The most solemn part of the ceremony was that which has been described by some writers as the hierogamy, or sacred marriage of Zeus and Demeter, although some have erroneously referred to it as the marriage of Pluto and Persephone. During the celebration of the Mysteries the hierophant and hierophantide descended into a cave or deep recess and, after remaining there for a time, they returned to the assembly, surrounded seemingly by flames, and the hierophant, displaying to the gaze of the initiated an ear of corn, exclaimed with a loud voice: "The divine Brimo has given birth to the holy child Brimos: The strong has brought forth strength." The scene was dramatic and symbolical, and there could have been nothing material in the incident. The torches of the multitude were extinguished while the throng above awaited with anxious suspense the return of the priest and priestess from the murky place into which they had descended, for they believed their own salvation to depend upon the result of the mystic congress. The charges brought against the Eleusinian Mysteries of rioting and debauchery during their Grecian history are brought by those who were not permitted to share their honours, or who were prejudiced in favour of some other form of religion. In the opinion of the majority of contemporary writers these charges were wholly gratuitous, and they maintain that the Eleusinian Mysteries produced a sanctity of manners and a cultivation of virtue. They could not, of course, make a man virtuous against his will and Diogenes, when asked to submit to initiation, replied that Pataecion, a notorious robber, had obtained initiation. "The Athenians," says Hippolytus, "in the initiation of Eleusis, show to the epoptæ the great, admirable, and most perfect mystery of the epoptæ: an ear of corn gathered in silence." The statement is so clear as to leave no doubt whatever on the subject; indeed, it has never been called into question. The presentation of the ear of corn was regarded as a special, indeed the most important, feature of the Mysteries of Eleusis, and it was reserved for the final degree. Much has been made of this incident by many who can see no beauty in pre-Christian or non-Christian systems of religion, their comments being based mainly on a statement of Gregory Nazianus, who stands almost alone in discerning lewdness in the Eleusinian ceremonial. He says: "It is not in our religion that you will find a seduced Cora, a wandering Demeter, a Keleos, and a Triptolemus appearing with serpents; that Demeter is capable of certain acts and that she permits others. I am really ashamed to throw light on the nocturnal orgies of the initiations. Eleusis knows as well as the witnesses the secret of the spectacle, which is with reason kept so profound."