The Road to Eleusis

Author: Robert Gordon Wasson
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 156

Book Description
"Presented here is an astonishing solution to the Mysteries of Eleusis, the secret religious rites of ancient Greece that have remained a riddle for the Western World for close to 4,000 years. Acting on an insight into the true nature of the rites, R. Gordon Wasson sought the collaboration of Albert Hoffman, the renowned chemist who discovered LSD, and Carl A. P. Ruck, a classical scholar specializing in Greek ethnobotany. Wasson, the author of three books on the role of hallucinogenic mushrooms in human societies, has already uncovered the mushroom cult of Mesoamerica and identified the elusive "Soma" of the Vedic hymns. Closely coordinating their research, the three scholar-scientists first offered documentation on the religious rites at an International Conference on Hallucinogenic Mushrooms in late 1977. These sensational findings, given here in a much expanded version, leave little doubt that the ancient secret of Eleusis has at last been unveiled."--Pg. [4] of cover.

Bronze Age Eleusis and the Origins of the Eleusinian Mysteries

Author: Michael B. Cosmopoulos
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1316368238
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 247

Book Description
For more than one thousand years, people from every corner of the Greco-Roman world sought the hope for a blessed afterlife through initiation into the Mysteries of Demeter and Kore at Eleusis. In antiquity itself and in our memory of antiquity, the Eleusinian Mysteries stand out as the oldest and most venerable mystery cult. Despite the tremendous popularity of the Eleusinian Mysteries, their origins are unknown. Because they are lost in an era without written records, they can only be reconstructed with the help of archaeology. This book provides a much-needed synthesis of the archaeology of Eleusis during the Bronze Age and reconstructs the formation and early development of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The discussion of the origins of the Eleusinian Mysteries is complemented with discussions of the theology of Demeter and an update on the state of research in the archaeology of Eleusis from the Bronze Age to the end of antiquity.

Eleusis

Author: Karl Kerényi
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691019154
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 308

Book Description
Reprint. Originally published: New York: Bollingen Foundation, 1967. (Bollingen series; 65, v. 4) (Archetypal images in Greek religion; v. 4).

Eleusis

Author: Bruce Rimell
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1326205307
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 53

Book Description
A visionary and artistic exploration through the greatest of the Mystery traditions of Antiquity, 'Eleusis' follows the winding path that leads from the kidnap of Persephone and Demeter's grief at her loss to the transformation of mankind through the Epiphany of an Ineffable Female Godhead. Drawing from several years of mythological, experiential and visionary research, and delightfully enfolded with 25 colour and monochrome art images, Bruce attempts to move beyond the Eleusinian veil of secrecy to enter into the very Heart of the Mystery. A final illustrated essay also explores the meaning of the Eleusinian Mysteries for the modern day.

The Road to Eleusis

Author: R. Gordon Wasson
Publisher: North Atlantic Books
ISBN: 1623177766
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 196

Book Description
"...one of the two best kept secrets in history, and this book is the most successful attempt I know to unlock it. ... [A] historical tour de force." --Huston Smith, author of The World’s Religions The secretive Mysteries conducted at Eleusis in Greece for nearly two millennia have long puzzled scholars with strange accounts of initiates experiencing otherworldly journeys. In this groundbreaking work, three experts—a mycologist, a chemist, and a historian—argue persuasively that the sacred potion given to participants in the course of the ritual contained a psychoactive entheogen. The authors then expand the discussion to show that natural psychedelic agents have been used in spiritual rituals across history and cultures. Although controversial when first published in 1978, the book’s hypothesis has become more widely accepted in recent years, as knowledge of ethnobotany has deepened. The authors have played critical roles in the modern rediscovery of entheogens, and The Road to Eleusis presents an authoritative exposition of their views. The book’s themes of the universality of experiential religion, the suppression of that knowledge by exploitative forces, and the use of psychedelics to reconcile the human and natural worlds make it a fascinating and timely read. This 30th anniversary edition includes an appreciative preface by religious scholar Huston Smith and an updated exploration of the chemical evidence by Peter Webster.

Eleusis and the Eleusinian Mysteries

Author: George Emmanuel Mylonas
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400877296
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 416

Book Description
The most famous conspiracy of silence in the history of antiquity is examined here by one of the three archaeologists entrusted by the Archaeological Society of Athens with the final excavations of the Sanctuary. He traces the history of the cult in the archaeological remains, from the first traces of habitation at the site in the Middle Bronze Age (around 1900 B.C.) to its final grandeur and decay in Imperial Roman times. A guided tour of the Museum at Eleusis, illustrated with photographs of objects in the Museum, as well as air views, plans, and detailed photographs of the ruins closely correlated with the text, takes into account the needs of the visitor at the site as well as the reader at home. Originally published in 1961. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Eleusis

Author: Carl Kerényi
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691213852
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 299

Book Description
The Sanctuary of Eleusis, near Athens, was the center of a religious cult that endured for nearly two thousand years and whose initiates came from all parts of the civilized world. Looking at the tendency to "see visions," C. Kerenyi examines the Mysteries of Eleusis from the standpoint not only of Greek myth but also of human nature. Kerenyi holds that the yearly autumnal "mysteries" were based on the ancient myth of Demeter's search for her ravished daughter Persephone--a search that he equates not only with woman's quest for completion but also with every person's pursuit of identity. As he explores what the content of the mysteries may have been for those who experienced them, he draws on the study of archaeology, objects of art, and religious history, and suggests rich parallels from other mythologies.

The Eleusis of Chi Omega

Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Greek letter societies
Languages : en
Pages : 134

Book Description

Eleusis

Author: William Rufus Perkins
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 236

Book Description

Mysteries of Eleusis

Author: Margaret Anne Doody
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 0099468344
Category : Athens (Greece)
Languages : en
Pages : 514

Book Description
In the winter of 330-329 BC Athens itself suffers a series of alarming thefts and home robberies. It seems that nobody is safe. The great philosopher Aristotle helps his former student Stephanos investigate a break- in and brutal murder at the house of one of his Athenian neighbours. The man fingered for the crime turns against Stephanos just as he is planning his marriage. It is difficult to arrange a big fat Greek wedding when someone seems to be trying to kill you. Elsewhere bodies begin to pile up--who will be bludgeoned or stabbed or strangled next? Stephanos' bride is Philomela. Her parental home is Eleusis, famous for the Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone, home of the sacred site of the Mysteries of Eleusis. Religious initiation is open to all adult Greek speakers, slave and free, with the exception of anyone guilty of homicide. Stephanos, Philomela and Aristotle undertake mystic initiation in a complex ritual whose ultimate secrets cannot be spoken, on pain of death. Eleusis conceals many secrets, and revelation of the truth must await the night of the Mystery celebration itself. This is the fifth novel featuring Aristotle as the first detective of the ancient world, following Aristotle Detective, Aristotle and Poetic Justice, The Secrets of Life and Poison In Athens.