84 Quotes by Bettany Hughes

A lot of the clothes I wear on telly are second-hand.

Name the 10 most influential men in history and the debate can rage for hours; when it comes to women, after number six or seven many start to grope around for inspiration.

Of all the human figurines discovered so far from 30,000-3,000BC, 92% are of the female form. This is not to say there was any kind of matriarchy or worship of a mother goddess - far from it - but women are conspicuous by their presence.

Slipping down into the bedrock 100m inside the partially excavated tomb of Pharaoh Senwosret at Abydos, I really thought I was going to die. Oxygen levels are dangerously low and, with over 90 per cent humidity, it was hard to breathe - we were all drenched with sweat.

Nefertiti is lovely, but we should use our wit and will to look beyond that beautiful face to discover and to enjoy a more satisfying narrative - the story of mankind, not just of man.

Rumour, gossip, slander - single drops of poison can pollute an entire system.

At the birth of society and civilisation I find a religious landscape littered with feisty female deities who make wisdom their business.

A journey through the Mediterranean is not only inspiring and stimulating, it is also humbling. The men and women who created antique treasures for us to marvel at had to deal with plague, genocide, a world without writing, iron tools, or penicillin - and yet they made something extraordinary of their life and times.

To me that is what the Odyssey is all about, it's about being in the world and unexpected challenges and dangers are thrown at you.