Received: 29 April 2012 / Accepted: 16 August 2012

© 2013 Sociedad Española de Neurología

Neurosciences and History 2013; 1 (1): 28-38 Original

Psychoactive plants in ancient Greece

F.J. Carod-Artal
Visiting Professor of Neurology. College of Medicine and Health Sciences. International University of Catalonia (UIC), Barcelona, Spain.

ABSTRACT

Introduction. Various literary and archaeological references point to extended use of different psychoactive plants
along the eastern Mediterranean region. This article reviews key evidence of the use of psychotropic plants in
ancient Greece.
Research. The opium poppy (Papaver somniferum) has been used since the Bronze Age or earlier. Opium was
used to induce somnolence in the incubation rituals practised in the temples of Asclepius (Asklepios). Nepenthe,
described by Homer in the Odyssey, was probably an opium-based preparation; opium had been introduced to
the Greeks by way of Egypt. On Crete, a Minoan shrine (1300 BCE) dedicated to the “poppy goddess” of fertility
and health was discovered in the village of Gazi. Numerous golden seals from Mycenae and Boeotia show images
of states of ecstasy associated with poppy consumption. Ritual inhaling of cannabis smoke arose on the steppes
of Asia. Herodotus (5th century BCE) described rituals of inhaling cannabis smoke among Scythians and Mas-
sageteans. Initiates in the Eleusinian Mysteries (1500 BCE–4th century CE), took kykeon, a psychoactive secret
potion. It is thought that kykeon contained hallucinogenic substances that induced visions and the state of ecstasy
associated with the Mysteries. Rye ergot, which contains lysergic acid amides, may have been one of the ingredi-
ents of the drink.
Conclusions. In the Archaic period in Greece, poppies, cannabis, and other plants such as henbane or datura were
used for ritual and medicinal purposes.

KEYWORDS
Asclepius, Cannabis sativa, Claviceps purpurea, history, Greek medicine, opium, Papaver somniferum.

Introduction
Various literary and archaeological references point to
Hallucinogens are substances that provoke false sen- extended use of different psychoactive plants through-
sations or distort perception of the environment (cre- out the Eastern Mediterranean region. The purpose of
ating illusions) without causing loss of consciousness this article is to review key evidence of psychoactive
when taken in normal, non-toxic doses.1 They are plant use in ancient Greece and the cultural origins
also known as entheogens (substances that stimu- of such use.4
late mysticism or divine communication). This word
comes from the Greek roots en (full of), theo (god), Analysis
and gen (create). Numerous cultures have used these
substances throughout history, and at present, many 1. Ancient Greek medicine
different ethnic groups still take part in rituals associ-
ated with the use of entheogenic plants. For example, Aclepius, god of medicine
mescaline and psilocybin-rich mushrooms are used
by a number of Mesoamerican cultures. Amanita In Greek mythology, Asclepius was revered as the god
muscaria and Ephedra sp. were once used in Indo-Eu- of medicine. The son of Apollo and the mortal wom-
ropean religious rites. They were probably included an Coronis, Asclepius possessed the gift of healing.
among the ingredients of soma, the sacred drink in According to Pindar (6th century BCE), Apollo made
the Rigveda, and Haoma, used in the ancient Zoroas- love to Coronis, daughter of the king of Thessaly.
trian religion.2,3 When he departed for Delphi, he left her guarded by a

Corresponding author: Dr Francisco Javier Carod-Artal. Telephone (+34) 618684738; fax (+34) 969230407
Calle José Pellicer 46,7C, CP 50007, Zaragoza, Spain. E-mail: [email protected]

28
 Neursci Hist. 2013; 1 (1): 28-38

white crow. Some time later, the crow informed Apol-

lo that Coronis had taken a new lover, the mortal man
Ischys, to whom she was now betrothed. Apollo then
cursed the crow, which has had black feathers ever since
(Figure 1), and murdered Coronis. Before burning her
body on a funeral pyre, Apollo snatched his son Asclepi-
us from her womb.

Figure 1. The god Apollo offering libation, shown with a black crow.
Museum of Delphi.
Figura
Figure 2.2. Asclepio,
Asclepius, Greek dios
god of de la medicina
medicine. griega.
National Archaeological
Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Atenas.
Museum of Athens.
Asclepius was raised and educated by the centaur Chi-
ron, who taught him the art of medicine, the use of me- The Asclepeia
dicinal plants, and pharmaka.5 But Zeus, envious of his
healing powers and ability to resuscitate the dead, ended The figure of Asclepius was venerated in ancient Greek
his life. After death, Asclepius rose to the heavens and medicine, and his successors practiced his art in a net-
became the constellation known as Ophiuchus, the ser- work of sanctuaries and healing temples named ascle-
pent bearer; his symbol is a serpent entwined around a peia (singular, asclepeion or asklepieion). Temples were
staff (Figure 2). often located near a spring or river whose waters were
said to have medicinal powers. The shrine of Asclepius
His sons Machaon and Podalirius continued practising in Epidaurus was probably the most important during
the medical arts their father had taught them. They were this period; other major shrines were located at Kos,
considered lesser gods, and Machaon is associated with Knidos, and Pergamum.
surgery. A passage in the Iliad narrates how Menelaus
sustained an arrow wound and was cured by Machaon.6 Within these healing temples, the sick made a series of
offerings and sacrifices to Asclepius and underwent rit-
The daughters of Asclepius included Hygieia (the per- uals including one-day fasts, three days of abstinence
sonification of health), Panacea (associated with univer- from wine, baths, and massages. The different build-
sal cures), and Iaso (the goddess of recuperation). ings in the healing temple contained areas for physical
exercise and special rooms for the sick. After finishing
Apollo was also considered an oracular god, and a major their purification rites, the sick were led to the abaton or
temple was dedicated to him in his sanctuary at Delphi, incubation chamber where they would participate in a
where the Pythia or oracle revealed her visions or pre- practice called ‘dream incubation’. Asclepius would ap-
dictions of the future. Apollo had the power to summon pear to a fortunate few in their dreams and cure them
illnesses in the form of plagues (the so-called arrows of by touching the ailing part of their body (Figure 3). On
Apollo), and also to cure them. other occasions, Asclepius appeared in the dreams of the

29
 Neursci Hist. 2013; 1 (1): 28-38

sick and informed them of what was causing their dis- The practice worked by the principle of analogy; it was
tress or provided a list of remedies that they should take believed that like followed like. Animals could therefore
upon waking. Numerous offerings and votive deposits be used as vessels for illnesses, and their entrails were
were left in the temples in thanks for cures provided by used after they were sacrificed. Logotherapy, healing
the god. The ex-votos that have been found inform us with words, supplication, invoking the gods, commina-
that Asclepius cured many diseases, treated ulcers and tion, epode and exorcism were yet other methods used
kidney stones, and restored sight to the blind indicate by the priests at the Asclepeia, who served as interme-
that sleep may have been induced by narcotics whose diaries between patients and the gods. Niktiday –cere-
effects did not include the stupor provoked by the sola- monies with music and dancing– and nocturnal dances
naceae family or the visionary trances caused by canna- to purge the body of illness were used in this ritual con-
bis. With this in mind, opium is believed to be the main text. An example of the magical approach to healing in
narcotic agent used in dream incubation. ancient Greek medicine is the story of how Melampus
healed the daughters of king Proetus by splashing pig’s
blood on their foreheads; the girls had been driven mad
after refusing to participate in the rites of Dionysus.

From Homeric medicine to the Pre-Socratic era

While use of healing temples was on the rise, botanical

remedies for treating wounds were also being developed.
Homer’s Iliad contains a remarkably large anatomical vo-
cabulary with more than 150 words, including kranion,
osea, sphondyloi, pleurai, brakhion, yugulum, eakhis, and
splankna. It also describes nearly as many wounds with
high mortality rates and in various locations, including
the head, thorax, abdomen, limbs; most were caused by
Figure 3. Scene of a dream incubation in which Asclepius appears. lances, while others were caused by swords and arrows.
Epidaurus. In the Iliad, Homer relates how Achilles treats and ban-
dages the wounded arm of his friend Patroclus, which
Theurgic medicine indicates a certain familiarity with techniques for treat-
ing war wounds.
Ancient medicine was based on mythological beliefs
and the idea that human beings were inferior to a divine Later on, in the 6th century BCE, secular schools of
power. Sickness was interpreted as punishment by the medicine began to be founded which distanced them-
gods, and such punishment could either be collective selves from the temples of Asclepius and their magical
(plagues, arrows of Apollo) or individual (leprosy, blind- and spiritual approach. This was the birth of pre-Socratic
ness, insanity). Some sick people might be possessed by and pre-Hippocratic medicine, which was further devel-
a malignant spirit or daimon, or as in cases of epilepsy, oped at the schools of Knido and Cos.
suffer from the effects of a curse.
These schools began using a scientific approach to an-
Theurgic medicine in ancient Greece was magical in alysing symptoms, formulating the diagnosis, deter-
nature and concerned with both prognosis and preven- mining the prognosis, and prescribing treatment. These
tion; it also made use of a number of rituals. The Greeks medical schools, which predate Hippocrates, would
practiced apotropaic magic and obtained the gods’ fa- come to recognise that not all illnesses are curable and
vours through ritual sacrifices. Rites of propitiation and that no doctor can turn aside fate.
atonement were used in an attempt to ward off sickness.
Additionally, the Greeks used rites of katharsis to purge But prior to this, in the Archaic period, numerous psy-
illness from the sick. This cleansing ritual made use of choactive plants were used to induce visionary or trance
river water, although at times purification was achieved states within a context of magical and religious rites, as
by using fire. described in the following section.

30
 Neursci Hist. 2013; 1 (1): 28-38

2. Papaver somniferum gos, Albuñol, in the province of Granada. Nevertheless,

the oldest evidence of ritual therapeutic use of the poppy
Ethnobotany is a Sumerian text from Mesopotamia, which describes
it as the plant of happiness. Sumerians grew poppies and
The opium poppy is an annual herbaceous plant found harvested their opium some 3000 years before the Chris-
throughout the entire Mediterranean region. Its mat- tian era.
ure encapsulated fruit and its sap contain a high concen-
tration of alkaloids. Extracted opium, a word of Greek Poppies were known in ancient times along the Med-
origin meaning ‘juice’, has an alkaloid content of approx- iterranean basin and also in the Near East. Literary
imately 10% to 20%, and a mineral content of 6%; sugars sources and archaeological evidence point to poppy use
and organic acids account for 20%. In contrast, its seeds in the eastern Mediterranean region in the Late Bronze
do not contain alkaloids. Age. Ritual artefacts associated with poppy use have
been found in Cyprus, Crete, continental Greece, Syria,
Two types of alkaloids have been isolated in opium: and Egypt. A ritual vessel containing poppy seeds was
phenanthrene derivatives (morphine, codeine, thebaine) found in the ruins of Beycesulan, an Anatolian palace
and isoquinolines, derived from tyrosine with a benzyli- destroyed in the 19th century BCE. Plantations were
soquinoline nucleus. Morphine, a name derived from yielding opium in Thebes as long ago as the 15th century
the god of sleep Morpheus, accounts for 10% of the to- BCE. Egyptian-produced opium was called Thebaic opi-
tal alkaloids in opium, while codeine (methylmorphine) um (‘thebaine’, the name of one of the opium alkaloids, is
and thebaine (dimethylmorphine) account for 0.5% derived from this name). Opium was used as a narcotic
and 0.2% respectively. Alkaloids derived from benzyli- and sedative in Egypt during the reign of Amenhotep III.
soquinoline have a spasmolytic effect. Papaverine is the An alabaster vessel containing vegetable oil and opium
main alkaloid in this group, and it accounts for 1% of the was found in the tomb of the architect Kha. The Ebers
total alkaloids in opium.7 papyrus (1500 BCE) refers to medicinal use of the opi-
um poppy. The text recommends using an opium-based
The effects of opium are mainly due to its principal al- preparation for calming children who shouted or cried
kaloid morphine, which produces a sense of euphoria, too much, and relates that Isis had used it to soothe her
happiness, and well-being, while at the same time less- son Horus.8
ening pain and inducing a state of drowsy contentment.
Opium poppy consumption may cause nausea, vomit- Poppy use in Greek texts
ing, constipation, and headaches as side effects; users
may also develop a tolerance and experience physical Homer’s writings refer to the effects of a number of
dependence. philtres and potions made from different ingredients
dissolved in wine. Nestor’s drink in The Iliad, and the
The technique for obtaining opium was developed in nepenthe referred to in The Odyssey, both fit this de-
Neolithic times and remains virtually unchanged today. scription.
The process begins about two weeks before the plant’s
leaves fall, when the poppy seed capsule is hardening. At Homer is credited with the first mention of poppies in
dusk, the poppy seed capsule is scored with small inci- Greek literature (The Iliad, Book VIII, 306), with this
sions that allow its latex to flow out. The next morning, poetic reference: “as when a poppy in the garden drops
an iron tool is used to remove a brownish paste, which is its head to one side, weighed down with its fruit or with
later made into powder. the spring rain, so his head fell to one side under the
helmet’s burden”. Nepenthes pharmakon was probably
Historical and archaeological findings predating those in an opium-based concoction introduced to the Greeks by
Greece way of Egypt. Homer tells us that during a banquet given
by Menelaus in Telemachus’ honour, Helen adds a philtre
The oldest poppy capsules on record come from a Neo- to the wine to allay the guests’ sadness at remembering
lithic village in Switzerland. In Spain, capsules from Pa- Ulysses. This was the drink of forgetfulness erasing all
paver somniferum dated to 4200 years ago were found in sadness, as indicated by the meaning of the Greek parti-
bundles from a burial hoard at Cueva de los Murciéla- cles ne (not) and penthes (pain), that which ends sadness.

31
 Neursci Hist. 2013; 1 (1): 28-38

Helen would have learnt the formula from Polydamna occur with 3 drachmas. At a later time, Scribonius Lar-
of Egypt, since Thebaic opium was valued highly by the gus, physician to Emperor Claudius, rediscovered the
Greeks; it was said that countless poppies grew in the Assyrian method of making incisions in the poppy pod
fertile land of Thebes. At later dates, other Greek writers and described it in his treatise Compositiones Medica-
mentioned the poppy (mekon in Greek). For example, mentorum.
Hesiod in the 7th century BCE speaks of Mecone (or
Mekone), a city near Corinth named for the opium pop- Archaeological evidence of poppy use in Greece
py. Strabo provides further details and informs us that
Mecone was the old name of Sicyon. In turn, Herodotus Archaeological evidence indicates that Papaver som-
compares the poppy to the Egyptian lotus. Pausanias re- niferum was used in ancient Greece. On Crete, a Minoan
lated that a statue of Aphrodite holding a poppy flower shrine dating to 1300 BCE and dedicated to the “poppy
was raised near the shrine of Asclepius in Sicyon; “the goddess” of fertility and health was discovered in the vil-
seated image is the work of Canachus of Sicyon. It is lage of Gazi. The statues of the poppy goddess are a series
wrought in ivory and gold, bearing a sphere on the head, of female figures with bell-shaped bodies and uplifted
and having in the one hand a poppy and in the other an arms; they are crowned with diadems of poppy heads,
apple”. which are used for making opium. These sculptures have
been found in underground chambers, along with tube-
In his essay “On Government”, Heraclides Ponticus (4th shaped vessels used for inhaling opium smoke.
century BCE) stated that the ancients practiced euthana-
sia using opium. Furthermore, in the 2nd century BCE, The religious significance of the Poppy Goddess of Crete
Theophrastus in his Historia Plantarum describes differ- can be seen when we scrutinise the cut lines represented
ent poppy varieties, ways of extracting latex, and opium’s on the poppy heads on the statue; evenly-spaced verti-
medicinal uses. Theophrastus refers to the latex from the cal cuts are used to harvest opium, which shows that the
poppy as ‘opium’, using the term mekonio to designate extraction technique was highly developed, and that opi-
its juice. um was taken for ritual purposes.10 The statue was found
in a closed chamber with no doors or windows, but
In the Hippocratic Treatises, Hippocrates recommends rather an access through the ceiling; the chamber also
using poppy juice to treat a number of complaints, in- contained traces of charcoal. It is therefore believed that
cluding leucorrhoea and dropsy of the womb. He indi- priests and followers of the goddess also experienced the
cates poppy ointment for treating eye problems. Hippo- effects of opium.
crates’ Diseases of Women recommends using the black
poppy (hypnotikon mekonion). He described the formula Terracotta figures of the poppy goddess of Crete, whose
as follows: “Pound the poppy with a pestle, add water, expressions reflect a trance-like state, may be the first ev-
and strain. Mix the paste and toast the mixture. Then idence of ritual use of Papaver by using pipes or inhalers.
add boiled honey and give to patients with dropsy. Later, The technique of inhaling opium smoke may have been
have them drink watered sweet wine or very weak mead, used at a later date in the temples of Asclepius during
or store poppy juice and use it in your treatments”.9 In dream incubation.
both this treatise and in Precepts, the author mentions
opos (the juice) of the poppy and classifies it as a hypnot- An ivory pipe 13 cm long, dating back to the 12th cen-
ic sedative agent, along with nightshade and poppy pods. tury BCE and used to smoke opium, was discovered in
Kition, Cyprus, along with other ritual artefacts. During
In the 3rd century BCE, members of the Empiric school, the Late Bronze Age, Cyprus was able to coordinate an
especially Heraclides of Tarentum, were deeply inter- opium production and distribution network which sup-
ested in psychoactive plants, and used opium to lessen plied civilisations near the eastern Mediterranean, espe-
pain and induce sleep. In this way, poppy juice made a cially Egypt.
name for itself as a prototypical alexipharmaka, or pro-
tective medicine. In contrast, in the 2nd century BCE in Ceramic artefacts representing poppy heads have been
Pergamum, Nicander of Colophon described the drug’s dated back to the Mycenaean Age (BCE 1500). Roy-
toxicity and stated that a lethal dosage of Thebaic opium al tomb III at Mycenae contained a metal ornament,
could be as low 2 drachmas (7 g), with death certain to perhaps a brooch, in the shape of a poppy. The golden

32
 Neursci Hist. 2013; 1 (1): 28-38

seals of Mycenae and Thisbe (Boeotia) show images of

trance states in which the poppy is shown in association
with female deity linked to some type of tree worship.
One of the seals from the famous Treasure of Mycenae
discovered by Schliemann shows several female figures
presenting poppies and other plants to a seated goddess;
this may be Demeter giving seeds to her daughter Perse-
phone (Figure 4). On one of the seals from Thisbe, a fe-
male worshipper presents poppy heads to the goddess.
On another seal, a female figure emerges from the earth
bearing poppy heads; this is the Earth Goddess, symbol
of fertility. Lastly, the Isopata gold signet ring, found in
Crete and dated to BCE 1500, depicts four female figures
worshipping a goddess. The signet bears the disembod-
ied eye, an image representing the consumption of hal-
lucinogens accompanied by ecstatic visions.

Figura
Figura 5. 2. Asclepio,
Demeter diosof grain
bearing ears de laandmedicina
poppy heads.griega.
Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Atenas.
Archaeological Museum of Ancient Corinth.

3. Cannabis sativa

Ethnobotany and properties

Hemp or Cannabis sativa has been used since antiquity

Figura
Figure 4.2.Mycenaean
Asclepio, ringdios de alatrance
showing medicina griega.
state associated with
for making cloth, foodstuffs (seeds), and psychotropic
Museo Arqueológico
poppy use. Nacional,
National Archaeological Atenas.
Museum of Athens. resins for any combination of medical, ritual, or spiritual
purposes. Archaeological and ethnobotanical evidence
Poppies and the gods shows that it has been used for more than 5000 years.

In Classical Greece, the opium poppy was used for sa- The three basic types of prepared cannabis are known by
cred and profane ends, and it had both medicinal and their Hindi names: bhang, a mixture with dry cannabis
nutritional properties. Poppies were associated with the seeds and shoots (“grass”); ganja, unfertilised, seedless
gods in Classical Greek mythology. The ancient Greeks flowers of the female plant; and charas or hashish, can-
associated fertility and abundance with the poppy, which nabis resin.
in turn was associated with the goddess Demeter.
Cannabis is made up of more than 400 alkaloids and
Demeter was therefore often depicted with opium pop- substances extracted from Cannabis sativa. Some 60
pies and sheaves of wheat and barley (Figure 5). Perse- compounds, called cannabinoids, act on the cannabin-
phone (Kore) and Narcissus are also associated with the ergic system; the most abundant are Delta-9-tetrahy-
poppy. Persephone is often shown rising from the un- drocannabinol (D9THC), cannabidiol, and cannabinol.
derworld with a motif of poppy heads and lily leaves. D9THC is the main cannabinoid with psychotropic ac-
tivity, and it was isolated in 1964.

Smoking cannabis is a relatively inefficient delivery

33
 Neursci Hist. 2013; 1 (1): 28-38

method, since 70% of the D9THC is destroyed by pyrol- ter the death of a member of the group. He described the
ysis. Historically, the oral route of administration was the practice thus:
most common. However, orally ingested cannabinoids The Scythians...take some of this hemp-seed, and, creeping
are heavily metabolised at first, and as a result, only 10% under the felt coverings, throw it upon the red-hot stones; im-
to 20% of the dose taken orally actually reaches system- mediately it smokes, and gives out such a vapour as no Grecian
ic circulation. The clinical peak effect is reached one to vapour-bath can exceed; the Scyths, delighted, shout for joy,
two hours after oral administration, and the effect lasts and this vapour serves them instead of a water-bath... (Hero-
four to six hours. In contrast, delivery by the respiratory dotus, 4.75).11
route has an almost instantaneous effect that is perceived
within seconds.11 In his treatise Geography, Strabo indicates that this plant
grew abundantly in Kolkhis. He also mentions the Kap-
Cannabis has a euphoric and relaxing effect, although it nobatai misios, “those who walk in smoke”, referring to
may also cause sensations of panic and anxiety the first Getae dancers who burned cannabis flowers to reach
time or times it is consumed. In high (toxic) doses, it can states of ecstasy. Dioscorides, on the other hand, made
cause changes in temporal perception and orientation, no mention of its psychoactive properties. Instead, he
intensify sensory experiences, and decrease attention, records its use as a textile fibre and remedy for earache,
reaction time, and motor abilities. Physiological chang- and recommends direct application of the plant’s juice
es due to cannabis intoxication include tachycardia and for that purpose.
postural hypotension. However, the overall toxicity of
cannabis is relatively low due to the short duration of its Galen repeats Dioscorides’ advice for otalgia and re-
effect. Cannabis is frequently used along with tobacco in marks on the intoxicating properties of the seeds. He
order to increase the efficiency of its effect.11 states that some people consumed hempseed in sweets
and desserts at important banquets in order to awaken
History pleasure and arousal.

Cannabis sativa is was one of the most widely-used psy- Archaeological evidence
chotropic plants known to the ancient world. Hemp was
found in the steppes of central Asia and in China, where The practice of burning cannabis so as to feel its nar-
it was already being cultivated some 5000 years ago in cotic effects is a Caucasian tradition between 5000 and
order to obtain textile fibres. Hemp farming was neces- 6000 years old. It may have been the key event in social
sary in order to make bridles for horses in these cultures, and religious rituals among nomadic herding groups in
which domesticated horses at least 6000 years ago.12 Eurasia in the Neolithic period and the Bronze Age. The
Ritual inhaling of cannabis smoke may have originated oldest evidence comes from a pit grave at Gurbăneşti,
on the steppes of western China, along the shores of the Bucharest, where a brazier containing traces of hemp
Caspian sea, and western Iran; here, cannabis was em- seed from the third millennium BCE was discovered.
ployed to reach a sacred state of intoxication in religious
rites. Bangha is an old term from Persia that was used Archaeological confirmation of cannabis use comes
in central Asia and India; in Sanskrit, it designated the from a number of Scythian tombs and burial sites found
plant which the god Shiva obtained from the ocean and in Pazyryk in the Altai Mountains of Siberia. Here, ar-
used to promote meditation. The properties of canna- chaeologists uncovered metal braziers containing car-
bis were also known in Mesopotamia, and the Assyrians bonised traces of hemp seed which have been dated to
called it quunabu. Central Asian civilisations, such as the 4th century BCE.13 Scythian artefacts including tent
the Scythians, Thyssagetae, Thracians, and Massageteans frames, leather coverings, bronze vessels and cannabis
used it in numerous rituals.12 seeds from the same period have also been found. As
Herodotus informs us, it seems that the Scythians had
Cannabis in Greek texts the custom of throwing hemp leaves and flowers on the
fire, and while those parts of the plant contain psycho-
In the 5th century BCE, Herodotus wrote that inhaling active alkaloids, seeds are leftover material with no psy-
cannabis smoke was a custom among Scythians and choactive properties. A tomb containing a mummified
Massageteans of the steppes in purification rites held af- shaman of the Gushi people was discovered in the Gobi

34
 Neursci Hist. 2013; 1 (1): 28-38

desert site of Yanghai. His remains were entombed with Eleusis, initiates fasted for a day to commemorate the
bridles, hunting bows, a harp, and a small bundle con- fast of Demeter while she searched for Persephone. This
taining nearly 800 grams of cannabis.14 The Ukok site fast was only broken to take kykeon.
near the Altai Mountains revealed the mummified re-
mains of a Scythian princess from the 5th century BCE. The Eleusinian ceremony, the most secret part of the
Her burial hoard contained traces of coriander, Corian- mysteries, was celebrated in the great hall called the Te-
drum sativum, which when consumed can also cause a lesterion on the night of the holiest day. Initiates partic-
certain degree of intoxication. ipated in this visionary mystery only once in a lifetime,
and were forbidden to reveal the content of the ceremo-
4. Claviceps purpurea and the Eleusinian Mysteries ny under pain of death.15

The myth of Demeter and Persephone

The Eleusinian Mysteries were some of the most fa-

mous religious rites of Ancient Greece, in addition to
being some of the most secretive. They were celebrated
during nearly two millennia, from 1500 BCE until the
4th century CE (Figure 6). In the city of Eleusis, near
Athens, participants honoured the goddess Demeter and
recalled the abduction of her daughter, Persephone, by
Hades the god of the underworld.

According to the epic poem known as the Homeric

Hymn to Demeter, the goddess stripped the earth bare
of its vegetation to punish the gods of Olympus. Zeus
and the other gods begged her to restore the earth’s fer-
tility, and Zeus ordered his brother Hades to let Perse-
phone rejoin her mother on earth; when she returned, in
the springtime, the vegetation came to life. Nevertheless,
Persephone had to spend a third of every year in the un-
derworld, since she had eaten fruit from the kingdom
of Hades. Demeter is associated with agricultural abun-
dance. According to this myth, she gave the first grains
of wheat to Triptolemus, the oldest son of Metanira, and
taught him the secrets of agriculture.15
Figura
Figure 6. 2. Asclepio,
Eleusinian diosNational
Mysteries. de la Archaeological
medicina griega.
Museum of
The Eleusinian Mysteries Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Atenas.
Athens.

During the celebration of the Greater Mysteries, pil- Greek sources

grims journeyed from Athens to Eleusis and participat-
ed in a night-time ceremony involving drinking kykeon, The Homeric Hymn to Demeter describes the moment
a specially prepared hallucinogenic beverage. Partici- of initiation as follows:
pants who experienced marvellous visions were known Then Metaneira filled a cup with sweet wine and offered it to
as epoptai, or beholders. Famous figures including Plato, her; but she refused it, for she said it was not lawful for her to
Aristotle, Pausanias, Sophocles, and Pindarus participat- drink red wine, but bade them mix meal and water with soft
ed in the Eleusinian Mysteries. mint and give her to drink. And Metaneira mixed the draught
and gave it to the goddess as she bade. So the great queen Deo
Public sacrifices, rites, and purification ceremonies were received it to observe the sacrament.19
performed during the procession associated with the
Eleusinian Mysteries. When the procession arrived at

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 Neursci Hist. 2013; 1 (1): 28-38

Claviceps purpurea, an ingredient in kykeon Archaeological evidence

Kykeon was regarded as a secret potion that the enlight- There is evidence supporting the hypothesis that ergot
ened ones were to take before initiation. It is thought that could have caused the Eleusinian visions. The purple co-
kykeon may have contained hallucinogenic substances lour of the fungus is associated with Demeter. Further-
that induced visions and the state of ecstasy associated more, the ear of grain was the symbol of the Eleusinian
with the Eleusinian Mysteries. By this method, initiates Mysteries. An example of Greek pottery from the 5th
would enter a trance state, which was exacerbated by century BCE shows Demeter and Triptolemus holding a
fasting and the preceding rituals. sheaf of grain infected with ergot. Traces of C. purpurea
have also been found on the interior of a vessel in a sa-
We believe that kykeon was a mixture of several ingredi- cred shrine dedicated to Persephone.
ents, including water, pennyroyal, and barley; the main
ingredient was barley flour, which Hippocrates described 5. Other psychotropic plants
as having nutritional (alimentary) properties. Hoffman,
Wasson, and Ruck advanced the hypothesis that the Ele- In addition to poppies, hemp, and ergot, the ancient
usinian state of ecstasy was provoked by alkaloids found Greeks burned mandrake and henbane as incense, and
in the ergot fungus, including lysergamides and lysergic infusions of hemp and myrrh in retsina wine were used
acid hydroxyethylamide, which contaminated the grains to add sparkle to social gatherings. Classical authors such
of barley.16 as Dioscorides describe various formulas involving wine
and mandrake, belladonna, African rue, or black helle-
Ethnobotany bore.

The ergot fungus (Claviceps purpurea), parasitises cereals, The narcotic effects of Mandragora officinalis were re-
gramineae, knotgrass (Paspalum distichum) and darnel ported by Theophrastus and Aristotle. Prior to that, it
(Lolium temulentum) in the Mediterranean region. The had been used in Assyria, as shown by cuneiform tablets
fungus reproduces in the spring; in dry summer weather, found in the library of the palace at Nineveh, and also as
mycelia form dry black sclerotia that are able to survive an anaesthetic in Egypt, as shown by a bas-relief from the
winter temperatures.2 reign of Amenhotep III.

Ergot (a Claviceps sclerotium) contains a wide variety Henbane (Hyoscyamus Niger) is mentioned in the Ebers
of pharmacologically active substances, including more papyrus, and it was also used by Assyrian and Babylonian
than 40 ergot alkaloids. The most psychoactive alkaloids priests as a powerful hallucinogen. In Greece, treatises
are hydrosoluble, while the most toxic, such as ergot- written by Xenophon and Dioscordes refer to its intoxi-
amine or ergotoxin, are not. Isolysergic acid derivatives cating properties. Datura (Datura stramonium) and bel-
are pharmacologically inactive, but they may isomerise ladonna (Atropa belladonna) were both used in Mesopo-
in an aqueous solution and achieve equilibrium with tamia and Classical Greece.18
active derivatives of lysergic acid. Ergot alkaloids from
lysergic acids are categorised as amides (ergometrine), In a passage from the Odyssey, Homer mentions Circe’s
peptidic derivatives (ergotamine), or clavines. famous potion and credits it with the power to change
Ulysses’ companions into pigs; Ulysses was not affected,
The entheogenic chemicals in ergot are water-soluble, thanks to an antidote provided by Hermes. Some authors
unlike the toxic chemicals. An initiate could therefore venture that datura, a substance able to overcome the will
see his first visions after ingesting an infusion of cereals and facilitate hypnosis, could have been the key ingredi-
contaminated by ergot.17 It is believed that Eleusinian ent in this potion. The Greeks had a good knowledge of
priests gathered ergot from cereals and paspalum grasses the effects and dosing of different datura species. For ex-
growing near the temple, ground it, and added it to the ample, Theophrastus provides the following information
kykeon. for Datura metel:
‘Of this three twentieths of an ounce in weight is given,
if he is to go mad outright and have delusions; thrice the
dose if he is to be permanently insane...four times the
dose is given, if the man is to be killed’.20

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 Neursci Hist. 2013; 1 (1): 28-38

Apollonian and Dionysian rites intoxication was therefore achieved in this case through
wine and dancing. Euripides described wine as follows:
At times, psychoactive plants were used as part of more “there is no other pharmakon against troubles and to
elaborate rituals. For example, in Apollo’s Temple at Del- bring sleep; poured as a libation to the gods, it is a god
phi, on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, the Oracle or Py- itself ”.
thia delivered prophesies and oracular statements on fu-
ture events that would have repercussions on social and Conclusions
political life in Ancient Greece. These predictions seem
to have been made when the Oracle was in a trancelike The peoples of Ancient Greece continued the cultural
state. traditions of the Iron Age and the Bronze Age in their
use of sacred plants with hallucinogenic properties.
She would prepare by sitting before the chasm or crack Classical texts, archaeobotanical remains, findings in in-
from which intoxicating vapours arose, chewing bay cense burners, and ritual artefacts all provide evidence of
leaves, inhaling smoke from a variety of plants, and such use. In the Archaic period in Greece, poppies, can-
drinking water from a specific source, after which she nabis, and other plants such as henbane or datura were
would prophesy in an ecstatic trance state.5 Plutarch also used for ritual and medicinal purposes.
described the effects of a substance, stating:
the body [of the Pythia]...acquires a temper that se- Conflicts of interest
ductively brings on sleep...it [the substance relaxes and
loosens the chain-like sorrows and tensions of daily The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.
cares...it polishes and purifies like a mirror the faculty
which is imaginative and receptive to dreams.21
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