Caves and the Ancient Greek Mind: Descending Underground in the Search for Ultimate Truth (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Caves and the Ancient Greek Mind: Descending Underground in the Search for Ultimate Truth Suzanne Lye Yulia Ustinova . Caves and the Ancient Greek Mind: Descending Underground in the Search for Ultimate Truth. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. Pp. x, 315. $95.00. ISBN 978-0-19-954856-9. Yulia Ustinova provides a study of the use of caves and underground chambers in ancient accounts of the search for divine truth. In this book, Ustinova applies explanatory models from modern neuroscience and anthropology to ancient descriptions of mystical experiences. She argues that Greek philosophers, sages, and mystics manipulated a biological feature of human consciousness to develop strategies for creating altered states of consciousness that could access divine truths. Her basic assumption is that, since human beings have not changed biologically for 150,000 years, modern discoveries of brain behavior can be applied to the ancient Greeks. To explain the link between philosophical truths and caves, she focuses on the idea of the [End Page 516] "mental vortex," a term she borrows from psychology, which refers to the experience of passing through a dark space or tunnel during altered states, often accompanied by hallucinations. Ustinova concentrates the bulk of her argument in her introductory chapter, "Cave Experiences and the Human Mind." She combines a traditional historical approach with recent discoveries in neuroscience and psychology. She first details how cognitive psychologists classify visions, hallucinations, and near-death experiences as features of "altered states of consciousness," brought about by sensory deprivation and environmental stimuli. After noting that many ancient descriptions of religious visions discuss travel through a dark space, Ustinova suggests that the mystical visions of ancient philosophers and oracles who visited caves were the result, for the most part, of intentionally induced altered states of consciousness. Further, she strongly advocates the idea that the ancient Greeks developed their own homegrown strategies for finding philosophical truths and did not need to borrow ecstatic techniques from neighboring cultures. She reasons that the ancient Greeks eventually became aware that spending time in caves or any dark places led to "mystical" experiences and therefore developed a mythology of revelation centered around caves. After pointing to the ubiquity of references to caves in revelatory and philosophical writings, she concludes that Greek sages, seers, oracles, and initiates sought caves to generate altered states of consciousness and, ultimately, wisdom. The next four chapters are an impressive catalog of references to caves and cave-like phenomena in Greek literature. Chapter 2, "Oracles and Caves," explores the myths associating caves or caverns with ecstatic possession and divine revelation. The chapter contains a list of geographical sites, which were thought to be cave entrances to the Underworld, and looks at the deities who used caves as locations for oracular responses (e.g., Pan, nymphs, and Apollo). Chapter 3, "Seers and Poets," discusses the imagined mental framework and behavior of famous seers and poets, such as the Sybils and Homer. By sifting through literary references to these figures, Ustinova tries to link their most famous actions and utterances to their time spent in cave-like environments. It is in this chapter that Ustinova expands her definition of "cave" to encompass any dark, enclosed structure, whether natural, man-made, or virtual (e.g., Homer's blindness). Her increasingly broad definition of "cave" somewhat undermines her initial argument that descents into caves as physical structures were prerequisites for access to divine wisdom. When she allows dreams and reveries to count towards her definition of cave experiences in chapter 4, "Sages & Philosophers," Ustinova seems to lose the thread of her argument. Although her systematic treatment of various Greek figures such as Pherecydes, Empedocles, and Parmenides provides a wealth of information and bibliography, Ustinova struggles to find links to caves or underground passages in the accounts of their lives. Her final chapter, "Near-Death Experiences: Real and Make-Believe," is more successful than the previous two at demonstrating that the Greeks understood and manipulated the effects of caves on the human psyche, particularly in mystery cult initiations. In her conclusion, Ustinova encourages scholars to abandon diffusionist models for explicating the development of Greek philosophy. She does not explain, however, why it is necessary or even desirable...