gariciu's review against another edition
4.0
Great book, could have been a bit shorter if the author didn't sum things up so often. But very intriguing hypothesis.
ralukas's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
A deep dive into the history of psychedelics in spiritual ceremonies preformed by ancient civilizations. The role women played in the processions and the attempt to erase all of that by modern religion. The wine sacrament can be traced back to times before Jesus as a path to self enlightenment. This book follows archeological, historic and pharmacological findings to piece back together a history that has been painted over.
natemanfrenjensen's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting popular history of the use of hallucinogenics from pre-history through the 20th century with emphasis on use by early Christians as an original Eucharist. The best sections were the history of witchcraft legends. Overall a good read on an interesting subject.
the_fonzy's review against another edition
5.0
Absolutely fantastic! The audiobook version is definitely worth listening to
socraticgadfly's review against another edition
medium-paced
It’s pretty clear that Muraresku comes to the subject with preconceived notions. One of them is a Dan Brown-type take on the bible, but other one-star reviewers miss some aspects of that, and other issues. I’ll get there by a roundabout path.
(Cut-to-the-chase insert: The fact that Deepak and Andrew Weil are among the blurbers? Nuff ced.)
Did the Mysteries at Eleusis involve the barley-wine drink also containing hallucinogens? Possibly.
If so, was this most likely ergot, which can grow on barley and wheat as well as rye? Yes. The Mediterranean vrsion of an ayahuesca mix to release DMT has also been suggested, as has the opium poppy.
Did this lead to the Christian Eucharist? Absolutely not.
First, in all likelihood, Paul didn’t base (sic) the Eucharist on Eleusis. The “sic” is that Paul claims direct revelation from god in I Corinthians with “what I have received …” and refutes being influenced by Jerusalem. On the Jewish side, were there elements of a Passover observance that Paul may have incorporated? Maybe. Maybe not. Since he invented the Eucharist, without any historicization, it might not have been at Passover. In any case, nothing like a full seder existed until medieval Judaism.
In all likelihood, Paul was most influenced by Hellenestic guilds and their meals, usually monthly or so, which were a lower-class, workers’ world version of a philosophers’ symposium.
In addition, Paul’s challenge to the people of Corinth about their behavior at the Eucharist further undercuts the idea that he was riffing off Eleusis or similar.
After that, Muraresku’s quasi-DaVinci Code riffs on Christianity get worse. Female-led cultic worship ultimately repressed by the evil church at Rome. This, in turn, ignores that pagan Rome wasn’t anti-women in religion, as others note.
But, from the above, the angle the other low-rated reviewers are missing is that this is not how the Eucharist developed. It also ignores that Rome wasn’t even close to being the center of early Christianity.
An introduction by pseudoscientist Graham Hancock doesn’t help.
And, that leads to something else others haven’t noted.
This is really about an entheogen-based version of Aldous Huxley’s “perennial philosophy.” And, since old Aldous himself liked himself some entheogens ...
(Cut-to-the-chase insert: The fact that Deepak and Andrew Weil are among the blurbers? Nuff ced.)
Did the Mysteries at Eleusis involve the barley-wine drink also containing hallucinogens? Possibly.
If so, was this most likely ergot, which can grow on barley and wheat as well as rye? Yes. The Mediterranean vrsion of an ayahuesca mix to release DMT has also been suggested, as has the opium poppy.
Did this lead to the Christian Eucharist? Absolutely not.
First, in all likelihood, Paul didn’t base (sic) the Eucharist on Eleusis. The “sic” is that Paul claims direct revelation from god in I Corinthians with “what I have received …” and refutes being influenced by Jerusalem. On the Jewish side, were there elements of a Passover observance that Paul may have incorporated? Maybe. Maybe not. Since he invented the Eucharist, without any historicization, it might not have been at Passover. In any case, nothing like a full seder existed until medieval Judaism.
In all likelihood, Paul was most influenced by Hellenestic guilds and their meals, usually monthly or so, which were a lower-class, workers’ world version of a philosophers’ symposium.
In addition, Paul’s challenge to the people of Corinth about their behavior at the Eucharist further undercuts the idea that he was riffing off Eleusis or similar.
After that, Muraresku’s quasi-DaVinci Code riffs on Christianity get worse. Female-led cultic worship ultimately repressed by the evil church at Rome. This, in turn, ignores that pagan Rome wasn’t anti-women in religion, as others note.
But, from the above, the angle the other low-rated reviewers are missing is that this is not how the Eucharist developed. It also ignores that Rome wasn’t even close to being the center of early Christianity.
An introduction by pseudoscientist Graham Hancock doesn’t help.
And, that leads to something else others haven’t noted.
This is really about an entheogen-based version of Aldous Huxley’s “perennial philosophy.” And, since old Aldous himself liked himself some entheogens ...
bibliosaurus's review against another edition
Just couldn’t get into it. It is fascinating. I will try again in the future.
sea_witch's review against another edition
4.0
Slowed down quite a bit in the middle, but a fascinating hypothesis weaving the Catholic church, the war on drugs, witch hunts and the role of women in religion, psychedelics, and early Christianity together.