---
title: "1 Tower Babel Quotes By Neil MacGregor"
description: "1 Tower Babel quotes by Neil MacGregor. Plus more from Neil MacGregor and more Tower Babel sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5d5/neil-macgregor-16366_babylon_the-collapse-of-the-tower-of-babel-is-pe_1009388.jpg"
---

> [The collapse of the Tower of Babel is perhaps the central urban myth. It is certainly the most disquieting. In Babylon, the great city that fascinated and horrified the Biblical writers, people of different races and languages, drawn together in…](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)

## 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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