Two thousand years ago, ancient Egyptians were sipping mugs of a potion that caused them to enter an altered state of consciousness, in hopes of divine connection and healing. Archeologists made the groundbreaking discovery using DNA and chemical analyses to decode the dregs of ingredients left behind in Bes mugs, whose use had long remained a mystery. Now, scientists have proven the mugs were part of a ritual meant to provide the drinker with divine guidance and physical health.
The participants of this practice were “very likely ordinary Egyptian women in need of a miracle from Bes,” says lead researcher, archeologist and University of South Florida Professor Davide Tanasi, Ph.D., in an email. They may have wanted to get pregnant or to speed up a risky pregnancy. The women gathered and imbibed the psychotropic concoction out of a mug carved with the likeness of the deity Bes. Then they went to sleep, hoping for revelations the deity might send to them through dreams. Depicted as a merry-faced, dwarf-like figure wearing a lion headdress, Bes drove away evil spirits and helped mothers and children, believers thought. The ancient Egyptians associated Bes with joy and fertility, as well as “mystical transformation,” says Tanasi. The psychotropic formula’s creators calibrated it carefully, he says. “At its core, this practice allowed individuals to transcend their everyday reality and connect with the divine,” while strengthening the group’s bonds and shared faith, Tanasi says.
monument of the god bes at the temple of dendera, egypt,
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A carving of Bes at the Temple of Dendera, Egypt. Bes was an ancient Egyptian deity worshipped as a protector of households and mothers and children.
Since psychotropic substances affect the mind, ritual participants likely had visions, or hallucinations, that they would have ascribed to Bes as prophetic and spiritual, says Tanasi, lead author on the paper describing evidence of the mugs’ use, in Nature’s Scientific Reports. The November report details the study of a Bes mug that resides at the Tampa Museum of Art. Tanasi worked with a team at the University of South Florida and partners in Italy at the University of Trieste and the University of Milan, to perform chemical and DNA analyses on the mug.
Thin layers of the concoction researchers scraped from the mug’s interior contained bodily fluids and alcohol, mixed with particular psychoactive substances: harmaline, found in the seeds of Peganum harmala, commonly known as Syrian rue, and aporphine, from Nymphaea nouchali var. Caerulea, called the Egyptian Lotus or Blue Water Lily. “These compounds, combined with the fermented base and symbolic human fluids, demonstrate the Egyptians’ advanced understanding of the interplay between the physical body, natural substances, and spiritual experiences,” Tanasi says. Researchers also isolated traces of honey, sesame seeds, pine nuts, licorice, and grapes, which were probably added to make the blend more palatable.
the warm heart of the water lily
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The Blue Water Lily, also known as the Egyptian Lotus, provided the ancient Egyptians an ingredient that caused psychoactive effects such as euphoria and relaxation.
Harmaline from Syrian rue would have induced vivid visions during the Bes ritual, Tanasi says. Simultaneously, the blue water lily would have enhanced relaxation while causing euphoria, a state that would lead to introspection, he says. “Together, these substances worked in harmony to guide the participant into a trance-like state … ideal for connecting with the divine or receiving oracular messages.”
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The same psychotropic qualities found in Syrian rue seeds are present in Banisteriopsis caapi, or the compound in ayahuasca, which is used in traditional Amazonian shamanic ceremonies. Similarly, worshippers in the Greek cult of Asklepios consumed “pharmaka,” meaning sacred drugs, to receive divine messages about their healing. The Aztecs and Maya of Mesoamerica incorporated psilocybin mushrooms and peyote into their rituals. People throughout history and across continents have been consuming various plant-based psychedelics to alter their perceptions of reality and achieve psychological, physical, and spiritual well-being. There is evidence that humans were ingesting psilocybin mushrooms during the earliest days of our species.
“The inclusion of psychotropic substances in these diverse rituals underscores a universal human tendency to seek transcendence and spiritual communion through altered states of consciousness,” Tanasi says.
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Before joining Popular Mechanics, Manasee Wagh worked as a newspaper reporter, a science journalist, a tech writer, and a computer engineer. She’s always looking for ways to combine the three greatest joys in her life: science, travel, and food.