" Cradle of Civilization " and THE EXORCIST

      For a baby boomer letter writer in the Boston Globe today the magic

    phrase " cradle of civilization " takes him back to an old school building

    in 1959. Yes, they did teach Ancient History back then and what pupil

    -even half awake in the dingy old school room - can forget the significance

    of " the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers -now modern  Iraq " ?

    I can almost SMELL the old textbook : " History of Western Civilization ".

    A copy of it is probably still around  gathering dust in some obscure

    section of the public library.

              There was nothing smug about that discredited course. In the

    spirit of the Greek Historian Herodotus it was lively, interesting,

    sympathetic and cosmopolitan -giving credit where it is due, finding

    VIRTUE even in the barbarian. A contagious thought : " Isn't the world

    an interesting place ? "

              But " modern Iraq " I also associate with the Peter Blatty

    horror story " The Exorcist " .The movie begins at an archaeological dig

    in Iraq. Father Merrin has just found a small , gargoyle-like statuette.

     " Suddenly an eerie wind begins to blow, and dogs begin fighting among

    themselves... a demonic force has been loosed upon the world "

            Once again " ancient evil manifests itself ". ( Magill's

    Survey of Cinema  )

              I'll bet that hideous gargoyle was recently stolen from

    the Museum of Iraq. Its new possessor - the next Saddam ?

                  What was the name of the ancient god of Darkness ? I'll

    check the old textbook on " Ancient History ".