mysteries were obliged to prove their initiation in the first place to these. Either on this day or the next ensued that ceremony which received its name from the cry, “To the sea, ye Mystae!” when the whole community descended to the sea coast in order to purify themselves and the sacrificial animals, which on this occasion were swine, in the sea water for the impending sacrifices. Sometimes, if a visitor to the contests was conscious of special and numerous acts of wrongdoing, this purification was repeated several times, and the efficacy further ensured by fasting for nine days--that is, refraining from food during the time between sunrise and sunset. On the following days sacrifices were offered, especially the great Thankoffering (σωτήρια), brought by the superintendents of the mysteries to Demeter and Kora and the other gods, probably in the town of Eleusinia. Another sacrifice offered by a town was the _Epidauria_, which was said to have been founded in honour of Aesculapius, who arrived belated from Epidaurus. We are not acquainted with the place of this ceremony, nor with the time or other circumstances connected with it; the fourth and the fifth days of the festival have been suggested. Next followed the main part of the festival, the great procession which escorted Iacchus, the sacred child of the gods, from Athens to Eleusis. In the course of the day the participants in the procession, who often numbered several thousand, assembled at various parts of the city, and were drawn up in order in the Agora and the Kerameikos. The priests and officials, as well as the whole band of Mystae, were decked with myrtle and ivy leaves, and carried ears of corn and agricultural implements in their hands, as well as torches, for they did not reach Eleusis before nightfall. The leader of the procession was Iacchus himself, though, at the same time, he was led. His sacred image was fetched, along with the temple utensils, from the sanctuary of Iacchus, and placed on a car, accompanied by attendants (Ίακχαγωγοί), at the head of the procession, which set out from the Kerameikos to the gate known as Dipylon amid loud shouts of “Iacchus,” and through this began its long journey along the sacred road to Eleusis. The procession moved on, singing a song especially composed for it, as was believed, by the god himself, accompanied by dancing and other ceremonies. The journey lasted four hours, and, in consequence of its length, rich women used to ride in carriages until the orator Lycurgus forbade this by a special law. During this long march they stopped to worship at various sanctuaries on the way, and also entertained each other with jokes, such as were customary at the festivals of Demeter and Dionysus: at the Kephisos especially there was jesting and mockery. At the fountain of Kallichoros dances and games were carried on by torchlight. Of course, all this detained the procession longer than the mere length of the journey would have