Ancient Greece was unique in its attitude to alteration of consciousness. Various altered states of consciousness were commonly known: initiates experienced them during mystery rites; sacred officials and enquirers attained them in the major oracular centres; possession by various deities was recognized; and some sages and philosophers practised manipulation of consciousness. From the...
The faculty of memory, comprising memorization and remembrance, is often viewed as entirely rational. This paper focuses on three phenomena, poetry, mystery initiations, and Plato’s philosophy, in order to demonstrate that in some spheres, mania and mnêmê intertwined. The poet’s memory is only partially his own: he recalls and commemorates in the grip of divine inspiration, when he is out of...