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Volga. Pop. (1883) 36,68o; '(1900) 38,239. Owing to its advantageous position Elets has grown rapidly. Its merchants buy large quantities of See also:

GRAIN (derived through the French from Lat. granum, seed, from an Aryan root meaning " to wear down," which also appears in the common Teutonic word " corn ")

grain, and numerous See also:

FLOUR

flour-See also:

mills, many of them driven by See also:

steam, prepare flour, which is forwarded to See also:

Moscow and Riga. The See also:

trade in See also:

CATTLE (Norman Fr. catel, from Late Lat. capitale, wealth or property, a word applied in the feudal system to movable property and particularly to live stock, and surviving in its wider meaning as " chattel " or " chattle ")

cattle is very important. Elets has the first grain elevator erected in Russia (1887), a railway school, and important tanneries, foundries for See also:

CAST (from the verb meaning " to throw "; the word is Scand. in origin, cf. Dan. kaste, and Swed. kasta; " cast " in Middle Eng. took the place of the A.S. weor pan, cf. Ger. werf en)

cast See also:

IRON [symbol Fe, atomic weight 55.85 (0=16)]

iron and See also:

COPPER (symbol Cu, atomic weight 63.1, H=1, or 63.6, O = 16)

copper, See also:

TALLOW (M.E. talugh, talg, cf. Du. talk, L. Ger. talg ; the connexion with O.E. taelg, dye, or Goth, tulgus, firm, is doubtful)

tallow-melting See also:

WORKS

works, limekilns and brickworks. The See also:

CATHEDRAL

cathedral and two monasteries contain venerated historic See also:

RELICS (Lat, reliquiae, the equivalent of the English " remains " in the sense of a dead body)

relics. Elets is first mentioned in 1147, when it was a fort of See also:

RYAZAN

Ryazan. The See also:

TURKISH

Turkish Polovtsi or Kumans attacked it in the 12th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century, and the See also:

MONGOLS

Mongols destroyed it during their first invasion (1239) and again in 1305. The See also:

TATARS (the common form Tartars is less correct)

Tatars plundered it in 1415 and 1450; and it seems to have been completely abandoned in the latter See also:

HALF

half of the 15th century. Its development See also:

DATES

dates from the secondhave sown the first seeds of See also:

corn; and on its confines was the See also:

field called Orgas, planted with trees consecrated to See also:

DEMETER

Demeter and Persephone.

The sacred buildings were destroyed by See also:

ALARIC (Ala-reiks, " All-ruler "), (c. 370-410)

Alaric in A.U. 396, and it is not certain whether they were restored before the extinction of all See also:

pagan See also:

RITES

rites by See also:

THEODOSIUS

Theodosius. The See also:

PRESENT

present See also:

VILLAGE

village on the site is of Albanian origin; it is called Lefsina or Lepsina, officially 'EXevo-is. The Site.—Systematic excavations, begun in 1882 by D. Philios for the See also:

Greek Archaeological Society, have laid See also:

BARE

bare the whole of the sacred See also:

PRECINCT (from Lat. praecingere, to encircle, enclose, surround, prae and cingere, to gird)

precinct. It is now possible to trace its boundaries as extended at various periods, and also many successive stages in the See also:

HISTORY

history of the Telesterion, or See also:

Hall of See also:

INITIATION (Lat. inilium, beginning, entrance, from mire, to go in)

Initiation. These See also:

COMPLETE

complete excavations have shown the earlier and partial excavations to have been in some respects deceptive. In front of the See also:

main entrance of the precinct is a large paved See also:

AREA

area, with the See also:

FOUNDATIONS

foundations of a See also:

temple in it, usually identified as that of See also:

ARTEMIS

Artemis See also:

PROPYLAEA (Ilp6sruXov, 1pol- mala)

Propylaea; in their present See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form both area and temple date from See also:

ROMAN

Roman times; and on each See also:

side of the See also:

GREAT

Great Propylaea are the foundations of a Roman triumphal See also:

arch. Just below the steps of the Propylaea, on the See also:

LEFT

left as one enters, there has been discovered, at a lower level than the Roman See also:

PAVEMENT (Lat. pavimentu;n, a floor beaten or rammed hard, from pavire, to beat)

pavement, the curb surrounding an See also:

early well. This is almost certainly the KaXXixopor 4,pap mentioned by See also:

PAUSANIAS

Pausanias. The Great Propylaea is a structure of Roman imperial date, in See also:

close See also:

IMITATION (Lat. imitatio, from intitari, to imitate)

imitation of the Propylaea on the Athenian See also:

ACROPOLIS (Gr. aKpos, top, a6)Xts, city)

Acropolis. It is, however, set in a See also:

wall of 6th-century See also:

WORK

work, though repaired in later times.

This wall encloses a sort of See also:

OUTER

outer See also:

court, of irregular triangular shape. The Small Propylaea is not set exactly opposite to the Great Propylaea, but at an See also:

ANGLE (from the Lat. angulus, a corner, a diminutive, of which the primitive form, angus, does not occur in Latin; cognate are the Lat. angere, to compress into a bend or to strangle, and the Gr. ayKOS, a bend; both connected with the Aryan root ank-, to

angle to it; an inscription on the See also:

ARCHITRAVE (from Lat. arcus, an arch, and trabs, trabem, a beam)

architrave records that it was built by Appius See also:

Claudius Pulcher, the contemporary of See also:

CICERO

Cicero. It is also set in a later wall that occupies approximately the same position as two earlier ones, which date from the 6th and 5th centuries respectively, and must have indicated the boundary of the inner precinct. From the Small Propylaea a paved road pf Roman date leads to one of the doors of the Telesterion. Above the Small Propylaea, partly set beneath the overhanging See also:

rock, is the precinct of See also:

PLUTO (IlXoirrwv)

Pluto; it has a curious natural cleft approached by rock-cut steps. Several See also:

INSCRIPTIONS (from Lat. inscribere, to write upon)

inscriptions and other antiquities were found here, including the famous See also:

head, now in See also:

Athens, usually called Eubouleus, though the See also:

EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence for its See also:

IDENTIFICATION (Lat. idem, the same)

identification is far from satisfactory. A little farther on is a rock-cut See also:

PLATFORM (Fr. plateforme, i.e. ground plan)

platform, with a well, approached by a broad See also:

FLIGHT

flight of steps, which probably served for spectators of the sacred procession. Beyond this, close to the side of the Telesterion, are the foundations of a temple on higher ground; it has been conjectured that this was the temple of Demeter, but there is no evidence that such a See also:

BUILDING

building existed in historic times, apart from the Telesterion. The Telesterion, or Hall of Initiation, was a large covered building, about 170 ft. square. It was surrounded on all sides by steps, which must have served as seats for the mystae, while the sacred dramas and processions took See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place on the See also:

FLOOR (from O. Eng. flor, a word common to many Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch vloer, and Ger. Flur, a field, in the feminine, and a floor, masculine)

floor of the hall: these seats were partly built up, partly cut in the solid rock; in later times they appedr to have been cased with See also:

MARBLE (from Lat. marmor, Gr. pApµapos, shining stone)

marble. There were two doors on each side of the hall, except the See also:

north-See also:

west, where it is cut out of the solid rock, and a rock See also:

TERRACE (Fr. terrace, terrasse, from It. terraccia, terrazzo, Lat. terra, earth)

terrace at a higher level adjoins it; this terrace may have been the station of those who were not yet admitted to the full initiation. The roof of the hall was carried by rows of columns, which were more than once renewed.

The architectural history of the hall has been traced by See also:

PROFESSOR (the Latin noun formed from the verb profiteri, to declare publicly, to acknowledge, profess)

Professor W. Dorpfeld with the help of the various foundations that have been brought to See also:

LIGHT

light. The earliest building on the site is a small rectangular structure, with walls of polygonal See also:

MASONRY

masonry, built of the rock quarried on the spot. This was succeeded by a square hall, almost of the same See also:

plan as the later Telesterion, but about a See also:

QUARTER (through Fr. from Lat. quartarius, fourth part)

quarter of the See also:

SIZE

size; its eastern corner coincides with that of the later building, and it appears to have had a See also:

PORTICO (Ital. for " porch," Lat. porticus)

portico in front like that which, in the later hall, was a later addition. Its roof was carried by columns, of which the bases can still be seen. This building has with great See also:

PROBABILITY (Lat. probabilis, probable or credible)

probability been assigned to the See also:

time of See also:

PEISISTRATUS, (605?–527 B.c.)

Peisistratus; it was destroyed by the Persians. Between this event and the erection of the present hall, which must be substantially the one designed by See also:

ICTINUS

Ictinus in the time of See also:

PERICLES (49o-429 B.C.)

Pericles, there must have been a restoration, of which we may see the remains in a set of See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round sinkings to carry columns, which occur only in the north-See also:

east See also:

PART

part of the hall; a set of bases arranged on a different See also:

SYSTEM

system occur in the See also:

south-west part, and it is difficult to see how these two systems could be reconciled unless there were some sort of See also:

PARTITION

partition between the two parts of the hall. Both sets were removed to make way for the later columns, of which the bases and some of the drums still remain. These later columns are shown, by inscriptions and other fragments built into their bases, to belong to later Roman times. At the eastern and See also:

SOUTHERN

southern corners of the hall of Ictinus are projecting masses of masonry, which may be the See also:

FOUNDATION (Lat. fundatio, from fundare, to found)

foundation for a portico that was to be added; but perhaps they were only buttresses, intended to resist the thrust of the roof of this huge structure, which rested at its See also:

NORTHERN

northern and western corners against the solid rock of the See also:

hill. On the south-east side the hall is faced with a portico, extending its whole width; the marble pavement of this portico is a most conspicuous feature of See also:

ELEUSIS

Eleusis at the present See also:

day. The portico was added to the hall by the architect See also:

Philo, under See also:

DEMETRIUS

Demetrius of Phalerum, about the end of the 4th century B.C.

It was never completed, for the fluting of its columns still remains unfinished. The Telesterion took up the greater part of the sacred precinct, which seems merely to have served to keep the profane away from the temple. The massive walls and towers of the time of Pericles, which resemble those of a fortress, are quite close in on the south and east; later, probably in the 4th century B.C., the precinct was extended farther to the south, and at its end was erected a building of considerable extent, including a curious apsidal chamber, for which a similar but larger curved structure was substituted in Roman times. This was probably the Bouleuterion. The precinct was full of altars, dedications and inscriptions; and many fragments of sculptures, pottery and other antiquities, from the earliest to the latest days of See also:

GREECE

Greece, have been discovered. It is to be noted that the subterranean passages which some earlier explorers imagined to be connected with the celebration of the mysteries, have proved to be nothing but cisterns or watercourses. The excavations of Eleusis, and the antiquities found in them, have been published from time to time in the 'Eogpepic 'ApXatoXoyisi and in the Hpassisa of the Greek Archaeological Society, especially for 1887 and 1893. See also D. Philios, Eleusis, ses mysteres, ses ruines, et son musee. Inscriptions have also been published in the Bulletin de See also:

correspondence hellenique. (E.

End of Article: ELETS

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