Roman Court (Square)
The spacious court (square) in front of the main entrance of the sanctuary is 65m long, 40m wide and paved with large marble rectangular slabs.
The court is surrounded by monumental buildings that define all around its extent.
At its north end terminated the Sacred Way, the most important road artery that connected Eleusis with Athens and was traversed by the procession of the initiates during the Eleusinian Mysteries. At this point there are preserved the foundations of a semicircular building which formed the Exedra from where the dignitaries of the sanctuary attended the arrival of the worshipers.
On its east side it was bordered by a portico, fountain and triumphal arch to which led the harbor road.
Similarly, a second triumphal arch, identical with the east one, flanked its west side, to which led the road from the city of Eleusis and from Megara. An L-shaped portico bordered the rest of the west side as well as the north one, down to the Sacred Way.
The quality of the materials and the neat result indicate that its construction had been included into a wider building program of the Roman emperors that was inaugurated by the philhellene Hadrian (117-138 AD), who also undertook the elevation of the entrance area for flood protection purposes, continued by Antoninus Pius (138-161 AD) and completed by his successor, Marcus Aurelius (161-180 AD).
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