A Brief History of Vice by Robert Evans

Author:Robert Evans
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-07-20T13:36:51+00:00

The wine was a red I normally find quite mild. But taken at the end of a fast, its flavor was almost uncomfortably intense. The sourness gave me a head rush that was a little bit like doing a whippet . . . but I wouldn’t describe it as hallucinogenic. Having tried both written kykeon recipes, I think it’s likely that neither is “complete.” I suspect the full recipe involves some sort of LSA synthesis.

But I wouldn’t want to discount the value of the fast in the whole experience. The most connected I felt to the Eleusinian Mysteries during my own re-creation wasn’t while drinking either potential kykeon. It came during the “feast” at the end of the four-day fast. The few descriptions we have of the mysteries emphasize the belief in a “paradisical” afterlife for the initiated.

After the hell that is a long, complete fast, eating was itself a kind of paradise. Even winelogged chèvre tasted delicious. And while drinking wine mixed with cheese and barley atop a mountain wasn’t exactly a religious experience, the first bite of hamburger I had after hiking five miles back to my car very nearly was.

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