897 



ELEUTHERA. 



ELGINSHIRE. 



15). This worship subsisted at Eleusis from the earliest period of 

 history to the time of Alaric. The annual festival and celebration of 

 the Eleusinian mysteries were by universal consent regarded as the 

 holiest and most venerable in Greece. The great festival began on 

 the 15th Boedromion, and lasted nine days. The first day was called 

 the assembling (ayvp/uis) ; on it all who had received the preparatory 

 initiation in Elaphebolion at Agrse were invited to complete their 

 sacred duty. The second day was named oAa5 fjivarat, ' to the sea 

 ye initiated ! ' from the words of the proclamation by which they 

 were admonished to purify themselves. This purification took place 

 in the j>ftroi, two streamlets of salt water running into the Gulf of 

 Salamis, and which separated the territory of Eleusia from the rest 

 of Attica. Of the proceedings on the third and fourth days but little 

 is known. The fifth was called the 'day of the torches,' AafiiraSioi- 

 flfttpa, on account of a lampadephoria, or torch-procession, in which 

 the initiated marched two and two round the temple. The initiation 

 took place on the sixth and seventh days of the feast. The sixth 

 day, which was called Tacchus, was the chief day of the Eleusinia. 

 On this day the statue of lacchus was adorned with a garland of 

 myrtle, and carried in procession with songs and shouting from the 

 Cerameicus to Eleusis, and back again ou the following day, which 

 was named the 'return of the fully-initiated' (voorownv 01 <hr<iirTai). 

 According to Herodotus this procession was not uncommonly 

 attended by at least 30,000 persons. The seventh day was called 

 Epidauria, in honour of ^Esculapius, who did not arrive from Epidaurus 

 to be initiated until after the return of the Epoptse. The ninth day 

 wag called irAj^iox 1 ''?' The ceremony of this day consisted in the 

 symbolical overturning of two vessels filled with wine. Those 

 initiated at the lesser mysteries were called pvffTai, from fivia ' to 

 close up,' because they were bound to strict silence ; those who had 

 passed through the Eleusinian ceremonies were called l*6*Tai or 

 ftpopoi, ' contemplators,' because they had been admitted to see the 

 sacred objects ; they were also hailed as happy and fortunate (f iiSaifuivfs, 

 cA/3ioi). In what the initiation consisted has been the subject of 

 much fanciful speculation. The probability is that there was, 

 according to the prevalent belief of many of the best ancient as well as 

 recent writers, a setting forth of a higher and purer moral faith, with 

 the adumbration of a resurrection to a future and happier life. Every 

 Athenian was obliged to pass through these ceremonies once in the 

 covirse of his life. Bastards, slaves, and prostitutes, as well as 

 strangers, and in later time Christians and Epicureans, were excluded 

 from the Eleusinia. To reveal any of the mysteries, or to apply to 

 private purposes any of the hallowed solemnities, was considered a 

 capital crime. 



The great temple of Demeter, erected in the place of an earlier 

 one burned by the Persians, was commenced in the time of Pericles, 

 by Ictinus the architect of the Parthenon, and finished by Philo 

 under the auspices of Demetrius Phalerius. It was the largest, and 

 generally regarded as one of the four finest in Greece. From the 

 researches of the commission appointed by the Dilettanti Society, 

 the cella, or interior of the temple, appears to have been 166 feet 

 square, and to have had in front a magnificent portico of 12 Doric 

 columns, each 6 feet in diameter at the bottom of the shaft ; erected 

 by Philo. This great temple occupied the eaRtern extremity of the 

 rocky height on which stood the Acropolis of Eleusis. The town 

 itself occupied a triangular space, each side being about 500 yards in 

 length, lying between the hill and the shore. It was surrounded by 

 a wall, the extremities of which, as was common in Greek military 

 architecture, were carried into the sea so as to form moles, which 

 sheltered a small circular artificial harbour. Eleusis was in a 

 flourishing condition under the Romans, owing to the eagerness with 

 which the Roman nobles sought initiation into the mysteries. It 

 was destroyed by Alaric in A.D. 396, and from that time it ceases 

 to be mentioned in history. When Spor and Wheler visited the site 

 in 1676 it was entirely deserted. Some years later a few inhabitants 

 collected about it ; and the spot occupied by the great temple is now 

 the centre of a village called Lepsina, until within the last year or 

 two, but to which the ancient name has been since restored, in accord- 

 ance with a recent law, by which the principal localities of Greece are 

 to be in future called by their ancient and classical names. Eleugis is 

 now a considerable village. Besides the fragments of the inclosure of 

 the great temple there are some heaps of ruins of the propylseum, of 

 nearly the same plan and dimensions as that of the Acropolis of Athens, 

 and other works on the Acropolis; portions of a small temple 40 feet 

 long and 20 feet wide, probably that of Artemis Propylaea, &c. A 

 finely executed colossal marble bust, supposed by some authorities to 

 be that of Persephone, was brought from Eleusis in 1801 by Dr. 

 E. D. Clarke, and is now in the public library at Cambridge. 



(Leake ; Wordsworth ; Murray, Handbook for Travellers in Greece, 

 1854.) 



ELEUTHERA. [BAHAMAS.] 



ELGIN, Elginshire, Scotland, the county town, a royal and 

 parliamentary burgh, and market town, is agreeably situated in a 

 plain, in 57 39' N. lat., 3 32' W. long. The small river Lossie winds 

 round the western and northern sides of the town, and is crossed by 

 several substantial bridges. Elgin is 145 miles N. from Edinburgh, 

 and 64 miles N.W. from Aberdeen. The population in 1851 was 

 6383. The town is governed by a provost, 4 bailies, and 12 councillors. 



OKOO. Div. VOL. n. 



Conjointly with Banff, Cullen, Inverury, Kiutore, and Peterhead, it 

 returns one member to the Imperial Parliament. 



Elgin, called anciently Helgyn, of which many derivations are given, 

 most probably owes its origin to the fortress or castle on the top of 

 Lady Hill. With the ancient fortress (a royal castle prior to the time 

 of William tha Lion, in 1188), its old jail and still more ancient 

 church of St. Giles (its patron saint) in the centre of the town, and 

 the cathedral and canons' houses at the east end, Elgin was a kind of 

 ancient Edinburgh on a small scale. The modern public buildings in 

 the town are numerous. Gray's Hospital, for the sick poor of the 

 town and county, is entirely supported from funds left for the purpose 

 by Alexander Gray, Esq. It is a handsome building with a Grecian 

 portico and a cupola ; it stands in a commanding and healthy situa- 

 tion at the western extremity of the town. A small pauper lunatic 

 asylum, built in 1834, is within the grounds of the hospital. A pillar 

 erected to the memory of George, the last of the dukes of Gordon, is 

 placed on the top of Lady Hill, and forms a conspicuous object. A 

 public fountain now occupies the site of the old jail ; and in the centre 

 of the High-street, on the site of old St. Giles, the ancient church of 

 Elgin, is the new parish church, an elegant structure, erected in 1828. 

 The Elgin Institution was built from and is entirely supported by 

 the munificent legacy of the late General Andrew Anderson, who left 

 70.000/. for " the support of the aged and the education of youth " 

 belonging to the town and county of Elgin. It is a handsome quad- 

 rangular building, surmounted with a circular tower and a dome, is 

 constructed of freestone, and ornamented with Doric columns and 

 sculptured figures. The building and grounds cover an area of about 

 three acres. There are 10 old people and 44 children living within 

 the building, and in the school there are about 200 children receiving 

 education gratuitously. The court-house for the sheriff and burgh 

 courts is a new building. The jail is in its immediate vicinity. The 

 Elgin and Morayshire Museum was built about twelve years ago by 

 private subscription. A small but neat Episcopal chapel with a 

 parsonage, and the Mason Lodge, or Assembly rooms, are situated in 

 North-street. The Roman Catholics have a new and handsome 

 gothic chapel. The covered market-place just erected supplies ample 

 accommodation for the market traffic. The buildings of the Elgin 

 Academy are poor ; but the seminary confers great advantages upon 

 the community. The scholars are under the care of teachers of 

 Latin, mathematics, and English, whose salaries are partially secured 

 by an endowment. There are in the town an Infant school, a Trades 

 school, a scientific association, a mechanics society, and a savings bank. 

 The corn-market is held on Friday. The town is well supplied with 

 gas and water. Lossiemouth is the sea-port to Elgin. The industrial 

 occupations of the inhabitants and the means of communication are 

 mentioned in the description of the county. [ELGINSHIRE.] 



The charter erecting Elgin into a royal burgh was granted by 

 Alexander II. in 1234. At an early period the neighbourhood was 

 adorned with extensive ecclesiastical establishments. The cathedral 

 was first built in 1224, but it was burnt down by the ' Wolf of Bade- 

 noch,' son of Robert II., in 1390. The ruins now extant are those of 

 the second cathedral, a magnificent structure, erected in 1414. Its 

 length of 264 feet, breadth at the transept of 114 feet, and central 

 tower of 198 feet, give some idea of what its size and extent must 

 have been ; while the ground-plan, studded with bases of pillars, and 

 the numerous carved stones, indicate that considerable taste and skill 

 had been exercised in its erection. A college was attached to the 

 cathedral, and included within its walls the house and gardens of the 

 bishop and those of 22 canons. On the south side of the town are 

 the ruins of a convent of Gray friars, and on a hill west from the town 

 are the remains of an ancient fort. 



(New Statistical Account of Scotland ; Communication from Elgin.) 



ELGINSHIRE, called MORAYSHIRE, as it formed the central 

 part of Moray, one of the provinces into which Scotland was anciently 

 divided, a county in the north of Scotland, lying between the Gram- 

 pian Mountains and the Moray Frith, is bounded N. by the Moray 

 Frith, W. and S. by the counties of Nairn and Inverness, and E. by 

 Banffshire. Inverness-shire intersects the county, and cuts off a small 

 portion of its southern extremity. Elginshire is situated between 

 57 10' and 57 43' N. lat., and between 3 and 3 45' W. long. ; its 

 extreme length is 58J miles, and extreme breadth 26 miles. The area 

 of the county is 531 square miles, or 340,000 statute acres. The popu- 

 lation in 1851 was 38,959. This county unites with Nairnshire in 

 returning one member to the Imperial Parliament. 



Coast-line. The line of sea-coast extends upwards of 30 miles, and 

 presents in the middle portion bold precipitous rocks of sandstone, 

 with a few detached pieces, as the ' Holyman Skerries,' lying seaward. 

 The two extremities of the line are for several miles formed of vast 

 mounds and raised beaches of sand and gravel. Several small harbours 

 are situated along the coast-line. On the east, at the mouth of the 

 Spey, lie Kingston and Garmouth. The Spey is not ordinarily navi- 

 gable even by the smallest craft, and can only be entered at high tide. 

 The lighthouse on Covesea Skerries Point is one of the best of the 

 Scottish lighthouses ; it has a revolving light. Westward of the light- 

 house lie the Caves of Covesea, in former times the resort of smugglers. 

 They consist of large natural excavations in the sandstone cliff, and 

 are remarkable from their number, size, and intricate windings. 

 Hopemau is a fishing-village with a small harbour. Burghead, tha 



3 M 



