Another theory is that the psychoactive agent in kykeon is DMT, which occurs in many wild plants of the Mediterranean, including Phalaris and/or Acacia. [90] To be active orally (like in ayahuasca) it must be combined with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor such as Syrian rue ( Peganum harmala), which grows throughout the Mediterranean. Juan-Stresserras, J. , & Matamala, J. C. (2005). Estudio de residuos microscópicos y compuestos orgánicos en utillaje de molido y de contenido de las vasijas [A study of the microscopic residue and organic compounds in grinding tools and jar contents]. In P. Bueno, R. Balbín, & R. Barroso (cur.), El dolmen de Toledo (pp. 235–241). Alcalá de Henares, Spain: Universidad de Alcalá. So where is this masterpiece of ancient art today – and why is it not on display in one of the world’s great museums? According to Bonhams, who say that it was never for sale, the vase, which is broken, was consigned for study, restoration and “public exposure” before being returned to its owner. Its provenance is unknown, but, according to experts, the consignor was the daughter of a dead European collector, who was given the vase by an Italian friend soon after the Second World War.

In Shakespeare's Mystery Play: A Study of The Tempest, Colin Still argued that The Tempest was an allegory for initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries. [73] Though widely rejected, this interpretation was supported by Michael Srigley in Images of Regeneration. [74] Tonelli, Angelo. Eleusis e Orfismo. I Misteri e la tradizione iniziatica greca. Feltrinelli, 2015. ISBN 978-8807901645 Persephone is probably the unnamable mistress of the labyrinth (Mycenean ( Linear B) inscription: da-pu-ri-to-jo po-ti-ni-ja) ": Kerényi. Dionysos. Archetypal image of indestructible life. pp. 89, 90. Kerenyi, Carl. Eleusis – Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter. Bollingen Foundation 1967, p. 48. On the 15th of Boedromion, a day called the Gathering ( Agyrmos), the priests ( hierophantes, those who show the sacred ones) declared the start of the rites ( prorrhesis), and carried out the sacrifice ( hiereía deúro, hither the victims).

According to historian Hans Kloft, despite the destruction of the Eleusinian Mysteries, elements of the cult survived in the Greek countryside. There, local peasants and shepherds partially transferred Demeter's rites and religious duties onto Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki, who gradually became the local patron of agriculture and "heir" to the pagan mother goddess. [70] In art, literature, and culture [ edit ] The Eleusinian Mysteries Hydria, showing the reunion of Demeter and Persephone at the start of each spring

The Eleusinian Mysteries are believed to be of considerable antiquity. Some findings in the temple Eleusinion in Attica suggest that their basis was an old agrarian cult. [23] Some practices of the mysteries seem to have been influenced by the religious practices of the Mycenaean period, thus predating the Greek Dark Ages. [3] [4] Excavations showed that a private building existed under the Telesterion in the Mycenean period, and it seems that originally the cult of Demeter was private. In the Homeric Hymn is mentioned the palace of the king Keleos. [24] Another candidate for the psychoactive drug is an opioid derived from the poppy. The cult of the goddess Demeter may have brought the poppy from Crete to Eleusis; it is certain that opium was produced in Crete. [89]Combined, these three elements were known as the aporrheta (unrepeatables); the penalty for divulging them was death.