<TitleType>01</TitleType> <TitleText>Mushrooms, Myth & Mithras</TitleText> <Subtitle>The Drug Cult that Civilized Europe</Subtitle>

City Lights Books transfers@onixsuite.com 20130918 eng

COM.ONIXSUITE.9780872864702 03 01 City Lights Books 01 GCOI 87286100568560 02 0872864707 03 9780872864702 15 9780872864702 BC <TitleType>01</TitleType> <TitleText>Mushrooms, Myth & Mithras</TitleText> <Subtitle>The Drug Cult that Civilized Europe</Subtitle> 1 A01 Ruck, Carl Carl Ruck Carl Ruck teaches at Boston University and is co-author of many critically acclaimed books on psychedelic plants, including Persephone's Quest, which the Times Literary Supplement called "delightful." 2 A01 Hoffman, Mark Alwin Mark Alwin Hoffman Based in Taos, New Mexico, Mark Alwin Hoffman is publisher of Entheos: The Journal of Psychedelic Spirituality. He has written on shamanism, ancient religions, early Christianity, and the role of visionary sacraments in Western mystery tradition. 3 A01 González Celdrán, José Alfredo José Alfredo González Celdrán José Alfredo González Celdrán, based in Murcia, Spain, is a professor of ancient Greek and author of Las Puertas de Moeris, an historical novel, and Homres, Dioses y Hongos (Men, Gods and Mushrooms) on the role of psychoactive mushrooms in myth and religion. 01 eng 300 00 300 03 10 24 Internet CL Hierarchy Cultural Studies 24 Internet CL Hierarchy Spiritual Traditions 01 Anthropological evidence has long suggested that psychedelic plants have played important roles in indigenous communities for thousands of years, but most scholarship does not address their larger sphere of influence on western culture. In their groundbreaking new book, Mushrooms, Myths & Mithras, classics scholar Carl Ruck and friends reveal compelling evidence suggesting that psychedelic mushroom use was equally influential in early Europe, where it was central to initiation ceremonies for the Roman elite. Through art and archeology, we discover that Nero was the first Emperor to be initiated by secret "magical dinners," and that most of his successors embraced the ritual and its sacramental use of the psychedelic mushroom as a source of spiritual transcendence. The secret religion was officially banned after Roman Conversion, but aspects of its practices were assimilated or co-opted by Christianity, and have influenced many subsequent secret societies, including the Freemasons. Mushrooms, Myths & Mithras is a fascinating historical exploration of a powerful force kept hidden behind the scenes for thousands of years. Praise for Mushrooms, Myths & Mithras: "This is real renaissance scholarship. Mushrooms, Myths & Mithras is a brilliant and exciting synthesis of data gleaned from disciplines as diverse as anthropology, botany, linguistics, astronomy, archaeology, art history, pharmacology and classical literature. The history of recreational drug use it distills from the material and literary sources is both captivating and compelling. It effortlessly straddles the modern academic divide between the sciences and the arts. The authors' multidisciplinary approach sets a higher standard for research in the humanities." —D. C.A. Hillman, author of The Chemical Muse "An important book—by far the most comprehensive account of this thunderingly neglected topic that I have seen." —Huston Smith, author of The World's Religions: Our Great Wisdom Traditions 02 A fascinating tour of the mushroom-centered mystery religions which have profoundly influenced Western civilization 08 "As far as entheogenic literature is concerned Mushrooms, Myth & Mithras is an excellent addition to the library; a scholarly, well-referenced work that is clear in its postulations. The text adds further weight to the burgeoning field of entheogenic historicism and does so in reference to the wider field of Mithraic studies, the upshot of which is to further legitimise the discipline in wider academia. Highly recommended for all those interested in entheogens." Psychedelic Press UK 08 "Mushrooms, Myth & Mithras is an extremely well-constructed academic argument proving that it is impossible to deny the connection between the use of entheogenic substances and religious practice for generations across countries and cultures. The evidence is extremely well documented in art, literature (myths and oral storytelling), and architecture. Over time, all these forms of evidence become blended into cross-cultural metaphors and ideas that show the same information coming from multiple cultures." Verbicide 08 "This book is all about the evolution of European culture, from ancient times right up through the advent and dominance of Christianity––and how it all started with and depended on shrooms. . . . I feel like I took a class on the subject." Slug Magazine 23 01 http://www.citylights.com/resources/titles/87286100568560/extras/MushroomsExcerptCL.pdf 04 03 72 01 http://www.citylights.com/resources/titles/87286100568560/images/87286100568560L.jpg 07 03 72 01 http://www.citylights.com/resources/titles/87286100568560/images/87286100568560S.jpg http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100568560 City Lights Publishers 01 City Lights Publishers 20110720 08 16 oz City Lights Books 01 WORLD 20 20110720 01 02 23.95 USD