Kykeon

Kykeon is mentioned in Homeric texts: the Iliad describes it as consisting of Pramnian wine, barley, and grated goat's cheese. In the Odyssey, Circe adds some honey and pours her magic potion into it. In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the goddess refuses red wine but accepts kykeon made from water, barley, and pennyroyal. Pennyroyal, or mint, was supposed to have digestive properties: In Aristophanes' Peace Hermes recommends it to the hero who ate too much dry fruit and nuts. Pennyroyal was also said to have medicinal qualities for women, acting as a contraceptive and abortifacient and in birthing and nursing the newborn. This possibly could have linked the Eleusinian mysteries to female sexuality. However, its use as a digestive aid could have also been useful in breaking a fast. ==Eleusinian Mysteries==

In an attempt to solve the mystery of how so many people over the span of two millennia could have consistently experienced revelatory states during the culminating ceremony of the Eleusinian Mysteries, it has been posited that the barley used in the Eleusinian kykeon was parasitized by ergot, and that the psychoactive properties of that fungus triggered the intense experiences alluded to by the participants at Eleusis. Such alkaloids are soluble in water, meaning that it would have been relatively easy to prepare a hallucinogenic solution. However, there was a lack of evidence that the kykeon would have contained ergot until the excavations at a site in Girona, Spain, Mas Castellar de Pontós. According to Dr. Denise Demetriou, this site would have been multi-ethnic and contained open access sanctuaries, one of which being a part of the Eleusinian mysteries. During the excavations at the Girona site, Dr. Enriqueta Pons discovered a main chapel that happened to contain kraters depicting scenes of the Eleusinian rites. This discovery confirmed the link between the site and the Eleusinian mysteries. Another possibility could be opium, as the poppy, alongside the grain of wheat, was a common attribution to Demeter. However, this theory lacks evidence to support the importation of opium to Eleusis to support thousands. Burkert argues against the use of entheogenic substances in the mysteries, and believes that the process of fasting before the initiation followed by a sacrificial meal would have been sufficient to create “communal bliss”. Because of the simplicity of this process, it would have allowed for mass religion to be easily accessible, he argues. ==See also==