The Dionysian Mysteries
Of the numerous occult teachings and philosophies found within Ancient Greece, many had their roots in the Egyptian Mystery Schools. According to 1st century BC Greek historian, Diodorus Siculus, the Cretans professed that they received the ‘mysteries’ from the Egyptians and passed them on to the Greeks. It is also believed that many distinguished Greeks, such as Plato and Pythagoras, were personally initiated into the innermost realms of the Egyptian mysteries. As a result of these high-profile initiations and the philosophies that afterwards sprouted, Ancient Greece restructured the foundations of the scientific approach and philosophic pursuit of Western Civilization which remain to this day.
To the populace, the Dionysian Mysteries were a public initiation from the worldly or animal spirit of man, to a more elevated and refined spiritual or philosophic state of being. Extravagant plays with deep symbolic undertones were held alongside festivals and novice ritual initiations. Yet, within the core of the Mysteries lay comprehensive teaching of universal principles, which were believed to trace back to philosophic teachings of Ancient Thebes, as well as those of the Brahmanic teachings of India. According to legend, when Alexander the Great reached the city of Nysa near the Indus River of India, the locals said that their city was founded by Dionysus in the distant past and had since been dedicated to the god. This fact can also be found within the teachings of the Dionysian Mysteries, as it was believed, much like reincarnation, that if a person does not rise above ignorance during their life on Earth then they will wander into eternity making the same mistakes until a time when they may become enlightened.
The chief figure of these new teachings was Dionysus, who among other associations was the god of religious ecstasy in Greek mythology and often portrayed holding a staff topped with a pinecone. He was also known as the ‘liberator,’ ‘completely hidden,’ ‘he who unties’ (perhaps a reference to the uncoiling of the Kundalini energy), as well as ‘he in the tree,’ which mirrors legends about the Egyptian God Osiris. Although his origins are uncertain, some believe that Dionysus arrived from the east as an Asiatic foreigner, perhaps bringing with him pineal gland teachings from either Hindu or Egyptian sources. According to Many P. Hall in his book, The Secret Teachings of All Ages, the Dionysian Mysteries were teachings and techniques for which humans could evolve the spiritual nature. It contained within it a system of ethics and philosophy very similar to the Brahmanic Mysteries and Buddhist teachings. The Greek ceremonies were even concluded with the Sanskrit words “Konx Om Pax,” which roughly translates as “Light in Extension,” or in Ancient Egyptian as “Watch and do no evil.” They believed that through living a life of rationality, morality and the pursuit of truth, one could evolve the soul and enter into the elevated realms including those in which the ‘gods’ themselves reside. Similarly, the Greeks termed their enlightenment as Gnosis, and an entire philosophic state known as Gnosticism was developed seeking universal understanding.
Interestingly enough, the ‘Dionysian Mysteries,’ also included psychedelic intoxicants as part of inducing trance like states. Studies have suggested that psychedelic mushroom cultivation practices were known in Ancient Egypt, attributed to the god Osiris, eventually spreading to Greece to be utilized in secret ceremonies. Another drug believed to have been used in the ceremonies was a psychedelic fungus containing LSA, which is closely related to the more popular psychedelic LSD. Greek texts also mention a hallucinogenic brew known as Kykeon, which was likely prepared with Syrian Rue (Peganum harmala) and Acacia. Before ingesting the psychedelics, initiates would fast and conduct elaborate ceremonies, seemingly enhancing the powerful psychological effects and creating revelatory mind states with profound spiritual ramifications. Many of these teachings were later brought to Rome where Dionysus became the Roman god Bacchus. The initiations and teachings later became known as the Bacchus Rites and share many striking similarities to early Christian practices. There are many similarities between the life stories of Dionysius and Jesus including the resurrection, the use of ceremonial wine, as well parallels in teachings about sin, salvation, immortality, life after death, as well as reward and punishment.
Another intriuguing appearance of the Pineal Gland in Greece involves the race of giants known as the cyclops, whose one eye was symbolic of the inner third eye. The fact that the Cyclops resided in dark caves with closed entrances is also of interest as it parrallels that of monks who seek meditative retreat into similar settings to activate their Pineal Glands. One of the chief figures among the Cyclops was Polyphemus, who interestingly is also mentioned in the Freemason Albert Pike’s, “Entered Apprentice” chapter of Morals and Dogmas (1871). Within Scottish Rite Freemasonry, Polyphemus is regarded as a symbol for a civilization that harms itself using ill-directed blind force, which seems quite ironic as to how the Pineal Gland is treated in Western ‘civilization.’
