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Living with the Gods

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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: Replicating the Divine

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Virign Mary and Child

24/02/2018 GMT

Replicating the Divine

BBC World Service - Living with the Gods, Replicating the Divine

The making of divine images such as Russian Orthodox icons and the Hindu goddess Durga

The making of divine images such as Russian Orthodox icons and the Hindu goddess Durga.

For the painter of a Russian religious icon, the paramount purpose is the continuation of a tradition, in which the painter seeks only to take his proper place, creating an image which opens a gateway to the divine.

The Hindu goddess Durga is at the centre of the popular annual festival of Durga Puja, where communities create images of the goddess in everyday materials - clay, wood, straw and oil paint - which then are endowed with a transcendental character.

(Photo: Russian Orhtodox icon of the Virgin Mary and child. Credit: Trustees of the British Museum)

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