The British Museum’s Babylon: Myth and Reality

For many Londoners the ascendancy of sin, exaltation of deviltry, incurrence of the wrath of God, fall of man and the crumbling of a once great empire is but the chronicle of any given inebriated Friday night out in Soho. For those of us however who have either a keen interest in ancient world history or, as is more often the case, a keen interest in appearing sophisticated and scholarly, this is the saga of Babylon, the subject of the current exhibition Babylon: Myth and Reality at the British Museum.

The legend of Babylon has suffused history with some lasting images; the Ancient Wonder of the Hanging Gardens, the Ziggurat, the mighty Tower of Babel, the feeding of the Prophet Daniel to the lions, the Feast of Belshazzar, the Writing on the Wall, the Whore of Babylon, the Jewish Exile and the cruel reign of King Nebuchadnezzar.

For two thousand years writers, philosophers, poets and artists have embellished Old Testament accounts with their own visions of this once great holy seat of the Babylonian dynasties, forever defiling its name with stories of its terrible decadence, idolatry and pride. Herodotus wrote about it; the Koran describes it; William Blake painted it. Even David Gray sang about it.

This excellent exhibition succeeds in revealing the historical truth of Babylon whilst still upholding the wonder of these many stories. Many of the artefacts are remarkable, particularly the wall sections of the massive Processional Way and Ishtar Gate, recovered and restored by German archaeologists in the 1930s and reconstructed fully at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

Most pertinent are the displays of recent history; the creation of the Iraqi state in 1918 and the atrocities that continue to afflict the region. The effects of Saddam Hussein’s attempts to rebuild the city, to model himself as the heir to the great kings of old are revealed, as is the damage caused by the American army camp set up, rather unbelievably, upon the ancient ruins.

The strength of the exhibition lies in its simplicity. It is both compact – no arduous treks through endless corridors and dusty halls here – and informative. Artefacts are combined with diagrams, models, paintings, audio recordings and videos to paint a rich and engaging picture of Babylon and its legacy. Could you get away with calling it fun? Well…at least you’ll feel sophisticated and scholarly.

Babylon: Myth and Reality Exhibition runs until March 15
British Museum
Great Russell Street
Bloomsbury WC1B 3DG

Tel: 020 7323 8181

Admission £8, concessions available