The Sacred Kykeon

Kykeon , a drink closely associated with the mysteries at Eleusis, has over the years caused a great deal of speculation – especially from those who wish to solve its secrets.  Many believe that it was a psychoactive drink, which may have aided the initiates to experience the ceremonies and the Gods during such rites.   The actual recipe was a closely guarded secret, held by two priestly families who held offices at Eleusis for many generations – and even the exact role the drink played in the mysteries at Eleusis is only speculation, as very little of the secret rites which took place there for many hundreds of years are known.  The “mysteries” at Eleusis will probably remain exactly that, as the initiates who took their oaths at this sanctuary honoured the vows of secrecy they took.

“I fasted, I drank the kykeon” (Clement of Alexandria, writing on the Eleusian mysteries, 2nd century CE)

 This statement of course is two-fold, and provides us with an additional clue.  Fasting has long been a part of religious rites in many cultures, it renders an individual into a more receptive state for spiritual experiences, and has the additional purpose of purifcation (depending on the period of the fast, as well as the nature of the fast, ie. what is excluded), thus combined with a sacred drink, the effects of that drink would be amplified.  Even drinking a simple glass of wine after spending just a day fasting, can cause the effects of that one glass to be significantly different from what it would have been like if you drank it with a three-course meal.

So what do we know about the ingredients that Kykeon might have contained?   From the Homeric Hymn we know that it was made from barley, water and pennyroyal (a variety of mint, with strong carminative, which is also used as a muscle relaxant for such things as menstrual complaints and tummy upsets.  It is also known for its properties as an abortive and should be used by caution by pregnant women, or those trying to conceive.   The fact that it was an abortive would have been known to the priesthood of Eleusis who were thought to be well versed in the use of pharmakeia, the use of herbs for healing and poisoning.

That wonderfully quaint herbal, Culpepper says of this herb:

‘Drank with wine, it is good for venomous bites, and applied to the nostrils with vinegar revives those who faint and swoon. Dried and burnt, it strengthens the gums, helps the gout, if applied of itself to the place until it is red, and applied in a plaster, it takes away spots or marks on the face; applied with salt, it profits those that are splenetic, or liver grown…. The green herb bruised and putinto vinegar, cleanses foul ulcers and takes away the marks of bruises and blows about the eyes, and burns in the face, and the leprosy, if drank and applied outwardly…. One spoonful of the juice sweetened with sugar-candy is a cure for hooping-cough.’

Hardly an ingredient which is likely to lead to hallucinations then. 

Barley mixed with water will soon ferment and create an alcoholic drink, which is the simplest explanation for the theory that the drink encouraged an altered state of mind.  The theory that the barley may have contained ergot, which may have caused psychoactive effects is highly unlikely as ergot is very difficult to control and administer in a safe manner, so if this was used one would expect that there would have been many accounts of initiates not returning from Eleusis, or many people dying or at the least convulsions or illnesses, but this does not seem to be the case.  Where as a sweet minty alcoholic drink might account for the fact that the drink seems to have been viewed as something very pleasant.  Also, with Gods such as Iachhus, who was often equated to Dionysus, leading the processions at Eleusis with Hekate (both these gods were depicted with twin torches), the idea of an alcoholic drink seems to be more likely.

The other suggestion which, though also just speculation, might be more likely, is that opium was added to the kykeon.  This is based on the numerous depictions of poppies and poppy-heads in depictions of both Demeter and Persephone associated with Eleusis.  Opium would have been easier to administer and control, and would certainly have caused an altered state of mind.   Or perhaps, as some have suggested, the secret psychoactive ingredient may have been psilocybin mushrooms, which would also account for the idea that the drink was psychoactive.

But just as likely as the above, it might have contained no psychoactive ingredients at all, and may have been just a very pleasant drink!  And why ever not?  Just because it is a drink associated with an ancient mystery cult, does not necessarily mean that it had to be psychoactive at all – it might just have been a pleasant drink!