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Living with the Gods

Religion & Ethics

How shared beliefs have shaped societies from the earliest days of humanity

How shared beliefs have shaped societies around the world, from the very earliest days of humanity with Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum.

How shared beliefs have shaped societies around the world, from the very earliest days of humanity with Neil MacGregor, former Director of the British Museum. 

Image: Gold coin, Credit: The Trustees of the British Museum

Living with the Gods: Gifts to the Gods

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Gifts to the Gods

20/01/2018 GMT

BBC World Service - Living with the Gods, Gifts to the Gods

Why offerings to Gods became part of cultural practice for the Muisca population

Why offerings to Gods became part of cultural practise for the Muisca population and ancient Greeks

High in the Andes in Colombia, the indigenous Muisca population consigned highly-wrought gold figurines to the waters of Lake Guatavita – offerings which they would never see again.

Records of the treasures stored in the Parthenon, Athens, dating from around 400BC, reveal numerous gifts for the goddess Athena - gifts with a double role. The Parthenon was also a kind of central bank, capable of operating as a lender of last resort, creating an intimate connection between the temple of a goddess and the finance of the state.

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