The Eleusinian mysteries & rites. - The Masonic Trowel

THE RITUAL OF THE MYSTERIES 29
He accordingly presented himself and applied in
due form for initiation. His case was referred to
a council of wise and virtuous men, who objected
to his admission on account of some crimes which
he had committed. Consequently he was rejected.
Their words to him were :
" You are forbidden to
enter here ; your heart is cruel, your hands are
stained with crime. Go ! repair the wrong you have
done ; repent of your evil doings, and then come
with pure heart and clean hands, and the doors of
our Mysteries shall be opened to you." The legend
goes on to say that after his regeneration he returned
and became a worthy member of the Order.
The ceremonies of the Lesser Mysteries were
entirely different from those of the Greater Mysteries.
The Lesser Mysteries represented the return of
Persephone to earth—which, of course, took place
at Eleusis ; and the Greater Mysteries represented
her descent to the infernal regions. The Lesser
Mysteries honoured the daughter more than the
mother, who was the principal figure in the greater
Mysteries. In the Lesser Mysteries, Persephone was
known as Pherrephatta, and in the Greater Mysteries
she was given the name of Kore. Everything was,
in fact, a mystery, and nothing was called by its
right name. Lenormant says that it is certain that
the initiated of the Lesser Mysteries carried away
from Agra a certain store of religious knowledge
which enabled them to understand the symbols