The aim of this paper is to analyse the relation between the annual practice of first-fruits offerings (aparché) and the development of fortified peribolos' walls at the sanctuary of Demeter and Kore in Eleusis, Attica, during the Classical Period (ca. 480 - 360 B.C.). It is based on a perspective on multiple agents in order to overcome the interpretation which focuses only in the defensive character of Eleusinian fortified walls. So, this paper presents a different nuance to the interpretation on development of peribolos' walls, relating them to building interventions dated between ca. 480 and 360 B.C., such as the expansion of the temenos and inner courtyard, as well as adaptation of the terrace for new grain storage rooms. This topographic context is then compared to epigraphic evidences related to the whole organisation of aparché practice.

Therefore, this paper argues first-fruits offerings involved individuals and groups of individuals with various degrees of engagement with the sanctuary at Eleusis. As a routinised practice, aparché was encouraged by Eleusinian priesthoods in order to engage political units of Attica with the Eleusinian pantheon as well as to protect the sanctuary and deme in the western frontier of Attica.