Thanasimon

The context of this article is within the historical Hellenic oracular Greek mystery or Orphic-initiatory tradition.

It was guided by ritual, and we dont know everything about it.

A thanasimon is a "Death Inducer" φάρμακον (pharmakon), sometimes called "the storm". Used within a Mystery rite where a controlled "near death" experience produces a transformative insight in the initiate's inner (self) consciousness and outer (social) consciousness, affecting their understanding of the order/kosmos (classic Greek social/self/moral/ethical order).

The journey of the initiate is guided by a priestess, into and out of this "death" state, in order to "educate" their consciousness in a guided journey of "death" and "resurrection", where the initiate is "reborn".

To pull the initiate out of the near-death state, and save their life, an antidote called Galene is applied, sometimes called "the calm".

• Tradition
  • 1. Orphic Mysteries
  • 2. Dionysian/Bacchic Mystery Cults
  • 3. Pythagorean or Orphic-Initiatory Hybrids (Hellenistic)
  • 4. Early Christian “Mystery Rite” Syncretism
• Pharmacology in the Human
• Psychology of the rite
• Sources
  • Classical
  • Biblical
• Word Etymology
  • From LSJ Lexicon
  • From Heyschius (5th or 6th century CE)
  • 1. Root 1: θανά- (thana-)
  • 2. Root 2: -σιμον (-simon)
  • Spellings
• Recipe
  • 1. Pharmacological authors (Galen, Dioscorides, Oribasius, Aëtius, Paul of Aegina)
  • 2. Magical / Mystery Texts (PGM – Papyri Graecae Magicae)
  • 3. Connection to Thōnasimon

Tradition

The Thanasimon rite belongs to the Hellenic mystery and Orphic-initiatory tradition, which spans roughly 6th–1st century BCE for its classical Greek origins, with continuations and reinterpretations in Hellenistic Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean up through the 3rd–4th century CE.

• Date range: ca. 6th century BCE to 3rd–4th century CE. The ritual framework evolved over centuries, blending classical Orphic, Dionysian, and Pythagorean elements with later Hellenistic mystery cult practices.
• Conducted by: a specialized priesthood, often referred to in Orphic or “Echidnaic” terms as Drakon / Echidna, functioning as temple guardians, ritual guides, and administrators of the pharmaka. These priests guided the initiate through the near-death experience and applied antidotes such as Galene to safely restore consciousness.

The structure of the rite consistently features:

1. Induction via Thanasimon (death-inducing pharmakon) to produce a controlled “death” state.
2. Mystical or revelatory experience—the initiate perceives both inner and outer order.
3. Rescue and resurrection by antidote (Galene), mediated by the priesthood, culminating in initiation and rebirth.

This tradition is attested indirectly in texts like Dioscorides, Galen, magical papyri (PGM), and Orphic fragments, all describing pharmaka or ritualized drugs that produce extreme physiological and psychological states under controlled guidance.

Within the historical Hellenic and Orphic context, death-and-resurrection rites involving pharmaka like the Thanasimon were carried out primarily by specialized mystery cults, with a few identifiable groups or priesthood roles:

1. Orphic Mysteries

• Role: Orphic priests and priestesses, sometimes referred to as Drakon / Echidna, guided initiates through ritualized near-death states.
• Practice: Initiates were ritually “killed” and “reborn” symbolically, often with pharmaka applied to induce altered states.
• Purpose: Purification, insight into cosmic order, mastery of the self, and ethical/religious education.
• Attestation: Indirectly in Orphic fragments, later commentaries, and references to pharmaka in mystical contexts.

2. Dionysian/Bacchic Mystery Cults

• Role: Priests of Dionysus or Bacchus oversaw ecstatic, trance-like experiences.
• Practice: Used intoxicants or pharmaka (sometimes derived from plants, venom, or combination compounds) to induce visionary or death-like states.
• Purpose: Achieve transcendence, divine communion, or insight into life, death, and cosmic cycles.
• Attestation: Literary allusions in Euripides (Bacchae), Plutarch, and some magical papyri referencing Dionysian pharmacology.

3. Pythagorean or Orphic-Initiatory Hybrids (Hellenistic)

• Role: Philosophically oriented cults blending Orphic, Pythagorean, and Hellenistic Egyptian elements.
• Practice: Use of “storm” pharmaka to produce ego-death experiences, often guided by a trained priesthood.
• Purpose: Cultivation of ethical self-mastery, perception of kosmos, and unity of soul with divine order.
• Attestation: Later Hellenistic sources, magical papyri, and Galenic or Dioscoridean pharmacology indirectly suggest these rites.

4. Early Christian “Mystery Rite” Syncretism

• Role: Certain sects within early Christian groups may have adapted pharmaka-based initiation, especially in the context of youth disciples (νεανίσκοι) and healing/venom-based preparations.
• Practice: Analogous “death and resurrection” experiences, possibly drug-assisted, leading to visionary insight.
• Purpose: Mystical union, revelation of divine truths, or preparation for teaching others.
• Attestation: Allusions in texts like Acta Thomae, Origen’s writings, and later Christian commentary on pharmaka use in ritual context.

Summary:

• These rites were never casual or universal; they were strictly controlled by specialized, trained priesthoods.
• The pharmakon (Thanasimon or equivalent) was ritually applied under guidance to produce controlled near-death experiences.
• Evidence is mostly indirect, drawn from pharmacological texts (Galen, Dioscorides), Orphic fragments, magical papyri, and mystical writings.

Pharmacology in the Human

Within mystery / Orphic-initiatory contexts, the Thanasimon is:

• A φάρμακον (pharmakon) that is “deadly” in nature
• Applied as a chrism / ointment (cf. ἀλείφω, χρίω) to soft tissues (skin, nostrils, mouth, face, genitals, etc).
• Causes a physical descent into near-death state causing mental hallucinatory psychosis and ego death, progression to coma, and then (if antidote isn't received in time) actual death.
• Requires an antidote Galene for the venoms to 'save' the initiate from actual death.
• Process of thanasimon + guidance + galene creates the pathway to rebirth by inducing insight through a unity rebirth experience, through an ego death like mechanism, and realization or release from fear.

Psychology of the rite

Guidance is key. Especially to ensure repeatability. Everyone's different and the rite aims to synchronize the initiate to the right place to guide them to the intended outcome.

We know that from the Eleusinian mysteries, it was a journey to the underworld and return from it. Centered around the story of Persephone and Hades. Persephone the parthenos virgin/maiden travels to the underworld, marries Hades, becomes Queen of the underworld, and comes back to the living world as a new person.

The guidance of the rite creates this imagery in a pliable mind, which aligns it's revelation to some constraints.

The goals are similar to modern psychedelic-assisted therapy (analogy, not literal equivalence). But more aligned with releasing fears through realization that we are all one and that we are the leader of our "self", and our leadership relationship with others is best done constructively than adversarially (self-mastery, ethical responsibility, and social harmony all emerges here). Roughly...

Sources

Thanasimon is primarily reconstructed from textual and pharmacological sources; no full ritual manuals survive, so our understanding relies on cross-referencing Galenic, Dioscoridean, Orphic, and magical papyri evidence.

Classical

• Magical Papyri (PGM) — certain “death-inducing” elixirs or phylacteries hint at ritual poisons. Formulas for visionary experiences; guidance paired with pharmaka.
• Galen, De simplicium medicamentorum temperamentis — mentions potent venoms, poisonous plants, and theriac compounds (e.g., Echidna venom combinations), lethal compounds used medicinally or ritually; some compounds are interpreted by scholars as analogous to Thanasimon.
• Dioscorides, De Materia Medica — catalogues lethal herbs and compounds, sometimes used in Orphic-mystery contexts. Including nightshade, hemlock, and other “death-inducing” substances
• Origen, Philocalia — discusses “echidnai” and pharmakon (φαρμάκων) that act on human forces in guided rituals, linked to Thanasimon preparations. Pharmakon that weakens inner opposing forces (fears) or shields (your inner guards) within us.
• Acta Thomae — references to “pharmaka counteracting pharmaka” and viper venoms in ritual pharmaka use.
• Orphic fragments / scholia — indirect references to lethal or trance-inducing substances in initiation rites.

Biblical

The term θανάσιμον (thanasimon) appears in Mark 16:18 in the Greek New Testament, where it is translated as "deadly" or "poisonous." In this context, it refers specifically to serpent venoms that could cause death.

Word Etymology

From LSJ Lexicon

From Heyschius (5th or 6th century CE)

1. Root 1: θανά- (thana-)

• Comes from θάνατος (thanatos) → “death.”
• Proto-Indo-European root: *dheu̯- meaning “to die, perish.”
• So θανά- contributes the semantic field of “death,” “mortal danger,” or “fatality.”

2. Root 2: -σιμον (-simon)

• Likely from the adjective-forming suffix -σιμον or -σιμος (-simos).
• In Greek, -σιμος often gives “capable of” or “apt to” when attached to a verb or noun root.

-σιμον would indicate “capable of causing,” so combined with θανά- it literally means: “death inducer”

• θανάσιμον φάρμακον (thanasimon pharmakon) (a death-inducing drug).

Spellings

• θανασίμον (thanasimon) — standard, medical, Dioscorides/Galen.
• θῶνασίμον (thōnasimon) — magical/mystery spelling (PGM, glosses).
• θῶναξιμον (thōnaximon) — rare corrupt variant (Hesychius, magical lexica).
• θῶνᾶσιμα — plural adjectival form (papyrus charms).

Recipe

1. Pharmacological authors (Galen, Dioscorides, Oribasius, Aëtius, Paul of Aegina)

• Galen and Dioscorides give us the building blocks rather than a single “Thōnasimon recipe.”
  • Dioscorides, De Materia Medica (1st c. CE): lists purple preparations with πορφύρα (Tyrian purple, murex secretion), resins (myrrh, frankincense), and animal venoms (snake, scorpion) that were stabilized into ointments with oil, wax, or fat.
  • Galen, De Simplicium Medicamentorum (late 2nd c.): repeatedly describes theriac-like poly-pharmaka: mixtures of vipers, opium, aromatic resins, and wine. His pharmacological language overlaps with what we know of “Thōnasimon”: venoms neutralized by theriake, salves applied as chrismata.
  • Later compilers like Oribasius (4th c.) and Aëtius of Amida (6th c.) preserve detailed theriac recipes, with dozens of ingredients including viper flesh. These could easily overlap with a thōnasimon preparation.

2. Magical / Mystery Texts (PGM – Papyri Graecae Magicae)

• In the PGM (Greek Magical Papyri, 2nd–4th c. CE) we find direct mentions of φαρμάκων μίξεις (mixtures of drugs) combined with chrismata (ointments) that have both apotropaic (warding, protective) and initiatory functions.
• One spell calls for purple-dyed ointment (πορφυροῦν χρῖσμα) made of blood, resin, myrrh, and snake-shed skins, to be rubbed on the eyes to “see the gods.”
• Others mention θῶνᾶσιμα / θῶναξιμα as “bindings” or “charms” to be worn on the body (a mixture of salve + textile, i.e. σίνδων).

3. Connection to Thōnasimon

• The word Θωνασίμον seems to mean “the deadly (yet saving) ointment / charm” (from θανάσιμος, “death-dealing,” transformed by initiation into life-giving).
• In Acts of Thomas 49, 157, 158 we see references to ointments, perfumes, and pharmaka used in initiation, which parallel both Galenic theriac and magical papyri recipes.
• Likely ingredients (based on cross-text comparison):
  • Viper venom (ἐχίδνης) or dried viper flesh.
  • Myrrh, frankincense, nard, cassia, cinnamon.
  • Purple dye (porphyra) from murex.
  • Wine or oil base.
  • Possibly opium, mandrake, henbane for visionary effect.