(Blaise) Daniel "Danny" Staples (13 July 1948 – December 2005Obituary ''Boston Globe'' 6 December 2005
.) was a Classical mythologist; a native of Somerset, Massachusetts, he received a B.A. in Comparative Religion and a Ph.D. in Classical Studies from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original cam ...

. He lived in

Hull, Massachusetts Hull is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, located on a peninsula at the southern edge of Boston Harbor. Its population was 10,072 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Hull is the smallest town by land area in Pl ...

with his spouse, Carl A.P. Ruck. He co-authored with Ruck ''The World of Classical Mythology: Gods and Goddesses, Heroines and Heroes'', which has become a standard textbook. The book ''The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries'' claims that the psycho-active ingredient in the secret kykeion potion used in the

Eleusinian mysteries The Eleusinian Mysteries ( el, Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Elefsina in ancient Greece. They are t ...

was most likely the

ergotism Ergotism (pron. ) is the effect of long-term ergot poisoning, traditionally due to the ingestion of the alkaloids produced by the '' Claviceps purpurea'' fungus—from the Latin "club" or clavus "nail" and for "head", i.e. the purple club-he ...

causing fungus '' Claviceps purpurea''. For this book Staples translated the Homeric Hymn to

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, ...

and contributed with R. Gordon Wasson, Jonathan Ott and Ruck to the chapter in which the term "

entheogen Entheogens are psychoactive substances that induce alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior for the purposes of engendering spiritual development or otherwiseRätsch, Christian, ''The Encyclopedia of Psychoac ...

" was coined as an alternative for terms such as "psychedelic", "hallucinogen" and "drug" that can be misleading in certain contexts. ''The Apples of Apollo: Pagan and Christian Mysteries of the Eucharist'' explores the role that entheogens in general, and ''

Amanita muscaria ''Amanita muscaria'', commonly known as the fly agaric or fly amanita, is a basidiomycete of the genus ''Amanita''. It is also a muscimol mushroom. Native throughout the temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere, ''Amanita muscar ...

'' in particular, played in Greek and biblical mythology and later on in

Renaissance painting Renaissance art (1350 – 1620 AD) is the painting, sculpture, and decorative arts of the period of European history known as the Renaissance, which emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about AD 1400, in parallel with developments which o ...

, most notably in the Isenheim Altarpiece by

Matthias Grünewald Matthias Grünewald ( – 31 August 1528) was a German Renaissance painter of religious works who ignored Renaissance classicism to continue the style of late medieval Central European art into the 16th century. His first name is also given ...

. Staples was also the author of numerous articles in his field.

Bibliography

*''The Hidden World: Survival of Pagan Shamanic Themes in European Fairytales'', with Carl Ruck, José Alfredo González Celdrán and Mark Alwin Hoffman (2007 ) *''The Apples of Apollo: Pagan and Christian Mysteries of the Eucharist'', with Carl Ruck and Clark Heinrich (2001, ) *''The World of Classical Myth: Gods and Goddesses, Heroines and Heroes'', with Carl Ruck (1994, ) *''The Road to Eleusis: Unveiling the Secret of the Mysteries'', with Carl Ruck, R. Gordon Wasson, Jonathan Ott and

Albert Hofmann Albert Hofmann (11 January 1906 – 29 April 2008) was a Swiss chemist known for being the first to synthesize, ingest, and learn of the psychedelic effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Hofmann's team also isolated, named and synthesi ...

(1978, )

Notes

External links

Summary of ''The Apples of Apollo''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Staples, Blaise Daniel American classical scholars 1948 births 2005 deaths Psychedelic drug researchers People from Somerset, Massachusetts American psychedelic drug advocates Boston University alumni