Honest question. Were there drugs like marijuana, opium, or other things like that that were available in those times? Were there any cults, or groups of people that used drugs that would give hallucinations?
2007-07-20 05:23:37 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
opium for people...
famous sentence from that time...
2007-07-24 01:30:01 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, take some of each of the preceding questions - of course marijuana was not available as that comes from the New World. Opium may have been available to physicians as it may have found its way into the Middle East by way of the Silk Route. There is no evidence that the Jewish people indulged in 'illegal' drugs.
2007-07-20 06:03:25 · answer #2 · answered by derfini 7 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Definitely not opium, that came from the east and didn't really cross over til Marco Polo decided to take a vacation.
Marijuan is typically found on the other side of the Atlantic ocean, so that's out.
Hallucingetics like LSD wasn't invented til about 60 years ago.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that those kinds of drugs are a part of the modern world, very much a result of the 20th century. There were (and still are) special teas made for basically spiritual enlightenment. The downside is they were usually posionous and enlightened people to death.
In History, the natives, various tribes around the world, are the only culture that participated in such drugs, and sorely for the sake of vision quests and spirituality.
2007-07-20 05:31:54 · answer #3 · answered by lilykdesign 5 · 2⤊ 4⤋
There were indeed. Cannabis was known in the period, there are possible "cannabis burners" found in bronze age burials in the U.K. and Ireland, as well as cannabis being found in the tombs of the Samaritans. The whirls and zig-zags in neolithic art may be a representation of hallucinations experienced while on something like a "dream quest".
There are other hallucinogens too, Magic mushrooms were certainly used. One other, may have been the Egyptian lotus (as typically portrayed in Egyptian tombs).
Intriguingly there were traces of a chemical compound similar to cocaine discovered metabolized in a hair sample from an Egyptian mummy. (The Coca plant being indigenous to S.America). There was also ergot mould that could cause violent outbursts, hallucinations and eventual death, is found on bread.
But on a lighter note, I suppose since he had no job, had long hair, a beard and wore sandals, you could say he was a hippy. So, I can imagine him passing a doobie round the table at the last supper! (Well, I suppose it explains why Rastafarian's smoke as part of the sacrament! Honest!)
Adds a new dimension to when Pilate sends him to get stoned too.
2007-07-20 05:27:55 · answer #4 · answered by Efnissien 6 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Most natural narcotics in that era were used for religious purposes and not recreational use. There were a lot fewer idle people in those days. Children began working for a living by the age of six unless they were from a wealthy family. Boys were apprenticed to a trade by the age of seven.
Parents routinely sold children they couldn't support into slavery as soon as they were old enough to work and have some value.
"Idle hands are the devil's workshop" was really believed back then. Heck, even beggars worked hard for their money.
2007-07-20 05:39:25 · answer #5 · answered by loryntoo 7 · 3⤊ 2⤋
According to Matthew 27:34, before the crucifixion, Jesus was offered wine mixed with gall (Mark 15:23 says it was mixed with myrrh)--which was supposed to have a narcotic effect and lessen the suffering of the crucified individual.
I'm sure that most doctors of the time (or even herbalists) knew of plants that would induce sleep or alleviate pain, but the "recreational pharmaceuticals" that you refer to were probably not used for the purposes of getting high.
2007-07-20 06:06:28 · answer #6 · answered by Chrispy 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
A man caled Allegro wrote 'The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross' in the 60s (when else?)
2007-07-20 05:45:53 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
Jesus did not have to consume drugs in order to have hallucinations. Many mentally disturbed or psychologically sick people have hallucinations. Jesus Christ was probably an ordinary person with psychological problems who thought that he was god.
.
2007-07-20 05:34:01 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 5⤋
Oh for sure, Jesus had all the disciples strung out, that is why they followed him around.
2007-07-20 05:29:49 · answer #9 · answered by aymierda 2 · 2⤊ 4⤋