Fragments of divinity

Press, 9 March 1988, Page 18

Fragments of divinity

The most powerful animal in the ancient Mediterranean forests was the wild bull.' The embodiment of strength and fertility, it was widely revered by the early settlers. ’ The I Egyptians adopted the bull as a god, also attributing supernatural powers to other creatures — the crocodile, cat, baboon, falcon and the sacred ibis. As the centuries passed, people began to believe the spirit of the

god was not restricted to one animal but that all individuals of that species contained a fragment of divinity, and so were sacred. Tonight’s episode of ‘‘The First Eden,” “The God’s Enslaved" (7.30 on One), shows how these animals were mummified in huge numbers. In saqqara, David Attenborough explores underground passages lined with pottery jars stacked

to the roof, each containing a mummified bird. There are at least 800,000 falcons and more than four million sacred ibis, and the labyrinth of galleries is still being explored. Also in tonight’s programme, Attenborough focuses on the Romans, who plunderd nature as they wished, believing its products were selfrenewing and inexhaustible. As the human population grew, more forests

were cut down and the provinces of North Africa became the richest in the Empire. But the soil eventually became exhausted and the populated dwindled, resulting in the collapse of ancient cities like Leptis Magna in Libya and Ephesus in Turkey.

It was a widespread belief that nature failed to support man. The truth is the reverse: man failed to support nature.