The discovery of hallucinogens in an ancient Egyptian cup confirms their use in fertility rituals associated with the god Bes. A professor at the University of South Florida discovered the first physical evidence of hallucinogens in an Egyptian cup; This supports written records and centuries-old myths about ancient Egyptian rituals and practices. David Thanasi has conducted a comprehensive chemical analysis of one of the few remaining Egyptian Bes cups in the world.

These mugs, including one donated to the Tampa Museum of Art in 1984, are decorated with the head of Bes, an ancient Egyptian god or guardian demon worshiped for protection, fertility, medicinal healing, and magical purification. A study recently published in the journal Nature Scientific Reportssheds light on the ancient mystery of the use of Bes vessels nearly 2000 years ago.

“There is no study that has found what we found in this study,” Thanasi said. “For the first time, we were able to detect all chemical traces of the components of the liquid mixture in the Bes cup at the Tampa Museum of Art, including plants used by the Egyptians, all of which had psychotropic and medicinal properties.”

The role of Bes cups in ancient rituals

Bes cups have been found in a variety of contexts over a long period of time, making speculation about their content or role in ancient Egyptian culture extremely difficult.

“Egyptologists have long speculated what the Beshead cups might have been used for and what type of beverages they might have used, such as holy water, milk, wine or beer,” said Branko van Oppen, curator of Greek and Roman art at the Tampa Museum of Art. . “Experts did not know whether these cups were used in daily life, for religious purposes or in magical rituals.”

Various theories about cups and vases have been formulated based on legend, but few have been tested to reveal their true contents.

Chemical analysis and mythological connections

Thanassi, who developed the research as part of the Archeology of the Mediterranean Diet project supported by the U.S. Institute for Advanced Study in Culture and the Environment, worked with several researchers and partners from the University of Trieste and Milan in Italy to perform chemical and chemical analyses. DNA analyses. By taking a sample broken from the inner walls of the vase, the team combined multiple analytical methods for the first time to discover what was last found in the cup.

The new tactic was successful, revealing that the urn contained a cocktail of psychedelic drugs, bodily fluids, and alcohol; Thanasi believed it was probably used in a magical ritual that revived an Egyptian legend for fertility. To make the drink resemble blood, it was flavored with commonly used honey, sesame, pine nuts, licorice and grapes.

“This work teaches us about the magical rituals of the Greco-Roman period in Egypt,” Van Oppen said. “Egyptologists believe that because pregnancy was associated with danger in the ancient world, people visited the so-called Devil’s Chambers at Saqqara when they wanted to confirm a successful pregnancy. Therefore, the combination of these ingredients could be used in a magical dream-inducing ritual in the context of this dangerous period of birth.”

“Religion is one of the most fascinating and mysterious aspects of ancient civilizations,” Thanasi said. “Through this research, we have found scientific evidence that there is some truth to Egyptian myths, and it helps shed light on poorly understood rituals that were likely performed in the Bes Chambers at Saqqara, near the Great Pyramids of Giza.”