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I love this finding, in part because (as the article notes briefly here) it helps back up Herodotus' account of cannabis use in his Histories. Specifically this
by benbreen 7y ago
I love this finding, in part because (as the article notes briefly here) it helps back up Herodotus' account of cannabis use in his Histories. Specifically this bit from Book 4, 73-75:
"After the burial the Scythians cleanse themselves as follows: they anoint and wash their heads and, for their bodies, set up three poles leaning together to a point and cover these over with wool mats; then, in the space so enclosed to the best of their ability, they make a pit in the center beneath the poles and the mats and throw red-hot stones into it. . . . the Scythians then take the seed of this κάνναβις (kannabis) and, crawling into the tents, throw it on the red-hot stones, where it smoulders and sends forth such fumes that no Greek vapor-bath could surpass it. The Scythians howl in their joy at the vapor-bath. This serves them instead of bathing, for they never wash their bodies with water."
What's especially fascinating to me is that Herodotus wrote that account circa 440 BCE, within a few decades of when this find has been dated, and his "Scythians" were probably part of a larger cultural group of Indo-European nomads stretching to what is now Western China.
- will_brown 7y agoWhat is a “Greek vapor bath”? In this context it sounds like it would compete with cannabis. Maybe a reference to something like what got the Oricle of Delphi high? Is it just reference to a regular Greek hot bath?
- benbreen 7y agoI would think he's just referencing public steam baths, not unlike hammams or saunas today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Baths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Baths
- leetcrew 7y ago> Maybe a reference to something like what got the Oricle of Delphi high? probably not. contemporary writers connected the oracle's "powers" to vapors rising from the spring below the temple.
- flyGuyOnTheSly 7y ago>What is a “Greek vapor bath”? A bath or Thermae as they are known as which are still in existence today. [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermae https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermae
- volcanism 7y agoI'm thinking yeah, it's a nod to the hypoxia induced through immersion in volcanic fumes from thermal venting in a pagan religion oriented stone enclosure.
- jcims 7y ago>take the seed of this κάνναβις Thought it was strange that such an ancient word would closely match what we call it today... The etymology page on wikipedia credits that term as the origin of the modern word. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology_of_cannabis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology_of_cannabis
- EForEndeavour 7y agoAnd it's definitely not alone: a huge amount of scientific nomenclature for organisms comes from Greek or Latin. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_and_Greek_words_commonly_used_in_systematic_names https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_and_Greek_words_...
- rgrieselhuber 7y agoTIL that Scythia smelled like Berkeley.
- apengwin 7y agogo bears!
- gnulinux 7y agoFor those who don't get the reference: Berkeley, CA smells like weed all the time because a lot of people smoke weed in the public. Even UC Berkeley campus (e.g. Memorial Glade) smells weed pretty often.
- rags2riches 7y agoBut do they wash with water there?
- grenoire 7y agoCollege students? I'll guess not.
- kiliantics 7y agoBut the seed has no psychoactive compounds in it. Unless "seed" here is not meant literally or misinterpreted? I do like the idea that the original use was in a hot box though.
- e40 7y agoAnd why is no one talking about the fact they never bathed? No amount of being high would cover that up.
- raducu 7y agoOr maybe not just the seeds. Maybe it was the whole buds and seeds and Herodotus or whoever told him, not knowing what the active substance was thought it was the seeds.
- asdff 7y agoThey probably didn't get high. Wild plants have pretty low THC levels compared to a domesticated strain.
- moate 7y agoIDK, if you sat in a hot box constantly throwing ditch weed on to burn, you'd probably get high in <10 minutes of constantly breathing it.
- throwaway76524 7y agoAnd upon leaving the wool encasement the Scythians would begin a massive feast