Many ancient sources considered Orpheus the individual who introduced all Mysteries in Greece. Supposedly, he brought them from Egypt or Crete or some other place. There is no specific reference to the founding of the Eleusinian Mysteries by Orpheus, but his poetry had contributed to the spread of similar practices in Greece. The local tradition of Eleusis attributed the founding of the Mysteries to Eumolpus, who is clearly mentioned in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, and his descendants passionately protected the right to elect the supreme priest of Demeter, the hierophant.

On the other hand, the Athenians (among them Euripides in Phoenician Women and Plato in Menexenus) preferred to attribute the decisive role to Orpheus and see in Eumolpus an opponent of their city. Finally, in Roman times, some bridges were created between the two sides with Musaeus as the father of Eumolpus and son of Orpheus, highlighting the role of Athens in the establishment of civilization through the “adoption” of Orpheus and the introduction of the Mysteries.

In antiquity, several poems were attributed to Orpheus (or to Musaeus or Eumolpus) and contained references to the myth of Demeter and Persephone. Some hymns would narrate the abduction of Kore, the grief and wandering of Demeter or the union of the two goddesses. They included references to local heroes and characters of Eleusis but in a context with notable differences to the Homeric Hymn. It is, however, unlikely that these hymns were associated with the Greater Mysteries. We have no information about the recitation of multi-verse poems in the Telesterion, and it is doubtful whether the Eumolpidae would adopt the work of a "foreigner" from Thrace.

The collection of Orphic hymns that have survived to this day includes four poems dedicated to the mythology of Eleusis. As with all Orphic hymns, these poems are short and devoid of a particular plot. They are, in essence, a comprehensive synthesis of religious adjectives that evoke the supernatural powers of the gods. The recitation of these adjectives would create the appropriate spiritual atmosphere for the listeners. It would serve as an invocation to the deity to listen to the faithful's appeals and offer them what they fervently desire. However, their purpose and use remain uncertain at the moment, as is their creator or the time and place of their composition.