Thracian Closed Societies: The Power of Knowledge and the Use of Wine, Kykeon, Herbs and Music as Means of Reaching an Altered State of Consciousness
Asen Ondzhev
Open Journal for Studies in Arts July 13, 2025 DOI: 10.32591/coas.ojsa.0801.01001b (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Thracian closed societies, particularly their initiated male members and priestly class |
| Topics | Altered states of consciousness |
| Key points | Argues that Thracian closed societies, rooted in religious beliefs and initiation rites, functioned as esoteric knowledge-preserving communities in which wine and psychotropic drinks were used for divination and altered states, and that after the 5th century BC acoustics and music were integrated into tomb architecture to induce mystical experience. |
Abstract
The Thracians are present in the historiography of closed societies with some of the earliest records of aristocratic male communities inaccessible to the entire society. The origins of closed societies are rooted in their religious beliefs and initiation rites. This study focuses on the scarce sources of Thracian closed societies: they were built on a clan and social principle, with initiated members preserving, developing and passing on philosophical, esoteric, cosmogonic, theogonic, astronomical, musical and medical knowledge to succeeding generations. Wine and psychotropic drinks were of great importance to the priestly class and were used for divination and reaching an altered state of consciousness. After the 5th century BC and the formation of the first Thracian (Odrysian) kingdom the power of acoustics, music, singing and chanting was implemented in the tomb architecture as a further means of reaching a mystical experience.