Out of Egypt (2009–…): Season 1, Episode 4 - The Birth of the Devil - full transcript

Cooney: THE DEVIL.

HE TEMPTS US TO SIN.

HE IS ALL THAT WE FEAR.

BUT SATAN IS A VERY MODERN IDEA.

IN ANCIENT TIMES,

THE NOTION OF A SINGLE,
SUPREMELY EVIL BEING

SIMPLY DIDN'T EXIST.

I'M KARA COONEY, AN EGYPTOLOGIST
ON A WORLDWIDE QUEST.

I LOOK AT HUMAN BEHAVIOR,

BOTH PAST AND PRESENT,

THROUGH THE LENS
OF ANCIENT EGYPT.



AND THE MORE I TRAVEL THE WORLD,
THE MORE SIMILARITIES I SEE.

EXPLORING WHY WE ARE WHO WE ARE

OFTEN LEADS ME OUT OF EGYPT.

CAPTIONS PAID FOR BY
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS

THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS WORSHIPED
A COMPLEX MENAGERIE OF GODS...

SOME MALE, SOME FEMALE.

SOME WERE EVEN ANIMALS,

LIKE FALCONS, CROCODILES,
AND BABOONS.

BUT THERE WAS NO SINGLE GOD
OF LOVE OR OF WAR,

AND THERE WAS NO
SUPERNATURAL BEING

REPRESENTING GOOD OR EVIL.

THE DEVIL AS WE KNOW HIM

FIRST ENTERED HUMAN HISTORY
LESS THAN 3,000 YEARS AGO.

HE APPEARED ABOUT THE SAME TIME



THAT PEOPLE BEGAN TO WORSHIP
A SINGLE GOD.

EARLIER RELIGIONS, INCLUDING
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN RELIGION,

WERE BASED UPON A BELIEF
IN MANY GODS...

COMPLEX GODS WHO COULD
EITHER DO GOOD...

OR CAUSE HARM.

BUT IT'S HERE
IN THE ANCIENT RELIGIONS

WHERE THE ROOTS
OF THE MODERN DEVIL LIE.

THE SITE OF NAGADA
ON THE WEST BANK OF THE NILE

DATES BACK NEARLY 5,000 YEARS.

HERE THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS BUILT
A TEMPLE DEDICATED TO SETH...

...WHO'S ALWAYS DEPICTED

WITH THE HEAD
OF A WEIRD MYTHICAL ANIMAL.

SETH WAS THE GOD
OF THE DESERT, DARKNESS,

STORMS, AND CHAOS.

ON THE FACE OF IT,

HE SHARES CERTAIN QUALITIES
WE ASSOCIATE WITH THE DEVIL.

AND THE STORY OF SETH
WOULD SEEM TO BEAR THIS OUT.

ACCORDING TO THE MYTH, SETH WAS
JEALOUS OF HIS BROTHER OSIRIS.

SO HE TRAPPED OSIRIS,
MURDERED HIM,

AND CUT HIS BODY
INTO DOZENS OF PIECES.

BUT EVEN AFTER
THIS TERRIBLE DEED,

THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN PEOPLE
THOUGHT OF SETH

AS VIOLENT BUT NOT EVIL,

AND ALTHOUGH HE WAS FEARED,
HE WAS ALSO WORSHIPED.

THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS ACTUALLY
BUILT TEMPLES IN HIS HONOR.

TODAY, ONLY RUINS REMAIN.

PEOPLE JOURNEY TO THIS TEMPLE
TO MAKE OFFERINGS

TO ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS
AND POWERFUL GODS

IN THE EGYPTIAN PANTHEON.

THIS MIGHT SEEM LIKE
STRANGE BEHAVIOR TO US TODAY.

CAN YOU IMAGINE OPENLY BUILDING
A TEMPLE DEDICATED TO SATAN?

BUT THE RELATIONSHIPS
BETWEEN PEOPLE AND GODS

WAS DIFFERENT IN ANCIENT EGYPT,

AND SO WERE THE GODS THEMSELVES.

SETH WASN'T SATAN.

HE HAD GOOD QUALITIES, TOO,
LIKE STRENGTH AND VIRILITY.

AS A GOD OF WARFARE,

HE HAD THE POWER TO PROTECT THE
EGYPTIANS FROM FOREIGN INVADERS.

BUT IN THE ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN RELIGION,

ALL THE GODS
COULD CAUSE MISFORTUNE.

SO THE HOPE WAS
TO GET THEM ON YOUR SIDE.

15 MILES DOWNRIVER FROM NAGADA
IS ONE OF THE LARGEST

AND MOST FAMOUS RELIGIOUS
COMPLEXES IN THE WORLD...

THE MASSIVE EGYPTIAN TEMPLE
CALLED KARNAK.

THE TEMPLE IS DEDICATED
TO A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT GODS.

WORSHIPERS CAME TO THIS TEMPLE
TO GAIN FAVOR

AND TO APPEAL FOR GOOD FORTUNE.

THIS PARTICULAR SECTION
OF KARNAK

WAS DEDICATED
TO THE GODDESS MUT...

ANOTHER COMPLEX DEITY.

THE LIONESQUE GODDESS

IS ONE MANIFESTATION
OF THE GODDESS MUT.

HER NAME MEANS "SEKHMET,"
WHICH MEANS "THE POWERFUL ONE."

MUT HAD TWO SIDES...

A CALM, MOTHERLY SIDE...

AND A BLOODTHIRSTY,
DESTRUCTIVE SIDE

THAT LASHED OUT,
SOMETIMES FOR NO GOOD REASON.

BUT ALL EGYPTIAN GODS COULD BE
MANIPULATED OR APPEASED.

YOU JUST HAD TO OFFER THEM
THE RIGHT GIFTS AND PRAYERS.

NOW, THIS COLUMN
WAS PART OF A TEMPLE

THAT WAS BUILT
BY AN EGYPTIAN KING

TO APPEASE THE GODDESS MUT.

IF WE LOOK CLOSER AT THE TEXT,
WE CAN GET A BETTER IDEA

OF WHAT THE EGYPTIANS FED MUT
TO KEEP HER FROM WREAKING HAVOC.

THIS IS THE EGYPTIAN SIGN
FOR BEER,

AND THIS IS THE CHIEF THING

THAT YOU WANT TO OFFER
TO THE GODDESS MUT,

BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT MAKES HER
CALM AND MOTHERLY.

IF SHE DOESN'T HAVE BEER
IN HER TEMPLE SPACE,

SHE CAN BE VERY ANGRY
AND WORK AGAINST YOU.

BUT EVEN WHEN ANGRY,
VINDICTIVE, AND CRUEL,

GODS LIKE MUT AND SETH STILL
WEREN'T CONSIDERED DEMONIC.

EGYPTIANS BELIEVED
THAT GOOD AND BAD

WERE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN.

THERE WAS NO NOTION OF HAVING
TO CHOOSE BETWEEN THEM.

BUT AN ANCIENT GOD
FROM A DIFFERENT RELIGION

BEARS MUCH MORE
OF A PHYSICAL RESEMBLANCE

TO OUR IMAGE OF SATAN...

...A GREEK DEITY NAMED PAN.

PAN WAS ALSO WORSHIPED
IN WHAT IS NOW NORTHERN ISRAEL

IN A PLACE CALLED BANIAS.

BY THE 4th CENTURY B.C.E., GREEK
CULTURAL INFLUENCES

HAD SPREAD TO THIS PART
OF THE GALILEE.

THIS WOODED AREA,
WITH ITS SPRING AND CAVE,

WAS BELIEVED BY LOCAL PEOPLE
TO BE THE HOME OF PAN.

PAN WAS ASSOCIATED WITH NATURE,
MUSIC, AND FERTILITY.

DR. MORDECHAI AVIAM IS AN EXPERT
ON THIS ANCIENT SITE.

WHEN THE LOCAL PEOPLES
STARTED TO BELIEVE

IN GREEK GODS AND GODDESSES,

THEY ASSOCIATED PLACES
WITH THE GODS AND GODDESSES.

AS PAN IS THE GOD OF NATURE,
WATER, AND CAVES,

THIS IS JUST NATURAL

THAT THIS PLACE WOULD BE
DEDICATED TO PAN.

PAN WAS USUALLY DEPICTED
WITH PROMINENT HORNS

AND A GOAT'S HAIRY LEGS
AND HOOVES.

LIKE THE EGYPTIAN GODS,
PAN WAS COMPLEX AND CHANGEABLE,

SOMETIMES PLAYFUL
AND SOMETIMES EXCEEDINGLY BAD...

TEMPTING PEOPLE TO DRUNKENNESS
AND WILD SEX,

TRAITS THAT WOULD LATER SHOW UP
IN THE DEVIL.

NOW, PAN IS A GOD
OF DISORDER.
YES.

THIS IS THE ORIGIN
FOR THE WORD "PANIC"...

WHEN PEOPLE WERE WALKING
IN THE WOODS

AND SUDDENLY SOMEONE COMES
OUT OF THE BUSHES...

HALF MAN, HALF GOAT...
EVERYONE WAS PANICKED.

[ CHUCKLES ]

SO IT IS GOING VERY WELL
WITH DISORDER,

ALTHOUGH HE WAS
A VERY FUNNY CREATURE.

HAD THESE BEAUTIFUL GIRLS
DANCING.

IT WAS ALSO VERY FUN.

EVEN BEFORE THE GREEK RELIGION
REACHED BANIAS,

A SIMILAR NATURE GOD

HAD BEEN WORSHIPED HERE
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS,

AND LOCAL PEOPLE
CAME TO THIS SPRING

TO DRINK, DANCE,
FEAST, AND FROLIC.

IN 19 B.C.E.,
KING HEROD THE GREAT,

A JEWISH KING
INSTALLED BY THE ROMANS,

CONSTRUCTED A GRAND MARBLE
TEMPLE HERE DEDICATED TO PAN,

TURNING THE ONCE HUMBLE
GATHERING PLACE

INTO A FORMAL SHRINE.

THE CAVE NOW WAS BLOCKED
WITH A BEAUTIFUL BUILDING.

SO A NEW PLACE
WAS BUILT FOR PAN,

AND IT IS THE ARTIFICIAL CAVE
THAT YOU SEE ON TOP OF US.

PAN'S DEVOUT FOLLOWERS
BUILT THE ARTIFICIAL CAVE

BECAUSE THEY FELT THAT THE GOD

WAS MEANT TO BE WORSHIPED
OUTSIDE, IN NATURE.

SO, PAN IS SO CONNECTED TO
THE WILD THAT HE'S PART ANIMAL.

EXACTLY.

FOR AN EGYPTOLOGIST,
THAT'S COMPLETELY NORMAL

TO HAVE A GOD THAT'S MADE
OF PART ANIMAL, PART HUMAN.

BUT NOT SO MUCH
TO THE GREEK ONES.

MOST OF THE GREEK GODS
AND GODDESSES

ARE BEAUTIFUL HUMAN BEINGS.

AND THAT'S WHY PEOPLE
WORSHIPED PAN SO MUCH...

HE'S THE GOD OF DRUNKEN REVELRY,
OF ORGIES,

OF DOING WHATEVER AN ANIMAL
WANTS TO DO, WITH BASER URGES.

PAN IS A GOD THAT PEOPLE LOVED.

PAN WAS WORSHIPED HERE

UNTIL THE MUSLIM CONQUEST
IN THE 7th CENTURY.

WITH HIS HORNS
AND DEBAUCHED WAYS,

THE ANCIENT GREEK GOD PAN

SHARED SOME IMPORTANT FEATURES
WITH THE MODERN DEVIL.

BUT, AGAIN,
PAN WASN'T CONSIDERED EVIL.

THE CONCEPT OF PURE EVIL
WOULD COME LATER.

Cooney: THE ISLAND OF SRI LANKA,

19 MILES OFF THE SOUTHERN COAST
OF INDIA,

IS A MELTING POT
OF RELIGIONS AND CULTURES...

MANY OF THEM WORSHIPING
VIOLENT GODS.

WITH OVER 3 MILLION FOLLOWERS,

HINDUISM IS THE COUNTRY'S
MOST POPULAR RELIGION,

AFTER BUDDHISM.

HINDUISM IS AN ANCIENT RELIGION,

PROBABLY ONE OF THE OLDEST
BELIEF SYSTEMS

STILL PRACTICED WIDELY
IN THE MODERN WORLD,

MAYBE EVEN AS OLD AS
THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN RELIGION.

AND IT'S ALSO POLYTHEISTIC,
WITH A PANTHEON OF MANY GODS.

GODS THAT SOMETIMES CAUSE
BAD THINGS TO HAPPEN.

THE HINDU GODDESS KALI

IS ASSOCIATED WITH
GREAT STRENGTH AND VIOLENCE.

IMAGES DEPICT HER
HOLDING A BLOODY BLADE,

WEARING A NECKLACE
OF SEVERED HUMAN HEADS.

SHE'S USUALLY ACCOMPANIED
BY SHIVA,

GOD OF CREATION AND DESTRUCTION.

ALTHOUGH THERE ARE TERRIFYING
ASPECTS TO BOTH KALI AND SHIVA,

HINDUS DO NOT
CONSIDER THEM EVIL.

THE MUNNESWARAM TEMPLE
IN THE TOWN OF CHILAW

IS ONE OF THE OLDEST
HINDU TEMPLES ON THE ISLAND.

I'M HERE TO MEET
ONE OF THE TEMPLE'S PRIESTS,

S. SRINIVASA SARMA.

HINDUISM HAS MANY, MANY GODS.

HOW MANY DIFFERENT GODS
ARE THERE?

GOOD WEALTH?

IS THERE A GOD OF WAR?

AND CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT

SOME OF THE MORE POWERFUL
AND VENERATED?

SO, SOME GODS,
AND PARTICULARLY GODDESSES,

ARE CAPABLE OF PUNISHMENT,
BUT THAT'S NOT SATAN.

THAT'S NOT A DEVIL
IN HINDUISM.
NO.

WHERE DOES EVIL COME FROM?

SO, THERE'S NO GOD OF EVIL.

AND THERE'S NO DEVIL.

THE ABSENCE OF A DEVIL FIGURE

IS COMMON TO ALL
POLYTHEISTIC RELIGIONS.

HINDU GODS, LIKE ANCIENT GREEK
OR EGYPTIAN GODS,

ARE SUPERNATURAL REFLECTIONS
OF HUMAN COMPLEXITY.

IT'S NOT THAT POLYTHEISTIC GODS
ARE ANGRY OR SPITEFUL.

THEY'RE JUST COMPLICATED...

FULL OF EVERY ASPECT
OF THIS WORLD,

NOT JUST THE GOOD.

WHETHER ANCIENT OR MODERN,
THEY'RE SEEN AS MERCURIAL BEINGS

CAPABLE OF LOVING-KINDNESS,
GENEROSITY,

AND OF TERRIFYING DESTRUCTION.

GODS LIKE KALI AND SHIVA DESTROY
IN ORDER TO CLEAR THE PATH

FOR HUMANS TO FIND KNOWLEDGE
AND HAPPINESS.

SO, EVEN THESE VIOLENT GODS
ARE ACTUALLY A POSITIVE FORCE.

EVIL IS THOUGHT TO COME
FROM HUMANS,

NOT SUPERNATURAL BEINGS.

BUT HINDUISM IS NOT
THE ONLY RELIGION IN SRI LANKA.

MANY LOCALS CONTINUE
TO BELIEVE IN SPIRITS

EVEN OLDER
THAN THE HINDU DEITIES.

AND SOME OF THESE SPIRITS
BEAR AN UNCANNY RESEMBLANCE

TO OUR DEVIL.

PROFESSOR TISSA KARIYAWASAM
HAS AGREED TO GUIDE ME

THROUGH A SRI LANKAN
HEALING CEREMONY

CALLED THE DEVIL DANCE.

OH. I GOT SPRINKLED
WITH HOLY WATER.

NOW I'M PURIFIED?

THE EARLIEST TRACES
OF THIS RITUAL

DATE BACK TO 2500 B.C.E.

MANY SRI LANKANS BELIEVE
THAT SPIRITS EXIST IN THE WORLD

AND THAT THEY CAN CAUSE
ILLNESS IN HUMANS

IF THEY'RE NOT APPEASED.

A DANCE IS PERFORMED
TO EXORCISE THESE DEMONS

FROM SOMEONE WHO IS ILL.

IN THIS CASE,

AN ELDERLY WOMAN
SUFFERING FROM DIABETES.

THIS TROUPE OF EXORCIST DANCERS

IS AMONG THE MOST SOUGHT-AFTER
ON THE ISLAND.

THE RITUAL FIRST DRAWS IN
THE GOOD DEITIES FOR PROTECTION.

FIRE ATTRACTS AND THEN APPEASES
THE VIOLENT DEMON.

IN A WAY, IT REMINDS ME
OF THE APPEASEMENT CEREMONIES

FOR THE EGYPTIAN GODDESS MUT.

[ DRUMS BEATING RHYTHMICALLY ]

NO, NO, NO.

NOW THAT THE DANCERS
HAVE THE DEMONS' ATTENTION,

THEY ATTEMPT TO EXORCISE THEM
FROM THE PATIENT.

THE FLAME ALSO SYMBOLIZES
THE SICKNESS.

TAKING IT AWAY MEANS IT IS
LEAVING THE PATIENT'S BODY.

WHETHER IT ACTUALLY
REMOVES A DEMON

OR MERELY LIFTS
THE PATIENT'S SPIRITS,

THE DEVIL DANCE IS AN IMPORTANT
CEREMONY TO MANY SRI LANKANS.

AS WITH PAN, THERE ARE ELEMENTS
OF THE DEVIL HERE,

BUT TO FIND A SINGLE EMBODIMENT
OF PURE EVIL,

WE NEED TO LOOK TO RELIGIONS
WITH A SINGLE GOD...

A GOD WHO EMBODIES
ALL THAT IS GOOD.

Cooney: JERUSALEM IS HOLY GROUND

TO THREE OF THE WORLD'S
GREATEST RELIGIONS.

THIS IS THE WESTERN,
OR WAILING, WALL...

THE CENTER OF JEWISH WORSHIP
FOR 2,500 YEARS.

IT'S ALL THAT REMAINS
OF THE SECOND TEMPLE,

WHICH ONCE HELD THE SACRED TEXTS

OF THE WORLD'S FIRST RELIGION
TO WORSHIP A SINGLE GOD...

JUDAISM.

JEWS COME HERE TO REMEMBER

AND MOURN THE DESTRUCTION
OF THE TEMPLE

BY THE ROMANS IN THE YEAR 70.

BUT IT'S ALSO A PLACE OF HOPE.

WORSHIPERS WRITE THEIR PRAYER
ON A PIECE OF PAPER

AND PLACE IT
BETWEEN CRACKS IN THE WALL.

EVERY DAY, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE
COME TO THIS WALL TO WORSHIP.

THIS IS A PLACE OF PRAYER,
REPENTANCE, AND OATH TAKING,

DEDICATED TO ONE GOD.

TODAY, JUDAISM
IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S

MOST IMPORTANT RELIGIONS.

BUT 2,500 YEARS AGO, IT WAS
JUST BEGINNING TO TAKE HOLD.

IT WAS THE FIRST RELIGION

TO REALLY TURN PEOPLE'S
PERCEPTION OF GODS UPSIDE DOWN

AND PROBABLY THE FIRST RELIGION

TO IDENTIFY PURE EVIL
IN ITS TEACHINGS.

THIS IS BEERSHEBA,

ON THE FRINGE
OF THE NEGEV DESERT

IN SOUTHERN ISRAEL.

AROUND 1000 B.C.E.,

THE PEOPLE OF THIS REGION
WORSHIPED MANY GODS...

...AMONG THEM,
EL, A CREATOR GOD...

AND BAAL, A POWERFUL STORM GOD.

BAAL WAS A GOD OF VIOLENT POWER,

WORSHIPED LIKE ANY OTHER
POLYTHEISTIC GOD

THROUGHOUT
THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST.

BUT AROUND 800 B.C.E.,

SOME OF THE PEOPLE IN THIS AREA
BEGAN TO WORSHIP A SINGULAR GOD,

WHOM THEY CALLED YAHWEH,

AND YAHWEH'S FIRST COMMANDMENT
TO HIS PEOPLE...

"YOU WILL HAVE NO OTHER GODS
BEFORE ME."

IT'S THE FIRST TIME IN HISTORY
THAT A PEOPLE DECIDED

THAT THERE WAS ONE TRUE GOD

AND THAT ALL OTHERS
HAD TO BE DISCARDED.

THIS NEW MONOTHEISM

CHANGED THE WAY PEOPLE
THOUGHT ABOUT RELIGION.

ONCE, THERE HAD BEEN ROOM
FOR MANY GODS, MANY BELIEFS.

BUT JUDAISM PROCLAIMED
THAT ALL OTHER RELIGIONS

WERE FALSE, WRONG,
AND POSSIBLY EVEN EVIL.

ACCORDING TO THE OLD TESTAMENT,

HEZEKIAH,
THE HEBREW KING OF JUDAH,

INSTITUTED A SERIES
OF RELIGIOUS REFORMS

IN THE 8th CENTURY B.C.E.

HE ORDERED THE DESTRUCTION

OF ALL TEMPLES
DEDICATED TO OTHER GODS.

BEERSHEBA WAS SUCH A PLACE.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS THINK THAT THIS

IS WHERE THE MAIN TEMPLE
OF BEERSHEBA ONCE STOOD,

AND AN ALTAR WAS FOUND
AT THIS SITE

THAT MAY HAVE ACTUALLY STOOD
HERE IN THIS TEMPLE SPACE.

WHAT YOU SEE NOW IS A BIG,
EMPTY HOLE IN THE GROUND.

CURIOUSLY,
SOME OF THESE FORBIDDEN GODS

BEAR AN UNCANNY RESEMBLANCE
TO SATAN,

AS DID PAN AND SETH.

EVEN THOUGH GODS LIKE BAAL OR EL
WERE PERCEIVED AS BEINGS

WITH HORNS
AND GREAT MASCULINE VIRILITY,

THE ANCIENT FOLLOWERS OF YAHWEH

DIDN'T BELIEVE EITHER OF THEM
TO BE THE DEVIL... NOT YET.

WHAT'S FASCINATING IS
THAT THIS CHANGE IN BELIEF

WASN'T JUST HAPPENING
IN ONE PLACE OR ONE CULTURE.

AT ABOUT THE SAME TIME

THAT THE ISRAELITES
BEGAN REJECTING BAAL AND EL,

THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS
BEGAN TO SEE SETH

IN A SIGNIFICANTLY
DIFFERENT WAY, AS WELL.

75 MILES SOUTH OF LUXOR,

THE TEMPLE AT EDFU
IS ONE OF THE BEST-PRESERVED

AND LARGEST ANCIENT TEMPLES
IN EGYPT.

STARTING IN
THE 7th CENTURY B.C.E.,

EGYPT WAS UNDER CONSTANT ATTACK
BY FOREIGN INTRUDERS.

THESE BLOODY INVASIONS TOOK
A HUGE TOLL ON THE EGYPTIANS.

AND BY THE 3rd CENTURY B.C.E.,
WHEN THIS TEMPLE WAS BUILT,

PEOPLE'S IDEAS ABOUT EVIL
HAD CHANGED.

THROUGHOUT THIS CONSTANT STRIFE,
EGYPTIANS, LIKE THE ISRAELITES,

BEGAN TO SEE THE WORLD
LESS IN SHADES OF GRAY

AND MORE IN TERMS
OF BLACK AND WHITE.

AND "US VERSUS THEM" MENTALITY
AROSE,

EVEN WITH RESPECT TO THEIR GODS,

AND WITH THIS, THE IDEA OF
SINGULAR EVIL BEGAN TO COALESCE.

EDFU TEMPLE WAS DEDICATED
TO THE GOD HORUS,

THE NEPHEW OF SETH.

SETH HAD BEEN WORSHIPED
AS A SOURCE OF VIOLENT POWER

FOR OVER 2,000 YEARS.

NOW, FOR THE FIRST TIME,

THE EGYPTIANS BEGAN TO SEE
HIS VIOLENT WAYS AS EVIL.

SETH HAD TO BE DESTROYED
SYMBOLICALLY,

AND THIS IS DEPICTED
ON THE TEMPLE WALLS.

SO HERE WE HAVE
AN IMAGE OF HORUS

VANQUISHING HIS ENEMY
AND UNCLE... SETH.

NOW, YOU SEE SOME THINGS
VERY CLEARLY.

HORUS IS DEPICTED VERY LARGE.

AND SETH, DEPICTED AS A HIPPO,
IS THIS TEENY, SMALL THING.

THE EGYPTIANS, AT THIS POINT,
ARE VERY AFRAID OF SETH,

VERY WORRIED ABOUT HIS POWER.

SO HE'S SHOWN
AS A SMALL CREATURE,

WHILE THE IMPORTANT IMAGE
OF JUSTICE AND TRUTH... HORUS...

HE'S THERE LARGER THAN LIFE.

SO, HERE WE SEE SETH UPRIGHT.

HE'S BEING SPEARED,
AND HE'S HELD BY FETTERS,

BUT HE'S STILL UPRIGHT.

IN THIS TEMPLE, YOU SEE THE
SCENE OF HIM BEING VANQUISHED

AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN.

AND HERE WE SEE A KIND OF CLIMAX
OF WHAT'S HAPPENING.

SETH IS ON HIS BACK,
HIS FEET ARE UP,

AND HERE'S THE GOD HORUS
WITH HIS SPEAR,

POINTING IT DOWN
RIGHT INTO SETH'S HEART.

AND THIS IS SOMETHING NEW.

SETH USED TO BE A GOD
THAT WAS WORSHIPED,

BUT NOW ALL EVIL IS COALESCING
INTO THIS ONE SUPERNATURAL FORM

THAT HAS TO BE DESTROYED.

CULTURES LIKE EGYPT'S

WERE SIMPLIFYING THEIR CONCEPTS
OF GOOD AND EVIL.

THE ISRAELITES HAD ALREADY
PROCLAIMED THEIR BELIEF

IN ONE TRUE GOD
WHO COMMITTED NO WRONG.

ALL OF THIS CONTRIBUTED TO THE
POSSIBILITY OF THE OPPOSITE...

A SUPERNATURAL BEING
WHO WAS PURE EVIL...

AN EVIL
THAT WAS ABOUT TO BE BORN.

Cooney:
THIS IS THE COLOSSEUM IN ROME,

A BUILDING ARGUABLY
MORE REPRESENTATIVE OF EMPIRE

THAN ANYPLACE IN THE WORLD.

IT WAS HERE THAT THE ROMANS

WATCHED THEIR
GLADIATORIAL COMBAT.

PEOPLE AND ANIMALS
WERE BROUGHT HERE

FROM ALL OVER THE MEDITERRANEAN
TO FIGHT AND TO DIE.

AND IT'S WITHIN
THIS CRUCIBLE OF EMPIRE,

WITH ALL OF ITS INVASIONS
AND EXPLOITATIONS,

THAT WE SEE SOMETHING
WE'D NEVER SEEN BEFORE...

A NEW CONCEPT OF EVIL
AND OF DARKNESS.

ROME WAS HEAVILY GUARDED
BY THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS

WHO WERE GARRISONED
OUTSIDE OF THE CITY WALLS.

NEAR THESE MILITARY BASES,
ARCHAEOLOGISTS HAVE FOUND

UNDERGROUND CHAMBERS
LIKE THIS ONE,

DEDICATED TO A PERSIAN GOD
NAMED MITHRAS.

THESE WERE SITES
OF A SECRET CULT,

WHICH BECAME POPULAR
IN THE 1st CENTURY

AMONG ROMAN LEGIONNAIRES
WHO HAD SERVED

ON THE EASTERN EDGES
OF THE EMPIRE.

30 MITHRAS TEMPLES
HAVE BEEN FOUND

ACROSS THE FORMER ROMAN WORLD.

IT'S GREAT.

BENEDETTA BESSI TEACHES
AT JOHN CABOT UNIVERSITY IN ROME

AND HAS STUDIED
THE MITHRAS CULT.

SO IT'S MEANT TO BE
A REAL SECRET SPACE

THAT ONLY ALLOWS
CERTAIN PEOPLE IN,

NOT WELCOMING EVERYBODY.

WHY WAS IT SO POPULAR?

LIKE YAHWEH TO THE JEWS,

MITHRAS SEEMS TO HAVE
REPRESENTED ALL THAT WAS GOOD,

SO IT'S NOT SURPRISING
THAT, AGAIN,

AN OPPOSING ENTITY WOULD
REPRESENT ALL THAT WAS BAD.

ALTHOUGH DETAILS ABOUT
THE MITHRAS CULT ARE SKETCHY,

HISTORIANS AGREE
THAT FOR THE CULT'S FOLLOWERS,

THE GOD'S MOST IMPORTANT ACT
WAS THE SLAYING OF A BULL,

WHICH SUPPOSEDLY HAPPENED
IN A CAVE.

THIS MAY EXPLAIN
WHY SO MANY MITHRAS TEMPLES

WERE BUILT TO RESEMBLE CAVES

AND WHY THERE'S EVIDENCE
THAT THIS SACRIFICIAL ACT

WAS RE-CREATED WITHIN
THESE SECRET TEMPLE SPACES.

SO, ALL OF THE SOLDIERS
THAT WERE A PART OF THIS CULT

WERE TRYING TO DESTROY
AND VANQUISH EVIL,

AND THE SLAYING OF THE BULL
IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THAT?

YES.

AND THIS, YOU THINK,
IS THE ALTAR RIGHT HERE?

AND MAYBE SOME
BULL SACRIFICE HERE?

KILL A CHICKEN? YES.

THAT SOUNDS A LITTLE BIT
LIKE ANOTHER RELIGION I KNOW.

SO, YOU THINK
THERE ARE SIMILARITIES

BETWEEN THE MITHRAS CULT
AND CHRISTIANITY?

YES. DEFINITELY.

SO, MITHRAS'S ACTIONS
VANQUISH EVIL,

JESUS'S ACTIONS VANQUISH EVIL,

AND THERE'S THIS DUALITY
BETWEEN GOOD AND EVIL,

AND THOSE TWO THINGS
ARE VERY SIMILAR.

IN THE 2nd CENTURY,
WHEN THIS MITHRAEUM WAS BUILT,

CHRISTIANITY WAS ITSELF
STILL A CULT

AND NOT WIDELY ACCEPTED
BY ROMAN CITIZENS.

BUT THE MITHRAS CULT
SHARED AT LEAST ONE THING

WITH THE NEW RELIGION...

A BELIEF THAT GOOD AND EVIL
WERE OPPOSING FORCES.

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE
MITHRAS CULT AND CHRISTIANITY

GOES BEYOND
SHARING SIMILAR IDEOLOGIES.

SAN STEFANO ROTONDO

IS ONE OF THE EARLIEST
CHRISTIAN CHURCHES IN ROME,

AND IT'S BUILT DIRECTLY ON TOP
OF THIS MITHRAS TEMPLE.

SO, WHY DO YOU THINK
THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

WAS BUILT ON TOP
OF THE MITHRAS CULT SITE?

NOW, WHAT I DO NOTICE
IS THE MITHRAS CULT FAILS,

WHEREAS THIS RELIGION,
CHRISTIANITY,

THRIVES IN THE CONTEXT
OF EMPIRE.

WHY? WHY WAS IT SO POPULAR?

UNLIKE THE EXCLUSIVE
MITHRAS CULT,

CHRISTIANITY WAS OPEN TO ANYONE.

AND FROM
THE 2nd TO 3rd CENTURIES,

IT SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE
THROUGH THE MEDITERRANEAN,

CREATING A SPLIT BETWEEN
BELIEVERS AND NONBELIEVERS...

US VERSUS THEM.

IT WAS A STRONG ECHO OF WHAT
HAD HAPPENED WITH EARLY JUDAISM.

CHRISTIANS ALSO BELIEVED
IN ONE TRUE GOD.

OUTSIDERS WHO DIDN'T EMBRACE
CHRISTIAN BELIEFS

WERE DUBBED HEATHENS
AND BECAME ASSOCIATED WITH EVIL.

EARLY CHRISTIANS,
LIKE THE JEWS BEFORE THEM,

CONNECTED NONBELIEVERS
WITH POLYTHEISM.

OVER THREE OR FOUR CENTURIES,
THESE FORBIDDEN GODS

WERE COMBINED INTO
A SINGLE MALEVOLENT BEING...

THE DEVIL.

NO ONE KNOWS
EXACTLY WHEN OR WHERE

THE ICONIC IMAGES WE RECOGNIZE
AS THE DEVIL FIRST APPEARED.

BUT MENACING BEHAVIORS
AND PHYSICAL TRAITS

WERE ADOPTED FROM A VARIETY
OF EARLIER GODS...

FEATURES LIKE THE SPLIT HOOVES
OF THE GREEK GOD PAN...

THE HORNS OF BOTH PAN
AND THE STORM GOD BAAL...

THE PITCHFORK
OF THE ROMAN DEITY NEPTUNE...

AND THE FORKED TAIL
OF THE EGYPTIAN GOD SETH.

ALL FEATURES EMBODIED IN THE
MODERN IMAGE OF PURE EVIL...

SATAN.

Cooney:
THE ANCIENT CITY OF EPHESUS

IS LOCATED ALONG THE WESTERN
COAST OF MODERN-DAY TURKEY.

EVEN TODAY,
WALKING AMONG THE RUINS,

I CAN IMAGINE THE CITY
WHEN IT WAS ALIVE.

MARBLE TEMPLES...

GRAND THEATERS...

SPRAWLING MARKETPLACES.

EVEN THE LIBRARY STILL SURVIVES.

ORIGINALLY A GREEK COLONY,

EPHESUS BECAME PART
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

IN THE 1st CENTURY B.C.E.

IT WAS ONE OF
THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN'S

BUSIEST PORT CITIES.

HERE, 150 YEARS LATER,

THE APOSTLE PAUL PREACHED
THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS.

IMAGINE THAT YOU'RE
IN 1st CENTURY C.E. EPHESUS,

TEEMING WITH ALL DIFFERENT
KINDS OF PEOPLE...

RICH, POOR, SLAVE, FREE,
MERCHANTS, MAGISTRATES.

PEOPLE HERE ARE WORSHIPING

A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT GODS
AND GODDESSES.

PAUL COMES HERE, AND HE PREACHES
THAT TO FOLLOW JESUS,

YOU HAVE TO DENY
ALL OF THESE OTHER FAITHS.

YOU HAVE TO ABANDON YOUR
LOCAL GODS AND FOLLOW ONLY ONE.

AND WHAT PAUL DOES IS HE PLACES
THEIR POLYTHEISTIC FAITH

INTO THE CATEGORY OF THE DEVIL.

ARCHAEOLOGIST HELMUT SCHWEIGER

HAS SPENT YEARS
EXCAVATING AT EPHESUS.

Cooney: SO, THIS THEATER
WOULD HAVE BEEN USED FOR...

USUALLY, THIS IS USED FOR
GATHERINGS OF THE CITIZENSHIP.

AND SO, IF YOU ARE
AN IMPORTANT PERSON,

THEN YOU CAN TALK THERE.

THIS WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN A PLACE

FOR PREACHING THE GOSPEL
OF JESUS IN ANY WAY.

NO, NO, NO.
AT THIS TIME, DEFINITELY NOT.

AND YOU THINK PAUL
WOULD HAVE COME HERE

TO SEE A THEATER, A SHOW?

FOR SURE, BECAUSE THIS IS
A VERY POPULAR PLACE.

USUALLY, THE WEALTHY PEOPLE
AND THE IMPORTANT PERSON...

THEY ARE DOWN
AT THE LOWER PLACES.

BUT PAUL WOULD HAVE BEEN UP HERE
IN THE CHEAP SEATS.

HE WOULD HAVE BEEN
PREACHING TO THE POOR.
YES.

HELMUT AND HIS TEAM ARE
CURRENTLY EXCAVATING AN AREA

JUST OUTSIDE THE THEATER EXIT.

THIS IS A SPOT WHERE PEOPLE
MAY HAVE TOSSED THEIR TRASH.

IT'S AMAZING TO THINK
THAT PAUL HIMSELF

MIGHT HAVE WALKED
THROUGH THIS EXIT.

HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVED IN THIS
PLACE WHEN PAUL CAME HERE?

WHEN THE CITY WAS AT ITS PEAK,
WE THINK ABOUT 300,000 PEOPLE.

SO, THIS PLACE IS HUGE.

IT'S THE PERFECT PLACE
FOR HIM TO PREACH.

Cooney: AND HE'S NOT JUST SAYING
YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW JESUS.

HE'S SAYING YOU HAVE TO
FOLLOW JESUS,

AND YOU HAVE TO DROP AND ABANDON
ALL OF THE OTHER CULTS.

YES, THERE IS JUST ONE GOD.

PAUL'S LESSONS FOCUS ON A KEY
ELEMENT OF SALVATION RELIGION...

THE TEMPTATION OF THE DEVIL
IN THIS LIFE.

THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME
IN HISTORY

THAT A SINGULAR EVIL
WAS BELIEVED TO TEMPT HUMANS.

THE DEVIL NOW HAD A ROLE
IN TESTING FAITH.

PEOPLE SAWS THEIR
EARTHLY EXISTENCE AS A TEST...

A CHOICE
BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND GOD.

IF YOU SURVIVED THIS LIFE

UNCORRUPTED BY SATAN
AND HIS PAGAN BELIEFS,

YOU WOULD GO ON TO AN AFTERLIFE

OF LIGHT AND LOVE
AND PERFECTION.

CHRISTIANITY WAS GAINING
MORE AND MORE CONVERTS.

BUT 200 YEARS PASSED

BEFORE THE ROMAN EMPERORS
RECOGNIZED THE POLITICAL POWER

OF THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE
OF GOOD VERSUS EVIL.

WHEN THEY DID, THEY EMBRACED
THE CONCEPT OF THE DEVIL,

AND CHRISTIANITY TOOK OFF.

800 MILES FROM EPHESUS STOOD
THE CENTER OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

IT WAS IN ROME ITSELF

THAT IMPERIAL
AND RELIGIOUS POWER

FORMED A NEW UNION THAT WOULD
FOREVER CHANGE THE WORLD.

IN THE 1st CENTURY B.C.E.,

ROMAN EMPERORS BUILT
WHAT, AT THE TIME,

WAS THE LARGEST DOMED STRUCTURE
IN THE WORLD.

THE PANTHEON WAS ORIGINALLY
ERECTED AS A POLYTHEISTIC TEMPLE

TO CELEBRATE THE PERFECTION
OF ALL GODS.

BUT HUNDREDS OF YEARS LATER,
IN 609,

IT WAS CONVERTED
INTO A CHRISTIAN CHURCH.

THERE'S STILL EVIDENCE
OF THE SWITCH

FROM THE ANCIENT ROMAN RELIGION
TO THE LATER CHRISTIAN BELIEFS.

I'M HERE TO MEET
ALESSANDRO CELANI,

A SCHOLAR OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY.

SO, THIS IS A TEMPLE
DEDICATED TO MANY GODS?

Celani: YEAH. THIS BUILDING
WAS THE FIRST PAGAN TEMPLE

THAT BECAME A CHURCH.

CAN YOU SHOW ME
SOME OF THE TRANSITION

BETWEEN THE POLYTHEISTIC...
THE ROMAN... AND THE CHRISTIAN?

FOR INSTANCE,
IN THIS STATUE HERE

THAT REPRESENTS THE VIRGIN MARY
WITH JESUS CHILD

WAS ORIGINALLY...
AS YOU CAN PROBABLY SEE

FROM THE LOWER PART
OF THE STATUE, A ROMAN STATUE...

IT WAS PROBABLY
ONE OF THE GODDESSES

WORSHIPED IN THIS TEMPLE.

IT HAS BEEN COMPLETELY RECARVED

TO BECOME THE VIRGIN AND JESUS.

SO, WHAT DID THE CHRISTIANS DO

ONCE CHRISTIANITY STARTED
TO TAKE HOLD OF THE CITIES,

WHAT DID THEY DO TO DRIVE
PAGANISM OUT OF THE WAY?

FIRST OF ALL,
THE VERY IMPORTANT STEP

IS CHRISTIANITY BECAME
THE OFFICIAL RELIGION

OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE...
THE STATE RELIGION.

AT THE SAME TIME, THE BISHOPS
AND THE POPE IN ROME...

THEY WERE SENDING MONKS
AND RELIGIOUS PEOPLE

TO THE COUNTRYSIDE

TO CONVERT INTO CHRISTIANITY
THE LOCALS.

AND PART OF THE CONVERSION
WAS TO SCARE PEOPLE

BY TELLING THEM
THAT ALL OF THE GODS

THAT THEY HAD BEEN WORSHIPING

ARE DEMONS OR ASSOCIATED
WITH THE DEVIL.

YEAH, THERE WAS
A VERY STRONG DEBATE

ABOUT TRUE GOD AND FAKE DEMONS

IN THE VERY EARLY CHRISTIANITY.

SO, PROBABLY THEY WERE USING
THIS ARGUMENT

TO BRING PEOPLE
INTO THE FAMILY OF CHRISTIANITY,

SHOWING, FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE,
THE RIGHT WAY.

SO, WHY WAS CHRISTIANITY
SO SUCCESSFUL?

WHY WAS IT SO EASY TO MOVE
THE PAGAN OUT OF THE WAY?

THERE WAS A GREAT EXPECTATION
OF NEW RELIGIONS

THAT COULD GIVE TO VERY COMMON
PEOPLE VERY SIMPLE ANSWERS...

IN GREAT PART, EXPECTATIONS
OF LIFE AFTER THE DEATH...

RESURRECTION OR ETERNAL LIFE.

IT'S SIMPLIFIED... YOU NOW HAVE
TWO WAYS THAT YOU CAN GO.

YOU NOW HAVE ONE TRUE GOD

AND THEN ITS ANTITHESIS...
THE DEVIL.

YOU'RE EITHER CHRISTIAN
OR YOU'RE EVIL.

YES, YES.

BY THE 4th CENTURY,

THE COMBINED POWER

OF CHRISTIANITY
AND THE ROMAN EMPIRE

HAD SUCCESSFULLY SPREAD
THIS NEW BELIEF SYSTEM

ACROSS THE MEDITERRANEAN.

YOU WERE EITHER WITH THEM
OR AGAINST THEM...

A BELIEVER IN THE EMPIRE
AND THE CHURCH...

OR A CONSORT OF THE DEVIL.

AND THE BATTLE AGAINST EVIL
WOULD BE EMBRACED

BY ANOTHER FAST-GROWING,
MONOTHEISTIC RELIGION...

ISLAM.

[ MAN CHANTING
IN NATIVE LANGUAGE ]

Cooney:
THIS IS THE SULTAN AHMET MOSQUE,

BETTER KNOWN AS THE BLUE MOSQUE,

BUILT BETWEEN 1609 AND 1616
IN ISTANBUL,

WHEN IT WAS THE CAPITAL
OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE.

THE MOSQUE GETS ITS NICKNAME NOT
FROM THE OUTSIDE APPEARANCE...

BUT FROM THE NEARLY 20,000
BLUE TILES

THAT ADORN ITS INTERIOR.

I'VE COME HERE TO MEET
MEHMET IYE, A QUR'ANIC SCHOLAR.

Cooney:
SO, I GREW UP ROMAN CATHOLIC,
AND IN THAT FAITH,

EVIL IS PERSONIFIED
IN ONE BEING... THE DEVIL.

IS IT THE SAME IN ISLAM?

I CAN MAKE SOME SIMPLE,
BASIC COMPARISONS,

LOOKING AT THE BIBLE
AND THE QUR'AN.

BOTH RELIGIONS SEE SATAN
AS AN EVIL ENTITY

AND THE TEMPTER OF MANKIND.

AND THAT'S WHAT "SATAN" MEANS...
"ADVERSARY"?

YES, AND HE IS SOMEONE

WHO LEADS PEOPLE TO GO ASTRAY
IN BOTH RELIGIONS.

BUT IN ISLAM, SATAN IS NOT
REGARDED AS THE ENEMY OF GOD.

SATAN IS THE ENEMY OF MANKIND,

BECAUSE GOD IS TOO HIGH
TO HAVE AN ENEMY.

TO COMBAT EVIL,
WHAT DOES A MUSLIM DO?

WE MAKE JIHAD.

BUT I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT
THE CONCEPT OF JIHAD

WHICH IS DEPICTED
IN THE WESTERN MEDIA.

"JIHAD" LITERALLY MEANS

TO STRUGGLE TO THE UTMOST
OF ONE'S ABILITY TO PLEASE GOD.

AND THERE IS A SAYING
OF THE PROPHET WHICH GOES,

"THE MOST EXCELLENT TYPE
OF JIHAD

IS THE JIHAD THAT YOU MAKE
AGAINST YOUR OWN DESIRES."

SO, SATAN IS
CONSTANTLY TESTING YOU.
YES.

ALL MANKIND IS ACCOMPANIED

WITH AN ANGEL AND A SATAN.

WHEN AN ANGEL TRIES TO LEAD HIM
TO THE RIGHT PATH,

SATAN TRIES TO MISGUIDE HIM.

THERE'S THE SAME
CHRISTIAN BELIEF...

THAT YOU HAVE AN ANGEL
ON ONE SHOULDER AND A
DEVIL ON THE OTHER.

ANGEL IS ON THE RIGHT SIDE,

AND THE DEVIL... SATAN...
IS ON THE LEFT SIDE.

IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME.
EXACTLY THE SAME.

ISLAM...

CHRISTIANITY...

AND JUDAISM ALL PROMOTED
AN "US VERSUS THEM" MENTALITY.

THIS CREATED NEW PROBLEMS

IN THE WAY THAT PEOPLE
INTERACTED WITH ONE ANOTHER.

CHRISTIANS THOUGHT
JEWS WERE WRONG

FOR NOT ACCEPTING
THE TRUE MESSIAH.

MUSLIMS REJECTED THE RELIGION
OF THE CHRISTIANS

BECAUSE, TO THEM,
CHRISTIANS WERE STILL WORSHIPING

MORE THAN ONE GOD... THE FATHER,
SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT.

THESE NEW RELIGIONS WERE,
BY THEIR VERY NATURE,

INTOLERANT
OF OTHER BELIEF SYSTEMS.

ALL THREE MAJOR
MONOTHEISTIC FAITHS

ADDED A DEVIL FIGURE
TO THEIR SACRED TEXTS.

THE DEVIL TESTED DEVOTION
AND STRUCK FEAR INTO THOSE

WHO WANDERED
FROM THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW.

3,000 YEARS AGO,
NO ONE HAD A CONCEPT OF SATAN.

BUT THEN THE OLD GODS

OF VIOLENT POWER
AND SEXUAL APPETITE

CONVERGED
INTO A PROFOUND EVIL FORCE

BELIEVED TO HAVE THE POWER

TO TAKE OVER HUMAN HEARTS,
SOULS, AND MINDS.

THE NEW MONOTHEISTIC RELIGIONS
BEGAN TO TAKE SHAPE,

ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO THINK
IN TERMS OF BLACK AND WHITE,

GOOD AND EVIL.

AND THE DEVIL WAS BORN.