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THE MUTILATION

MYSTERIES

"During this time Androcles, the popular leader, produced sundry aliens and slaves who
accused Alcibiades and his friends of mutilating other sacred images, and of making a parody
of the mysteries of Eleusis in a drunken revel." (Plutarch)

"As to the superstition of the Eleusinian Mysteries... they make the admission tortuous, take time in the
initiation, set a seal on the tongue, and instruct the epoptae for five years, to raise a high opinion of
them by delay and expectation. But all the divinity in the sacred domes, the whole of what they aspire
to, what sealeth the tongue is this: simulacrum membri virilis revelatur. But for a cover of their sacrilege,
they pretend these figures are only a mystical representation of venerable nature." (Tertullian)

"In Cyllene is a sanctuary of Asclepius, and one of Aphrodite. But the image of Hermes, most devoutly
worshipped by the inhabitants, is merely the male member upright on the pedestal." (Pausanias)

At the trial of Alcibiades an association was clearly drawn between the infamous mutilation of the phallic
herms that occurred in 415 BC and the secrets of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

This connection between the mutilation of these phallic pillars and the secrets of the mysteries that was
established in the trial provides some of the only existing tangible evidence of the content of the
Eleusinian Mysteries. The mutilation of the herms and the trial that followed alluded to the central
myths of the mysteries and the ensuing controversy is testament to this.
"Moreover, the mutilation of the Hermae, most of which, in a single night, had their faces and forms
disfigured, confounded the hearts of many, even among those who usually set small store by such
things… They looked on the occurrence with such wrath and fear, thinking it the sign of a bold and
dangerous conspiracy. They therefore scrutinized keenly every suspicious circumstance, the council and
the assembly convening for this purpose many times within a few days." 1

The concept of phallic mutilation formed part of the mysteries of the Great Mother (Cybele) and Attis
that can be seen to be related to the mysteries performed in Eleusis. On the Day of Blood, during the
rites of Attis, the Galli castrated themselves in a frenzy of ecstasy and offered the severed parts to the
goddess.

"During these days they are made Galli. As the Galli sing and celebrate their orgies, frenzy falls on many
of them and many who had come as mere spectators afterwards are found to have committed the great
act. I will narrate what they do. Any young man who has resolved on this action, strips off his clothes,
and with a loud shout bursts into the midst of the crowd, and picks up a sword from a number of swords
which I suppose have been kept ready for many years for this purpose. He takes it and castrates himself
and then runs wild through the city, bearing in his hands what he has cut off." 2

These parts were symbolized by the pomegranate with its blood-red flesh that encased the multiple
seeds. Human genitalia in both the mysteries of the Great Mother and Attis and also those of Eleusis
represent the receptacles of seeds.

"These broken instruments of fertility were afterwards reverently wrapt up and buried in the earth or in
subterranean chambers sacred to Cybele, where, like the offering of blood, they may have been deemed
instrumental in recalling Attis to life and hastening the general resurrection of nature, which was then
bursting into leaf and blossom in the vernal sunshine. Some confirmation of this conjecture is furnished
by the savage story that the mother of Attis conceived by putting in her bosom a pomegranate sprung
from the severed genitals of a man-monster named Agdestis, a sort of double of Attis." 3

The vernal equinox of spring marked the resurrection of Attis from the underworld. Human fertility is
linked with the process of nature’s cycle of decay and rebirth. Attis castrates himself under a pine tree
saying '"Take these Acdestis (Agdestis), for which you have stirred up so great and terribly perilous
commotions.' With the streaming blood his life flies; but the Great Mother of the gods gathers the parts
which had been cut off, and throws earth on them, having first covered them, and wrapped them in the
garment of the dead. From the blood which had flowed springs a flower, the violet, and with this the
tree is girt."4

From the blood that was shed during the act of castration performed by Attis violets spring forth. This
was a colour that was associated with the bruising of skin and ultimately with death. Violets therefore
had a funerary colour and were used in wreaths that were presented to the deities.
The theme of transformation or metamorphosis is here related to resurrection. Zeus had ordained that
the body of Attis should not be corrupted in death. The act of castration is therefore linked to a
transaction with the deities that ultimately purifies the mortal nature of humans.

The concepts of violent castration and resurrection also formed part of the myths of Dionysus. These
relate that, in similar fashion to Osiris, the body of the god was brutally torn apart. From the blood shed
by the act pomegranates spring to life. "Pomegranates were supposed to have sprung from the blood of
Dionysus, as anemones from the blood of Adonis and violets from the blood of Attis; hence women
refrained from eating seeds of pomegranates at the festival of Thesmophoria." 5

The myths relating to Adonis reflect those of Persephone as outlined in the Hymn to Demeter. Adonis is
shared between Aphrodite and the queen of Hades, Persephone, thus spending part of the year
underground as metaphorical seed that is resurrected in the spring. "But when Persephone got a glimpse
of Adonis, she refused to return him (to Aphrodite). When the matter was brought to Zeus for
arbitration, he divided the year into three parts and decreed that Adonis would spend one third of the
year by himself, one third with Persephone, and the rest with Aphrodite. But Adonis added his own
portion to Aphrodite's."6

The blood-red flower of the anemone that symbolizes Adonis is likened to the flower of the
pomegranate. The cutting away of the petals of the anemone by the action of the wind reflects the
theme of mutilation which gives birth to the seed of the flower. Thus the cycle of resurrection and
mutilation is endlessly repeated. Adonis is gored by a wild boar but the goddess intervenes by sprinkling
nectar on the blood that soaks the earth. The lifeless body of Adonis is reborn as the anemone (the
'windflower').

"In less than an hour, a flower, of the colour of blood, was created such as pomegranates carry, that hide
their seeds under a tough rind. But enjoyment of it is brief; for, lightly clinging and too easily fallen, the
winds deflower it, which are likewise reponsible for its name, windflower: anemone."7

Pomegranate seeds formed a central part of the Eleusinian Mysteries where the concept of natural
mortality is followed by resurrection in the spring. In these myths Persephone consumes pomegranate
seed and is compelled to inhabit the underworld for the duration of the gestation of the seed. In the
archaic 'Hymn to Demeter' the goddess demands to know if Persephone has tasted the food of the
underworld during her imprisonment there.

"... but if you have tasted food, you must go back again beneath the secret places of the earth, there to
dwell a third part of the seasons every year: yet for the two parts you shall be with me and the other
deathless gods. But when the earth shall bloom with the fragrant flowers of spring in every kind, then
from the realm of darkness and gloom thou shalt come up once more to be a wonder for gods and
mortal men… Then beautiful Persephone answered her thus… he secretly put in my mouth sweet food, a
pomegranate seed, and forced me to taste against my will."
The process of burying an object in the earth which engenders some form of birth or rebirth is an
indication that the mysteries are being referenced. Porphyry describes the doctrines of Pythagoras
whereby humans are born from an alchemical process involving the fermentation of beans that are
buried in the ground.

"Beans were interdicted, it is said, because the particular plants grow and individualize only after (the
earth) which is the principle and origin of all things, is mixed together, so that many things underground
are confused, and coalesce; after which everything rots together. Then living creatures were produced
together with plants, so that both men and beans arose out of putrefaction whereof he (Pythagoras)
alleged many manifest arguments."8

Putrefaction is one of the stages in alchemy and the statement that "both men and beans arose out of
putrefaction" seems to have an alchemical genesis. The synthesis of vegetative fertility and human
reproduction is a known feature of the Eleusinian Mysteries. These mysteries can be recognized in the
description of the ritual process of burying the beans in an earthen container which then gives birth to
human infants or human sexual organs.

"For if anyone should chew a bean, and having ground it to a pulp with his teeth, and should expose that
pulp to the warm sun, for a short while, and then return to it, he will perceive the scent of human blood.
Moreover, if at the time when beans bloom, one should take a little of the flower, which then is black,
and should put it into an earthen vessel, and cover it closely, then bury it in the ground for ninety days,
and at the end thereof take it up, and uncover it, instead of the bean he will find either the head of an
infant, or the pudenda of a woman."9

Hippolytus deviates from an otherwise similar interpretation of this myth by emphasizing the connection
between beans and human semen. This foregrounds the relationship between human seed or semen
and the testicular appearance of beans. "And of this he mentions the following indication, that if any
one, after having chewed a bean without the husk, places it opposite the sun for a certain period - for
this immediately will aid in the result - it yields the smell of human seed." 10

According to Diogenes Laertius the physical appearance of beans and human testicles were referenced
by Aristotle with an additional connection to the gates of Hades. Thus a further Eleusinian reference is
added by incorporating the myth of Persephone’s descent into the earth through the gates of Hades.
"According to Aristotle in his work On the Pythagoreans, Pythagoras counselled abstinence from beans
either because they are like the genitals, or because they are like the gates of Hades…" 11

In this garden of unearthly delights exists the field of beans. This forms part of the history of Pythagoras
as it is related by Iamblichus. In this myth a band of persecuted Pythagoreans flee from the soldiers of
the tyrant but come across a field of beans that bars their path. The Pythagoreans "might have escaped
but a field of well-grown beans lay ahead of them and being unwilling to violate the command that they
should not touch beans, they halted…"12
Because they would not flee across the field of beans the Pythagoreans were slaughtered. Two other
disciples of Pythagoras were interrogated as to why their companions had chosen to die rather than walk
on the beans. "But the heroic woman ground her tongue with her teeth and biting it off spat it at the
tyrant."13

There are therefore immortal secrets that surround the field of beans. The secrets of the Eleusinian
Mysteries were protected by a code of death that was executed on any who revealed them. In his text
about Pythagorean history Iamblichus refers directly to this command. "For it is not lawful to extend to
every casual person, things which were obtained with great labours, nor to divulge the mysteries of the
Eleusinian Goddesses to the profane."14

It can therefore be inferred that the Pythagoreans were protecting a secret that is linked to the
Eleusinian Mysteries. Iamblichus reveals that many Pythagorean concepts were derived from the
mysteries. "Many of the mandates of the Pythagoreans were introduced from the Mysteries." 15

In these myths Pythagoras travels to Delos and so creates a confluence of concepts that ties the
Eleusinian Mysteries to those of Delos. This reveals an underground network of beliefs that united the
various threads of the mysteries. Pythagoras "was the author of a compound divine philosophy and
worship of the Gods; having learned some things from the followers of Orpheus; some from the
Chaldeans and Magi, and some also from the Mysteries performed at Eleusis, in Imbrus, Samothracia
and Delos, as well as in Iberia and by the Celtae." 16

In contrast to Eleusis physical evidence of the cults on Delos survives in the monumental phallic forms
that dominate the Stoibadeion. These must be related to the mysteries performed in Delos and by
extension also those of Eleusis.

These Dionysian phallic monuments are partially destroyed but retain the bean-shaped testicles from
which the phalli rise. The relationship between the plant and the human therefore has a monumental
physical presence that is made explicit by the stylized rounded shape of the testicles.

One of the deities that is connected to the Eleusinian Mysteries was Cyamites who signified in his name
that he personified the cultivation of beans. This entity was specifically related to the Vicia faba or broad
bean. Plutarch states that his temple was strategically placed on the Sacred Way leading to Eleusis and
this location indicates his importance to the mysteries. "The last of these had a monument in the way to
the shrine of Cyamites, as we go to Eleusis by the Sacred Way, of which now remains only ruins." 17

Pausanias confirms the existence and location of this temple and further emphasizes, albeit cryptically,
its symbolic significance to the Eleusinian Mysteries. "On the road stands a small temple called that of
Cyamites. I cannot state for certain whether he was the first to sow beans, or whether they gave this
name to a hero they may not attribute to Demeter the discovery of beans. Whoever has been initiated at
Eleusis or has read what are called the Orphica knows what I mean." 18
Thus Pausanias links this deity and the discovery of beans to a central secret of the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Fava beans contain L-dopa, a precursor of neuro-chemicals in the brain such as dopamine. The action of
L-dopa in the stimulation of dopamine has been an important factor in the treatment of Parkinson’s
disease. More recently its role as an aphrodisiac has come to the fore. Thus the sexual synthesis of fava
beans and human sexuality is revealed at the core of the mysteries. The theory that the myths
concerning beans all relate to favism is not consistent with the nature of the prohibitions which are more
in the nature of a sexual or sacred taboo.

A process of alchemical fermentation is inferred here which compares to the text of Augustine, following
on from the section on the Eleusinian Mysteries, where the dry seed of plants and the liquid seed of
humans (semen) are placed in the same context as the fermentation of wine.

"Now as to the rites of Liber, whom they have set over liquid seeds, and therefore not only over the
liquors of fruits, among which wine holds, so to speak, the primacy, but also over the seeds of animals…
Varro says that in Italy, at the places where roads crossed each other, the rites of Liber were celebrated
with such unrestrained turpitude, that the private parts of a man were worshipped in his honour. Nor
was this abomination transacted in secret that some regard at least might be paid to modesty, but was
openly and wantonly displayed. For during the festival of Liber this obscene member, placed on a car,
was carried with great honour, first over the crossroads, and then into the city." 19

Diodorus Siculus compares the tearing apart of the body of Dionysus to the harvesting and pressing of
grapes to make wine. It is clear that it is the testicles of the deity that are seen as equivalent to the
grapes. Therefore the picking, pressing and boiling of the grapes have an equivalence to the castration of
Attis and the Galli. Dionysus has a first birth in the growth of the vine, a second birth in the clusters of
the grapes, and a third birth by being contained in the alcoholic nature of wine. The deity is torn apart
but reborn in the human consuming the wine.

"... the sons of Gaia tore to pieces the god, who was a son of Zeus and Demeter, and boiled him, but his
members were brought together again by Demeter and he experienced a new birth as if for the first
time, such accounts as this they trace back to certain causes found in nature." 20

Controversy over the nature of the Trinity centred around the meaning of the ancient Greek word ousia.
In Latin this is translated as essentia and thus signifies 'essence.' The divine essence could be transferred
through all three separate entities while simultaneously incorporating them into one deity. "In fact, the
Greeks call emission apousia and coition synousia, and the son (hyios) from water (hydor) and rain
(hysai); Dionysus also they call Hyes since he is lord of the nature of moisture; and he is no other than
Osiris."21

Therefore the presence of the deity within the wine and subsequently in the human body is related to
resurrection. Diodorus Siculus directly states that these concepts are linked to the mysteries and cannot
be further revealed due to the prohibitions that are enforced on the uninitiated. Modern interpretations
tend to assume that the term 'members' refers to the dismembered parts of the whole body of the deity.
In the context of the parallel myths about the Great Mother and Attis the text only makes sense if the
term 'members' refers more specifically to the testicles of the deity. Only these parts can be seen to be
equivalent to grapes by containing the essence, the seed or semen, of the god.

"Again, the account of his members, which the 'earth-born' treated with despite, being brought together
again and restored to their former natural state, shows forth that the vine, which has been stripped of its
fruit and pruned at the yearly seasons, is restored by the earth to the high level of fruitfulness which it
had before. For, in general, the ancient poets and writers of myths spoke of Demeter as Ge Meter (Earth
Mother). And with these stories the teachings agree which are set forth in the Orphic poems and are
introduced into their rites, but it is not lawful to recount them in detail to the uninitiated." 22

The castrated genital parts of Dionysus represent the fruits which when fermented contain the essence
of the deity. There is an equivalence to the castration of Attis which represents the shedding of the
flower before the fruit appears.

"Varro has not spoken of that Atys, nor sought out any interpretation for him, in memory of whose being
loved by Ceres the Gallus is mutilated. But the learned and wise Greeks have by no means been silent
about an interpretation so holy and so illustrious. The celebrated philosopher Porphyry has said that Atys
signifies the flowers of spring, which is the most beautiful season, and therefore was mutilated because
the flower falls before the fruit appears. They have not, then, compared the man himself, or rather that
semblance of a man they call Atys, to the flower, but his male organs - these, indeed, fell while he was
living."23

The shedding of the petals and the metaphor of the castration of the plant are concepts that incorporate
the mystica vannus. This was the winnowing fan or basket that separated the corn from the chaff and
thus castrated the seed. Purification of the seed symbolized the purification of the human soul and
consequently the mystica vannus was a central component of the Eleusinian Mysteries.

"It was from producing this separation, that the universal Bacchus, or double Apollo, the creator and
destroyer, whose essence was fire, was also called the purifier, by a metaphor taken from the winnow,
which purified the corn from the dust and chaff, as fire purified the soul from its terrestrial pollutions.
Hence this instrument is called by Virgil the mystic winnow of Bacchus." 24

In the 'Hymn to Demeter' the goddess takes as a sacrament a draught containing the purified and
purifying grain. The goddess "bade them mix meal and water with soft mint and give her to drink. And
Metaneira mixed the draught and gave it to the goddess as she bade. So the great queen Deo received it
to observe the sacrament…"25

The Egyptians consumed a sacrament that was derived from the blue lotus or water lily. The Pyramid
Texts establish an identification between the Eye of Horus and the lotus that flourished on the banks of
the Nile. The specific plant, a blue lotus, is now defined as the Nymphaea caerulea water lily. The sacred
status of this plant is made manifest by numerous depictions of the blue lotus in the temples and
funerary monuments of ancient Egypt.

"Unas appears as Nefertum, the lotus at the nose of Re, as he comes out of the Horizon every day, and at
the sight of which the gods purify themselves." 26

In Egyptian myth the lotus or water lily rises out of the primordial waters at the dawn of creation. The
flower tracked the course of the sun by opening in the morning and closing at night. It visually
represented the sun in the sky by being constructed with a yellow centre contrasting with a surround of
blue petals. By being both immersed in water and blooming above the surface the plant symbolized an
existence both in the temporal and underworld realms.

Despite the supreme importance that the plant evidently had in the art of ancient Egypt there are
surprisingly few mentions of the 'lotus,' as so named, in the Pyramid Texts and the Book of the Dead.
This discrepancy between the art and the hieroglyphic formulations suggests that the concepts
encapsulated by the lotus are expressed under a different name such as the Eye of Horus.

The psychoactive properties of the Nymphaea caerulea were used in the temple rites to gain access to
the afterlife. The plant was evidently food for the gods since depictions in Egyptian temples show it
being offered to the gods and suggest that it was consumed in the afterlife. Modern research appears to
show that the plant contains chemical agents that could induce mind-altering states. The Nymphaea
caerulea is believed to be the lotus that is referred to by Homer in the 'Odyssey.'

"... what they did was give them some lotus to taste, and as soon as each had eaten the honeyed fruit of
the plant, all thoughts of reporting to us or escaping were banished from his mind. All they wished for
was to stay where they were with the Lotus-eaters, to browse on the lotus, and to forget that they had a
home to return to."27

There is some dispute as to whether Homer is referring to the Nymphaea caerulea or whether the drugs
derived from the poppy are the agents of the opioid state of the Lotus-eaters. Herodotus brackets the
poppy and the Nymphaea caerulea in the same category by comparing the centres of the two plants. It
appears that both plants had a similar reputation for creating drug induced states.

"When the river is in flood and flows over the plains, many lilies, which the Egyptians call lotus, grow in
the water. They gather these and dry them in the sun; then they crush the poppy-like centre of the plant
and bake loaves of it. The root of this lotus is edible also, and of a sweetish taste; it is round, and the size
of an apple."28

Herodotus here describes the production of loaves of bread containing elements from the lotus and
further refers to the drying and consumption of the plant's "poppy-like centre" and the consumption of
the root of the plant.
In the Pyramid Texts bread and cakes are explicitly associated with the Eye of Horus. The offerings of
these foods in containers destined for the afterlife are said to contain the Eye of Horus.

"To say four times: An offering which the king gives for the ka of Unas. Osiris Unas, take the Eye of Horus,
your cake (which) you eat! A cake of offering."29

"Wash yourself, Unas, open your mouth with the Eye of Horus! Call your Ka, like Osiris, that he may
protect you against every kind of wrath of the dead! Unas, receive this your bread which is the Eye of
Horus!"30

The essence of the plant was the divine scent that was indicative of the realm of the gods. The sacred
nature of the lotus is confirmed in the passages of the Book of the Dead and the scent is seen as bearing
the signature of the gods. The scent enabled the purification of both the body and the soul. This process
of purification, that is linked to irradiating light, is central to religious myth.

"Making the transformation into the Lotus. The Osiris Ani, whose word is truth, saith: I am the holy lotus
that cometh forth from the light which belongeth to the nostrils of Ra, and which belongeth to the head
of Hathor. I have made my way, and I seek after him, that is to say, Horus. I am the pure lotus that
cometh forth from the field (of Ra)."31

The lotus was used in the manufacture of perfumes and lotions that were used in the embalming
process. The Pyramid Texts directly equate these cosmetic products with the Eye of Horus. It appears
that the scent created from the lotus was infused into the oils and makeup that both purified and
beautified the deceased. These cosmetics were also included in containers that could accompany the
human corpse into the afterlife.

"Osiris Unas, I bring you the Eye of Horus which he takes, which is on your brow. First quality Libyan
oil."32

“Osiris Unas, the sound Eye of Horus is being rubbed on your face. Two pouches of green (eye)
cosmetic."33

In addition to these cosmetic products the lotus was evidently used in the brewing of beer and the
fermentation and flavouring of wines. This incorporates these lotus products into ritual religious
sacraments. Again the Pyramid Texts explicitly associate the Eye of Horus with these libations.

"Unas, take the Eye of Horus, the liquid which came out of Osiris! Beer one black… stone bowl."34

"Unas, take the Eye of Horus which was snatched from Seth, which was rescued for you, that you may
open your mouth with it. Wine, one white… stone bowl."35
These libations and cosmetic products were the humble human equivalents of the divine elixir that was
consumed by the gods. By incorporating the lotus in these offerings a bridge was established between
the sacred and the profane. The blue lotus was a divine plant that could be consumed both by humans
and the gods.

"Take Unas with you, that he may eat of what you eat, that he may drink of what you drink, that he may
live on what you live…"36

The significance of this plant is preserved in the lily-formed columns of Egyptian temples. The
architectural form of the column capital with the lily flower in an open or closed state was intrinsic to
Egyptian temples. The stalk of the plant was represented by the shaft of the column.

These lily-shaped capitals represent the receptacles holding the seed and symbolize the encasement of
divine seed in their phallic form. In these temples the phallic columnar forms based on the water lily
contained in their bulbous capitals the seeds of creative generation.

"... from under the body of the serpent springs the lotus or water lily… The figures of Isis, upon the Isiac
Table, hold the stem of this plant, surmounted by the seed-vessel in one hand, and the cross,
representing the male organs of generation, in the other; thus signifying the universal power, both active
and passive, attributed to that goddess. On the same Isiac Table is also the representation of an Egyptian
temple, the columns of which are exactly like the plant which Isis holds in her hand, except that the stem
is made larger, in order to give it that stability which is necessary to support a roof and entablature." 37

In the Pyramid Texts the lotus, as so named, is invoked when the form of the lotus flower in an open or
closed state is relevant to the context. Thus the sceptre is described as bearing the shape of the lotus.
This establishes the lotus as synonymous with a ceremonial phallic shaft that projects regal power.

"Your sceptre is in your hand that you may give orders to the living, the handle of your lotus-shaped
sceptre in your hand."38

"Your lotus-shaped sceptre is at the head of the living, your staff is at the head of the spirits…" 39

The lotus-shaped sceptre here exhibits a magical power over supernatural entities. This is consistent
with the apotropaic power that was believed to be intrinsic to the phallus in antiquity.

The passage of semen through the external opening of the urethra defines the concepts behind the Eye
of Horus. The structure of the urethral opening follows the linear shape of the Eye of Horus. A plant-like
tendril is added to make clear the association with the Nymphaea caerulea.

Thus the urethral opening of the phallus is equated with the opening and closing of the petals of the
lotus. Turned on its side the Eye of Horus symbol has a stem surmounted by a bulb. The ritual of
circumcision can be seen as a rite of passage that opens up the Eye of Horus by cutting away the foreskin
from the glans.

A defining aspect of the Eye of Horus symbol is the line that leads from the edge of the eye and which
has no equivalent on the human face. This line matches the clear demarcating line that leads from the
edge of the urethral opening down to the base of the glans.

According to Diodorus Siculus the phallic rituals in Egypt that celebrated the dismemberment of Osiris
were the origin of the mysteries connected to Dionysus in Greece. "... the privates (of Osiris), according
to them, were thrown by Typhon into the Nile… Yet Isis thought them as worthy of divine honours as the
other parts, for, fashioning a likeness of them, she set it up in the temples, commanded that it be
honoured, and made it the object of the highest regard and reverence in the rites and sacrifices
accorded to the god. Consequently the Greeks too, inasmuch as they received from Egypt the
celebrations of the orgies and the festivals connected with Dionysus, honour this member in both the
mysteries and the initiatory rites and sacrifices of this god, giving it the name 'phallus.'" 40

In the Dionysian rites ritualistic orgies were performed beside the sacred lake that was believed to mark
the entrance to the underworld. Dionysus descended into the underworld in order to raise his mother
Semele from the unfathomable depths. "The local Argive tradition was that he went down through the
Alcyonian lake; and his return from the lower world, in other words his resurrection, was annually
celebrated by the Argives, who summoned him from the water by trumpet blasts, while they threw a
lamb into the lake as an offering to the warder of the dead." 41

This worship was accompanied by frenzied orgiastic rituals that celebrated the resurrection of the
deified phallus from the depths of the lake. Dionysus as a phallic god was represented by depictions of
his immortal phallus by the celebrants of the nocturnal rituals. Plutarch states that there is a syncretism
between the Dionysian and Egyptian Mysteries. "They call him (Dionysus) up out of the water by the
sound of trumpets, at the same time casting into the depths a lamb as an offering to the Keeper of the
Gate. The trumpets they conceal in Bacchic wands, as Socrates has stated in his treatise on The Holy
Ones. Furthermore, the tales regarding the Titans and the rites celebrated by night agree with the
accounts of the dismemberment of Osiris and his revivification and regenesis." 42

The Alcyonian Lake from which Dionysus is summoned has an equivalence to the lake at Sais in Egypt
which was central to the Egyptian Mysteries and the resurrection of Osiris. Herodotus identifies the
nocturnal rites performed there with the Egyptian Mysteries. "There is also at Sais, the burial-place of
one whose name (Osiris) I think it impious to mention in speaking of such a matter; it is in the temple of
Athena, behind and close to the length of the wall of the shrine. Moreover, great stone obelisks stand in
the precinct; and there is a lake nearby, adorned with a stone margin and made in a complete circle; it is,
as it seemed to me, the size of the lake at Delos which they call the Round Pond. On this lake they enact
by night the story of the god’s sufferings, a rite which the Egyptians call the Mysteries." 43
New research into the treatment for erectile dysfunction has now revealed the true secret behind the
phallic symbolism of the Nymphaea caerulea. This also reveals the role of this plant in the celebrations of
the Egyptian Mysteries. Apomorphine, the chemical component contained in the Nymphaea caerulea,
was recently approved by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for erectile dysfunction.

Apomorphine can therefore be used to enhance and prolong the sexual experience even when there is
no underlying erectile dysfunction. Apart from the urethral opening on the glans the Eye of Horus is also
visually identified with the thalamus in the human brain. The thalamus visually resembles the human
eye with the surrounding caudate structure forming the shape of the eyelids. From the base of the eye
the spiral tendril leads towards the fern-like cerebellum while the adjacent line identifies with the
connecting brain stem and spinal cord.

The hypothalamus that is adjacent to the thalamus is the central location for the chemical activity that
ultimately results in the erection. Chemicals contained in the Nymphaea caerulea metaphorically open
up this internal eye within the brain.

This association between the Nymphaea caerulea and human erectile performance then explains the use
of this plant in the orgiastic celebrations of the mysteries. It also explains the numerous depictions in
Egyptian temples that show serpents springing erect from the lotus.

There is a direct relationship between the plant and human sexuality since the chemicals within it can
induce an erection. This quality demonstrates a far more substantial symbiosis between the plant and
the human than a purely symbolic association. The consumption of the Nymphaea caerulea leads to a
real observable physical effect that unites the human to the plant and, like a third eye, opens the human
mind to the mysteries of the universe.

'The Contendings of Horus and Seth' establishes an undeniable direct relationship between the
conceptual device of the Eye of Horus and the Nymphaea caerulea. The text describes the mutilation of
Horus whereby Seth tears out his eyes and buries them on the mountain. From these eye bulbs springs
the lotus.

The lotuses that spring from the eyes reflect the shape of the bulb that forms above the water before
opening to the sun. In the context of Egyptian creation myth the burial of the eye bulbs on the mountain
can be seen as an invocation of the primeval mound. The rising of this mound above the primal waters
heralds the dawn of creation.

The relationship between the lotus and the Eye of Horus is therefore established in this archaic
mutilation myth that has echoes of the earliest oral transmission of Egyptian foundation myths.
"Thereupon the Ennead ascended into the mountains in order to search for Horus, the son of Isis. Now
as for Horus, he was lying under a Shenusha-tree in the Oasis country. Thereupon Seth found him, and
took hold on him, and threw him on his back upon the mountain. And he removed his two Eyes from
their places, and buried them upon the mountain to illuminate the earth. And the two balls of his two
eyes became two bulbs, and they grew into lotuses." 44

The infamous mutilation of the herms and the consequent trial exposes a core truth about the Eleusinian
Mysteries. Surviving documentary evidence from the trial of Alcibiades establishes that the participants
in the trial recognized a symmetry between genital mutilation and the concepts associated with these
mysteries. Therefore the mutilation of the herms and the trial that followed replicated the central myths
of the Eleusinian Mysteries and the ensuing controversy is testament to this.

The related theme that extends across the mysteries is the equivalence that is drawn between plants
and human genitalia. The theme of purifying castration or genital mutilation is applied to the
deflowering of plants and the cutting away of their fruits. Chemicals within specific plants were seen to
have mind-altering states and also to have powerful aphrodisiac effects. This synthesis between the
reproduction of plants and human sexuality created a perfect circular symbiosis between the human and
the plant.

"For everything pertaining to the lotos (lotus), both the forms in the leaves and the appearance of the
seed, is observed to be circular. This very energy is akin to the unique circle-like motion of the mind,
manifesting it in like manner according to the same forms, in a single arrangement, and according to one
principle."45

"So spake Rhea. And rich-crowned Demeter did not refuse but straightway made fruit to spring up from
the rich lands, so that the whole wide earth was laden with leaves and flowers… she showed the conduct
of her rites and taught them all her mysteries… awful mysteries which no one may in any way transgress
or pry into or utter, for deep awe of the gods checks the voice." 46
"We describe here evidence that the treatment of erectile dysfunction with apomorphine is not new: the
Mayans and ancient Egyptians were well acquainted with the clinical effects of an apomorphine-
containing plant, and they probably used that plant as an aid to sexual activity…

The isolation of psychoactive apomorphine species has offered chemical support to speculation that
Nymphaea species may have been employed as hallucinogens in both the Old and New World…

However, it has only recently become clear that apomorphine can be utilized, with excellent results, to
treat erectile dysfunction. It is a centrally acting, selective D 1/D2 dopamine agonist, and activation of
dopaminergic receptors in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus initiates a cascade of events,
ultimately resulting in smooth muscle relaxation and vasodilatation within the corpora cavernosa,
leading to penile erection…

The Nymphaea story serves as a further illustration of how the effects of substances of plant origin were
known even though the discoverers lacked the technology to explain them." 47

1. Plutarch - Parallel Lives - Life of Alcibiades 18-19


2. Lucian - De Dea Syria
3. James Frazer - The Golden Bough
4. Arnobius - Adversus Gentes 5.7
5. James Frazer - The Golden Bough
6. Apollodorus (attributed) - Bibliotheca 3.183
7. Ovid - Metamorphoses 10
8. Porphyry - Life of Pythagoras 44
9. Ibid.
10. Hippolytus - Refutation of All Heresies 1.2
11. Diogenes Laertius - Lives of the Eminent Philosophers 8.1.34
12. Iamblichus - The Life of Pythagoras
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid.
16. Ibid.
17. Plutarch - Lives of the Ten Orators 4
18. Pausanias - Description of Greece 1.37.4
19. Augustine - City of God 7.21
20. Diodorus Siculus - Library of History 3.62
21. Plutarch - Isis and Osiris 34
22. Diodorus Siculus - Library of History 3.62
23. Augustine - City of God 7.25
24. Richard Payne Knight - A Discourse on the Worship of Priapus
25. Hymn to Demeter
26. Pyramid Text - Utterance 249
27. Homer - Odyssey
28. Herodotus - Histories 2.92
29. Pyramid Texts - Utterance 46
30. Ibid. 93
31. Book of the Dead
32. Pyramid Texts - Utterance 78
33. Ibid. 79
34. Ibid. 55
35. Ibid. 54
36. Ibid. 210
37. Richard Payne Knight - A Discourse on the Worship of Priapus
38. Pyramid Texts - Utterance 213
39. Ibid. 224
40. Diodorus Siculus - Library of History 1.22
41. James Frazer - The Golden Bough
42. Plutarch - Isis and Osiris 35
43. Herodotus - Histories 2.170-171
44. The Contendings of Horus and Seth - Chester Beatty Manuscript
45. Iamblichus - Theurgia 7.15
46. Hymn to Demeter
47. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine - Volume 97 - February 2004

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