I feel I understand now why, whenever there are revolutions, Shakespeare is what people turn to. Because whenever a society is on the cusp, about to become something else, they find themselves in Shakespeare. Neil MacGregor cuspfeelfind share on social
The Louvre stopped buying paintings in 1848, and neither the Metropolitan nor the Hermitage acquire contemporary material. Neil MacGregor acquirebuycontemporary Change image and share on social
There's the constant concern with what happens to you when you die. Every society thinks about that and makes things to deal with that. Neil MacGregor concernconstantdeal Change image and share on social
Prometheus - trickster, rebel and hero - links the realm of the gods with the world of humanity, with which he had such close affinity. His act of stealing fire has been viewed as the foundation of all man's technologies. Neil MacGregor actaffinityclose share on social
While there are few records of Viking women participating in battle, they certainly held positions of high status in society as human sorceresses known as 'volvas.' Neil MacGregor battlehighhold Change image and share on social
There is not much we can say with absolute confidence about the early church, but we can be fairly sure that the first Christians would not have dreamed of making a likeness of Jesus. Neil MacGregor absolutechristianchurch Change image and share on social
A collection that embraces the whole world allows you to consider the whole world. That is what an institution such as the British Museum is for. Neil MacGregor britishcollectionembrace Change image and share on social
Creation stories, so central in the religions of the Middle East, play a surprisingly marginal part in Greek myth. The Greeks had nothing to set alongside the resounding 'In the beginning' in the book of Genesis, where one eternal God creates the universe out of nothing. Neil MacGregor alongsidebeginbook share on social
The deciphering of ancient scripts changed forever the way Europeans were able to imagine the story of humanity, destroying centuries of received authority about the past with repercussions as important for our understanding of time and history as the geological studies of the same period. Neil MacGregor ancientauthoritycentury share on social
Our collective memories are welcoming places, and one image, that of Jesus, has absorbed and appropriated elements of other traditions and aspirations in order to shape our communal remembering. Neil MacGregor absorbappropriateaspiration Change image and share on social