English: Terracotta votive plaque dedicated by Niinion to the two great goddesses of Eleusis, as indicated by the inscription on the lower part “ΝΙΙΝΙΟΝ ΤΟΙΝ ΘΕΟΙΝ Α…” and the representations.

The figures in the main scene are arranged in two rows. At the top, Demeter seated on the “secret cista”, Persephone standing and holding the torches and the torchbearer Iakchos respectively below, receive the procession of initiates, men and women, arriving at the Sanctuary. In the middle of the lower row the wreathed omphalos and two intersecting bakchoi, symbols of the mystery rites. The third divine figure, sitting at the bottom right, has not been securely identified. The pediment depicts figures of perticipants in the pannychis, the all-night feast, while the female figure on the left accompanies them playing the flute. All worshippers are crowned and hold blossoming branches and staffs, while the women have the sacred vessel, the kernos, fastened on their heads. The plaque was discovered in the Eleusis sanctuary. The holes in the four corners were used for its suspension. Attic work dating from the middle of the 4th century B.C. National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Athens, Greece.

Text: Museum inscription.