Discovery Channel - Out of Egypt (2009) Part 5 Sacred Violence

Secret societies, ritual sacrifice, brutal religious edicts, macabre burials. How are ancient civilizations linked together and what does it say about human instinct? Join Dr Kara Cooney, UCLA Professor of Egyptian Art and Architecture, as she visits tombs and temples around the world bringing an exciting new perspective to the most fascinating riddles in history.

Part 5: Sacred Violence

At the front of nearly every ancient Egyptian temple stands a stone wall, decorated with a massive depiction of the king crushing his enemies with a stone mace. This brutal imagery played a central role in the ancient Egyptian religion, believed to magically protect the temple from the forces of chaos. But Egyptologist Dr. Kara Cooney explains that this isn't unique. Be they human sacrifice at an Aztec pyramid, burning witches in Salem or the torture chambers of the Spanish Inquisition, she demonstrates that acts of violence have continued to be a fundamental part of religious belief for millennia.

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