The town itself dates from the most ancient times. It was on the road from Athens to the Isthmus of Corinth it was in a very fertile plain and it was at the head of an extensive bay, formed on three sides by the coast of Attica, and shut in on the south by the island of Salamis. Its situation possessed three natural advantages. It owed its celebrity to its being the chief seat of the worship of Demeter and Persephone, and to the mysteries celebrated in honour of these goddesses, which were called the Eleusinia, and continued to be regarded as the most sacred of all the Grecian mysteries down to the fall of paganism.Įleusis stood upon a height at a short distance from the sea, and opposite the island of Salamis. BC) Ancient Įleusis was a deme of ancient Attica, belonging to the phyle Hippothoöntis. The municipality has an area of 36.589 km 2 (14.127 sq mi), and the municipal unit has an area of 18.455 km 2 (7.126 sq mi). The municipality of Elefsina was formed at the 2011 local government reform by the merger of the following two former municipalities, that became municipal units: Saesara was the mythic daughter of Celeus (king of Eleusis when Demeter arrived for the first time) and granddaughter of Eleusinus, the first settler of Eleusis. Also Hesychius of Alexandria reports that the older name for Eleusis was Saesara (Σαισάρια). On 11 November 2016, Elefsina was named the European Capital of Culture for 2021, which became effective in 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic postponement. Today, Elefsina is a major industrial centre, with the largest oil refinery in Greece as well as the home of the Aeschylia Festival, the longest-lived arts event in the Attica Region. It is the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries and the birthplace of Aeschylus. North of Elefsina are Mandra and Magoula, while Aspropyrgos is to the northeast. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost end of the Saronic Gulf. Elefsina ( Greek: Ελευσίνα, romanized: Elefsína) or Eleusis ( / ɪ ˈ l j uː s ɪ s/ ih- LEW-siss Ancient Greek: Ἐλευσίς, romanized: Eleusís) is a suburban city and municipality in the West Attica regional unit of Greece.
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