Ninnion Tablet

Ninnion Tablet
Material	Clay
Height	44.5 cm
Width	33 cm
Created	c. 370 BC
Discovered	1895 Elefsina, Attica, Greece
Present location	Athens, Attica, Greece

The Ninnion Tablet, dated to approximately 370 BC, is a red clay tablet depicting the ancient Greek Eleusinian Mysteries (religious rites connected to Greek mythology). It was rediscovered in Eleusis, Attica in 1895, and is kept in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

Content

The tablet depicts Iacchus leading a procession of initiates into the Mysteries. Receiving this group are the deities Demeter and Persephone. Above the artifact's main scene are multiple representations of The Moon. The Ninnion Tablet is the only known original representation of the Mysteries' initiation rites.

See also

• Lacrateides Relief
• Caryatids of Eleusis
• Regina Vasorum

References

• Clinton, Kevin (2010). "Chapter 22: The Mysteries of Demeter and Kore". In Ogden, Daniel (ed.). A Companion to Greek Religion. Blackwell Companions to the Ancient World (1st ed.). Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 349–353. ISBN   9781444334173.
• Kerényi, Carl (1991). Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter. Volume 4 of Archetypal Images in Greek Religion. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN   9780691019154.