D.C.A. Hillman had a little trouble with his dissertation committee—and it led to a book. According to the author's introduction, Hillman was not going to get his doctoral degree in classics from the University of Wisconsin unless he took out the parts discussing recreational drug use during the time of the Roman Empire. It was that or no degree. Hillman capitulated, but it didn't sit well with him.
Not wanting to let it go at that, Hillman wrote a proposal for a book about recreational drug use in ancient civilizations. The editors at Dunne (a part of St. Martin's Press) though the idea had merit and The Chemical Muse was the result.
Although it it's rather repetitive in its claims, The Chemical Muse gives an interesting perspective on the role of drugs in early civilizations and how these drugs could have influenced the development of the thoughts and philosophies that form the foundation of Western civilization.
Drugs and Inspiration in Ancient Cultures
Hillman's central theme is that thousands of years ago drugs were common and their use was neither regulated nor looked down upon by ancient cultures. Most of his writing centers on Greece, with Rome and a few other cultures getting less attention. It seems there is plenty to write on the topic based what is known from Greek texts.
Claiming that Greek history and literature are rife with drug references, Hillman supports his theory with ample examples. It is not surprising that traditional classicists either ignore these references, or translate them is such a way as to tone down or eliminate entirely any possibility of an interpretation that the citizens of Greece and Rome were well acquainted with psychoactive substances.
The Gods themselves were apparently fond of using chemical means to gain advantage over their rivals, and to influence behaviors. No one argues that ancients had knowledge of medicinal pants, animals and fungi. According to Hillman, it's recreational use by the citizenry that is ignored and denied by the academic authorities. Let the reader decide.
Drugs in Society: Past versus Present
If there is a major flaw in Hillman's thesis, it lies in his apparent belief that drugs were "no big deal" in ancient times, thus they should be no big deal today. If the drugs of the 21st century were the same as the drugs of the 6th century BC this might well be true. It is certainly possible to administer a fatal dose of raw opium by ingestion (less likely when smoked), but essentially impossible with coca leaf or cannabis. Other psychoactive (and downright toxic) plant extracts are so unpleasant to the taste that a user had to be pretty determined, or have a death wish when consuming a large dose.
Modern drug users ingest, inject, snort or smoke highly purified extracts of the active ingredients of these natural products, making them much more hazardous and addictive. So, just because Greek philosophers and partygoers could handle their drugs in their day, it doesn't mean they would be quite so successful in doing so with the purified forms.
References
Hillman, D.C.A. The Chemical Muse. New York, NY: Thomas Dunne Books, 2008.
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