The Road to Eleusis, Albert Hofmann
The Road to Eleusis, Albert Hofmann
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The Road to Eleusis
Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries

Author: Albert Hofmann

Narrator: David Bendena

Unabridged: 6 hr 2 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/07/2021


Synopsis

The secretive Mysteries conducted at Eleusis in Greece for nearly two millennia have long puzzled scholars with strange accounts of initiates experiencing otherworldly journeys. In this groundbreaking work, three experts—a mycologist, a chemist, and a historian—argue persuasively that the sacred potion given to participants in the course of the ritual contained a psychoactive entheogen. The authors then expand the discussion to show that natural psychedelic agents have been used in spiritual rituals across history and cultures. Although controversial when first published in 1978, the book’s hypothesis has become more widely accepted in recent years, as knowledge of ethnobotany has deepened. The authors have played critical roles in the modern rediscovery of entheogens, and The Road to Eleusis presents an authoritative exposition of their views. The book’s themes of the universality of experiential religion, the suppression of that knowledge by exploitative forces, and the use of psychedelics to reconcile the human and natural worlds make it a fascinating and timely listen. This 30th anniversary edition includes an appreciative preface by religious scholar Huston Smith and an updated exploration of the chemical evidence by Peter Webster.

About R. Gordon Wasson

R. Gordon Wasson (1898–1986) was a pioneer investigator of sacred indigenous mushroom rituals in Mexico in the 1950s.

About Albert Hofmann

"Albert Hofmann, the famed chemist who discovered the curious properties of LSD in 1943, recently celebrated his 100th birthday in Switzerland. Carl A. P. Ruck, an expert on ancient Greek ethnobotany, lives in Massachusetts."

About David Bendena

David Bendena is an actor and a musician based in the Midwest. His theatre experience over the past twenty years has taken him to stages throughout Chicago, Kansas City, and Michigan. He is very proud to be a member of the Actors Equity Association and to be a Resident Artist with the Purple Rose Theatre Company.


Reviews

Goodreads review by David on February 19, 2013

I've kept an eye out for this book the last six months and finally ran across it the first six seconds I spent in a local book fair. I was just as surprised only dollar was being asked for it as I was that it has the appearance of having never been opened up in the thirty-five years since its publis......more

Goodreads review by Kjell on May 23, 2019

"Though Athens brought forth numerous divine things, yet she never created anything nobler than those sublime Mysteries through which we became gentler and have advanced from a barbarous and rustic life to a more civilized one, so that we not only live more joyfully but also die with a better hope."......more

Goodreads review by Erik on April 23, 2016

I'd long known of this book but had never seen a copy of it until coming to visit my old high school chum, and former roommate, Mike Miley. As ever, he generously loaned it. It has since been returned. What this amounts to is a series of essays. Wasson's contribution is minor, Hofman's a bit more sub......more

Goodreads review by npc on April 30, 2024

I’m sure I’ll pick this up again and learn a whole new slew of Greek mythos surrounding the events at Eleusis. Dense but accessible, this was a very fun read for anyone who’s either seeking deeper spiritual understanding, or is interested in just how long humans have been doing so, and by what metho......more

Goodreads review by Vanni on April 19, 2022

Testo fondamentale, finalmente in italiano in versione completa.......more