A Thought Experiment
Here it is: the only surviving text of the Mysteries of Eleusis, unlawfully committed to writing by the last hierophant after the destruction of the Sanctuary in 394 ce. After 1600 years, the Secret of Eleusis is finally revealed.
You are now the sole guardian of antiquity's most sacred mystery, knowledge of which (it is said) confers immortality.
What do you do now?
Do you guard the Mystery, or do you pass it on?
If the latter, how? Publicly, or in secret?
Do you publish the mystery, thus earning the praise of scholars everywhere, but also revealing it to the eyes of the unworthy?
Or do you remount the Mysteries? Publicly or privately? If so, how?
Where? In Eleusis only, as of old? In Greece? Anywhere? Everywhere?
Can Mysteries removed from their landscape remain the same?
Can Mysteries removed from their culture remain the same?
Can Mysteries be translated and remain the same?
How do you decide who may be initiated? Do you vet, or take all comers?
If so, whom? Pagans? Hellenes? Anyone?
In antiquity, the price of initiation was high. Do you charge a price? If so, what? If Donald Trump paid that price, could he be initiated?
In antiquity, the sanctity of the Mysteries was guarded by oath, and enforced, if necessary, by the power of the state. How would you safeguard the sanctity of the Mysteries in our day?
The mother of all mysteries is revealed to you.
My friend, what do you do?