LECTURES

Dr. Matina Chronopoulou will discuss the various literary and archeological references that point to extended use of a variety of psychoactive plants in ancient Greece. Cannabis, belladonna, poppies and other plants such as henbane or datura and hyoscyamus were used for ritual and medicinal purposes. Opium was used to induce somnolence in the incubation rituals practiced in the temples of Asclepius, who was revered as the God of Medicine. His successors practiced his art in a network of sanctuaries and healing temples named ‘Asclepeia’. Theurgic medicine in ancient Greece was magical in nature and concerned with both prognosis and prevention. It also made use of a number of rituals. The Greeks used rites of Katharsis to purge illness from the sick. During the celebration of the Greater Mysteries, pilgrims journeyed from Athens to Eleusis and participated in a night-time ceremony involved drinking Kykeon, a specially prepared hallucinogenic beverage. Classical authors describe various formulas involving wine and mandrake, belladonna, African rue, or black hellebore.

And… Dr. Barbara Bartlik will discuss the fascinating subject of near-death experiences (NDEs), where people undergo a grave medical situation and live to tell about it. The ancient Greeks did not fear death but saw it as a transition to the afterlife. In the Fourth Century B.C., the great classical Greek philosopher, Plato, was the first to record an account of an NDE. He wrote that after death, the soul chooses another life that provides challenges the soul needs to fulfill. Plato’s description closely mirrors modern-day accounts of NDEs — floating above the body, altered consciousness, traveling through a tunnel toward a bright light, a hyper-real, heavenly environment, encountering spiritual beings and deceased relatives, and an instantaneous life review. Individuals may be given instructions to spread the word about the knowledge they gained through their NDE.