The Sacred Way — the Hiera Hodos — was the road that initiates walked from Athens to Eleusis each autumn for the Greater Mysteries. The procession covered roughly 22 kilometres, taking an entire day. Initiates carried torches and ritual objects, sang hymns, and performed rites at shrines along the route. By the time they arrived at Eleusis at nightfall, the combination of fasting, walking, and religious anticipation had prepared them psychologically for whatever came next.
Within the sanctuary, the final stretch of the Sacred Way is still visible — paved, lined with the remains of votive monuments and relief sculptures. It leads from the outer gate through the Lesser Propylaea into the inner precinct. Walking it inside the site is the closest you can get to replicating the experience of arrival. The original route from Athens is largely built over, though some stretches survive in the suburb of Daphni, near the Byzantine monastery there.
The sanctuary's position at the end of this long road was deliberate. The journey itself was part of the rite.