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Strange Fire Indeed: Psychotropic Substances in the Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean World and Ancient Israel
April 03, 2026
Dr. Jonathan Greer
Department of Anthropology
Academic interest in mind-altering substances has surged in recent years, as researchers have investigated their application in the fields of medicine and psychology, as well as religion. In this talk Dr. Jonathan Greer explores some of our earliest evidence for the use of drugs in the religions of ancient civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean region with a specific focus on the archaeological context of an Iron Age Israelite temple and the potential of new discoveries to shed light on some curious traditions preserved in the Hebrew Bible.