Marcus Aurelius: Difference between revisions

Hierophant is a person who brings religious congregants into the presence of that which is deemed holy. The word comes from Ancient Greece, where it was constructed from the combination of ta hiera, "the holy," and phainein, "to show." In Attica it was the title of the chief priest at the Eleusinian Mysteries. Secret religious rites (Spiritual Initiation or Mystery Schools) of ancient Greece. It is thought that their basis was an old agrarian cult which probably goes back to the Mycenean period (c. 1600 – 1100 BC) The rites, ceremonies, and beliefs were kept secret and consistently preserved from antiquity. The initiated believed that they would have a reward in the afterlife. In 170 AD, the Temple of Demeter (Sophia) was sacked by the Sarmatians but was rebuilt by [[Marcus Aurelius]]. Aurelius was then allowed to become the only lay person ever to enter the anaktoron (Holy of Holies, Inner Sanctum). As Christianity gained in popularity in the 4th and 5th centuries, Eleusis's (Mystery School) prestige began to fade.