Nogle mener der er en sammenhæng mellem soma (i den indiske tradition), ambrosia (i den græske/romerske tradition) og visse former for psykedelika. Det er jo kun en teori, men kunne nok være spændende at undersøge alligevel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soma :
"Hallucinogenic
There is no direct indication in the Rigveda [helligtekst i brahmanismen/hinduismen] that Soma is a mushroom. Nevertheless, the Vedas do not state that Soma was not a mushroom either, and several mushrooms have been suggested, most frequently (originally by R. Gordon Wasson in the 1960s) Amanita muscaria (Fly Agaric or Toadstool). The mushroom theory is supported by later Tibetan Buddhist legends connected with urine-drinking, and it is indeed possible that in Tibet, the shamanistic practice of eating psychedelic mushrooms, and subsequently drinking the urine of the one who has taken the mushroom, still containing much of the agent substance, has been connected with Vedic teminology surrounding Soma, but this would of course not imply that the plants used in Tibet were identical to the original Indo-Iranian Soma plant.
Terrence McKenna in his book "The Food Of Gods" debunks the Amarita Muscaria theory and suggests the psilocybin-containing Stropharia cubensis mushroom as a soma candidate. McKenna argues that effects of the Amarita Muscaria mushrooms contradict the description of Soma properties given in the Rigveda. Amarita Muscaria mushrooms hardly have any hallucinogenic properties, but rather produce inebriant effects. Psilocybin, the active psychoactive component in Stropharia Cubensis, on the other hand, has a strong hallucinogenic nature.
Cannabis was also suggested, also based on Tibetan evidence. The Tibetan word for Cannabis is So.Ma.Ra.Dza., apparently a borrowing from the Sanskrit soma-raja "king Soma" or possibly "soma rasa" / "soma juice" which could be the same as "bhang". The choice of Cannabis as a candidate is further supported by the traditional Zulu use of this drug for energizing warriors. Other candidates include Peganum harmala (Syrian Rue, suggested by David Flattery and Martin Schwartz in the 1980s), and species of Stropharia."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ambrosia :
"Many modern scholars, including Danny Staples, relate ambrosia to the hallucinogenic mushroom Amanita muscaria."
Excavations of an early 2nd millennium BC BMAC site in the Kara Kum desert, Turkmenistan (Gonur South) revealed ceramic bowls in the context of a temple or shrine. The vessels were analysed by Professor Mayer-Melikyan and yielded traces of both Ephedra and Cannabis. In an adjacent room, ceramic pot-stands were found which appear to have been used in conjunction with strainers designed to separate the juices from the twigs, stems and leaves of the plants. A shrine at a later site (Togoluk 1, mid-second millennium) revealed a similar pottery strainer, but without traces of hallucinogenics. The late second millennium site Togoluk 21 yielded vessels containing traces of Ephedra again,in conjunction with pollen of poppies. These finds support the theory that the Indo-Iranian Sauma drink was a composite psychoactive substance comprising of Ephedra and variously Cannabis or Opium, and probably other ingredients, and that the Sauma plant was Ephedra. Other analyses of the residues from the Gonur and Togolok-21 vessels by Professor C.C. Bakels and other botanists, however, found traces only of broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum).
