1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:07,520 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Menke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:09,400 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. 3 00:00:12,920 --> 00:00:16,919 Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history 4 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,320 Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are 5 00:00:20,400 --> 00:00:23,800 Speaker 2: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore. 6 00:00:25,280 --> 00:00:37,400 Speaker 2: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. When there's snow in 7 00:00:37,440 --> 00:00:40,440 Speaker 2: the forecast, many kids hope that school will be canceled. 8 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:43,360 Speaker 2: Some kids do anything they can to increase the chance 9 00:00:43,400 --> 00:00:46,319 Speaker 2: of snow. They may bang pots and pans, or wear 10 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:50,120 Speaker 2: their pajamas inside out. Of course, it's unlikely that these 11 00:00:50,159 --> 00:00:52,960 Speaker 2: small rituals will have any effect, but they are a 12 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,680 Speaker 2: fun way to make a wish about the weather. And 13 00:00:55,800 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 2: while today it's common for people to wish for enough 14 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 2: snow to cancel school, these of customs go all the 15 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:04,480 Speaker 2: way back to ancient times, but back then such customs 16 00:01:04,520 --> 00:01:08,119 Speaker 2: were a bit more trying. Every fall in ancient Greece, 17 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 2: a strange event took place in the city of Eleusis, 18 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,440 Speaker 2: just outside Athens. The event lasted nine days and consisted 19 00:01:15,480 --> 00:01:18,560 Speaker 2: of a series of rituals to honor Demeter, the goddess 20 00:01:18,560 --> 00:01:22,119 Speaker 2: of harvest, and Earth's fertility Now. According to the myth, 21 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:26,399 Speaker 2: Demeter's daughter Persephone was kidnapped by Hades and brought to 22 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:29,720 Speaker 2: the underworld. Demeter embarked on a harrowin search for her daughter, 23 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 2: and after nine days they were reunited in Eleusis. Thousands 24 00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,279 Speaker 2: of people participated in the rituals despite this, though little 25 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:40,360 Speaker 2: is known about what actually took place there, but here's 26 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:43,080 Speaker 2: what we do know. On the first day, people gathered 27 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 2: at the Agora, the marketplace located within the Acropolis and Athens, 28 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 2: and once there, a magistrate made a welcome speech. In 29 00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 2: this speech, the magistrate explained that only certain people could participate. 30 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:57,920 Speaker 2: After the Greco Persian Wars, no one who had ever 31 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:01,480 Speaker 2: committed murder was allowed to join. This was the first 32 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:05,480 Speaker 2: sign that moral purity was of utmost importance during this event, 33 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 2: and the theme continued from there, and those who were 34 00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 2: allowed to participate made their way down to the el Eusinian. 35 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:15,880 Speaker 2: This was a sanctuary dedicated to Demeter and Persephony. The 36 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 2: el Usinian was comprised of three terraces. It was built 37 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,639 Speaker 2: mainly from limestone, and grand columns stood at the front 38 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:24,800 Speaker 2: and the back of the building. It was a grand 39 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:27,920 Speaker 2: site before the participants could enter the sanctuary, though they 40 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:31,320 Speaker 2: were required to wash their hands. On the second day, 41 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:34,839 Speaker 2: the participants walked together to the nearby gulf. They brought 42 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:37,040 Speaker 2: a small pig with them and bathed it in the 43 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:40,919 Speaker 2: water there. Then they bathed themselves, and afterward they returned 44 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 2: to the city and sacrificed the pig. They likely sacrificed 45 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:47,920 Speaker 2: other animals as well. The third and fourth days involved 46 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:52,160 Speaker 2: more bathing or purification rituals and more sacrifices, and the 47 00:02:52,200 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 2: fifth day is when the participants departed Athens and headed 48 00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:58,799 Speaker 2: for Eleusis. This was a fourteen mile trek known as 49 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:01,920 Speaker 2: the Grand Procession. The route they took was called the 50 00:03:01,960 --> 00:03:06,120 Speaker 2: Sacred Way. Priestesses of Demeter and Persephone led the group 51 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 2: while carrying sacred baskets. Most people journeyed on foot, but 52 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:11,760 Speaker 2: the wealthy got to ride in carriages. 53 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:15,120 Speaker 1: How nice for them, right. One interesting thing is that 54 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:18,320 Speaker 1: women and enslaved people were allowed to participate in this 55 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:21,280 Speaker 1: event as long as they adhere to the other rules 56 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:25,200 Speaker 1: set out. After the participants crossed a particular bridge, they 57 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: paused their travels to adorn themselves with ribbons. At sunset, 58 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 1: they continued until they reached the river, and there they 59 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:34,519 Speaker 1: were met by a group of men whose faces were covered. 60 00:03:34,920 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: The men yelled insults at the people, and they mocked them, 61 00:03:38,080 --> 00:03:41,720 Speaker 1: and the people were expected to humbly endure this. Now 62 00:03:41,760 --> 00:03:46,200 Speaker 1: the sixth, seventh, and eight days mainly involved fasting. Occasionally 63 00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:49,560 Speaker 1: the participants drank certain wines or other libations that were 64 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: significant to Demeter's story, but at some point they were 65 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:56,360 Speaker 1: ushered into a pitch black temple. This was the temple 66 00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:00,640 Speaker 1: of Demeter, known as the Telestian. The Telesphere was the 67 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,120 Speaker 1: largest inclosed building in all of ancient Greece. It could 68 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 1: fit thousands of people, and without any fires inside, it 69 00:04:07,480 --> 00:04:10,720 Speaker 1: was pitch black. The participants had to find their way 70 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:13,600 Speaker 1: to the front of the temple by simply feeling around 71 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:16,280 Speaker 1: in the dark, and this was no easy task either, 72 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,000 Speaker 1: considering that there was no light and thousands of other 73 00:04:19,080 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 1: bodies bumping into each other. And the goal was simple 74 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 1: to recreate the feelings of disorientation and fear that Demeter 75 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,200 Speaker 1: experienced while searching for her daughter. And when all the 76 00:04:29,200 --> 00:04:32,800 Speaker 1: participants finally found their way, they were given light. To 77 00:04:32,880 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 1: their surprise, they stood before a small stage and there 78 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:39,560 Speaker 1: priests and priestesses performed a pageant about the myth of 79 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:43,240 Speaker 1: demeonter and persephony. It's possible that maybe the viewers also 80 00:04:43,320 --> 00:04:47,920 Speaker 1: sipped on hallucinogenic cocktails during the performance. On the ninth day, 81 00:04:48,240 --> 00:04:51,080 Speaker 1: the people returned to Athens. By now they were fully 82 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:53,920 Speaker 1: initiated into a cult of people who had gone through 83 00:04:53,960 --> 00:04:57,159 Speaker 1: the same rituals they had. Only these people knew the 84 00:04:57,160 --> 00:04:59,719 Speaker 1: full truth of what took place during those nine days. 85 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,280 Speaker 1: The event was perhaps the most secret ritual of its time. 86 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:06,880 Speaker 1: Of course, some people did speak about their experience, though 87 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:10,520 Speaker 1: just not in great detail. Many claim that the rituals 88 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:13,920 Speaker 1: completely changed them and even removed any fear of death 89 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:17,359 Speaker 1: they once had. This is ironic because speaking about what 90 00:05:17,440 --> 00:05:22,039 Speaker 1: happened during the event was punishable by death. Scotlars today 91 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:25,720 Speaker 1: referred to this mystifying event as the Illusinian mysteries, And 92 00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:28,200 Speaker 1: although it carried on for at least a thousand years, 93 00:05:28,320 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 1: we still don't know exactly what drove people's devotion to 94 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:34,520 Speaker 1: the ritual, other than their need for a good harvest. 95 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 1: So the next time you harbor a secret desire for 96 00:05:37,480 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 1: the weather to cooperate with your hopes and dreams, be 97 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:44,200 Speaker 1: thankful that our culture leans on a groundhog's shadow and 98 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:59,760 Speaker 1: not a pitch black temple to deliver a bit of hope. 99 00:06:01,960 --> 00:06:05,599 Speaker 1: History is full of memorable pranks, but one practical joke 100 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 1: in particular stands out for bringing about the collapse of 101 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:12,240 Speaker 1: the world's oldest democracy. You see, on the morning of 102 00:06:12,320 --> 00:06:16,400 Speaker 1: June seventh of four point fifteen BCE, Athenian citizens woke 103 00:06:16,480 --> 00:06:20,040 Speaker 1: up to a startling discovery. During the night, someone had 104 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:23,520 Speaker 1: gone throughout the city defacing statues of the god Hermes. 105 00:06:23,920 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 1: The vandal had smashed their stone faces in and hacked 106 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:32,159 Speaker 1: off their formerly prominent Genitalia panic, of course spread. The 107 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:36,240 Speaker 1: mass castration was a terribly unlucky omen, partly because the 108 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:39,440 Speaker 1: statues were supposed to ward off evil, then partly because 109 00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:43,280 Speaker 1: Hermes was celebrated as the patron of travelers. The Athenian 110 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:46,200 Speaker 1: fleet was getting ready to set sail for Sicily, where 111 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:49,760 Speaker 1: they planned to attack the city of Syracuse. By mutilating 112 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:55,159 Speaker 1: the statues, the perpetrators spooked the superstitious Athenian soldiers, undermining 113 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:58,520 Speaker 1: their resolve at a critical moment. But who was behind 114 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,880 Speaker 1: the attack, Well, Victually, everyone thought the work was done 115 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:05,120 Speaker 1: by spies trying to sabotage Athens. On the eve of 116 00:07:05,160 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 1: its military campaign. But soon enough, suspicion fell on a 117 00:07:08,680 --> 00:07:12,840 Speaker 1: figure much closer to home. His name was Alcibiades, a 118 00:07:12,880 --> 00:07:15,800 Speaker 1: young politician and general who was supposed to lead the 119 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 1: expedition to Sicily. He was handsome, charming, brilliant, and obscenely wealthy, 120 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:24,840 Speaker 1: not to mention a notorious philanderer and a party animal. 121 00:07:25,240 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 1: As a young man, he'd been a favorite student of Socrates, 122 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:31,440 Speaker 1: and people still told stories about the philosopher dragging this 123 00:07:31,520 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: pupil away from brothels. More recently, though, Alcibiades had developed 124 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:40,400 Speaker 1: a reputation for drunkenly interrupting sacred religious rights. But at 125 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:42,760 Speaker 1: the end of the day, the big question is was 126 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:47,040 Speaker 1: he actually guilty of vandalizing those statues, and centuries later, 127 00:07:47,120 --> 00:07:50,240 Speaker 1: it's impossible to say for sure. Maybe he did it 128 00:07:50,360 --> 00:07:53,840 Speaker 1: out of a misguided hope that the expedition would be postponed, 129 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:57,000 Speaker 1: or maybe his political rivals did it just trying to 130 00:07:57,000 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: get rid of him. Whatever the case, he never got 131 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:03,080 Speaker 1: the chance to defend himself. His enemies just waited until 132 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 1: his fleet departed, and then they tried him without himself 133 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 1: being present. They quickly found him guilty and sentenced him 134 00:08:09,600 --> 00:08:14,040 Speaker 1: to be executed upon his return. Unsurprisingly, the news made 135 00:08:14,080 --> 00:08:17,400 Speaker 1: Alcibides a lot less excited about carrying through with his mission. 136 00:08:17,760 --> 00:08:20,600 Speaker 1: He deserted his post and fled to the enemy city 137 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:24,840 Speaker 1: of Sparta, trading military secrets in exchange for sanctuary. He 138 00:08:24,880 --> 00:08:28,400 Speaker 1: even advised the Spartans to intervene in the attack on Syracuse, 139 00:08:28,680 --> 00:08:31,960 Speaker 1: thwarting the expedition that he had once been in charge of. 140 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:35,520 Speaker 1: It seemed like Alcibides had come out on top, but 141 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,320 Speaker 1: his mischievous nature soon got him in a lot of 142 00:08:38,320 --> 00:08:41,200 Speaker 1: trouble again. He was exposed for having an affair with 143 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 1: the Spartan queen and promptly ran out of the city. 144 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:47,200 Speaker 1: By this point, though, he had made enemies with two 145 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,120 Speaker 1: of the greatest powers in Greece, so he fled to 146 00:08:50,160 --> 00:08:53,920 Speaker 1: Asia Minor, taking refuge in a Persian outpost. The Persian 147 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:58,360 Speaker 1: governor there hated virtually all Greeks, but Alcibides somehow managed 148 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:01,280 Speaker 1: to charm him and even helped broker a tenuous peace 149 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: deal between Persia and Athens. He probably could have lived 150 00:09:05,160 --> 00:09:09,120 Speaker 1: there comfortably forever, but the trickster was homesick. He longed 151 00:09:09,120 --> 00:09:12,000 Speaker 1: to return to Athens and decided that the swiftest way 152 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:14,120 Speaker 1: to do so would be to get rid of the 153 00:09:14,120 --> 00:09:17,000 Speaker 1: government that had once condemned him to death, and so, 154 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:21,720 Speaker 1: through some savvy political maneuvering, al Sabides masterminded a coup 155 00:09:21,760 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: against the Athenian government, replacing its democratic assembly with a 156 00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:30,240 Speaker 1: council of four hundred oligarchs. All charges against him were dropped. 157 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:32,640 Speaker 1: He returned to Athens, where he was lauded as a 158 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:36,520 Speaker 1: hero and given absolute control over the army. His revenge 159 00:09:36,559 --> 00:09:38,880 Speaker 1: could only have been more complete if he had ruled 160 00:09:38,880 --> 00:09:43,439 Speaker 1: the city himself, and he almost did. You see, Alcabides 161 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:46,600 Speaker 1: became so popular that the Athenian citizens wanted to see 162 00:09:46,640 --> 00:09:50,160 Speaker 1: him installed as a dictator. His rivals managed to avoid 163 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:52,800 Speaker 1: this by sending him off to battle once again, but 164 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 1: he shirked off his duties, leaving the army in the 165 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:58,800 Speaker 1: hands of yet another general while he was visiting some brothels. 166 00:09:59,320 --> 00:10:02,200 Speaker 1: This got him kicked out of Athens for a second time, and, 167 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:04,800 Speaker 1: just like before, he fled to Persia, where he was 168 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:08,840 Speaker 1: finally tracked down and killed by Spartan assassins. Meanwhile, the 169 00:10:08,920 --> 00:10:11,760 Speaker 1: anti democratic government that he helped put in place was 170 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:15,840 Speaker 1: soon overthrown allowing democracy to return to the city once again. 171 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:19,240 Speaker 1: The trickster Sins had finally caught up with him, and 172 00:10:19,360 --> 00:10:23,760 Speaker 1: ultimately little had changed. But for this brief moment, Alcibides 173 00:10:23,800 --> 00:10:26,840 Speaker 1: interrupted a system of popular government that had lasted for 174 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 1: almost two centuries. Most scholars today think that he was 175 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:33,400 Speaker 1: the very first man in history to bring down a democracy, 176 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:36,280 Speaker 1: and that makes him a worthy study for anyone interested 177 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:39,320 Speaker 1: in preserving our own At the very least, he's a 178 00:10:39,320 --> 00:10:43,320 Speaker 1: great reminder that sometimes liberty dies in the sound of 179 00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:51,000 Speaker 1: thunderous laughter. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided tour of 180 00:10:51,040 --> 00:10:55,000 Speaker 1: the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts, 181 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:58,559 Speaker 1: or learn more about the show by visiting Curiosities podcast 182 00:10:58,840 --> 00:11:02,520 Speaker 1: dot com. The show was created by me Aaron Manke 183 00:11:02,960 --> 00:11:06,440 Speaker 1: in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make another award 184 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:10,000 Speaker 1: winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, book series, 185 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:12,640 Speaker 1: and television show, and you can learn all about it 186 00:11:12,720 --> 00:11:18,240 Speaker 1: over at Theworldoflore dot com. And until next time, stay curious.