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. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Initiation is a Rite of passage Ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society This article discusses cult in the original and typically ancient sense of "religious practice" (cultus Demeter (dɨˈmiːtɚ Greek:, possibly "distribution-mother" from the noun of the Indo-European mother-earth * dheghom * mater In Greek mythology, Persephone ( Kore or Cora) was the embodiment of the Earth's fertility at the same time that she was the Queen of the Underworld Elefsina (Ελευσίνα Ancient/ Katharevousa: Eleusis is a town and municipality about 20 km NW of Athens. The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Of all the mysteries celebrated in ancient times, these were held to be the ones of greatest importance. These myths and mysteries, begun in the Mycenean period (c. Mystery Religions, Sacred Mysteries or simply Mysteries, were "religious cults of the Graeco-Roman 1700 BC) and lasting two thousand years, were a major festival during the Hellenic era, later spreading to Rome. Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC ^[1]

The rites, ceremonies, and beliefs were kept secret, as initiation was believed to unite the worshipper with the gods and included promises of divine power and rewards in the afterlife. Life After Death (Originally titled "Life After Death'Till Death Do Us Part" is the Grammy -nominated second album by East Coast rapper ^[2] 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 psychedelic agents.

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 seem to be related to a myth concerning Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fertility as recounted in one of the Homeric Hymns (c. Buzyges redirects here For the Genus of Grass skipper Butterflies, see Buzyges (butterfly. Demeter (dɨˈmiːtɚ Greek:, possibly "distribution-mother" from the noun of the Indo-European mother-earth * dheghom * mater In Greek mythology, Persephone ( Kore or Cora) was the embodiment of the Earth's fertility at the same time that she was the Queen of the Underworld The National Archaeological Museum of Athens (Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety The thirty-three anonymous Homeric Hymns celebrating individual gods are a collection of ancient Greek Hymns "Homeric" in the sense that they employ the 650 B. C. ). According to the hymn, Demeter's daughter Persephone (also referred to as Kore, "girl") was gathering flowers with friends, when she was seized by her uncle, Hades, the god of death and the underworld, with the consent of her father Zeus. Hades (from Greek, Hadēs, originally, Haidēs or, Aidēs, probably from Indo-European *n̥-wid- 'unseen' refers both to the ancient He took her to his underworld kingdom. Distraught, Demeter searched high and low for her daughter. Because of her distress, and in an effort to coerce Zeus to allow the return of her daughter, she caused a terrible drought in which the people suffered and starved. A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply This would have deprived the gods of sacrifice and worship. As a result of this Zeus relents and allows Persephone to return to her mother. ^[3]

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. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture Buzyges redirects here For the Genus of Grass skipper Butterflies, see Buzyges (butterfly. ^[4] Finally, by consulting Zeus, Demeter reunites with her daughter and the earth returns to its former verdure and prosperity: the first spring. Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology (For more information on this story, see Demeter. Demeter (dɨˈmiːtɚ Greek:, possibly "distribution-mother" from the noun of the Indo-European mother-earth * dheghom * mater ) Before allowing Persephone to return to her mother, Hades offered her a great feast as she was hungry and Persephone ate 7 seeds of a pomegranate. The pomegranate ( Punica granatum) is a Fruit -bearing Deciduous Shrub or small Tree growing to between five and eight metres tall 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 six months while staying above ground with her mother for a similar period. This left a large period of time when Demeter was unhappy due to Persephone's absence therefore she did not cultivate the Earth and it withered, however, when Persephone returned to the suface she became joyful and cared for the Earth again. However, six months of winter was unlikely and it is easier to believe that Persephone stayed with Hades for four months and Demeter eight months. The end result was eight months of growth and abundance to be followed by four months of no productivity. ^[5] 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. ^[6] After the first rains in the fall, when the seeds are planted, Persephone returns from the Underworld and the cycle of growth begins anew. This is one example of the Ancient Greek civilization explaining things that they did not understand, the turn of the seasons.

The Eleusinian Mysteries probably included a celebration of 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 (gr κάτω κόσμος) is a generic term approximately equivalent to the lay term Afterlife

The Mysteries

The Eleusinian Mysteries are believed to have begun about 1700 BC, during the Mycenean Age. "Lion Gate" redirects here For other uses see Lions' Gate (disambiguation. One line of thought by modern scholars has been that these Mysteries were intended "to elevate man above the human sphere into the divine and to assure his redemption by making him a god and so conferring immortality upon him. "^[7]

The lesser mysteries were probably held every year; the greater mysteries only every five years. ^[8] 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. The thirty-three anonymous Homeric Hymns celebrating individual gods are a collection of ancient Greek Hymns "Homeric" in the sense that they employ the Celeus (or Keleus) was the king of Eleusis in Greek mythology. He was also one of her original priests, along with Diocles, Eumolpos, Polyxeinus and Triptolemus, Celeus' son, who had supposedly learned agriculture from Demeter. 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 (also Eumolpos) was the son of Poseidon and Chione. In Greek mythology, Polyxenus (Πολύξενος or Πολύξεινος was one of the first priests of Demeter and one of the first to learn the secrets of the Buzyges redirects here For the Genus of Grass skipper Butterflies, see Buzyges (butterfly. ^[9]

Under Pisistratus of Athens, the Eleusinian Mysteries became pan-Hellenic and pilgrims flocked from Greece and beyond to participate. Peisistratus (sometimes transliterated Peisistratos Psistratus, Peistratus, Pesistratusor or Pisistratus, Greek: Around 300 BC, the state took over control of the Mysteries; they were specifically controlled by two families, the Eumolpidae and the Kerykes. The Eumolpidae (Ευμολπιδαι were one of the sacred Eleusinian families of priests that ran the Eleusinian Mysteries during the Hellenic era. The Kerykes (Κήρυκες were one of the sacred Eleusinian families of priests that ran the Eleusinian Mysteries during the Hellenic era. 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. ^[10]

Participants

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

1. Priests, priestesses and hierophants. A priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites in particular rites of sacrifice to and propitiation of a deity or deities The role of the hierophant in religion is to bring the congregants into the presence of that which is deemed holy
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.

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. ^[11]

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. Thomas Taylor ( 15 May 1758 - 1 November 1835) was an English translator and Neoplatonist the first to translate into English " 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. "^[12]

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. The Attic calendar is the Calendar that was in use in ancient Attica, the ancestral territory of the Athenian Polis. 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 is the best known Acropolis (high city The "Sacred Rock" in the world

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). A part of the Eleusinian Mysteries, prorrhesis was the official announcement of the start of the rites The "Seawards initiates" (halade mystai) began in Athens on 16th Boedromion with the celebrants washing themselves in the sea at Phaleron. Faliro (Ancient Greek: Φάληρον Phálēron; Modern Greek: Φάληρο, Fáliro; Latin: Phaleron and

On 17th Boedromion, the participants began the Epidauria, a festival for Asklepios named after his main sanctuary at Epidauros. Asclepius (pronounced /æsˈkliːpiːəs/, Greek, transliterated Asklēpiós; Latin Aesculapius) is the god of Medicine Epidaurus (Ἐπίδαυρος Epidavros) was a small city ( Polis) in ancient Greece, at the Saronic Gulf. 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). In Greek mythology, Hygieia ( or Hygeia ( was a daughter of Asclepius. ^[13]

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" (Ιερά Οδός), swinging branches called bacchoi. Kerameikos is an area of Athens, Greece, located to the northwest of the Acropolis, which includes an extensive area both within and outside the city 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 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. In Greek mythology, Iambe was a goddess of verse especially scurrilous ribald humour Baubo (Βαυβώ is an old woman in Greek mythology who jested with Demeter when she was mourning the loss of her daughter Persephone. The procession also shouted "Iakch' o Iakche!," referring to Iacchus, possibly an epithet for Dionysus, or a separate deity, son of Persephone or Demeter. In Greek mythology, Iacchus (Ίακχος is an Epithet of Dionysus, particularly associated with the Mysteries at Eleusis, where he was considered In Classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos (in Greek, Διόνυσος or Διώνυσος; associated with Roman

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. The herb Pennyroyal ( Mentha pulegium, family Lamiaceae) is a member of the mint Genus; an Essential oil extracted from Kykeon (Gr κυκεών from κυκάω "to stir to mix" was an Ancient Greek drink made mainly of water barley and herbs 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. A great hall in Eleusis, Telesterion was one of the primary centers of the Eleusinian Mysteries. 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. Athenagoras (ca 133-190 was a Christian Apologist who lived during the second half of the 2nd century of whom little is known for certain besides that he was

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 (Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια were initiation ceremonies held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone )

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. The Rharian Field was located in Eleusis in Greece and was supposedly where the first plot of grain was grown after Demeter (through Triptolemus 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. A libation (spondee in Greek) is a Ritual pouring of a drink as an offering to a god.

On 23rd Boedromion, the Mysteries ended and everyone returned home. ^[14]

End of the Eleusinian Mysteries

In 170 AD, the Temple of Demeter was sacked by the Sarmatians but was rebuilt by Marcus Aurelius. The Sarmatians, Sarmatae or Sauromatae ( Old Iranian Sarumatah 'archer' Σαρμάτες Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (often referred to as "the wise" ( April 26, 121 – March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor 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. Flavius Claudius Julianus, known also as Julian or Julian the Apostate (331 or 332 to 26 June 363) was Roman Emperor (Caesar ^[15]

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 Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Flavius Theodosius (January 11 347 – January 17 395 also called Theodosius I and Theodosius the Great ( Greek: Θεοδόσιος Α΄ Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings A state religion (also called an official religion, established church or state church) is a religious body or Creed officially 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. Alaric I ( Alareiks in the original Gothic; Alarik or Alarich in modern Germanic languages Alaricus in Latin and Alarico The Goths ( Gothic: Gothic usvg|14px|u]]Gothic asvg|14px|a]]Gothic s Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius (c AD 250-336 who was ruled a heretic by the Christian church at the Council of Nicea. ^[16] The closing of the Eleusinian Mysteries in the 4th century is reported by Eunapios, a historian and biographer of the Greek philosophers. Eunapius was a Greek Sophist and Historian of the 4th century. 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. The role of the hierophant in religion is to bring the congregants into the presence of that which is deemed holy Flavius Claudius Julianus, known also as Julian or Julian the Apostate (331 or 332 to 26 June 363) was Roman Emperor (Caesar 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. Thespiae ( Greek Θεσπιαι Thespiai) was an ancient Greek city in Boeotia. The Mithraic Mysteries or Mysteries of Mithras (also Mithraism) was a Roman mystery religion which became popular among the military in the late "

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. The National Archaeological Museum of Athens (Εθνικό Αρχαιολογικό Μουσείο in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety 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. ^[17] 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 4th century BC started the first day of 400 BC and ended the last day of 301 BC. The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC. The 6th century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC.

The Ninnion Tablet, found in the same museum, depicts Demeter, followed by Persephone and Iacchus, and then the procession of initiates. The Ninnion Tablet, dated to approximately 370 BC is a red Clay tablet depicting the ancient Greek Eleusinian Mysteries (religious rites connected to 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. In Greek mythology, Iacchus (Ίακχος is an Epithet of Dionysus, particularly associated with the Mysteries at Eleusis, where he was considered 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. An omphalos is an ancient religious stone artifact, or Baetylus. Pannychis is also represented. ^[18]

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. William Shakespeare ( baptised The Tempest is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. It is generally dated to 1610-11 and accepted as the last play written solely by him although The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in sixteenth and early seventeenth century Europe though it was developed earlier in Italy 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. Alchemy a part of the Occult Tradition is both a philosophy and a practice with an ultimately unknown aim involving the improvement of the alchemist as well as the making of Hermeticism is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, who is put forth as a

Entheogenic theories

Some scholars believe that the power of the Eleusinian Mysteries came from the kykeon's functioning as a psychedelic agent. Kykeon (Gr κυκεών from κυκάω "to stir to mix" was an Ancient Greek drink made mainly of water barley and herbs Modern psychedelia For "psychedelics" see Psychedelic drug. ^[19] Barley may be parasitized by the fungus ergot, which contains the psychoactive alkaloids lysergic acid amide (LSA), a precursor to LSD and ergonovine. Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between Organisms of different Species. A fungus (ˈfʌŋgəs is a eukaryotic Organism that is a member of the kingdom Fungi (ˈfʌndʒaɪ Ergot is the common name of a Fungus in the Genus Claviceps that is parasitic on certain grains and grasses A psychoactive drug or psychotropic substance is a Chemical substance that acts primarily upon the Central nervous system where it alters Brain LSA, also known as d-lysergic acid amide, d-lysergamide, ergine, and LA-111, is an Alkaloid of the Ergoline family Ergonovine, also known as ergometrine or d- Lysergic acid beta-propanolamide is an Ergoline (and Lysergamide) derivative, and one 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. ^[20]

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. Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin (born June 17 1925 in Berkeley, California) is a Russian-American Pharmacologist, Chemist and Ann Shulgin (born March 22, 1931) is an author and the wife of famous chemist Alexander Shulgin. Ergonovine, also known as ergometrine or d- Lysergic acid beta-propanolamide is an Ergoline (and Lysergamide) derivative, and one LSA, also known as d-lysergic acid amide, d-lysergamide, ergine, and LA-111, is an Alkaloid of the Ergoline family ^[21][22] 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. Terence Kemp McKenna ( November 16 1946 – April 3 2000) was a Writer, Philosopher, and Ethnobotanist. Psilocybe is a Genus of small Mushrooms growing worldwide This genus is best known for its species with hallucinogenic properties widely An entheogen, in the strictest sense is a Psychoactive substance used in a religious or shamanic (or entheogenic) context Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly Amanita is a poisonous and Psychoactive Basidiomycete Fungus, ^[23] 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. The Genus Amanita contains about 600 Species of Agarics including some of the most Toxic known mushrooms found worldwide However a recent hypothesis suggests that Psilocybe cultivation technology was not unknown in ancient Egypt,^[24] from which it could easily have spread to Greece.

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. This entry focuses on the Ayahuasca brew for information on the vine of the same name see Banisteriopsis caapi Ayahuasca Harmal ( Peganum harmala) is a Plant of the family Nitrariaceae, native from the eastern Mediterranean region east to Harmal ( Peganum harmala) is a Plant of the family Nitrariaceae, native from the eastern Mediterranean region east to A shrub or Bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of Woody plant, distinguished from a Tree Monoamine oxidase inhibitors ( MAOIs) are a class of powerful antidepressant drugs prescribed for the treatment of depression. The most likely candidate for the DMT containing plant, of which there are many in nature, would be a species of Acacia. Dimethyltryptamine (DMT also known as NN -dimethyltryptamine, is a naturally occurring Tryptamine and potent psychedelic drug found not only in Acacia is a Genus of Shrubs and Trees belonging to the Subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first ^[25] Other scholars however, noting the lack of any solid evidence and stressing the collective rather than individual character of initiation into the Mysteries, regard entheogenic theories with pointed skepticism. ^[26]

See also

• Dionysian Mysteries
• Flower Sermon
• Orphic Mysteries

References

Sources

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• Cicero. Laws II, xiv, 36.
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• Rohde, Erwin. Erwin Rohde ( October 9, 1845 &ndash January 11, 1898) was one of the great German classical scholars of the 19th and early 20th centuries 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".
• Shulgin, Alexander, Ann Shulgin. Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin (born June 17 1925 in Berkeley, California) is a Russian-American Pharmacologist, Chemist and Ann Shulgin (born March 22, 1931) is an author and the wife of famous chemist Alexander Shulgin. TiHKAL. Transform Press, 1997.
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• Smith, William. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. London, 1875.
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• 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. Robert Gordon Wasson ( September 22, 1898 &ndash December 23, 1986) was an Author, amateur researcher and banker Carl A P Ruck (born Dec 8 1935, Bridgeport Connecticut) is a professor in the Classical Studies department at Boston University. Albert Hofmann ( January 11 1906 – April 29 2008) was a Swiss scientist best known for having been the first to synthesize Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich, 1978. ISBN 0-15-177872-8.
• Willoughby, Harold R. The Greater Mysteries at Eleusis, Ch. 2 of Pagan Regeneration: A Study of Mystery Initiations in the Graeco-Roman World, 2003, Kessinger Publishing, ISBN 0766180832. Broad excerpts can be browsed online.

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