So, I had to talk about #Sparta! A warrior society focused on war, women had more rights than their #Athenian counterparts -- and were encouraged to be physically fit and prepared to fight to defend their homeland.
Sparta
Unlike their Greek counterparts, the women of Sparta had a lot more freedom and status. They were educated, since they would be in charge of keeping the homeland running smoothly while the men were at war – but they were also strong and able to defend themselves and their homeland.
Spartan men and women lived in separate quarters – even while married. Married couples would leave their respective quarters to procreate, and Spartan wives were required to have short hair and sometimes wore men’s clothing.
Amongst married couples, the Spartans were relatively #polyamorous, and women were not punished for infidelity.
Something I would love to know more about are the #ElusinianMysteries. But thanks to the cult's secrecy (and #Christianity), we may never know all the details...
Elusinian Mysteries
There were two Eleusinian rites – the Lesser One, and the Greater One. While the details of these rites were a carefully guarded secret, what is known is that the Greater Rite took place over many days, involved #music and #dancing, #sacrifices of grain and a bull, #ritual purification in a river, and the consumption of a #SacredBeverage that was believed to be #hallucinogenic.
The beverage, known as #kykeon, was made from #barley, #pennyroyal, and other ingredients.
Top of the pops on my website this week is my accidental growing of the massively poisonous and hallucinogen Datura stramonium or devil’s snare! A fascinating plant in #mythology and #folklore the world over but not one to have with a family around.
I just had two posts #censored from mastodon.social. I will never know the real reason, but both were just the longest possible sequence of tags, to reach and be visible to a large audience. I suspect what ticked the hammer off were tags referring to "prohibited" substances. namely #thc#weed#marijuana#LSD#acid#tryptamine#hallucinogenic. the posts were deleted without informing me even though I was also using tags such as "moderation" and "noalcohol" in the same post. why is it forbidden to talk positively about these blissful compounds that nature gifts us, while hyperconsumption of #alcohol, #nicotine and #coffee is normalized and even encouraged, and the elite is allowed to indulge unquestioned, including #public#officials?