy of the Eumolpidae cast them as descendants of Eumolpus, one of the first priests of Demeter at Eleusis, through his second son, Herald-Keryx. Eumolpus, "untainted by blame" is named among the archaic leaders of Eleusis in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter 149–156. Through Eumolpus, they were supposedly related to either Poseidon or Hermes. The last legitimate hierophant at Eleusis, just before the extinguishing of the mysteries at the time of Alaric's invasion in 396 CE, traced his descent from Eumolpos.^[2] The other family with a hereditary Eleusinian priesthood were the Kerykes.

References

^ Smith, William, ed. (1842). A dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities. pp. 399–400.
^ Eunapios' biography of Maximos the Neoplatonist is the source, quoted at length by Carl Kerenyi, Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter 1967:17.

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 {{short description|Family of priests who maintained the Eleusinian Mysteries}}
 {{for|the leaf beetle subfamily|Eumolpinae}}
-{{Refimprove|date=December 2009}}
+{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}
-The '''Eumolpidae''' {{IPAc-en|ˌ|j|uː|ˈ|m|ɒ|l|p|ᵻ|d|iː}} ({{lang-grc|Εいぷしろんὐμολπίδαι}}, ''Eumolpidai'') were a family of priests at [[Eleusis]] who maintained the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]] during the [[Hellenistic Greece|Hellenic era]]. As [[hierophant]]s, they popularized the cult and allowed many more to be initiated into the secrets of [[Demeter]] and [[Persephone]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities|author=Smith, William (ed.)|year=1842|pages=399–400|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w1vVPbrHidAC&pg=PA399}}</ref>
+The '''Eumolpidae''' {{IPAc-en|ˌ|j|uː|ˈ|m|ɒ|l|p|ᵻ|d|iː}} ({{lang-grc|Εいぷしろんὐμολπίδαι}}, ''Eumolpidai'') were a family of priests at [[Eleusis]] who maintained the [[Eleusinian Mysteries]] during the [[Hellenistic Greece|Hellenic era]]. As [[hierophant]]s, they popularized the cult and allowed many more to be initiated into the secrets of [[Demeter]] and [[Persephone]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities|editor=Smith, William|year=1842|pages=399–400|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w1vVPbrHidAC&pg=PA399}}</ref>
 The legendary genealogy of the Eumolpidae cast them as descendants of [[Eumolpus]], one of the first priests of [[Demeter]] at Eleusis, through his second son, [[Herald-Keryx]]. Eumolpus, "untainted by blame" is named among the archaic leaders of Eleusis in the ''[[Homeric Hymn to Demeter]]'' 149–156. Through Eumolpus, they were supposedly related to either [[Poseidon]] or [[Hermes]]. The last legitimate [[hierophant]] at Eleusis, just before the extinguishing of the mysteries at the time of [[Alaric I|Alaric]]'s invasion in 396 CE, traced his descent from Eumolpos.<ref>[[Eunapios]]' biography of Maximos the Neoplatonist is the source, quoted at length by Carl Kerenyi, ''Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter'' 1967:17.</ref> The other family with a hereditary Eleusinian priesthood were the [[Kerykes]].
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 ==See also==
 *[[List of Greek mythological figures]]
 ==References==
 {{reflist}}

Revision as of 02:23, 25 January 2022

See also

References

Further reading