July 23rd, 2025 12:00 PM PST
Register for this event here.
Do you wish you got into this event for free? Become a Chacruna member and receive free or discounted access to all Community Forums, Courses, Workshops, and more! Also get full access to our entire archive of past forum recordings and join our global network of psychedelic professionals and activists to dive deeper into discussion and discovery.
Join us for a deep dive into the cultural, spiritual, and scientific legacy of the Eleusinian Mysteries, one of the most enduring ritual traditions of the ancient world. This Community Forum will explore the intersection of mythology, entheogenic pharmacology, and Greek cultural heritage, asking how modern research into the kykeon – the sacred psychoactive brew at the heart of the Mysteries – can inform contemporary understandings of altered states, healing, and epistemic justice. Together, we’ll explore key questions such as: What can the Eleusinian Mysteries teach us about initiation, secrecy, and transformation? Can ancient psychospiritual frameworks help shape today’s psychedelic science and therapeutic practices? What are the ethical implications of reviving sacred rites in a modern Greek and global context? Speakers include Eleana Baskouta, cultural strategist and Co-Founder of Elkeen, the Hellenic Center for Entheogenic Research; Dr. Evangelos Dadiotis, pharmacologist and researcher of ancient psychedelics; Nikos Katsaounis, storyteller and systems thinker exploring myth and altered states; and Romanos Antonopoulos, natural product chemist bridging ethnobotany and pharmacognosy.
Eleana Baskouta is a cultural strategist, researcher, and philanthropic advisor working at the intersection of anthropology, psychedelic science, and cultural heritage. She is the Co-Founder of Elkeen—the Hellenic Center for Entheogenic Research—where she leads initiatives to support Greece-based studies on ritual pharmacology and the contemporary revival of Greek ethnopharmacology and ancestral knowledge systems. Her current research investigates how the ritual framework and initiatory logic of the Eleusinian Mysteries reemerge in 21st-century ritual cultures—across psychedelic science, immersive technologies, therapeutic practices, and cultural movements—suggesting that Eleusis functions as a living system of myth, ethics, and transformation in the modern world. With a background in international development, strategic philanthropy, and ethnographic research, she has raised and directed major gifts for global research centers and designed initiatives bridging ritual, ecology, and epistemic ethics. Eleana holds an MA in International Relations and Development Economics from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, a BA. in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Athens, a B.Sc. in Economics from the American College of Greece, and the and is completing a Master’s in Integral Counseling Psychology at CIIS. She is also a classically trained pianist integrating sound and myth into her practice.
Evangelos Dadiotis is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Northeastern University specializing in natural products and ion channel pharmacology. His research focuses on the pharmacological potential of psychedelics and cannabinoids, particularly their interaction with TRPA1 and related ion channels. He combines electrophysiology, NMR, and computational tools to explore mechanisms of action. He is also co-founder of Ekati Biotech and investigates ancient psychedelic preparations like Kykeon, bridging ethnobotany with modern psychedelic science.
Nikos Katsaounis is a Greek-born media entrepreneur, storyteller, and systems thinker exploring the intersections of ritual, psychedelia, and cultural evolution. With a foundation in philosophy, anthropology, and documentary filmmaking, his work spans continents and mediums — from filming sacred rites in the Andes to investigating the psychedelic revival through a mythological lens. Drawing from years of immersive travel through Latin America, Africa, and Europe, Nikos examines how humans have always turned to dance, ceremony, and altered states to encode meaning, restore wholeness, and awaken collective memory. His practice blends mythic storytelling with contemporary media, illuminating how spiritual technologies — from drumming to plant sacraments — serve as blueprints for self-knowledge and communal transformation. Outside of his artistic practice, Nikos is active as a venture advisor and creative strategist, working with early-stage startups at the intersection of culture, technology, and consciousness. A graduate of Tulane University and The New School, he bridges narrative craft and system design to help people and organizations rediscover their purpose, one story at a time. His talk for Chacruna explores how ancestral rites of passage are reemerging in modern contexts — from dance floors to healing retreats — and how these ceremonies offer a path to reclaiming our sacred connection to self, society, and the earth..
Romanos Antonopoulos is an experienced and self-motivated interdisciplinary researcher with dual M.Sc. degrees in Agricultural Engineering and Pharmacognosy, specializing in the Chemistry of Natural Products. Possesses over five years of hands-on experience in analytical and biological laboratories, as well as in R&D settings across universities, research institutions, and the pharmaceutical industry. His research focuses on psychoactive natural products, with an emphasis on indole alkaloids and cannabinoids. His work integrates phytochemistry, biotechnology, and ethnobotany, aiming to bridge ancient psychopharmacognosy with modern scientific understanding. He is currently developing his research into a PhD thesis titled “Development of methods for the analysis of indole alkaloids with emphasis on substituted tryptamines and ergoline derivatives of natural origin and evaluation of their pharmacological activity and toxicity”.
Take a minute to browse our stock:
Did you enjoy reading this article?
Please support Chacruna's work by donating to us. We are an independent organization and we offer free education and advocacy for psychedelic plant medicines. We are a team of dedicated volunteers!
Can you help Chacruna advance cultural understanding around these substances?
Become a Chacruna Member
To make a direct donation click the button below:
