This is Bird Note.

The modern chicken, a descendant of the Red Jungle Fowl, was domesticated thousands

of years ago.

But chickens haven't always just been farm animals.

During the Iron Age, the roosters' morning call became a symbol for chickens' divine

connection to the sun.

In the city of Babylon, which is in modern-day Iraq, historical illustrations show priests

worshipping chickens set upon pedestals.

In the Zoroastrian religion and in Greek mythology, chickens were considered sacred, responsible

for bringing light to the world.

When chickens made their way to Europe, they were considered exotic and even holy.

Julius Caesar wrote that the Britons consider it contrary to divine law, to eat the

hair, the chicken, or the goose.

Archaeologists even found some of the first chickens in Europe buried alongside people.

In the Roman Empire, chickens were farmed and eaten, but when the population fell around

BCE 400, they regained their divine status.

In the 9th century, Pope Nicholas I ordered that rooster figures be placed atop church

steeples, in honor of the many biblical references to the species.

Today, the chicken's sacred status lives on in artwork, in holiday traditions, and in

our admiration for these common but fascinating creatures.

For Bird Note, I'm Michael Stein.