Anthropological evidence has long suggested that psychedelic plants have played important roles in indigenous communities for thousands of years, but most scholarship does not address their formative impact on Western culture. Through careful studies of art and archeology, Mushrooms, Myth Mithras reveals compelling evidence that ritual use of psychedelic mushrooms was a powerful and closely guarded inspirational force in the development of early European culture. We discover that Nero was the first in a long line of Roman emperors to be initiated by secret "magical dinners" in which mind-altering mushrooms were used as a source of spiritual awakening. Although this sect was officially banned after Roman conversion to Christianity, aspects of its practices and teachings went on to influence many subsequent secret societies, including the Freemasons. --Book Jacket.