Fire and State

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Many societies have seen the mesmerizing phenomenon of fire as a symbol of the divine. Neil MacGregor focuses on sacred fire which comes to represent the state itself: the perpetual fire in the Temple of Vesta in ancient Rome, the great Parsi fire temple in Udvada, India, and 'la Flamme de la Nation', the Flame of the Nation, constantly burning beneath the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Neil MacGregor, former director of the British Museum, uses objects from the Museum’s collections, and visits locations around the world, to examine how shared beliefs have shaped societies around the world, from the very earliest days of humanity. (Photo: The eternal flame at the tomb of the unknown soldier beneath Arc de Triomphe, Paris. Credit: Jacques Demarthon/AFP)