Panagia Mesosporitissa in Elefsina

On the eve of the Feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, on November 20, the Evensong is held at the Temple of Panagitsa (Virgin Mary) on the hill, within the archaeological site of Eleusis. The ritual takes place at the exact place where the Eleusinian Mysteries were held. The inhabitants of the area worshipped Saint Dimitra in a similar way until about the middle of the last century. After the liturgy, the pilgrims share the semi-sweet bread and taste the "polyspori", the offering to the Virgin Mary. The communities of Elefsina, but also many people from the neighboring villages or from other distant areas, who know the custom, gather every year to light a candle for the Virgin Mary. They cross the Megala Propylaea, the Callichoron Frear [the well] on the left, the Mikra Propylaea, the Ploutoneion on the right and the Agelastos Petra [the Mourning Rock]. The last section of the Iera Odos [Ancient Sacred Way] rises steeply. The baskets are placed directly on the ground in front of the chapel. At the entrance there is a candelabrum where the pilgrims can light their candles. After all, it is a very small church. For centuries, this place has served as a place of worship and invocation to the goddess Demeter and the Virgin Mary, in whose identity all the mothers of antiquity were reincarnated. The most important mystical rite of the ancient world, the Eleusinian Mysteries, took place between the 15th and 23rd day of the month of Voedromion [Βοηδρομιών] at the exact place where the present ceremony is held. The post-Byzantine church belongs to the type of single-room vaulted basilica and is built of mudstone. The interior is decorated with frescoes from the 18th century. The built iconostasis has later frescoes and a wooden portico. To the west of the church there is an independent two-storey bell tower, tower-shaped, built with ancient materials. The tradition has been registered in the National Index of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Greece.