Roman pavement, the curb surrounding an early well. This is almost certainly the καλλίχορον φρέαρ mentioned by Pausanias. The Great Propylaea is a structure of Roman imperial date, in close imitation of the Propylaea on the Athenian Acropolis. It is, however, set in a wall of 6th-century work, though repaired in later times. This wall encloses a sort of outer court, of irregular triangular shape. The Small Propylaea is not set exactly opposite to the Great Propylaea, but at an angle to it; an inscription on the architrave records that it was built by Appius Claudius Pulcher, the contemporary of 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 of Roman date leads to one of the doors of the Telesterion. Above the Small Propylaea, partly set beneath the overhanging rock, is the precinct of Pluto; it has a curious natural cleft approached by rock-cut steps. Several inscriptions and other antiquities were found here, including the famous head, now in Athens, usually called Eubouleus, though the evidence for its identification is far from satisfactory. A little farther on is a rock-cut platform, with a well, approached by a broad 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 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 place on the floor of the hall: these seats were partly built up, partly cut in the solid rock; in later times they appear to have been cased with marble. There were two doors on each side of the hall, except the north-west, where it is cut out of the solid rock, and a rock 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 Professor W. Dörpfeld with the help of the various foundations that have been brought to light. The earliest building on the site is a small rectangular structure, with walls of polygonal masonry, built of the rock quarried on the spot. This was succeeded by a square hall, almost of the same plan as the later Telesterion, but about a quarter of the size; its eastern corner coincides with that of the later building, and it appears to have had a 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 probability been assigned to the time of 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 Ictinus in the time of Pericles, there must have been a restoration, of which we may see the remains in a set of round sinkings to carry columns, which occur only in the north-east part of the hall; a set of bases arranged on a different system occur in the south-west part, and it is difficult to see how these two systems could be reconciled unless there were some sort of 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 southern corners of the hall of Ictinus are projecting masses of masonry, which may be the 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 northern and western corners against the solid rock of the 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 Eleusis at the present day. The portico was added to the hall by the architect Philo, under 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 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 Ἐφημερὶς Ἀρχαιολογική and in the Πρακτικά of the Greek Archaeological Society, especially for 1887 and 1895. See also D. Philios, Éleusis, ses mystères, ses ruines, et son musée. Inscriptions have also been published in the Bulletin de correspondance hellénique. (E. Gr.)
ELEUTHERIUS, pope from about 175 to 189. Allusions to
him are found in the letters of the martyrs of Lyons, cited by
Eusebius, and in other documents of the time. The Liber
Pontificalis, at the beginning of the 6th century, says that he had
relations with a British king, Lucius, who was desirous of being
converted to Christianity. This tradition—Roman, not British—is
an enigma to critics, and, apparently, has no historical
foundation. (L. D.*)
ELEUTHEROPOLIS (Gr. Ἐλευθέρα πόλις, “free city”), an
ancient city of Palestine, 25 m. from Jerusalem on the road to
Gaza, identified by E. Robinson with the modern Beit Jibrīn.
This identification is confirmed by Roman milestones in the
neighbourhood. It represents the Biblical Mareshah, the ruins
of which exist at Tell Sandahannah close by. As Betogabra it
is mentioned by Ptolemy; the name Eleutheropolis dates from
the Syrian visit of Septimius Severus (A.D. 202). Eusebius in
his Onomasticon uses it as a central point from which the distances
of other towns are measured. It was destroyed in 796, rebuilt
by the crusaders in 1134 (their fortress and chapel remain, much
ruined). It was finally captured by Bibars, 1244. Beit Jibrīn
is in the centre of a district of great archaeological interest.
Besides the crusader and other remains in the village itself, the
surrounding country possesses many tells (mounds) covering the
sites of ancient cities. The famous caves of Beit Jibrīn honeycomb
the hills all round. These are immense artificial excavations
of unknown date. Roman milestones and aqueducts also
are found, and close by the now famous tomb of Apollophanes,
with wall-paintings of animals and other ornamentation, was
discovered in 1902; a description of it will be found in Thiersch
and Peters, The Marissa Tombs, published by the Palestine
Exploration Fund. (R. A. S. M.)
ELEVATORS, Lifts or Hoists, machines for raising or
lowering loads, whether of people or material, from one level
to another. They are operated by steam, hydraulic or electric
power, or, when small and light, by hand. Their construction
varies with the magnitude of the work to be performed and the
character of the motive power. In private houses, where only
small weights, as coal, food, &c., have to be transferred from
one floor to another, they usually consist simply of a small
counter-balanced platform suspended from the roof or an upper
floor by a tackle, the running part of which hangs from top to
bottom and can be reached and operated at any level. In
buildings where great weights and numbers of people have to
be lifted, or a high speed of elevation is demanded, some form
of motor is necessary. This is usually, directly or indirectly, a
steam-engine or occasionally a gas-engine; sometimes a water-pressure
engine is adopted, and it is becoming more and more
common to employ an electric motor deriving its energy from
