824 
MR. F. C. PENROSE ON THE RESULTS OF AN EXAMINATION 
just within the solstitial limits. There could scarcely have been any observation of 
stars towards the west, as in that direction the temple is completely blocked by the 
terraced rock; but it may have had openings to the north and south as well as the 
east. I do not find any heliacal star eastwards bright enough to be of any sersfice, 
but a very conspicuous one, Fomalhaut, would set towards the south in the direction 
of a cross axis of the temple at an epoch of about 1300 b.c., but neither is this heliacal. 
There can be little doubt, however, that the star which was peculiarly connected 
with the worship of this temple was the great dog-star, Sirius—a star which has been 
shown by Mr. Lockyer to have played a great part in the orientation of some of the 
Egyptian temples. The date corresponding to the rising of this star at an amphtude 
identical with that of the temple, would be 2100 b.c., and as the hour would be near 
to midnight at the time of year when the Eleusinian mysteries (as known by later 
records) were celebrated, we may use this circumstance with great probabihty to 
assist in the inquiry. As respects the amplitude of the star, it is not unlikely that 
when the temple was built, the axis, like some of the temples at Athens, was so 
directed that the star should first show itself towards the northern jamb of the 
eastern opening, as this would allow it to traverse a more extensive arc than if it 
rose exactly on the axis. If we assign two degrees for this deviation, the date would 
be 1400 B.c,, and the day of the month for midnight rising September 13. 
The elements so assigned are as follows 
Eleusis. Lat. 38° 2' 15". 
Name of Temple. 
Orientation 
ang-le. 
Elements. 
Name of 
Star. 
Temple of Ceres . 
296° 51' 
A 
B 
C 
D 
E 
F 
Amplitude. 
Corresponding altitude 
Declination .... 
Hour angles .... 
R.A. 
Approximate date . 
24° 51' S. 
2 ° 
-18° 0' 56" 
4>* 49“ 52® 
1400 B.C., September 13 
Sirius, 
rising 
It should be observed that Sirius was not at the period under discussion favourably 
situated for determination of date, as derived from its precessional movement, 
because a small variation of amplitude and its corresponding effect upon the declina¬ 
tion would produce a very large alteration in respect of time, and we have here no 
help from the sun’s R.A,. I think, however, we may fairly conclude that the date 
must have been somewhere between 1300 b.c. and 1500. 
The day of the month on wdiich the mysteries commenced in historical times is 
considered to have been September 16. This it will be seen is very close to the 
calculation derived from the midnight rising of Sirius as above given. The dates 
when the sun would rise on the axis of the temple would be either January 21 
