Penis or mushroom

[fearn]

Hi Vandoo,

I think you left out the most famous culture that used: the Mycenae. That's where we get the mycology, the study of fungi from. Their capital city may have been named after a mushroom (mykes, link). Not sure what Perseus was up to in naming Mycenae, and I'm really not sure why the Greek word for mushroom is the same as the word for the "cap" of a scabbard (which may have fallen off of Perseus' sword, causing Perseus to name the accident site Mycenae). Whichever.

Aside from the Eleusinean mysteries, I've never seen any suggestion that the bronze-age Greeks had anything to do with hallucinogenic fungi, and I'm pretty sure they never touched magic mushrooms. Some people have suggested that rye ergot was behind the Eleusinian mysteries, but we'll probably never know.

I'd also point out that on bronze Hallstatt swords, that "Mexican hat" pommel sure looks like a mushroom to me, but it is somewhat phallic, too. That mushroom or phallic head is a useful shape for some things.

Best,

F