The Greater Mysteries were open to men and women, free and enslaved, as long as they met the primary conditions of purity and the ability to understand the language of initiation. The Athenians, however, were convinced that there were gods among them who wished to be initiated. A brilliant example was the healing god Asclepius, who left his sanctuary in Epidaurus in 421 BCE to be initiated into the Mysteries. Unfortunately, he arrived in Athens late, when the sea purification and the great sacrifice had been completed. Nevertheless, the priests permitted the god to participate in the procession and repeated the rituals so that Asclepius could be properly initiated into the Greater Mysteries. Since then, the 18th day of Boedromion became known as Epidauria and was used to prepare those who had arrived late for the celebration. This is a new element of the Mysteries; therefore, the festival was under the supervision of the Eponymous Archon and not the Archon Basileus, who was responsible for religious ceremonies of ancestral origin. On the contrary, the Eponymous Archon was in charge of new rituals that had been added in later times. It is worth noting that because there was no temple of Asclepius when he first arrived in Athens, the god stayed at the City Eleusinion.

Statue of Asclepius of the 4th c. BC, Manolis Vernardos, photograph, Εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία © Η εν Αθήναις Αρχαιολογική Εταιρεία

Relief of Athenian doctors in the form of a shrine: Asklepio, sculpture, Wellcome Collection © Wellcome Collection