Ancient mystery cult risked limb loss to drink hallucinogenic beverage, scientists discover

Scientists have discovered that an ancient mystery cult risked losing their limbs to drink a hallucinogenic fungus beverage.

The bizarre analysis exposed that even members of the ancient Greeks may have experimented with psychedelic drugs similar to LSD.

The report states that priestesses of a mysterious cult could have dabbled in highly toxic fungus to create psychedelic hallucinations during rituals.

The ‘Eleusinian Mystery’ cult, which began around 3,000 years ago in Greece, protected its secrets for centuries.

At the heart of the cult’s secrets was the potion known as Kykeon – which was believed to change the lives of those who drank it forever.

However, the burning question that has stumped scientists for decades is how they made the fungus safe to ingest.

Scientists cracked the secret recipe of an ancient Greek mystery cult's hallucinogenic potion - revealing how priestesses made a deadly fungus safe enough to trigger LSD-like trips. — Cultivation and handling of ergot (Claviceps purpurea) mycelium under sterile laboratory conditions. (Jam Press/Evangelos Dadiotis/Romanos Antonopoulos)

Sclerotia, which create the hallucinations, can also cause a loss of limbs, vomiting, and death due to the severe vasoconstriction.

Experts are wondering, if the sclerotia were present in the Kykeon, how did ancient priestesses of Eleusis keep the psychedelic potential while eliminating the dangerous side effects?

Now, researchers believe they have answered that question by deciphering the concoction of what they believe is the method to the secret formula.

The study made use of technology used in ancient Greece to authenticate the results, as reported by Need To Know.

The researchers used a mixture of water and ash to create lye – and mixed it with the popular ergot fungus.

Wood ash created an alkaline solution which broke down toxic proteins of the fungus – leaving a mixture of non-toxic byproducts.

This included the hallucinogenic chemical lysergic acid amide or LSA – which is very similar to LSD.

The results show that it was possible for ancient Greeks to create a psychedelic drink.

Which could trigger profound, internal, and transformative experiences sought after by the cult.

Romanos K. Antonopoulos and Evangelos Dadiotis from the Department of Pharmacognosy and Natural Product Chemistry at the University of Athens put together the study, which was published on 13 Feb.