Out of Egypt
Sacred Violence
TV-PG
S1 • E6 Sep 6, 2009 60mAt the front of nearly every ancient Egyptian temple stands a stone wall, decorated with a massive depiction of the king crushing his enemies with a stone mace. This brutal imagery played a central role in the ancient Egyptian religion, believed to magically protect the temple from the forces of chaos. But Egyptologist Dr. Kara Cooney explains that this isn't unique. Be they human sacrifice at an Aztec pyramid, burning witches in Salem or the torture chambers of the Spanish Inquisition, she demonstrates that acts of violence have continued to be a fundamental part of religious belief for millennia.
