It has become fashionable in the past several decades for scholars interested in the more esoteric rituals of antiquity to attempt to connect these rituals with some form of drug use. The general thought appears to be that people – or perhaps these people in particular, the eminently rational ancient Greeks – could not possibly have attained such intense, transformative spiritual experiences, and so reliably, without significant assistance from psychoactive substances. This assumption is not only historically unfounded, but misleading for those of us who wish to ascertain the possible means and uses of altered states of consciousness within Hellenic polytheism. Does intoxication of this type have a place in our religion?

A favorite subject of speculation is the Eleusinian Mysteries. Over the centuries, thousands of people participated in this elaborate multi-day festival, which culminated in secret visions and the guarantee of a blessed afterlife. We know few details, as most of the ritual acts were considered arrheton (ineffable) or aporrheton (unlawful to speak of), and most everyone respected that. One of the ambiguous bits of information that has come down to us is that the initiates drank of a mixture they called the kykeon, probably made of water, barley and mint. From this, some modern scholars have extrapolated that the initiates must have been under the influence of ergot, a fungus that sometimes grows on grasses such as barley and rye. However, any review of the symptoms of ergot ingestion, which include nausea, convulsions, and hallucinations, would reveal a very unlikely candidate for unified group visionary experiences. I doubt the Mysteries would have been so well attended year after year if several people died each time, went crazy, or had uncontrollable seizures. Not only that, but ergot is hardly a substance that could be relied upon to grow in a specific quantity annually, nor one that would be easily divided into even doses. Similar arguments can be made against the other drug theories, such as the use of amanita muscaria mushrooms-- not to mention that these mushrooms have not even been proven to have grown in that area during antiquity.

Of course, what these same scholars often overlook are the things we do know about the Mysteries. They involved several days of fasting, rituals, dances, prayer, dramatizations, and shared group experience undertaken by people who believed in the gods and in the power of the rites themselves. Under the guidance of knowledgeable religious professionals, these elements together are capable of producing an altered state of consciousness in a large group, one with a common focus and tone. And these elements are safer and more reliable than psychoactive substances.

Further, knowing the physical and psychological causes of the deeply spiritual state of consciousness the initiates experienced, which allowed them a glimpse of the mysteries of Life and Death and transformed their souls, does not explain away those experiences. It does not mean that they were mere delusions. That may be the conclusion of certain scholars due to their own religious beliefs (or lack thereof), but we who know the gods can see a different possibility: that the physical processes are simply the means by which the veil is temporarily lifted from our eyes, and we can come into closer contact with gods who are already there.

Many stories have also been told, both in antiquity and today, about the Pythia at the Oracle of Delphi and how she became inspired to prophesy. Did chewing laurel leaves have an intoxicating effect? Absolutely not: this has been tested scientifically and experientially. Did the priests burn hallucinogenic plants on the temple fire? Not one single shred of evidence. Did she inhale gases from a chasm in the earth below her tripod?

That last one is complicated. After about a century of controversy and no sign of the purported psychoactive gases or any sort of fissure at Delphi mentioned in ancient texts, archaeologists have found through recent geological surveys that there may have been ethylene gas leaking out of the earth in the vicinity of the temple. Ethylene does indeed have consciousness-altering effects – it was used as an anaesthetic at one time. But whether or not there was enough present in the Pythia's chamber to put her into a trance, on a regular and reliable basis, is still left to speculation.

Some are tempted to point to this new discovery as the ‘solution’ to the question of the Pythia's abilities: she was just high. But this would be a gross misunderstanding, for if indeed the mouthpiece of Apollon did achieve a trance state through the assistance of a mind-altering substance, that does not explain the origin of the oracles or the miracle of contact with the divine – simply the mechanism by which her brain could receive those messages. Again, focusing on the method of intoxication misses the point entirely. The fact that the ancient Greeks accomplished such a direct interface with their deities means that it is possible for us today as well; the most important lesson is that trance facilitates mystical experience, not that drugs or gases facilitate trance.

One instance in which we know for certain that substance-induced intoxication played a significant role is in the worship of Dionysos-- although not, as claimed by a few scholars, because belladonna was added to the wine, a claim without merit or proof. Wine is a sacrament of Dionysos and has many uses in his rites. It releases one from anxiety and sadness and is thus a function of the god as a gentle healer of unhealthy mania. Better known when it comes to Dionysian ecstatic rites is that it can propel one out of one’s rational mind, even send one raving to the mountainsides with the god and his followers. But while alcohol is the vehicle of this mental liberation, it is only that. It does not create an otherwise nonexistent deity or create a communal divine experience out of thin air. It merely facilitates these for human beings, whose minds often need help turning from the mundane world toward the divine.

And that is where the usefulness of historical scholars ends in regard to reconstructing and deepening our religion: because they cannot speak to the reality of these divine encounters, the techniques of opening the mind's eye to visions of gods, of becoming – temporarily or even permanently – a bridge between humans and immortals. Not being worshippers themselves, they think only in terms of material explanation. We need to pick up where they leave off and take it a step further, informed by our own belief in the existence of the gods and the spiritual world. As we examine these ancient rituals, we should avoid getting caught up in the sensational details and instead ask: why would someone want to alter their consciousness in this context, and are these reasons still applicable for modern worshippers of the Greek gods?

The answer to the first question, in my opinion, is that these types of profound rituals require a specific, spiritual state of consciousness in the participants, one that opens them to receiving communication from the gods more directly than their everyday worship provides. Indeed, it is more direct and probably more overwhelming than most people can handle on a regular basis, which is why these rites happen infrequently or only for trained and experienced religious personnel. Each culture has its means of attaining altered states: ritual acts, fasting, pain, sensory deprivation or overload, repetitive prayer or chanting, dance, drumming, breath manipulation, and yes, psychoactive substances. However, these are all simply tools, some better suited to certain situations than others, but none inherently better or more powerful-- or, conversely, inherently worse or 'wrong.' Their importance is in how they help open our awareness to the spiritual world.

My second answer is yes, I believe that these rituals that transform souls and connect us with deity are still very important and relevant to us now – perhaps even more so, as we must live within a culture that does not support our beliefs or practices. We need those few precious moments of deep, undeniable contact with our gods. And it could be argued that we have even more obstacles preventing us from opening our minds fully to such contact. So learning about some tools, whichever we can use safely and effectively, that can help us in our endeavors is certainly important. It may even be appropriate, sometimes, to replicate the tools of the past for certain rituals, if we can confidently identify them. But we should remember that they are the means and not the end. However we enter that special state of consciousness in which the gods stand before us, our focus should always be on them.

Some problematic titles on the above topics:

The Chemical Muse: Drug Use and the Roots of Western Civilization by D. C. A. Hillman

The Apples of Apollo: Pagan and Christian Mysteries of the Eucharist by Carl A. P. Ruck, Clark Heinrich and Blaise D. Staples

The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries by R. Gordon Wasson, Albert Hofmann, and Carl A. P. Ruck

And a few recommended titles:

The Oracle: Ancient Delphi and the Science Behind Its Lost Secrets by William J. Broad

The Greeks and the Irrational by E. R. Dodds

Dionysos: Myth and Cult by Walter F. Otto

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