The Eleusinian Mysteries and the Psychedelic Hypothesis of the Kykeon

For nearly two millennia, initiates travelled to Eleusis to participate in the Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone, one of the most enduring initiatory traditions of the ancient Mediterranean. The sacrament was kykeon, a ritual drink whose composition and possible role in the initiatory experience have remained the subject of fascination and debate.

Could the kykeon have contained psychoactive compounds derived from ergot? And could such a preparation have contributed to the profound experiences described by the initiates? Drawing on ancient sources, archaeology, chemistry and contemporary psychedelic science, this talk examines the evidence behind the psychedelic hypothesis of Eleusis, as well as the questions that remain unresolved.

Yet even if the pharmacological mystery of the kykeon could be solved, would the molecule alone explain the Mysteries? Perhaps the more interesting question is not only what was in the cup, but what transformed the initiate.

Bio:

Isis Rita Anzel Koutrouli is a preclinical researcher at the Psychedelic Research Center of the National Institute of Mental Health (NUDZ) in Prague and a final-year PhD candidate in Neurosciences at the 3rd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, under the supervision of Dr. Tomáš Páleníček. Her research focuses on the therapeutic potential of psychedelic substances, in preclinical models of substance use disorders, combining behavioral pharmacology with molecular approaches.

Alongside her research, she is actively involved in the broader psychedelic-science community through the organization of scientific conferences and workshops, journal clubs, and public-facing initiatives that aim to bring psychedelic science into interdisciplinary dialogue. She is a scientific advisor to EPOPTEIA, the Hellenic Center for Entheogenic Research, and the Greek Psychedelic Society. Her broader interests lie at the intersection of neuroscience, altered states of consciousness, and the historical and cultural frameworks through which such experiences are understood and integrated.