Particularly interesting is Eliade’s focus on the Shamanistic characteristics of Ancient Greece. He focuses on the Greek gods and how they relate to Shamanism. I particularly like his first comparison of Apollo to Siberian Shamanism. A reference to made to a source by W. K. C. Guthrie which suggests that the legend of Apollo originated in northwestern Asia. Eliade uses this reference to compare the “magical flight” of Apollo to the that of the Shaman in Scythian mythology and to Siberian Shamanism. One of Apollo’s most well known priests, Abaris, contains many elements of a shaman. Eliade quotes Rhode in the book:

Carrying in his hand the golden arrow, the proof of his Apolline origin and mission, he passed through man lands dispelling sickness and pestilence by sacrifices of a magic kind, giving warning of earthquakes and other disasters (Eliade 338).

Further along, Eliade makes reference to Epimenides of Crete. He displayed many shamanic qualities himself, especially the fact that he became a master of “enthusiastic wisdom,” which Eliade states means he became a master of ecstasy. Not only does Epimenides enter into ecstatic states, he also uses magic to heal and he does divinations. Eliade states: “It is in his ecstasies, his magical cures, his divinatory and prophetic powers that Epimenides approaches the shaman” (Eliade 389).

Another interesting myth is that of Orpheus, a man who descended into the underworld to rescue the soul of his wife. We know that descending the axis mundi into the underworld is a common element of shamanism, but Orpheus shamanic abilities are not limited to his descent. Eliade states that: “. . . Orpheus also displays other characteristics of a ‘Great Shaman’: his healing art, his love for music and animals, his ‘charms,’ his power of divination. Even his character of ‘culture hero’. . .” (Eliade 391).

In another section, Eliade makes parallels between Indian traditions and shamanism. Particularly interesting in this section is the comparison made between Buddha’s birth and the ascension of a shaman on the axis mundi. Buddha was born under a tree, instantly making reference to his ability to transverse the axis mundi. Eliade goes further to point out the symbolism in the myth of this birth. It is said in the Majjhima-nikaya that:

The moment . . . The Bodhisattva has come to birth standing on even feet and facing north, he takes seven strides; and while a white sunshade is being held over him, he scans all the quarters and utters as with the voice of a bull: ‘I am highest in the world, I am the best in the world, I am eldest in the world. This is the last birth, there is not now again becoming’” (Eliade 405).

Eliade points out that the seven strides correspond to the ascension of the Altaic shaman on the birch tree, who climbs seven or nine notches to reach the heavens. Eliade explains that by transversing the axis mundi, both Buddha and the shaman transcend space and time to arrive at a point which is the center of the world where creation began.

Also, particular interest is placed on both the numbers seven and nine, which appear in both the Altaic and the Buddhist traditions. Buddhist believe there are seven to nine heavens, depending on the precise tradition, as do the Altaic people. The seven strides of Buddha are symbolic of the shaman climbing the seven or nine notches.