Entheogens At The Oracle Of Trophonius?

[Pantagathus]

A most facinating description of one of the lesser known Oracles in the Greco-Roman world; from Pausanius (9.39):

 

"What happens at the oracle is as follows. When a man has made up his mind to descend to the oracle of Trophonius, he first lodges in a certain building for an appointed number of days, this being sacred to the good Spirit and to good Fortune. While he lodges there, among other regulations for purity he abstains from hot baths, bathing only in the river Hercyna. Meat he has in plenty from the sacrifices, for he who descends sacrifices to Trophonius himself and to the children of Trophonius, to Apollo also and Cronus, to Zeus surnamed King, to Hera Charioteer, and to Demeter whom they surname Europa and say was the nurse of Trophonius.

 

At each sacrifice a diviner is present, who looks into the entrails of the victim, and after an inspection prophesies to the person descending whether Trophonius will give him a kind and gracious reception. The entrails of the other victims do not declare the mind of Trophonius so much as a ram, which each inquirer sacrifices over a pit on the night he descends, calling upon Agamedes. Even though the previous sacrifices have appeared propitious, no account is taken of them unless the entrails of this ram indicate the same; but if they agree, then the inquirer descends in good hope. The procedure of the descent is this.

 

First, during the night he is taken to the river Hercyna by two boys of the citizens about thirteen years old, named Hermae, who after taking him there anoint him with oil and wash him. It is these who wash the descender, and do all the other necessary services as his attendant boys. After this he is taken by the priests, not at once to the oracle, but to fountains of water very near to each other.

 

Here he must drink water called the water of Forgetfulness, that he may forget all that he has been thinking of hitherto, and afterwards he drinks of another water, the water of Memory, which causes him to remember what he sees after his descent. After looking at the image which they say was made by Daedalus (it is not shown by the priests save to such as are going to visit Trophonius), having seen it, worshipped it and prayed, he proceeds to the oracle, dressed in a linen tunic, with ribbons girding it, and wearing the boots of the country.

 

The oracle is on the mountain, beyond the grove. Round it is a circular basement of white marble, the circumference of which is about that of the smallest threshing floor, while its height is just short of two cubits. On the basement stand spikes, which, like the cross-bars holding them together, are of bronze, while through them has been made a double door. Within the enclosure is a chasm in the earth, not natural, but artificially constructed after the most accurate masonry.

 

The shape of this structure is like that of a bread-oven. Its breadth across the middle one might conjecture to be about four cubits, and its depth also could not be estimated to extend to more than eight cubits. They have made no way of descent to the bottom, but when a man comes to Trophonius, they bring him a narrow, light ladder. After going down he finds a hole between the floor and the structure. Its breadth appeared to be two spans, and its height one span.

 

The descender lies with his back on the ground, holding barley-cakes kneaded with honey, thrusts his feet into the hole and himself follows, trying hard to get his knees into the hole. After his knees the rest of his body is at once swiftly drawn in, just as the largest and most rapid river will catch a man in its eddy and carry him under. After this those who have entered the shrine learn the future, not in one and the same way in all cases, but by sight sometimes and at other times by hearing. The return upwards is by the same mouth, the feet darting out first.

 

They say that no one who has made the descent has been killed, save only one of the bodyguard of Demetrius. But they declare that he performed none of the usual rites in the sanctuary, and that he descended, not to consult the god but in the hope of stealing gold and silver from the shrine. It is said that the body of this man appeared in a different place, and was not cast out at the sacred mouth. Other tales are told about the fellow, but I have given the one most worthy of consideration.

 

After his ascent from Trophonius the inquirer is again taken in hand by the priests, who set him upon a chair called the chair of Memory, which stands not far from the shrine, and they ask of him, when seated there, all he has seen or learned. After gaining this information they then entrust him to his relatives. These lift him, paralyzed with terror and unconscious both of himself and of his surroundings, and carry him to the building where he lodged before with Good Fortune and the Good Spirit. Afterwards, however, he will recover all his faculties, and the power to laugh will return to him.

 

What I write is not hearsay; I have myself inquired of Trophonius and seen other inquirers. Those who have descended into the shrine of Trophonius are obliged to dedicate a tablet on which is written all that each has heard or seen.

 

Sounds like the "Water of Forgetfulness" could only have been some kind of entheogen. Quite facinating.

Edited July 20, 2006 by Pantagathus

[Pertinax]

The sequence of "forgetfulness" and " remembering of the forthcoming event" is very interesting.Do we have a psychotropic/anaesthesia then a partial antidote which restores only a range of functions?

 

Paralysed (with terror) suggests a deliriant herb (or fungus) which would prompt spectral illusions and a paralysis of the limbs (and great thirst) or an inebriant which would excite the cerebrum but cause a deep sleep or comatose state afterwards.

 

Datura Strammonium (thorn apple-distinct possibility but I would suggest as a vapour )? Hyosscyamus ( Henbane-well known and widespread )? Conium (Hemlock) in very skilled hands in a small dose with Artemisia (wormwood) as the "antidote/moderator"?

 

How very interesting do you have more references to the condition of the devotee? Length of recuperation at all?

 

note:opiates are obvious of course .

[Pantagathus]

How very interesting do you have more references to the condition of the devotee? Length of recuperation at all?

 

Pausanius' account seems to be the only one that survived. I've read that Heraclides Ponticus (4th Century BC) wrote about the Oracle and the cult but this work is now lost.

 

On a side note Pertinax, this is what else Pausanius says:

 

"This oracle was once unknown to the Boeotians, but they learned of it in the following way. As there had been no rain for a year and more, they sent to Delphi envoys from each city. These asked for a cure for the drought, and were bidden by the Pythian priestess to go to Trophonius at Lebadeia and to discover the remedy from him.

 

Coming to Lebadeia they could not find the oracle. Thereupon Saon, one of the envoys from the city Acraephnium and the oldest of all the envoys, saw a swarm of bees. It occurred to him to follow himself wheresoever the bees turned. At once he saw the bees flying into the ground here, and he went with them into the oracle. It is said that Trophonius taught this Saon the customary ritual, and all the observances kept at the oracle."

 

I personally wonder about the entheogen too. Perhaps something like Peganum Harmala as used in the Zoroastrian 'Haoma' which was supposed to be psychoactive. But that grows in the arrid lands of the Near East.

[Pertinax]

Peganum? certainly, Syrian rue -plenty of alkoloids and the seeds themselves are potent , so the use of the fresh plant is obviated , hence transportation and storage are not a great burden. The Persian variety would probably be even more potent but at 2% alkoloids by weight this is a serious psychoactive, so you dont need the "top of the range" stuff.

 

I note the actions of the wise Saon, the oracle perhaps partaking of a gruit like "provocateur" of visions?

[Pantagathus]

I note the actions of the wise Saon, the oracle perhaps partaking of a gruit like "provocateur" of visions?

 

What I find interesting is the way Pausanius says "Trophonius taught this Saon"... As Acraephnium is certainly not on Samothrace, I take it to mean that this envoy was a certain kind of holy man...

[Pertinax]

The Peganum harmala , I must add , is a well known queller of excessive male sexual desire. This is as reported by Ibn Sina ( AD 980-1133) from the work of Galen. It is the primary herb prescribed by Ibn Sina for sexual incontinence and an "excess of heated humours".

[Pantagathus]

Considering it's other psychoactive properties, I would imagine one's mind would be a bit too preoccupied to think about sex...

[Pertinax]

Considering it's other psychoactive properties, I would imagine one's mind would be a bit too preoccupied to think about sex...

 

I did rather scratch my head at that , also, please apply a paste of same in case of baldness :bag:

[Gaius Octavius]

The Peganum harmala , I must add , is a well known queller of excessive male sexual desire. This is as reported by Ibn Sina ( AD 980-1133) from the work of Galen. It is the primary herb prescribed by Ibn Sina for sexual incontinence and an "excess of heated humours".

 

Isn't that a contradiction?

[Andrew Dalby]

It's an astonishing narrative. I think if I had been through that experience, yes, it would take several days, attended by caring relatives, before the power of laughter returned to me.

[Pertinax]

Back to Peganum harm. again. The nature of the ceremony (including initial vigil or purification) and the point at which the psychoactive was ingested may be clues to the use of Peganum harm. . The difficulty that might arise is simply this, rapid , heavy dosage would produce a euphoric state of delirious happiness followed by paranoia , terror and rigidity.If hallucogenic fungii are combined with the subject plant, the narcotic effects are greatly potentiated.

If the subject had never undergone any such entheogenic experience previously , then the experience would be intense and hyper realistic , and the period of recuperation would need to be quiet, prolonged and closely supervised.

[Gaius Octavius]

A little more on entheogens @"Modern Shamanism"

Edited July 22, 2006 by Gaius Octavius

[Pertinax]

A little more on entheogens @"Modern Shamanism"

 

Thank you Sirrah...

 

and here is a very interesting attempt at an "ancient world" psychoactive timeline, notice that in my own favoured specialism Dioscorides is the earliest Roman World source .Here I must post this "modern" snippet for those who do not wish to peruse the whole thing:-

 

http://www.erowid.org/psychoactives/histor..._article1.shtml

 

Two of Columbus' crew, de Jerez and de Torres, are the first Europeans to witness tobacco smoking by Native Americans.15 De Jerez becomes the first European tobacco smoker and brings the habit back to Europe. It is said that de Jerez was accused of demonic possession and imprisoned by the Inquisition after frightening a neighbor by blowing smoke from his nose and mouth. He is released years later after smoking becomes widespread in Spain.28

 

edit:Peganum harm. would be potentially damaging to any female devotee were she pregnant, one of its properties is that it is an abortifactant.

[Pantagathus]

I like this one from that site Pertinax:

 

Nutmeg's inebriant effects are first recorded in a story about a pregnant woman who ate 10-12 nutmegs

[Pertinax]

I like this one from that site Pertinax:

 

Nutmeg's inebriant effects are first recorded in a story about a pregnant woman who ate 10-12 nutmegs