The British Museum currently has a free exhibition offering a cultural comparison of the Indian god Vishnu, the ancient Egyptian goddess Sekhmet and the Roman god Bacchus (or Greek Dionysos). The main display puts statues of the three deities side by side. You can see them in the photo above, which I took earlier this week.
The exhibition is called Mumbai + London - New Perspectives on the Ancient World. As the description says: "It reflects the varied ways ancient civilisations imagined the divine and gave it physical form."
I liked the way that the display and information prompts visitors to look at how deities have been portrayed, including mingling human and animal features, or offering an idealised view of humanh perfection.
However, I tutted at the innacuracy of some of the information offered, which read: "While the gods of ancient Egypt, the Greek world and Rome are no longer worshipped, India has maintained its traditions of sacred sculpture and religious practice." I feel it would be more accurate to say that although there hasn't been continuous, uninterrupted worship of the gods of ancient Egypt, the Greek world and Rome, some pagans today have revived the practice.
Mumbai + London runs until 11 January 2026 and can be found in room 3 at the British Museum, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3DG. https://www.britishmuseum.org/exhibitions/mumbai-london-new-perspectives-ancient-world
Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2025/05/british-museum-exhibits-ancient-india.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2023/11/pagan-eye-divination-at-bm-myanmar.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2022/04/exhibition-feminine-power-divine-to.html
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