Stefan Brill

He who saw the abyss Stefan Brill

The Bible as the foundation of the Christian faith, Greek philosophy as the basis of thought, the Age of Enlightenment as the basis of scientific knowledge - the three pillars of today's view of the world. That philosophy began with the ancient Greeks is just as invented as the myth of the Sea Peoples, who ushered in the end of the Bronze Age. Nor does the story of the Flood originate from the Bible. The Age of Enlightenment not only destroyed a medieval view of the world, but at the same time created new myths that are rarely questioned even today. With a good portion of irony, the stories are scrutinised and filleted. Where they come from and since when they have been told holds the one or other surprise. We accompany the first archaeologists to Nineveh and take part in a Greek symposium with Herodotus. We meet Rousseau in Annecy and learn what 'Haute Cousine' and 'Guillotine' have in common. We attend Hegel's lectures in Berlin and accompany Wallace to Borneo. From Noah to Kant, from Uruk to Ulm, from Cinderella to flying orangutans, the stories are so numerous that one or two souvenirs are likely to remain from this journey through time.