Dear Cicero,
It is an easy mistake, to think that the religious beliefs of the ancient world were without critical scepticism. Your own keen sense of reality prevented you from accepting on faith everything that your society believed, and your writings on the nature of the Gods shows a deeply considered theological perspective that loses none of its relevancy even after 2000 years.
I wonder how deep an influence the Elusinian mysteries had on you, and how far your participatory experience in that ritual went in informing your personal beliefs about the nature of divinity. Modern scientists have been able to show definitively that the sacred drink given to all participants was Ergot, the fungus that formed the basis for the creation of the modern hallucinogen LSD.
Your feeling that the universe itself is intelligent, and that that intelligence is in fact the true nature of God, is a conclusion reached by many moderns who have consumed similar substances. But while in the modern world, such experiences are labelled hallucinations, and generally dismissed as fantasy, in your world Cicero, such experiences as the Elusinian Mystery rites were central to the religious beliefs and practices of people all over the Mediterranean region. Beliefs that influenced daily life across all levels of society.
I'm not judging anything to be good or bad, beneficial or harmful. I'm just fascinated.
With gratitude and respect,
Morgan.
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