Mysticism and Mystery Cults

How do we get from ancient cultic practices, the mystery cults which we discussed last episode, to ideas of inner direct experience of the divine? Well, this is one of those fascinating stories of Western thought and Western esotericism. It involves Platonist philosophy and especially the great Platonizing Christian writer known as the pseudo-dianicius. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's go back now to the mysterycults. What does this term mysticos mean in ancient Greek, and what were the ancient mystery initiates experiencing?