The Ploutonion of Eleusis: building history and cult

Abstract

Original title: Das Ploutoneion von Eleusis: Baugeschichte und Kult

The cult area at the natural grotto located at the southeast foot of the Eleusinian acropolis was identified as early as 1885 by its excavator, Demetrios Philios, as the sanctuary of Plouton that is mentioned in an account given by the epistatai of Eleusis, found two years previously. In recent years, however, this traditional interpretation of the building complex was cast into considerable doubt and has seemingly been refuted. The present study first describes the visible remains in detail before giving a new assessment of the epigraphic evidence. It emerges, on the one hand, that the structure remained unfinished in its second, classical or lateclassical, phase, but it was put in a presentable condition that maintained the integrity of the building; on the other hand, the epigraphic evidence confirms its identification as a Ploutonion. A concluding section draws on iconographic and literary depictions of Plouton from the Archaic and Classical Periods to outline the significance of the Eleusinian cult area for our knowledge of the cult of Plouton and Hades.