The Mycenaeans and ecstatic ritual experience

The possibility that the Mycenaeans engaged in ecstatic forms of ritual has been a somewhat neglected topic in Mycenological studies. The lack of attention may have been caused by the generally accepted premise that the Mycenaeans did not practice ecstatic epiphanies in the way that the Minoans did. Nonetheless, on closer observation of iconographic, archaeological and textual sources, it appears that the Mycenaeans likely did incorporate ecstatic forms of worship into their religious practice in various contexts, such as in natural open-air cult sites, during their religious festivals involving the consumption of wine, through their worship of Dionysos and during rites involving initiation. The examination of its ecstatic rituals provides a deeper understanding of Mycenaean religion itself and also highlights its standing as both the heir to Minoan cult practice and the progenitor of historical Greek religion.