The Iera Odos was the main road in antiquity. It started from the Holy Gate of the wall of Athens, in the area of Kerameikos, and ended in Elefsina, in the Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone. The worship procession to Eleusis passed through the Iera Odos. Before entering the sanctuary, the procession of the faithful rested and regrouped in Pompeion. Along the ancient road there were gardens, fruit trees, rural sanctuaries, shrines, cemeteries, funerary monuments. The Iera Odos was also an important trade route that connected Athens with the Peloponnese and central Greece.