Caryatids of Eleusis

In antiquity, two large Caryatids from the Lesser Propylaea adorned the sanctuary of the Greek goddess of agriculture Demeter at Eleusis in Greece as architectural support taking the place of columns. Following the Christianization of the Roman Empire, one of the Caryatids was dubbed Saint Demetra by the locals and worshipped as patron saint of agriculture and crops. The Caryatid was removed from Eleusis in 1801 by Englishman Edward Daniel Clarke, who later donated it to the University of Cambridge; it remains on display in the Fitzwilliam Museum.

The second Caryatid B, preserved in a better condition than Saint Demetra, was unearthed in Eleusis some ninety years after the other one was taken, and it is exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Eleusis.

Greece is seeking the repatriation of the other Caryatid.

Dating and Christian worship
It has been suggested that the pair were idealised portraits of the daughters of Appius Claudius Pulcher, the Roman consul who dedicated the gateway that they supported, between 54 and 48 BC.

Although Emperor Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica, banning paganism throughout the Roman Empire, people in Greece continued to worship Demeter, now dubbed "Saint Demetra", as patron saint of agriculture. The people of Eleusis worshipped the caryatid as an icon of Saint Demetra, and would cover it with flowers and garlands, as they believed that the goddess was able to bring fertility to their fields and bless their crops.

The stories surrounding Saint Demetra had many similarities with the myth of Demeter's daughter Persephone's abduction by the underworld king Hades, only in the Christian context the girl had been abducted by a Turk instead. The worship of the marble sculpture as the uncanonised Saint Demetra (Αγία Δήμητρα) was against the traditions of the iconoclastic Church. Nevertheless, those traditions continued during the period of the Eastern Roman Empire, and even after its fall well into the Ottoman era.

The statue was noted in 1676 by the traveller George Wheler, and several ambassadors who had submitted applications to the Ottomans for its removal with any success. Around 1765–1766, the antiquary Richard Chandler, along with the architect Nicholas Revett and the painter William Pars, visited Eleusis and mentioned the statue as well as the local folklore about it.

Removal
In 1801, English clergyman Edward Daniel Clarke and his assistant John Marten Cripps managed to obtain an authorisation through bribery from the governor of Athens for the removal of Saint Demetra, with the help of Giovanni Battista Lusieri, an Italian artist who was Lord Elgin's assistant at the time.

Clarke was the one to remove the statue by force, after bribing the local waiwode of Athens and obtaining an edict, despite the objections of the local population, who feared that removal of Saint Demetra would cause their crops to fail. Nevertheless, Clarke was successful, though not without struggle. An ox broke free of its halter the day before the removal and dashed against Saint Demetra with its horns, alarming the locals who took it to be a bad omen for the crops. Clarke assured them that they would suffer no harm, and brought a Christian priest from Aegina who first broke the soil around the statue to prove nothing would happen.

Furthermore, on April 23, 1802, the ship carrying the statue sank off the southeastern coast of England, though the Saint Demetra was recovered the following year. As for the Eleusinians, they had a good harvest the following year, which confirmed their beliefs that the caryatid would some day be returned to them; but then came a run of bad years in succession, which they blamed on them having allowed Saint Demetra to be taken away.

He donated Saint Demetra along with other findings to the University of Cambridge in 1803; the statue of Demeter would be displayed at the University Library. In 1865 the collection was transferred to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, where it became one of the museum's two main collections.

In 2022, the municipality of Eleusis asked the museum to return Saint Demetra to Greece.

Description
The Caryatids are very similar, though not identical, even after the extensive damage Saint Demetra bears, compared to the Eleusis Caryatid, is taken into account. Both only have their colossal torsos, heads and headgears survive to this day, though it is more likely than not that both originally represented a full-length figure, with their arms raised above their head to hold the cylindrical object that balances upon it, the 'cista'. The cista was a type of container often used to store cosmetics. The cistas held by the caryatids probably contained sacred objects associated with the rites conducted at Eleusis, though such knowledge does not exist.

The vessel on both caryatids are decorated with emblems and items associated with the rituals of the Eleusinian Mysteries, such as ears of corn, rosettes, cakes, and bundles of myrtle. A plemochoe is carved directly above the brow of each female figure, that is, a container where the kykeon was most likely held. The kykeon was the sacred drink used during initiation into Demeter and Persephone's cult.

The two priestesses wear two tunics each, which are secured on their breast with diagonally crossing straps; their chest is further decorated with a gorgoneion brooch. Saint Demetra's face, which is no longer preserved, was inclined to the left, as though she was looking down onto those passing in procession through the gateway beneath her. The face of the Caryatid B is much better preserved. The better-preserved Caryatid measures 196 cm in height and 150 cm in width. They weigh around two tonnes each.