The pyrphoros was a priest responsible for maintaining the sacred fire on the altars and hearths during the celebration of the Mysteries. The office must have been old and respected. Its members came from the genos of the Kerykes. The pyrphoros was aeisitos and had an honorary seat at theatre, while from the first or the second post-Christian century, he also enjoyed hieronymy. In general, however, it is not one of Eleusis's most important priestly offices. Alkamenes, a pyrphoros at some point after the second century CE, dedicated an honorary inscription to the temple of the Propylaea Artemis in Eleusis.

Lower part of a marble relief with two goddesses [found at Eleusis], 1st–2nd century, sculpture, The Metropolitan Museum of Art © 2000–2023 The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Public domain