Ancient Greece In ancient Greece Poppies were sacred to Demeter, the Earth-Goddess who taught wo/mankind the art of wheat and barley cultivation.
Her myth is a sad story, for her only daughter, Persephone, was abducted by Hades, the Lord of the Underworld.
One day, whilst out in the fields picking flowers and playing with her friends a deep chasm suddenly opened up in front of her and out came Hades. With one big swoop he grabbed the screaming girl and as quickly as he had appeared, vanished again into the abyss.
Nobody had seen him commit this crime, for he was wearing his cap of invisibility.
Demeter had heard her daughter's cry and as swiftly as a bird went off to find her - but in vain.
Persephone had vanished and no one would tell Demeter whence she had gone.
All over the surface of the Earth she searched for her lost daughter, neither eating, nor drinking as she went.
Finally Helios and Hecate took pity on her and told her the truth.
The story goes on to tell how Demeter, learning that Zeus had consented to Hades crime, swore never to set foot on mount Olympus again.
Filled with rage and grief she refused to eat or drink or wash herself. She took refuge with some mortals, lived with them and suckled a mortal child, who grew to be 'almost' like the Gods themselves, but that is another story and shall be told another time.
She taught her mysteries to the mortals and bid them to build a temple for her at Eleusis where they should perform her sacred rites each year at harvest time.
And so it was done.
But when she took leave from the mortals her heart was still full of grief for she was still without her daughter.
For a whole year she let the Earth go barren until finally Zeus understood that he had to do something about the situation.
He sent all the Gods to plead with Demeter, but to no avail.
Finally he sent Mercury to make a deal with Hades to let Persephone return to the surface of the Earth and see her mother once again.
But clever Hades secretly gave Persephone a seed of Pomegranate to eat before she left and thus ensured that she would return to him once a year.
During the long search for her abducted daughter, Demeter was said to have found some relief from her pain by taking Poppy when she arrived at Mykon.
Poppies are companion plants of wheat and barley, and the round-bellied, seed-filled capsules were regarded as a symbol of fertility.
It is likely that Poppies also played an important role in Demeter's sacred rites at Eleusis.
The mycologist Gordon Wasson proposed the hypothesis, that the active ingredient of the ritual brew given to the initiates at Eleusis was Ergot (Claviceps purpurea ), a psychotropic fungus that commonly grows on Barley, Rye and sometimes Wheat.
This hypothesis, though it has been much debated, is quite likely true.
A. Hoffman makes the point, that while Ergot contains some poisonous principles which can have a severe effect on those who might take it, these toxic alkaloids are non-watersoluable.
It was therefore quite possible for the ancient Greeks to prepare a ritual brew that specifically excluded those agents or even use a species of Ergot found on a type of Wild Grass, which does not contain those compounds at all.
The ill effects of Ergot poisoning expressed themselves in 'St. Anthony's Fire', a dreadful condition marked by convulsions, epileptic cramps and sometimes even loss of limbs due to an outbreak of foul blisters that literally rot the flesh away.
Opium however, has been mentioned as a remedy against St. Anthony's fire, and it is highly likely that the sacred plant of Demeter was added to the ritual brew, both to prevent such cases of poisoning and to add a more peaceful and blissful dimension to the mystical experience of these sacred rites.
Besides, the mysteries were a celebration of fertility and are said to have had a highly sexual content.
Whilst Ergot can cause powerful visions and hallucinations, it is not generally known for its aphrodisiac properties.
Poppy on the other hand had a well known reputation as a potent aphrodisiac and was also a symbol of fertility.
Moreover, as has been demonstrated above, it was also connected to the Gods of the Underworld and thus combined all the aspects of Demeter's mysteries within itself.
