The Eleusinian Mysteries (Greek: Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια) were initiation ceremonies held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece. Of all the mysteries celebrated in ancient times, these were held to be the ones of greatest importance. These myths and mysteries began in the Mycenean period (c. 1500 BC), were a major festival during the Hellenistic era and later spread to Rome. The rites, cultic worships, and beliefs were kept secret as these initiation rites were believed to unite the worshipper with the gods and included promises of divine power and rewards in the afterlife.^[1] There are many paintings and pieces of pottery that depict various aspects of the Mysteries. Since the Mysteries involved visions and conjuring of an afterlife, some scholars believe that the power and longevity of the Eleusinian Mysteries came from the psychedelic agents. Coming from the Latin, initiation implies a beginning. ... In traditional usage, the cult of a religion, quite apart from its sacred writings (scriptures), its theology or myths, or the personal faith of its believers, is the totality of external religious practice and observance, the neglect of which is the definition of impiety. ... This article is about the grain goddess Demeter. ... Proserpine by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1874) (Tate Gallery, London In Greek mythology, Persephone (Greek Περσεφόνη, PersephónÄ“) was the Queen of the Underworld of epic literature. ... Eleusis (Game) The cardgame invented by Robert Abbott in 1962, and later popularized in 1977 by Martin Gardner in his Mathematical Games column in Scientific American magazine. ... Ancient Greece is a period in Greek history that lasted for around nine hundred years. ... (Redirected from 1500 BC) Centuries: 17th century BC - 16th century BC - 15th century BC Decades: 1550s BC 1540s BC 1530s BC 1520s BC 1510s BC - 1500s BC - 1490s BC 1480s BC 1470s BC 1460s BC 1450s BC Events and Trends Stonehenge built in Wiltshire, England The element Mercury has been... Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Mythology of Demeter and Persephone

Triptolemus received wheat sheaves from Demeter and blessings from Persephone, 5th century BC relief, National Archaeological Museum of Athens

The Mysteries were based on a legend concerning Demeter, the goddess of life, agriculture and fertility. According to the legend, Demeter's daughter Persephone was gathering flowers with friends one day, when she was seen by Hades, the god of death and the underworld. Hades fell in love with Persephone and kidnapped her, taking her to his underworld kingdom. Distraught, Demeter searched high and low for her daughter. In her distress, she neglected her duties; this caused a terrible drought in which the people suffered and starved.^[2] Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x1653, 508 KB) Summary Relief votif en marbre pentélique trouvé à Éleusis, dédié au sanctuaire de Déméter et de Korè. Il représente les deux déesses éleusiniennes dans une scène du rituel des mystères. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x1653, 508 KB) Summary Relief votif en marbre pentélique trouvé à Éleusis, dédié au sanctuaire de Déméter et de Korè. Il représente les deux déesses éleusiniennes dans une scène du rituel des mystères. ... Triptolemus (threefold warrior; also Buzyges), in Greek mythology always connected with Demeter of the Eleusinian Mysteries, might be accounted the son of King Celeus of Eleusis in Attica, or, according to Apollodorus (Library I.v. ... This article is about the grain goddess Demeter. ... Proserpine by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1874) (Tate Gallery, London In Greek mythology, Persephone (Greek Περσεφόνη, Persephónē) was the Queen of the Underworld of epic literature. ... The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC. // The Parthenon of Athens seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west. ... Façade of the National Archaeological museum of Athens. ... Hades, Greek god of the underworld, enthroned, with his bird-headed staff, on a red-figure Apulian vase made in the 4th century BC. For other uses, see Hades (disambiguation). ... Fields outside Benambra, Victoria, Australia suffering from drought conditions A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. ...

According to the myth, during her search, Demeter traveled long distances and had many minor adventures along the way. In one instance, she teaches the secrets of agriculture to Triptolemus.^[3] Finally, by consulting Zeus, Demeter reunites with her daughter and the earth returns to its former verdure and prosperity: the first spring. (For more information on this story, see Demeter.) Before allowing Persephone to return to her mother, Hades gave her seeds of a pomegranate. As a result, Persephone could not avoid returning to the underworld for part of the year. According to the prevailing version of the myth, Persephone had to remain with Hades for four months while staying above ground with her mother for a similar period. This left her the choice of where to spend the last four months of the year and since she opted to live with Demeter, the end result was eight months of growth and abundance to be followed by four months of no productivity.^[4] These periods correspond well with the Mediterranean climate of Ancient Greece. The four months during which Persephone is with Hades correspond to the dry Greek summer, a period during which plants are threatened with drought.^[5] After the first rains in the fall, when the seeds are planted, Persephone returns from the Underworld and the cycle of growth begins anew. Triptolemus (threefold warrior; also Buzyges), in Greek mythology always connected with Demeter of the Eleusinian Mysteries, might be accounted the son of King Celeus of Eleusis in Attica, or, according to Apollodorus (Library I.v. ... The Statue of Zeus at Olympia Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BC. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in Ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th century engraving Zeus (in Greek: nominative: Zeús, genitive: Diós), is... This article is about the grain goddess Demeter. ... Binomial name L. For the color see: Pomegranate (color) The Pomegranate (Punica granatum) is a fruit-bearing deciduous shrub or small tree growing to 5–8 m tall. ...

The Eleusinian Mysteries celebrated Persephone's return, for it was also the return of plants and of life to the earth. Persephone had gone into the underworld (underground, like seeds in the winter), then returned to the land of the living: her rebirth is symbolic of the rebirth of all plant life during Spring and, by extension, all life on earth. // In the study of mythology and religion, the underworld is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term afterlife, referring to any place to which newly dead souls go. ...

The Mysteries

The Mysteries are believed to have begun about 1500 BC, during the Mycenean Age. The lesser mysteries were probably held every year; the greater mysteries only every five years.^[6] This cycle continued for about two millennia. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, King Celeus is said to have been one of the first people to learn the secret rites and mysteries of her cult. He was also one of her original priests, along with Diocles, Eumolpos, Polyxeinus and Triptolemus, Celeus' son, who had supposedly learned agriculture from Demeter.^[7] Centuries: 17th century BC - 16th century BC - 15th century BC Decades: 1550s BC 1540s BC 1530s BC 1520s BC 1510s BC - 1500s BC - 1490s BC 1480s BC 1470s BC 1460s BC 1450s BC The element Mercury has been discovered in Egyptian tombs dating from this decade. ... A clay tablet with writing in Linear B from Mycenae. ... The anonymous Homeric Hymns are a collection of ancient Greek hymns. ... Celeus was a king in Greek mythology. ... In Greek mythology, Diocles, or Díoklês, was one of the first priests of Demeter and one of the first to learn the secrets of the Eleusinian Mysteries. ... In Greek mythology, Eumolpus was the son of Poseidon and Chione (or Hermes and Aglaulus). ... In Greek mythology, Polyxeinus was one of the first priests of Demeter and one of the first to learn the secrets of the Eleusinian Mysteries. ... Triptolemus (threefold warrior; also Buzyges), in Greek mythology always connected with Demeter of the Eleusinian Mysteries, might be accounted the son of King Celeus of Eleusis in Attica, or, according to Apollodorus (Library I.v. ...

Under Pisistratus of Athens, the Eleusinian Mysteries became pan-Hellenic and pilgrims flocked from Greece and beyond to participate. Around 300 BC, the state took over control of the Mysteries; they were specifically controlled by two families, the Eumolpidae and the Kerykes. This led to a vast increase in the number of initiates. The only requirements for membership were a lack of "blood guilt", meaning having never committed murder, and not being a "barbarian" (unable to speak Greek). Men, women and even slaves were allowed initiation.^[8] Peisistratos or Peisistratus (Greek: )[1] (ca. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC 320s BC 310s BC - 300s BC - 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC Years: 305 BC 304 BC 303 BC 302 BC 301 BC - 300 BC - 299 BC 298 BC... The Eumolpidae (Ευμολπιδαι) were one of the sacred Eleusinian families of priests that ran the Eleusinian Mysteries during the Hellenic era. ... The Kerykes were one of the sacred Eleusinian families of priests that ran the Eleusinian Mysteries during the Hellenic era. ...

Participants

There were four categories of people who participated in the Eleusinian Mysteries:

1. Priests, priestesses and hierophants.
2. Initiates, undergoing the ceremony for the first time.
3. Others who had already participated at least once. They were eligible for the fourth category.
4. Those who had attained epopteia, who had learned the secrets of the greatest mysteries of Demeter.

This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The role of the hierophant in religion is to bring the congregants into the presence of that which is deemed The word comes from Ancient Greece, where it was constructed from the combination of ta hiera, the holy, and phainein, to show. ...

Secrets

The outline below is only a capsule summary; much of the concrete information about the Eleusinian Mysteries was never written down. For example, only initiates knew what the kiste, a sacred chest, and the kalathos, a lidded basket, contained. The contents, like so much about the Mysteries, are unknown. However, one researcher writes that this Cista ("kiste") contained a golden mystical serpent, egg, a phallus and possibly also seeds sacred to Demeter.^[9]

Greater and Lesser Mysteries

There were two Eleusinian Mysteries, the Greater and the Lesser. According to Thomas Taylor, "the dramatic shows of the Lesser Mysteries occultly signified the miseries of the soul while in subjection to the body, so those of the Greater obscurely intimated, by mystic and splendid visions, the felicity of the soul both here and hereafter, when purified from the defilements of a material nature and constantly elevated to the realities of intellectual [spiritual] vision." And that according to Plato, "the ultimate design of the Mysteries … was to lead us back to the principles from which we descended, … a perfect enjoyment of intellectual [spiritual] good."^[10] Thomas Taylor (15 May 1758 - 1 November 1835) was an English translator and Neoplatonist, the first to translate into English the complete works of Aristotle and of Plato, as well as the Orphic fragments. ...

The Lesser Mysteries were held in Anthesterion (March) but the exact time was not always fixed and changed occasionally, unlike the Greater Mysteries. The priests purified the candidates for initiation (myesis). They first sacrificed a pig to Demeter then purified themselves.

The Greater Mysteries took place in Boedromion (the first month of the Attic calendar, falling in late Summer) and lasted ten days. Boedromion was the first month of the Attic calendar. ... The Attic calendar is the calendar that was in use in ancient Attica, the ancestral territory of the Athenian polis. ...

Greater Mysteries

The first act (14th Boedromion) of the Greater Mysteries was the bringing of the sacred objects from Eleusis to the Eleusinion, a temple at the base of the Acropolis. An Athenian temple to Demeter, the Eleusinion was the place where all sacred objects associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries were kept between ceremonies. ... The Acropolis of Athens, seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west. ...

On 15th Boedromion, called Agyrmos, the hierophants (priests) declared prorrhesis, the start of the rites, and carried out the "Hither the victims" sacrifice (hiereia deuro). The "Seawards initiates" (halade mystai) began in Athens on 16th Boedromion with the celebrants washing themselves in the sea at Phaleron. A part of the Eleusinian Mysteries, prorrhesis was the official announcement of the start of the rites. ... Faliro or Faliron/Phaliron (Greek: Φάληρο Pháliro, Latin: Phaleron, Phalerum) is a community 8 km SW of downtown Athens. ...

On 17th Boedromion, the participants began the Epidauria, a festival for Asklepios named after his main sanctuary at Epidauros. This "festival within a festival" celebrated the hero's arrival at Athens with his daughter Hygieia, and consisted of a procession leading to the Eleusinion, during which the mystai apparently stayed at home, a great sacrifice, and an all-night feast (pannychis).^[11] Asclepius was the god of medicine and healing in ancient Greek mythology, according to which he was born a mortal but was given immortality as the constellation Ophiuchus after his death. ... Panoramic view of the theater at Epidaurus Epidaurus (Epidauros) was a small city (polis) in ancient Greece at the Saronic Gulf. ... In Greek mythology, Hygieia (Roman equivalent: Salus) was a daughter of Asclepius. ...

The procession to Eleusis began at Kerameikos (the Athenian cemetery) on the 19th Boedromion from where the people walked to Eleusis, along what was called the "Sacred Way", swinging branches called bacchoi. At a certain spot along the way, they shouted obscenities in commemoration of Iambe (or Baubo), an old woman who, by cracking dirty jokes, had made Demeter smile as she mourned the loss of her daughter. The procession also shouted "Iakch' o Iakche!," referring to Iacchus, possibly an epithet for Dionysus, or a separate deity, son of Persephone or Demeter. The Kerameikos is the name of the deme or part of Athens to the northwest of the Acropolis and includes an extensive area both within and outside of the city walls. ... In the Eleusinian Mysteries, the bakchoi were the branches that initiates carried during their procession along the Sacred Way, the twenty-one kilometer hike from Athens to Eleusis. ... In Greek mythology, Iambe was a goddess of verse, especially scurrillous ribald humour. ... Baubo is an old woman in Greek mythology who jested with Demeter when she was down. ... In Greek mythology, Iacchus is an uncertain person. ... This article is about the ancient deity. ...

Upon reaching Eleusis, there was a day of fasting in commemoration of Demeter's fasting while searching for Persephone. The fast was broken while drinking a special drink of barley and pennyroyal, called kykeon. Then on 20th and 21st Boedromion, the initiates entered a great hall called Telesterion; in the center stood the Anaktoron ("palace"), which only the hierophantes could enter, where sacred objects were stored. Here, in the Telesterion, the initiates were shown the sacred relics of Demeter. This was the most secretive part of the Mysteries and those who had been initiated were forbidden to ever speak of the events that took place in the Telesterion. The penalty was death. Athenagoras of Athens claims that it was for this crime (among others) that Diagoras had received the death penalty. Binomial name Mentha pulegium L. The herb Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium, family Lamiaceae), is a member of the mint genus; an essential oil extracted from it is used in aromatherapy. ... Kykeon (Gr. ... A great hall in Eleusis, Telesterion was one of the primary centers of the Eleusinian Mysteries. ... The Eleusinian Mysteries were annual initiation ceremonies for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece. ... Athenagoras (circa 133-190) was a Christian apologist of the second half of the 2nd century of whom little is known for certain, besides that he was Athenian (though possibly not originally from Athens), a philosopher, and a convert to Christianity. ... Diagoras the Atheist of Melos was a Greek poet and sophist. ...

As to the climax of the Mysteries, there are two modern theories. Some hold that the priests were the ones to reveal the visions of the holy night, consisting of a fire that represented the possibility of life after death, and various sacred objects. Others hold this explanation to be insufficient to account for the power and longevity of the Mysteries, and that the experiences must have been internal and mediated by a powerful psychoactive ingredient contained in the kykeon drink. (See "entheogenic theories" below.) The Eleusinian Mysteries were initiation ceremonies held every five years for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at Eleusis in ancient Greece. ...

Following this section of the Mysteries was the Pannychis, an all-night feast accompanied by dancing and merriment. The dances took place in the Rharian Field, rumored to be the first spot where grain grew. A bull sacrifice also took place late that night or early the next morning. That day (22nd Boedromion), the initiates honored the dead by pouring libations from special vessels. The Rharian Field was located in Eleusis in Greece and was supposedly where the first plot of corn was grown after Demeter (through Triptolemus) taught mankind agriculture. ... Libation scene, Greek red figure cup, c. ...

On 23rd Boedromion, the Mysteries ended and everyone returned home.^[12]

End of the Eleusinian Mysteries

In 170 AD, the Temple of Demeter was sacked by the Sarmatians but was rebuilt by Marcus Aurelius. Aurelius was then allowed to become the only lay-person to ever enter the anaktoron. As Christianity gained in popularity in the 4th and 5th centuries, Eleusis' prestige began to fade. Julian was the last emperor to be initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries.^[13] Sarmatia Europea in Scythia map 1697 AD Sarmatia Europæa separated from Sarmatia Asiatica by the Tanais (the River Don), based on Greek literary sources, in a map printed in London, ca 1770 Great steppe in early spring. ... Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (Rome, April 26, 121[2] – Vindobona or Sirmium, March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death in 180 . ... Flavius Claudius Iulianus (331–June 26, 363), was a Roman Emperor (361–363) of the Constantinian dynasty. ...

The Roman emperor Theodosius I closed the sanctuaries by decree in 392 AD as part of his effort to suppress Hellenist resistance to the imposition of Christianity as a state religion. The last remnants of the Mysteries were wiped out in 396 AD, when Alaric, King of the Goths, invaded accompanied by Christians "in their dark garments", bringing Arian Christianity and desecrating the old sacred sites.^[14] The closing of the Eleusinian Mysteries in the 4th century is reported by Eunapios, a historian and biographer of the Greek philosophers. Eunapios had been initiated by the last legitimate Hierophant, who had been commissioned by the emperor Julian to restore the Mysteries, which had by then fallen into decay. According to Eunapios, the very last Hierophant was a usurper, "the man from Thespiae who held the rank of Father in the mysteries of Mithras." For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ... An engraving depicting what Theodosius may have looked like, ca. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... Nations with state religions:  Buddhism  Islam  Shia Islam  Sunni Islam  Orthodox Christianity  Protestantism  Roman Catholic Church A state religion (also called an official religion, established church or state church) is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state. ... An 1894 photogravure of Alaric I taken from a painting by Ludwig Thiersch. ... This article is about the Germanic tribes. ... It has been suggested that this article be split into multiple articles. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Eunapius was a Greek sophist and historian of the 4th century. ... The role of the hierophant in religion is to bring the congregants into the presence of that which is deemed The word comes from Ancient Greece, where it was constructed from the combination of ta hiera, the holy, and phainein, to show. ... Flavius Claudius Iulianus (331–June 26, 363), was a Roman Emperor (361–363) of the Constantinian dynasty. ... Thespiae (Greek Θεσπιαι, Thespiai) was an ancient Greek city in Boeotia. ... This article or section contains too much jargon and may need simplification or further explanation. ...

The Mysteries in art

There are many paintings and pieces of pottery that depict various aspects of the Mysteries. The Eleusinian Relief, from late 5th century BC, displayed in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens is a representative example. Triptolemus is depicted receiving seeds from Demeter and teaching mankind how to work the fields to grow crops, with Persephone holding her hand over his head to protect him.^[15] Vases and other works of relief sculpture, from the 4th, 5th and 6th centuries BC, depict Triptolemus holding an ear of corn, sitting on a winged throne or chariot, surrounded by Persephone and Demeter with pine torches. The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC. // The Parthenon of Athens seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west. ... Façade of the National Archaeological museum of Athens. ... The 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period. ... The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC. // The Parthenon of Athens seen from the hill of the Pnyx to the west. ... (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium) The 6th century BC started on January 1, 600 BC and ended on December 31, 501 BC. // Monument 1, an Olmec colossal head at La Venta The 5th and 6th centuries BC were a time of empires, but more importantly, a time...

The Niinnion Tablet, found in the same museum, depicts Demeter, followed by Persephone and Iacchus, and then the procession of initiates. Then, Demeter is sitting on the kiste inside the Telesterion, with Persephone holding a torch and introducing the initiates. The initiates each hold a bacchoi. The second row of initiates were led by Iakchos, a priest who held torches for the ceremonies. He is standing near the omphalos while an unknown female (probably a priestess of Demeter) sat nearby on the kiste, holding a scepter and a vessel filled with kykeon. Pannychis is also represented.^[16] In Greek mythology, Iacchus is an uncertain person. ... The Omphalos in Delphi An omphalos is a religious stone artifact in the ancient world. ...

In Shakespeare's The Tempest, the masque that Prospero conjures to celebrate the troth-pledging of Miranda and Ferdinand echoes the Eleusinian Mysteries, although it uses the Roman names for the deities involved - Ceres, Iris, Dis and others - instead of the Greek. It is interesting that a play which is so steeped in esoteric imagery from alchemy and hermeticism should draw on the Mysteries for its central masque sequence. Shakespeare redirects here. ... For other uses, see The Tempest (disambiguation). ... Costume for a Knight, by Inigo Jones: the plumed helmet, the heroic torso in armour and other conventions were still employed for opera seria in the 18th century. ... For other uses, see Alchemy (disambiguation). ... Hermeticism should not be confused with the concept of a hermit. ...

Entheogenic theories

Some scholars believe that the power of the Eleusinian Mysteries came from the kykeon's functioning as a psychedelic agent.^[17] Barley may be parasitized by the fungus ergot, which contains the psychoactive alkaloids lysergic acid amide (LSA), a precursor to LSD and ergonovine. It is possible that a psychoactive potion was created using known methods of the day. The initiates, sensitized by their fast and prepared by preceding ceremonies, may have been propelled by the effects of a powerful psychoactive potion into revelatory mind states with profound spiritual and intellectual ramifications.^[18] Kykeon (Gr. ... For psychedelics, see psychedelic drug. ... A parasite is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life in or on the living tissue of a host organism and which causes harm to the host without immediately killing it. ... Subkingdom/Phyla Chytridiomycota Blastocladiomycota Neocallimastigomycota Glomeromycota Zygomycota Dikarya (inc. ... Species About 50, including: Claviceps africanum Claviceps fusiformis Claviceps paspali Claviceps purpurea Ergot is the common name of a fungus in the genus Claviceps that is parasitic on certain grains and grasses. ... LSA, also known as d-lysergic acid amide, d-lysergamide, ergine, and LA-111, is an alkaloid of the ergoline family that occurs in various species of vines of the Convolvulaceae and some species of fungi. ... Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly called LSD, LSD-25, or acid. ... Ergonovine, also known as ergometrine, d-lysergic acid beta-propanolamide, is one of primary ergot alkaloids and an alkaloid of many species of morning glory, too. ...

While modern scholars have presented evidence supporting their view that a potion was drunk as part of the ceremony, the exact composition of that agent remains controversial. Modern preparations of kykeon using ergot-parasitized barley have yielded inconclusive results, although Alexander Shulgin and Ann Shulgin describe both ergonovine and LSA to be known to produce LSD-like effects.^[19][20] Terence McKenna argued that the mysteries were focused around a variety of Psilocybe mushrooms, and various other entheogenic plants, such as Amanita muscaria mushrooms, have also been suggested but at present no consensus has been reached.^[21] The size of the event may rule out Amanita or Psilocybe mushrooms as active ingredient, since it is unlikely that there would have been enough wild mushrooms for all participants. However a recent hypothesis suggests that Psilocybe cultivation technology was not unknown in ancient Egypt^[22], from which it could easily have spread to Greece. Alexander and Ann Shulgin, in a photo from their book TiHKAL, c. ... Ann Shulgin (March 22, 1931) is an author and wife of famous chemist Alexander Shulgin. ... For the Canadian writer, actor, producer & director, see Terence McKenna (film producer). ... This article or section is missing citation of sources. ... This entry covers entheogens in the strict sense of the word (i. ... Binomial name (L.:Fr. ...

Another theory is that the kykeon was an Ayahuasca analog involving Syrian Rue (Peganum harmala), a shrub which grows throughout the Mediterranean and also functions as a Monoamine oxidase inhibitor. The most likely candidate for the DMT containing plant, of which there are many in nature, would be a species of Acacia.^[23] Ayahuasca (Quechua, pronounced ) is any of various psychoactive infusions prepared from the Banisteriopsis spp. ... Binomial name Peganum harmala Syrian Rue (Peganum harmala) is a plant of the family Nitrariaceae. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Dimethyltryptamine (DMT), also known as N,N-dimethyltryptamine, is a psychedelic tryptamine. ... For other uses, see Acacia (disambiguation). ...

See also

• Dionysian Mysteries
• Orphic Mysteries

Maened The Dionysian Mysteries probably began as an ancient initiation society, or family of similar societies, centred on a primeval nature god (and his consort), apparently associated with horned animals, serpents and solitary predators (primarily big cats), later known to the Greeks in the eclectic figure of Dionysus. ... Orphism or (more rarely) Orphicism seems to have been a mystery religion in the ancient Greek world. ...

References

The Bibliotheca (in English Library), in three books, provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. ... (Redirected from 1000 BC) Centuries: 12th century BC - 11th century BC - 10th century BC Decades: 1050s BC 1040s BC 1030s BC 1020s BC 1010s BC - 1000s BC - 990s BC 980s BC 970s BC 960s BC 950s BC Events and Trends 1006 BC - David becomes king of the ancient Israelites (traditional... (Redirected from 1 AD) For other uses, see One (disambiguation), for the number, see Number 1. ... There is also the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), located in Manhattan. ... is the 207th day of the year (208th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college founded in 1831 and located in Middletown, Connecticut. ... is the 206th day of the year (207th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... R. Gordon Wasson (September 22, 1898 – December 23, 1986) was an author, amateur researcher and banker. ... Carl A. P. Ruck is a professor in the Classical Studies department at Boston University. ... Dr. Dr. Albert Hofmann (born January 11, 1906) is a prominent Swiss scientist best known as the father of LSD. He was born in Baden, Switzerland, and studied chemistry at the University of Zürich. ...

Sources

• Apollodorus. Apollodorus: The Library, Sir James George Frazer (translator). Two volumes. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press and London: William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. Vol. 1: ISBN 0674991354. Vol. 2: ISBN 0674991362.
• Boardman, Griffin, and Murray. The Oxford History of the Classical World (Oxford University Press 1986). ISBN 978-0198721123.
• Cicero. Laws II, xiv, 36.
• Clinton, Kevin. "The Epidauria and the Arrival of Asclepius in Athens" in Ancient Greek Cult Practice from the Epigraphical Evidence. edited by R. Hägg, Stockholm, 1994. ISBN 9179160298.
• Greene, William C. "The Return of Persephone" in Classical Philology. University of Chicago Press 1946. pp. 105-106.
• Kerényi, Karl. Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter, Princeton University Press, 1991. ISBN 0-691-01915-0.
• Metzner, Ralph. "The Reunification of the Sacred and the natural", Eleusis Volume VIII, pp. 3-13 (1997).
• Mckenna, Terrence. Food of the Gods: Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge. Bantam, January 1993. ISBN 0553371304.
• Moore, Clifford H. Religious Thought of the Greeks. (1916). Kessinger Publishing April, 2003. ISBN 0766151301.
• Mylonas, George Emmanuel. Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries. Princeton University Press 1961.
• Nilsson, Martin P.. Greek Popular Religion 1940.
• Rassias, Vlasis. Demolish Them. (in Greek) Athens, 2000. (2nd edition) ISBN 960-7748-20-4.
• Riu, Xavier. Dionysism and Comedy, (1999), Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.; Reprint edition (March 2002). ISBN 0847694429. Cf. p. 107 for a discussion of Dionysus and his role in the Eleusinian Mysteries.
• Rohde, Erwin. Psyche: The Cult of Souls and the Belief in Immortality among the Greeks. trans. from the 8th edn. by W. B. Hillis, Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1925; reprinted by Routledge, 2000. cf. Chapter 6, "The Eleusinian Mysteries".
• Sulgin, Alexander, Ann Shulgin. TiHKAL. Transform Press, 1997.
• Smith, William, A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology and Geography Vol. II. Kessinger Publishing, LLC 2006. ISBN 1428645616.
• Smith, William. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. London, 1875.
• Thomas Taylor, Eleusinian and Bacchic Mysteries. Lighting Source Publishers, 1997. ISBN 1564599760.
• Tripolitis, Antonia. Religions of the Hellenistic-Roman Age. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, November 2001. ISBN 080284913X.
• Vaughn, Steck. Demeter and Persephone. Steck Vaughn Publishing, June 1994. ISBN 978-0811433624.
• Wasson, R,, Ruck, C., Hofmann, A., The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries. Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1978. ISBN 0-15-177872-8.

The Loeb Classical Library is a series of books, today published by the Harvard University Press, which present important works of ancient Greek and Latin Literature in a way designed to make the text accessible to the broadest possible audience, by presenting the original Greek or Latin text on each... One of the founders of modern studies in Greek mythology, Karl (Carl, Károly) Kerényi (January 19, 1897 - April 14, 1973) was born in Timisoara, then in Hungary, to a family of some landed property. ... For the Canadian writer, actor, producer & director, see Terence McKenna (film producer). ... Martin P[ersson] Nilsson (Stoby, Kristianstad 12 July 1874 — Lund 7 April 1967) was a Swedish philologist, a mythographer who specialised in Greek mythology and a historian of religion. ... Erwin Rohde (1845 - 1898) was one of the great German classical scholars of the 19th and early 20th centuries. ... Alexander and Ann Shulgin, in a photo from their book TiHKAL, c. ... Ann Shulgin (March 22, 1931) is an author and wife of famous chemist Alexander Shulgin. ... Thomas Taylor (15 May 1758 - 1 November 1835) was an English translator and Neoplatonist, the first to translate into English the complete works of Aristotle and of Plato, as well as the Orphic fragments. ... R. Gordon Wasson (September 22, 1898 – December 23, 1986) was an author, amateur researcher and banker. ... Carl A. P. Ruck is a professor in the Classical Studies department at Boston University. ... Dr. Dr. Albert Hofmann (born January 11, 1906) is a prominent Swiss scientist best known as the father of LSD. He was born in Baden, Switzerland, and studied chemistry at the University of Zürich. ...

External links

• A description of the Mysteries.
• The Eleusinian Mysteries, Edward A. Beach.
• The Eleusinian Mysteries, Thomas R. Martin, from An Overview of Classical Greek History from Homer to Alexander.
• Images of Inscriptions about the Mysteries at Eleusis, Cornell University Library.
• Foreword and first chapter from The Road to Eleusis R. Gordon Wasson, Albert Hofmann, Carl A. P. Ruck