I had no idea what to expect, but I was deeply curious about the experience awaiting me at the archaeological site of my city, Eleusis. This “journey” began with the myth of Demeter and Persephone—the story of the bond between a mother and her daughter, as it was brought to life through the Narrative Archaeology performance.
This timeless relationship holds special significance in Eleusis, as it has left an indelible mark on the bond between every mother and daughter in this city. And how could it be otherwise?
Here, a mother searched for her daughter. Here, they found each other and were lost again. It is here that this eternal connection took root and gained a deeper meaning, forever entwined with the spirit of the place.
I entered the archaeological site. I stood at the point where centuries ago those who arrived at the sacred site of Elefsina after 21 kilometres of hiking. They came here to participate in unknown ceremonies. I climbed the steps of the Great Propylaea.
I turned my gaze to those who were staying outside the ceremonies, as they did not meet the requirements to attend them.
I walked on the dirt that so many people stepped on after the sacraments. I too felt that feeling of relief and catharsis. Like what Virginia Woolf felt when she said: “We have finally arrived in Eleusis after a 2,000-year delay.”
I heard with my ears the water flowing from the waterfalls. I rested before discovering the many thresholds of a city waiting to be discovered.
I cried near the Ageless Stone. Where another daughter lay buried for years. Until Clark forced the 100 villagers to roll her by force to the sea and take her away. Or rather, uproot her from her place. And install her in a frozen museum with frozen eyes on her.Irini Konstantinou-Asmargiannaki conveys in Short Stories her experience from the performance “Narrative Archaeology”, which was presented at the archaeological site of Elefsina in the context of the 2023 Eleusis European Capital of Culture
I listened to the straw rustling in the heavy air of the ancient city. I watched the last poppies of a long summer
I was moved by the women’s lamentations that rang in my ears during the narration and mentally took part in her laborious rapture. I too was cursed like an ancient Eleusinian woman. I mourned that she was ripped away leaving her twin sister an orphan in their museum home.
I sat in the Plutonium and saw the underground tunnels that led-perhaps secretly-to where Persephone lived six months of the year.
I finally made it to the Mystery Room. I sat in the stone seats of the world’s first covered theatre, which was located in Eleusis.
I listened to the sublime music that closed Narrative Archaeology. I listened to the ears of wheat rustling in the polluted air of the ancient city. I watched the last poppies of a prolonged summer over the city, gazing out over the view all the way to Salamis.
Narrative archaeology was for me a belated realization of my reality. It was the event that closed the magic circle of Elefsina being the European Capital of Culture for 2023.
It was an excellent learning experience, a journey to antiquity that changed the way I see things in life and an experience that every person should live in their own place.
It is another look at the city, a reason to rediscover it and appreciate it for what you didn’t see and what was always right in front of your eyes.
Beyond a well-rounded performance, the inspiring people who created the action gave us the self-awareness and uplift we need to become better people.
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Mystery 20 performing arts initiator – Narrative archaeology is an artistic project that promotes the theatricality of heritage sites through performing arts, one of the most important model actions of the 2023 European Capital of Culture programme.
