---
title: "3 Central Quotes By Neil MacGregor"
description: "3 Central quotes by Neil MacGregor. Plus more from Neil MacGregor and more Central sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/neil-macgregor-16366_alongside_creation-stories-so-central-in-the-relig_766359.jpg"
---

> [Creation stories, so central in the religions of the Middle East, play a surprisingly marginal part in Greek myth. The Greeks had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/creation-stories-so-central-in-the-religions-of-the-middle-east-play/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/925/neil-macgregor-16366_alongside_creation-stories-so-central-in-the-relig_766359.jpg)

> [The collapse of the Tower of Babel is perhaps the central urban myth. It is certainly the most disquieting. In Babylon, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/the-collapse-of-the-tower-of-babel-is-perhaps-the-central-urban-myth/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d5/neil-macgregor-16366_babylon_the-collapse-of-the-tower-of-babel-is-pe_1009388.jpg)

> [Hardest of all for Europeans to negotiate are traditional African religions, whose transactions with unseen powers are central to the running of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/hardest-of-all-for-europeans-to-negotiate-are-traditional-african/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57e/neil-macgregor-16366_africa_hardest-of-all-for-europeans-to-negotiat_2376621.png)

## Other authors on Central

## More by Neil MacGregor

> [“And the more you look at the history of Homo sapiens, it’s all about movement, right from the very first time they decided to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/and-the-more-you-look-at-the-history-of-homo-sapiens-it-s-all-about/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

> [In the world of the Middle East at the moment, the debates are shrill. But ... the wisest voice of all of them may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/in-the-world-of-the-middle-east-at-the-moment-the-debates-are-shrill/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

> [The focus in the Western pictorial tradition is on the body of Christ, the bit you can paint, the Nativity and the infancy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/the-focus-in-the-western-pictorial-tradition-is-on-the-body-of-christ/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

> [For the Greeks, there was no single canonical version of creation, but a number of overlapping stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/for-the-greeks-there-was-no-single-canonical-version-of-creation-but/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

> [The deciphering of ancient scripts changed forever the way Europeans were able to imagine the story of humanity, destroying centuries of received authority about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/the-deciphering-of-ancient-scripts-changed-forever-the-way-europeans/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

> [Objects are better than text at conveying narrative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/objects-are-better-than-text-at-conveying-narrative/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

> [The distinction between a gallery and a museum is enormous. The gallery is about looking at a thing of beauty; the purpose of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/the-distinction-between-a-gallery-and-a-museum-is-enormous-the/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

> [While there are few records of Viking women participating in battle, they certainly held positions of high status in society as human sorceresses known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/while-there-are-few-records-of-viking-women-participating-in-battle/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

> [“Gold was the attribute of the great Inca sun god and represented his generative powers – gold was described as the ‘sweat of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/gold-was-the-attribute-of-the-great-inca-sun-god-and-represented-his/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

> [Creation stories, so central in the religions of the Middle East, play a surprisingly marginal part in Greek myth. The Greeks had nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/creation-stories-so-central-in-the-religions-of-the-middle-east-play/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

> [The collapse of the Tower of Babel is perhaps the central urban myth. It is certainly the most disquieting. In Babylon, the great city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/the-collapse-of-the-tower-of-babel-is-perhaps-the-central-urban-myth/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

> [The spread of Viking bling is a good indication of the spread of its culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/the-spread-of-viking-bling-is-a-good-indication-of-the-spread-of-its/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

> [Our collective memories are welcoming places, and one image, that of Jesus, has absorbed and appropriated elements of other traditions and aspirations in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/our-collective-memories-are-welcoming-places-and-one-image-that-of/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

> [The things we make have one supreme quality - they live longer than us. We perish, they survive; we have one life, they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/the-things-we-make-have-one-supreme-quality-they-live-longer-than-us/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

> [In 1600, when Shakespeare's audience at the Globe heard 'Hamlet' for the first time, every one of them knew very well what it meant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-macgregor/in-1600-when-shakespeare-s-audience-at-the-globe-heard-hamlet-for-the/)

[Neil MacGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-macgregor/)

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