Mystery 11 Ma

ΜΑ – a one-word title interpreted in multiple languages: the first clear word of an infant calling its mother; the root of the word ‘‘matrice,’’ i.e. the womb which opens itself to earth in order to generate, and the mould that gives form to lifeless matter; moreover, in both Italian and Greek, the word MA is used as an exclamation of objection, opposition, but also as a linguistic marker of an oath, an appeal to the divine.

Castellucci’s protagonist is a non-Greek matricide, a foreigner. His arrival at the archaeological site undermines and subverts the original cult, which forbade entry to anyone who had stained their hands with blood. Laying hands on a mother was tantamount to subverting the order of the universe − since a mother gives birth, she can also bring death; a child, as it cannot give birth to its mother, it cannot kill her either. Βarbarians were also prohibited to participate in the Eleusinian Mysteries, because their language was limited and thus had no notion of logos (discourse), of words and silence; they also had no notion of rhythm, which distributes meanings, expectations, pulses and pauses – the measure that restrains and orders chaos.

Without resorting to a representation of the archaic ritual according to archaeological typology, nor to a contemporary re-interpretation and re-articulation of the history of the Eleusinian Mysteries, Romeo Castellucci places the uninitiated, the barbarians and the matricides at the centre of attention, to highlight the symbolism and the allegorical dimension of the drama.

In the unbroken silence of the Eleusis archaeological site – without the use of consumable energy, under broad daylight – the man, having served his sentence, crosses the sacred locus. Only through sacrilege, however, can the sanctuary be reactivated. Forgiveness, the longed-for reconciliation, can only come through desecration.

With the support of the Ephorate of Antiquities of Western Attica.

Warm thanks: to Christina Merkouri, Director of EF.A.D.A. and to Efstathia Anesti, Archaeologist of the EF.A.D.A., Dr. Eleni-Eva Toumbakari, project manager of the Department of Restoration of Ancient Monuments in Elefsina, as well as to all the security personnel of the Archaeological site of Elefsina.