West Triumphal Arch
The west side of the Roman Court was also defined by an impressive triumphal arch, identical and corresponding to the east one, through which passed the road that led to the city gates, in the west part of the wall, and then outside the sanctuary, to the city of Eleusis.
It is constructed of pentelic marble, has a total height of 16m and is made in imitation of the Arch of Hadrian in Athens.
Its lower part formed an arc that at the threshold had an opening of 4,85m. On either side of the arc there were pedestals which supported columns of the Corinthian order, while in the corners stood pilasters with Corinthian capitals.
Across the architrave of the arc on both sides, exactly as on the east arch, a double-faced inscription was engraved: «THE PANHELLENES DEDICATED THE ARCH TO THE GODDESSES AND THE EMPEROR».
The upper section of the arch above the arc was divided by Corinthian columns into three parts, in which most probably stood, placed in pairs, on bases that bore their names, the bronze statues of Roman emperors and members of their family, rendered in large scale so as to be visible to the visitors of the Sanctuary who were coming or leaving in that direction.
Of the west arch there are preserved to date only fourteen architectural parts as well as a fragment of its inscription, and are assembled together near its base.
The two arches are dedications to the two goddesses of the Eleusinian Sanctuary and to Hadrian, by the Panhellenes. These were the members of the Panhelleniun, the Union of all the Greek cities of the three continents into a federation of religious, political and cultural character, which was founded by the emperor in 131/132 AD, with Athens as its seat.
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