(ἐποπτεία; epopteía, ‘the seeing’). One of the levels of initiation into the mysteries; whoever attained it, was epóptēs. In Eleusis, whence the term originated, epopteia refers to the stage of initiation after the initial myesis ─ epopteia either refers to the public ‘display’ during the celebration of the mysteries, in which myesis was the individual dedication which could take place outside of the celebrations, or rather a second facultative stage following on from the obligatory mýēsis [1; 2]. In any case, the term underlines the importance of vis…
Epopteia(205 words)
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Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH), “Epopteia”, in: Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. Consulted online on 17 August 2022 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e400160>
First published online: 2006
First print edition: 9789004122598, 20110510
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