One of the biggest myths about drugs is that their use is new, purely recreational, or a way to escape reality. “In the good old days, people didn’t do drugs—that’s something for the lost youth,” a sentiment that still resonates today.
However, historical evidence tells a very different story. Various substances have played a significant role across cultures throughout human history, from pre-Columbian populations to Siberian shamanism, to traditional African medicine. Now, some withered hearts might be tempted to label such cultures as “savage,” associating this use of substances with a lesser degree of civilization, but they would be doubly wrong. What if we told you that Greek culture itself, considered by many to be one of the greatest pillars of Western civilization, included rituals with psychedelics?
Let’s raise the stakes: What if we told you that highly influential figures in history, such as Plato, Socrates, Aristotle, Marcus Aurelius, Cicero, and Sophocles, not only participated in these practices but even considered them one of the greatest creations of Ancient Greece?
We’re talking about the Eleusinian Mysteries, a ritual practice in Ancient Greece performed annually for nearly two millennia. Yes, the mysteries not only predate the Greek golden age, but they outlasted it all the way to the Roman Empire. For decades, if not centuries, it has been debated whether psychedelic substances were actually used in these rituals. Today, a new study adds to the existing—albeit small—body of evidence pointing to their use, from a little-explored perspective. But first, let’s review: What exactly were the Eleusinian Mysteries, and why were they so important?
What Were the Eleusinian Mysteries?
If you know one thing about ancient Greek culture, it’s that it involved a lot of deities. Religion wasn’t separate from daily life; it was constant not only in the private sphere but also in the public one. Hundreds of festivals, cults, practices, and rituals, depending on the time of year, along with personal forms of worship, proliferated in Ancient Greece, and the Eleusinian Mysteries were among the most important.
So, what were the Eleusinian Mysteries all about? If only the answer were that simple—part of the appeal lies in the name itself: it’s a mystery. its details were preserved as a secret by generations of initiates, priestesses, and priests, now lost forever. And to make matters worse, its participants were strictly forbidden from recounting what they had witnessed, under penalty of death.
Nevertheless, we do know some things. We know that the Mysteries, practiced in the city of Eleusis (hence their name), were one of the few rites in which anyone could participate: men, women, and enslaved people, as long as they had never killed anyone and were not barbarians (that is, they spoke Greek).
Furthermore, we know that they represented the myth of Demeter and Persephone. There are many versions of this myth, but most agree on the following points. According to the story, Persephone was abducted by Hades, king of the underworld. Upon hearing this, her mother, Demeter, goddess of agriculture and fertility, fell into such deep despair that she brought about a devastating drought, preventing life from growing on the earth This threat prompted Zeus to intervene and allow Persephone to return to her mother. However, according to the rules of the underworld, no one who has eaten or drunk there can leave, and Hades had given his new wife some pomegranate seeds. Thus, Persephone was able to reunite with her mother, but every year she must return to the realm of the dead: this is the time of year when nothing grows, and life springs forth on earth only when Demeter has her daughter back with her.
Thus, the ritual centered on concepts such as death and resurrection, the cycles of the earth, and the connection of humanity with nature and the afterlife. But it also seems to have had a profound impact on its participants. For example, Cicero himself wrote that “among the many exceptional and divine things your Athens has produced and contributed to human life, nothing is better than those mysteries. For by means of them we have transformed from a rough and savage way of life to the state of humanity, and have been civilized. Just as they are called ‘initiations,’ so in actual fact we have learned from them the fundamentals of life, and have grasped the basis not only for living with joy but also for dying with a better hope.” Quite powerful, right?
Public domain, vía Wikimedia Commons
But what do psychedelics have to do with all this? At some point in the ritual, all participants were given a drink called kykeon. One of the greatest mysteries —pun intended— surrounding the Eleusinian Mysteries is precisely what was in the brew. It’s known to have contained water, barley, and mint, but not much else. However, some accounts of the event include revelations about life, death, and transcendence that seem more akin to reflections born from psychedelic experiences than from witnessing a mere theatrical performance. Therefore, the theory that the kykeon contained some kind of entheogen has always held some weight.
However, the evidence to support such a theory has never been robust. The main proposed ingredient is ergot, a fungus that grows on rye and is known to produce ergotamine (a precursor to LSD). In fact, traces of this substance have been found in temples dedicated to this cult. Various types of mushrooms (such as Psilocybe and Amanita muscaria), bluebell flowers containing LSA, opium from poppies (a flower associated with the cult of Demeter), and even plants containing DMT have also been considered candidates.
The New Study
Recently, a team of researchers from Greece and Spain set out to test some of these theories in practice, particularly that of ergot or Claviceps purpurea, using techniques that could have been employed by Greek priestesses. Most of the evidence surrounding this topic is archaeological: few practical experiments attempt to replicate the potentially ancient technology used.
As the study, Updated in Scientific Reports, points out, one of the problems with proposing ergot as the active ingredient in kykeon is its high toxicity: its consumption or even mere contact can cause ergotism, also known as St. Anthony’s fire, with symptoms such as hallucinations, seizures, necrosis, and gangrene. The researchers posed the question: if ergot was indeed an active component of kykeon, how did the ancient Eleusinian priestesses harness its psychoactive potential while avoiding its devastating toxic effects?
For scientists, the answer lies in forgotten preparation methods, precise dosage, and the presence of synergistic or detoxifying agents. They pulverized ergot sclerotia (compact masses of mycelium, the basic structure of fungi), and boiled them in lye made from water and ashes, at varying proportions and pH levels, for different durations. They then analyzed the resulting compounds using methods such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and high-resolution mass spectrometry.
They found that this process can indeed chemically transform toxic ergopeptides into psychoactive substances, specifically LSA and iso-LSA, “cousins” of LSD. In other words, it is entirely possible that the Eleusinian priestesses used this simple yet effective method to create the kykeon.
This study aims to complement past and future archaeological findings that support the “psychedelic Eleusis” hypothesis, providing a practical perspective consistent with historical technology. We may never know exactly what happened in the ancient Eleusinian rites, but this type of experiment can help us glimpse, even if only from afar, some of its mysteries.
Cover photo by Evelyn De Morgan, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons // Edited with Canva
