The Sacred Way was an ancient pilgrimage route between the cities of Athens and Eleusis to celebrate the Eleusinian Mysteries.
The Eleusinian Mysteries were initiation rites for the cult of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone, celebrated twice a year: the major celebration at the beginning of autumn and a minor celebration at the beginning of spring.
They are based on the myth of Persephone’s abduction by Pluto, who took her to live in the underworld, and the quest of her mother, Demeter, to rescue her.
It is believed that this pilgrimage was first undertaken during the Mycenaean period (1600-1100 BCE), although the worship of Demeter and the mysteries were officially established in Eleusis in the 8th century BCE.
The mysteries continued to be celebrated until the prohibition of pagan myths in the 4th century CE with the imposition of Christianity.
In this audio guide, we’ll visit all the relevant sites that remain to this day, as well as share some interesting but not essential details.
The route is approximately 25 km long and includes more than 30 points of interest. We estimate it can be completed in about 10 hours.
Narrated by Esteban
The audio guide of the Sacred Road or Iera Odos can be downloaded from here.
We have several recommendations:
- Start early because there isn’t much shade.
- Do the tour from Wednesday to Sunday if you want to visit the Daphni Monastery.
- Split it into two for easier planning: Keramikos-Agia Marina + Agia Marina-Eleusis or Keramikos-Dafni + Daphni-Eleusis
Additional Information:
Keramikos Archaeological Site: (August 2025: Closed for renovations)
Dafni Monastery: Wednesday to Sunday, 8:30-15:30, Free Admission
Sanctuary of Aphrodite: Monday to Sunday, 8:30-15:30, Free Admission
Eleusis Archaeological Site: High Season: Monday to Sunday 8:00-20:00, admission €10 – Low Season: Wednesday to Monday 8:30-15:30, admission €5
To use this audio guide, you need an offline map app. We recommend OrganicMaps because it’s lightweight, fast, open source (it doesn’t spy on you), and supports large files. For more information, please visit our FAQ section for maps and audio guides.
If you’d like to try this audio guide system before purchasing, we offer a free audio guide of a walking tour around the base of the Acropolis.
