Magic and the Supernatural in the Ancient World

• In this week's reading, it is mentioned that in literature, women are presented as the only ones who use a knowledge of drugs, plants, and poisons.  Do you think the reasons behind this are the same as those mentioned for the use of erotic spells strictly by women in literature?
• Why was sexual abstinence so important in becoming a successful shaman among the Jivaro?  What is the connection between the two?
• In de Ropp's article, he says that set and setting are important in the use of drugs are important and make the difference "between an uplifting religious experience and a terrifying descent into a personal inferno."  How was the setting involved in creating the experience?

• Are drugs necessary for proper mystical/religious experiences?
• If this is true, what about the hundreds of non-drug-induced religious experiences that have been recorded?
• Can most visions, visitations, and therefore belief systems just be attributed to hallucinogens?

• Huxley claims that, at least for Western civilization, the popularity of drugs has a correlation to periods of major or drastic change in a society. Do the drugs serve as an escape from an anxiety created by such change? Do the drugs contribute to an adaptation to the new reality? How do the drugs fit in?
• Circe's drugs "make them [Odysseus' men] forget completely their native land." The wand is the actual magical object that transforms the men into swine. So can drugs be active magical agents themselves or do they have to be used in conjunction with a separate magical object?
• Is anal injection of drugs less dangerous for the body than inhalation, smoking or ingestion? Furst/Coe were quick to point out that the colon is designed for massive absorption. What they did not point out is that the colon is designed to absorb water, electrolytes, nutrients and other biological metabolites native to the human body. Is there any sort of ancient documentation concerning the collective health of enema-using societies?

• Did anyone else notice the parallels between adolecents' use of psychedelic drugs (mentioned in de Ropp's article) and the reasons for older people joining cults?
• Does anyone ascribe to A. Huxley and Broad's idea that the brain serves as a reducing valve so that we are not Mind at Large (de Ropp's article), and drive ourselves crazy with the vast amount of thoughts?
• Are there any mentions of psychedelic drug use in primary classical texts?

• 1. Who seem to be the people administering and receiving drugs in antiquity? Is this different from the modern day use of drugs in a religious context?
• 2. What are the various types of drugs used in antiquity?
• 3. What were the purposes/uses of these drugs?
• 4. How much can we infer about the prevalence of drug use from the mention of drugs in ancient texts?

• 1. Is it ever possible to "Re-inact" the effects and counter effects that took place with the "drugs" that were taken and used in the Homer/Circe drama?
• 2. When drugs are used for religious purposes, esp. hallucinagenics, who can draw the line with respect to the tight regulations that the U.S. government has put into the banning of these substances and activities? Did the shamens really need these drugs in order to make contact with the supernatural or were they just pulling the legs of their people while going on a "spiritual" journey?
• 3. When the ancient texts talk of "herbs" and various drugs of the sort, do you think that some of these drugs that so amazed the people of the ancient world took away headaches and stomach cramps and so the people believed them to be supernatural forces that healed them , whereas today the drugs we take(ex. asprin) are the same but the newness of it has worn off so we do not attribute it to the supernatural?

Bradley Laye: blaye@mialhost.tcs.tulane.edu

• What are some the societal changes that have led the various conotations involved with drugs. For example, in many of the cases from Lehmann and Myers, drugs are not negative at all in certain societeies whereas today and in some other ancient societies, durgs have very negative stigmas.
• I find the connection between religion and drugs very interesting. I'd like to discuss the reasone and implications associated with this fact. I'd also like to include the use of alcohol with the major Western religions. (Purim is today and this Jewish holiday has very very strong connections with alcohol).