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Cannabis in Ancient Greece: Smoke of the Oracles?

 

Channel: Pot TV
Duration: 1:18:59
Description: Topics discussed include the influence on Greek ritual practices from the Scythian and Thracian shaman, known as ‘Kapnobatai’, meaning ‘smoke-walkers’, who were known to fumigate themselves with cannabis smoke to achieve ‘ecstasy’. The potential role of cannabis in the cults of Aphrodite, Orpheus, Apollo, Hera, Dionysus and other ancient Greek deities, along with the potential ritual use of cannabis at the Oracle of Delphi and other sites. The alleged archeological find of ancient hashish at the Nekyomanteion (a place for consulting the dead) on the River Acheron (one of the most famous entrances to the netherworld) as discussed in the book ‘Mysteries of the Oracles’ . The use of cannabis infused incenses and wines in ancient Greece, with a discussion on Homer’s ‘nepenthe’, as well as a look at lotions and ointments that were applied vaginally.

Published: March 7, 2015 11:40 pm

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Ancient Greek explorers

 

Channel: Quidam Graecus
Duration: 4:26
Description: Ancient Greek explorers Reckless explorers like Pytheas, Scylax of Caryanda, Nearchus and Euthymenes set the foundation of the sea exploration. The Greeks were also the first in the underwater exploration.
Published: December 26, 2013 2:10 pm

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Ancient Civilizations – Ancient Greece. Magna Graecia

 

Channel: The Documentary HUB
Duration: 48:27
Description: Documentary ancient civilizations – ancient Greece , Magna Graecia. Magna Graecia (Megalē Hellas) refers to the coastal areas of southern Italy which were colonized by various ancient Greek city-states from the 8th to 5th centuries BCE. Sicily, although also a region of Greek colonization, is not usually included in this area. However, later writers such as Strabo did include Sicily and the term even came to signify the entire Greek world. The original region extends from the Euboean colony of Cumae (probably the earliest and founded c. 740 BCE) to the Spartan colony of Tarentum (founded c. 706 BCE). The last colony to be founded was Heraclea in 433 BCE.
Greek colonists, following in the footsteps of the Bronze Age Mycenaeans, selected Magna Graecia as a suitable site for colonies due to the fertility of the land and, at the meeting point of the Greek, Etruscan, and Phoenician worlds, its advantageous geographical position for trade. That the colonies became a fully integrated part of the Greek world is evidenced in the presence of votive offerings from Magna Graecia at the great religious sanctuaries of Delphi and Olympia. Indeed, the amnesty (ekecheiria) which was enforced during the Olympic Games was also respected in the colonies, and the list of victors at Olympia includes many a name from Magna Graecia. However, the region was not a single harmonious entity, for just as on mainland Greece, small city-states or poleis (quite independent from their founding mother-city) both competed and cooperated with neighboring cities to form a constantly shifting political network of rivalries and alliances. The region was also subject to greater political instability precisely because it was at the crossroads of several civilizations, and its wealth in natural resources meant that territory was often enviously regarded, particularly by the tyrants of Sicily. The poleis were also unstable internally due to their cosmopolitan mix of races – locals, colonists, mercenaries, residents from neighboring areas etc.
Published: September 4, 2016 9:34 pm