Telesterion at Eleusis

E96004

initiation hall religious building sanctuary

The Telesterion at Eleusis was the great initiation hall and central sanctuary of the Eleusinian Mysteries, one of ancient Greece’s most important religious cult centers.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (13)

Label	Occurrences
Sanctuary of Demeter at Eleusis	7
Telesterion at Eleusis canonical	3
Telesterion	2
Telesterion of Eleusis	2
sanctuary of Eleusis	2
Demeter’s sanctuary at Eleusis	1
Eleusis archaeological site complex	1
Sanctuary of Demeter	1
Telesterion (initiation hall) at Eleusis	1
ancient sanctuary of Demeter	1
ancient sanctuary of Eleusis	1
archaeological site of Eleusis	1
sanctuary of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T699167 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Telesterion at Eleusis
Context triple: [Ictinus, notableWork, Telesterion at Eleusis]

A. Sanctuary of Apollo
The Sanctuary of Apollo at Cyrene is an important ancient Greek religious complex in modern-day Libya, dedicated to the god Apollo and central to the civic and spiritual life of the classical city.
B. Gymnasium of Delphi
The Gymnasium of Delphi is an ancient Greek athletic and training complex located below the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, where athletes prepared for competitions associated with the famous oracle and Panhellenic games.
C. Theatre of Delphi
The Theatre of Delphi is an ancient Greek open-air theater built into the hillside of the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, renowned for its panoramic views over the valley and its role in religious festivals and dramatic performances.
D. Tholos of Delphi
The Tholos of Delphi is a circular 4th-century BCE sanctuary building at the ancient Greek site of Delphi, renowned for its elegant Doric and Corinthian architecture and its enigmatic religious function.
E. Roman Agora of Delphi
The Roman Agora of Delphi is an ancient marketplace complex built during the Roman period at the sanctuary of Delphi, featuring shops and public spaces that served as a commercial and social hub.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Telesterion at Eleusis
Target entity description: The Telesterion at Eleusis was the great initiation hall and central sanctuary of the Eleusinian Mysteries, one of ancient Greece’s most important religious cult centers.

A. Sanctuary of Apollo
The Sanctuary of Apollo at Cyrene is an important ancient Greek religious complex in modern-day Libya, dedicated to the god Apollo and central to the civic and spiritual life of the classical city.
B. Gymnasium of Delphi
The Gymnasium of Delphi is an ancient Greek athletic and training complex located below the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, where athletes prepared for competitions associated with the famous oracle and Panhellenic games.
C. Theatre of Delphi
The Theatre of Delphi is an ancient Greek open-air theater built into the hillside of the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, renowned for its panoramic views over the valley and its role in religious festivals and dramatic performances.
D. Tholos of Delphi
The Tholos of Delphi is a circular 4th-century BCE sanctuary building at the ancient Greek site of Delphi, renowned for its elegant Doric and Corinthian architecture and its enigmatic religious function.
E. Roman Agora of Delphi
The Roman Agora of Delphi is an ancient marketplace complex built during the Roman period at the sanctuary of Delphi, featuring shops and public spaces that served as a commercial and social hub.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	initiation hall ⓘ religious building ⓘ sanctuary ⓘ
accessedFrom	Sacred Way from Athens ⓘ linked to: Sacred Way between Athens and Eleusis
AnaktoronUsedFor	keeping sacred objects of the Mysteries ⓘ
archaeologicalSite	ruins at Eleusis ⓘ
architectAssociatedWith	Ictinus ⓘ
associatedDeities	Demeter ⓘ Persephone ⓘ
associatedMyth	myth of Demeter and Persephone ⓘ
associatedRitual	Greater Eleusinian Mysteries ⓘ linked to: Eleusinian Mysteries Lesser Eleusinian Mysteries ⓘ linked to: Eleusinian Mysteries
capacity	several thousand initiates ⓘ
closedUnder	Christian emperors of the Roman Empire ⓘ
contains	Anaktoron ⓘ
culture	Ancient Greek religion ⓘ
damagedBy	Heruli raid of 267 CE ⓘ
dedicatedTo	Demeter ⓘ Persephone ⓘ
destroyedBy	Persian invasion of 480–479 BCE ⓘ linked to: Greco-Persian Wars
excavatedBy	Greek Archaeological Society ⓘ linked to: Archaeological Society at Athens
feature	central hall without internal columns in some phases ⓘ internal seating tiers ⓘ multiple entrances ⓘ roof supported by interior columns in later phases ⓘ
finalDestruction	late 4th century CE ⓘ
heritageStatus	important monument of ancient Greek religion ⓘ
inUseUntil	late Roman Empire ⓘ
languageOfName	Ancient Greek ⓘ
laterRebuiltBy	Athenians ⓘ
locatedIn	Attica ⓘ Eleusis ⓘ Greece ⓘ
nameMeaning	place of completion or initiation ⓘ
near	Saronic Gulf ⓘ
partOf	sanctuary of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis ⓘ linked to: Telesterion at Eleusis
period	Classical Greece ⓘ
rebuiltDuring	age of Pericles ⓘ
rebuiltUnder	Pericles ⓘ
religiousFunction	initiation of mystai ⓘ performance of sacred acts (dromena) ⓘ recitation of sacred words (legomena) ⓘ revelation of sacred things (deiknymena) ⓘ
shape	rectangular hall ⓘ
significance	central sanctuary of the Eleusinian Mysteries ⓘ one of the most important cult centers in ancient Greece ⓘ
usedFor	Eleusinian Mysteries ⓘ religious initiation ⓘ secret rites ⓘ

How these facts were elicited