Adam and Eve
The Ancients
History Hit
4.7 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 1 February 2026
⏱️ 60 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Adam and Eve: parents of humanity, or characters in a Near Eastern myth about wisdom, mortality, and the limits of being human?
Tristan Hughes and Dr Dylan Johnson strip away the Sunday school varnish to re-examine the story of Adam and Eve, starting with the question: was there really an apple? They discuss the origins and multiple layers of the story, try and pinpoint where Eden might have been located, and trace the tale of lost immortality that echoes through the legends of Gilgamesh, Sumerian rivers, and the earliest biblical texts
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Watch this episode on our NEW YouTube channel: @TheAncientsPodcast
Presented by Tristan Hughes. Audio editor is Aidan Lonergan. The producer is Joseph Knight. The senior producer is Anne-Marie Luff.
All music courtesy of Epidemic Sounds
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Ever wondered why the Romans were defeated in the Tudorburg forest? |
| 0:04.0 | What secrets lie buried in prehistoric Ireland? |
| 0:07.0 | Or what made Alexander truly great? |
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| 0:22.9 | covering everything from the ancient world to World War II. Just visit historyhit.com slash subscribe. |
| 0:30.7 | Hey, I hope you're doing well and welcome to this latest episode of The Ancients. I'm just |
| 0:36.2 | right next to my kitchen and making a cup of tea |
| 0:38.5 | as I do this. And today we are delving deep into that famous creation story that is that of |
| 0:45.5 | Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden. Naturally, as we do always on the ancients, when we cover an |
| 0:51.0 | Old Testament story, we'll be exploring the ancient historical context behind this |
| 0:56.6 | tale linked to Mesopotamia, lots of different themes. One that I found fascinating in this chat |
| 1:02.0 | is that of immortality and whether Adam and Eve were they created mortal or immortal. That and so much |
| 1:09.0 | more is all to come. I really enjoyed this chat with Dr. Dylan |
| 1:13.2 | Johnson, a returning guest, a good friend of mine, who is a lecturer in ancient near Eastern |
| 1:18.2 | history at Cardiff University. Let's get into the episode. Adam and Eve, the parents of the human race, formed from Earth's dust, a divine breath, |
| 1:41.2 | a stolen rib. A pair of innocence, that is, until Eve, tempted by the |
| 1:47.5 | evil serpent, ate the forbidden fruit. Their transgression was met with bitter punishment from God. |
| 1:54.0 | The daughters of Eve were condemned to pain in childbirth, and their sons of Adam would |
| 1:58.5 | forever toil and sweat over the accursed ground for food. |
| 2:02.4 | We all know the story, but strip away the version you might have learned in Sunday school |
| 2:06.8 | and what is left is a dark myth with deep links to the ancient world. |
... |
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