The Road to Eleusis

Mind Body & Soul Ezine: The Road to Eleusis - Unveiling the Secret of The Mysteries by the late R Gordon Wasson, the late Dr Albert Hofmann, and Prof Carl A P Ruck. Published. By North Atlantic Books. RRP US $18.95 : Can $22.00 

There are a few b/w images in this book, but mostly you will be impressed with the number of detailed notes on every page written by the three very eminent authors. A Greek initiatory and secret ritual, performed as early as 2000BC every September is the subject of this book which has already been published in previous editions. The Homeric Hymn is translated in over 16 pages describing the story of Persephone and her mother, Demeter. Two families supervised the over night proceedings in the Eleusidean Telesterion. It majors in the use of kykeon, a hallucinogen, and deals with the resultant controversy. The opening chapter is about the use of hallucinogens in religious ceremonies and it continues with autobiographical stories by the late Gordon Wasson, his early interest in mushrooms and the praises that he, and others, sing about them. Plato had drunk the mushroom potion and spent the night in the Eleucidean Temple to see visions.

The deadly Ergot was known in the Middle Ages as St Anthony’s Fire, as St Anthony was the patron saint of those who cared for its victims. Was it this that infected the wheat, barley, and rye? Now it has been synthesised into effective medication for numerous ailments. A chapter is provided Albert Hofmann,  the pharmacologist who developed LSD. 

The lengthy Chapter Six is where we visit the very place of the mysterious experience and there are considerable notes with extra information on research and documentation. The Afterword suggests what lessons can be learnt for today’s world from this ancient story. There is an introduction to kykeon chemistry at the end of the book. 

Reviewer: Wendy Stokes https://wendystokes.co.uk