European Nutrition And Health Report 2004 1st Edition Ibrahim Elmadfa

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European Nutrition And Health Report 2004 1st Edition Ibrahim Elmadfa
European Nutrition And Health Report 2004 1st Edition Ibrahim Elmadfa
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Forum of Nutrition
(formerly Bibliotheca Nutritio et Dieta)
Editor: I. Elmadfa
Vol. 58
European
Nutrition and
Health Report
2004
Editors
I. Elmadfa
E. Weichselbaum

European Nutrition and Health Report 2004

Forum of Nutrition
Vol.58
Series Editor
Ibrahim ElmadfaVienna
The European Nutrition and Health Report project has been financially supported by the European
Commission (EC), Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General, Directorate C – Public Health
and Risk Assessment – within the Health Monitoring Programme (Grant agreement No SPC.2002356).
However, neither the EC nor any person acting on its behalf is liable for any use made of the information
available in this report.

European Nutrition and
Health Report 2004
Volume Editors
Ibrahim ElmadfaVienna
Elisabeth WeichselbaumVienna
80 figures and 233 tables, 2005
Authors
Elmadfa I, Weichselbaum E, König JAustria
Remaut de Winter A-MBelgium
Trolle EDenmark
Haapala I, Uusitalo UFinland
Mennen L, Hercberg SFrance
Wolfram GGermany
Trichopoulou A, Naska A, Benetou V, Kritsellis EGreece
Rodler I, Zajkás GHungary
Branca F, D’Acapito PItaly
Klepp K-I, Ali-Madar ANorway
De Almeida MDV, Alves E, Rodrigues SPortugal
Sarra-Majem L, Roman BSpain
Sjöström M, Poortvliet ESweden
Margetts BUK
Basel · Freiburg · Paris · London · New York ·
Bangalore · Bangkok · Singapore · Tokyo · Sydney

Ibrahim Elmadfa Elisabeth Weichselbaum
Institute of Nutritional Sciences Institute of Nutritional Sciences
University of Vienna University of Vienna
Vienna, Austria Vienna, Austria
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
European nutrition and health report / Elmadfa, I. ... [et al.].
p. ; cm. – (Forum of nutrition ; v. 58)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
European Commission, Health and Consumer Protection Directorate-General
No. SPC.2002356
ISBN 3-8055-7905-5 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Nutrition–Europe. 2. Public health–Europe.
[DNLM: 1. Nutrition Surveys–Europe. 2. Food Supply–statistics &
numerical data–Europe. 3. Health Status–Europe. ] I. Elmadfa, I. II.
European Commission. Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection.
III. Series.
RA601.E976 2005
363.8S094–dc22
2005001665
Bibliographic Indices. This publication is listed in bibliographic serv-
ices, including Current Contents
®
and Index Medicus.
Drug Dosage. The authors and the publisher have exerted every effort
to ensure that drug selection and dosage set forth in this text are in accord
with current recommendations and practice at the time of publication.
However, in view of ongoing research, changes in government regula-
tions, and the constant flow of information relating to drug therapy and
drug reactions, the reader is urged to check the package insert for each
drug for any change in indications and dosage and for added warnings and
precautions. This is particularly important when the recommended agent
is a new and/or infrequently employed drug.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be translated into
other languages, reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means elec-
tronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, microscopying,
or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher.
© Copyright 2005 by European Commission, Health and
Consumer Protection, Directorate-General
Printed on acid-free paper
www.karger.com
ISSN 1660–0347
ISBN 3–8055–7905–5

V
Contents
VII List of Abbreviations
VIII List of Participants
IX Introduction
XI Executive Summary
XVI Outlook
1Trends of Average Food Supply in the European Union
12 Food Availability at the Household Level in the European Union
19 Energy and Nutrient Intake in the European Union
19Energy and Nutrient Intake in European Children
25Energy and Nutrient Intake in European Adolescents
32Energy and Nutrient Intake in European Adults
41Energy and Nutrient Intake in European Elderly
47Health Indicators and Status in the European Union
47Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity
49Blood Lipids
51Mortality
54Morbidity
56Physical Activity
60Smoking
62 General Discussion
66 Annexes
66Illustrations of Food Supply Data, Based on FBS Data
76Annex DAFNE Project
80National Reports
80 Austria
96 Belgium
99 Denmark
111 Finland
119 France
124 Germany
133 Greece
150 Hungary
162 Italy

ContentsVI
167 Norway
173 Portugal
176 Spain
197 Sweden
204 United Kingdom
213 References
221Subject Index

VII
A Austria
B Belgium
BMI Body mass index (body weight in kg/body height in m
2
)
CHO Carbohydrates
D Germany
DK Denmark
DAFNE Data Food Networking project
E Spain
%E % of total energy
F France
FAO Food and Agriculture Organization
FBS Food balance sheets
FFQ Food frequency questionnaire
FIN Finland
GR Greece
H Hungary
HBS Household budget surveys
I Italy
MUFA Monounsaturated fatty acids
N Norway
NSPNon-starch polysaccharides
PPortugal
PUFA Polyunsaturated fatty acids
S Sweden
SCF Scientific Committee of Food
SD Standard deviation
SFA Saturated fatty acids
UK United Kingdom
WHO World Health Organization
List of Abbreviations

VIII
Coordinator of the
European Nutrition and Health Report
Ibrahim Elmadfa
Coordinating Centre
Ibrahim Elmadfa, Elisabeth Weichselbaum, Jürgen König
Institute of Nutritional Sciences
University of Vienna, Austria
Partners
Anne-Marie Remaut de Winter
Nutrition Unit, Faculty of Agricultural and
Applied Biological Sciences
University of Gent, Belgium
Ellen Trolle
Danish Inst. for Food and Vet. Research
Copenhagen, Denmark
Irja Haapala, Ulla Uusitalo
Department of Public Health and General Practice
University of Kuopio, Finland
Louise Mennen, Serge Hercberg
Institut Scientifique et Technique de la Nutrition et
l’Alimentation Paris, France
Günther Wolfram
Department für Lebensmittel und Ernährung der TU
München Weihenstephan, Germany
Antonia Trichopoulou, Androniki Naska, Vassiliki Benetou,
Elena Kritsellis
Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology
School of Medicine
University of Athens, Greece
Imre Rodler, Gábor Zajkás
National Institute of Food Hygiene and Nutrition
Budapest, Hungary
Francesco Branca, Paola D’Acapito
National Institute of Research on Food and Nutrition
Human Nutrition Unit
Roma, Italy
Knut-Inge Klepp, Ahmed Ali-Madar
Department of Nutrition
Faculty of Medicine
University of Oslo, Norway
Maria Daniel Vaz de Almeida, Elsa Alves, Sara Rodrigues
Faculty of Nutrition and Food Sciences
Porto University, Portugal
Lluis Serra Majem, Blanca Roman
Department of Clinical Sciences
University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Nutrition Research Foundation (FIN)
Barcelona, Spain
Michael Sjöström, Eric Poortvliet
PrevNut at Novum
Karolinska Institutet
Huddinge, Sweden
Barrie Margetts
Public Health Nutrition
Institute of Human Nutrition
University of Southampton, UK
List of Participants

IX
Introduction
The European Nutrition and Health Report, funded by the
European Commission, is the first report combining health
and nutrition data from European countries. Thirteen coun-
tries of the European Union and Norway expressed their
interest in participating in this project. These countries of the
EU are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United
Kingdom and Hungary which was included in the very last
minute replacing Ireland. Thus it is the first and only new
member state of the European Union (EU) included in a proj-
ect which was designed to cover the European Union before
May 2004. The Institute of Nutritional Sciences of the
University of Vienna (Austria) acted as coordinating centre
of this project under the supervision of Prof. Ibrahim
Elmadfa. The main task of the participating countries was the
collection of national data. These data were then forwarded
to the coordinating centre. Where necessary, the data set was
transferred into another format by the coordinating centre,
which was responsible for the preparation of the final report.
The main goals of this report were
• the compilation of available food and nutrient intake and
health data,
• the identification of major nutrition and health problems
in the participating countries and the EU regions,
• the identification of inadequacies of data collected in the
participating countries, which would make a comparabil-
ity of the collected data difficult.
In the chapter, Trends of Average Food Supply in the
European Union, data from food balance sheets (FBS) of the
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) were used. In this
chapter food supply trends in the participating countries dur-
ing the past four decades are presented. These data were
downloaded from the FAO database (http://faostat.fao.org/
faostat/collections, FAO 2003) and transformed by the coor-
dinating centre.
The chapter, Food Availability at the Household Level in
the European Uniondealt with the food availability data at
the household level, obtained through house-hold budget sur-
veys (HBS) of the participating countries. It was prepared by
the coordinating centre of the DAFNE (Data Food
Networking) project under the supervision of Prof. Antonia
Trichopoulou, University of Athens.
In the chapter, Energy and Nutrient Intake in the
European Union, national nutrient intake data from all par-
ticipating countries are presented. Each participant had to
collect these data which were brought into a consolidated
form by the coordinating centre. Data were available for chil-
dren, adolescents, adults and elderly. Only a few countries
had intake data of other population groups (e.g. pregnant and
lactating women, athletes) which are thus not included in this
chapter, but presented in the national reports (see annex,
National Reports).
It has to be mentioned that the references used in this
report are sometimes not up to date (e.g. the recommenda-
tions of the SCF), but were still taken as clues when no other
more recent reference values, at a European level, were not
available.
The chapter, Health Indicators and Status in the European
Union, consists of national data as well. The amount and kind
of data concerning health issues was varying. Thus, for some
parts (e.g. Mortality and Morbidity), data from other organi-
sations or statistical centres (e.g. WHO, Globocan 2000)
were taken.
In the annex a national report of each participating coun-
try is included. These national reports provide more detailed
nutrition and health data of the participating countries.

IntroductionX
This report should not only compile data from the partici-
pating European countries, but should be an impulse for
future projects in the area of nutrition and health. It should
serve as a basis for improvements and for the planning of
such future projects. Further, it shows what still has to be
done in order to obtain comparable and representative data.
Acknowledgement
The excellent and patient editorial assistance of Dr. Lisa Kessler
in the preparation of this manuscript is acknowledged.

XI
Executive Summary
Trends of Food Supply in the European
Union, on the Basis of the
FAO Food Balance Sheets
• In the EU the average per capita supply of fruit and veg-
etables increased between 1961 and 2001. This increasing
tendency was observed in the whole EU and also in each
participating country. The highest supplies of vegetables
were observed in countries of South Europe.
• The mean potatoes and cereal supply decreased during the
observation period.
• An increase was observed in the supply of sugar and sweet-
eners in the EU. However, the UK and Finland showed
considerable decreases in the supply of this food group.
• The supply of pulses hardly changed in the EU average.
The countries with the highest initial values showed in gen-
eral a decrease in pulses supply. The highest per capita sup-
plies of pulses were found in countries of South Europe.
• The mean supply of oilcrops in the EU showed an increasing
tendency. The highest increase but also the highest supply –
the 4-fold of the EU average – was found in Greece.
• The average per capita supply of vegetable oils increased
in the EU during the past four decades. This trend was also
observed in most participating countries. Here again, the
highest per capita supplies were found in countries of
South Europe (Spain, Greece and Italy). In these countries
the high supply of vegetable oils is primarily determined
by the generally high supply and consumption of olive oil
in Mediterranean regions.
• In contrast to the increasing supply of vegetable fats, the
average per capita supply of animal fats did not show any
noticeable changes, only a slight increase was observed.
• In general, the total supply of meat increased in the EU
average, but also in each participating country. Only the
UK showed a decrease in the supply of nearly all meat
varieties, except for poultry. Especially the supply of poul-
try showed a noticeable increase in the EU and all partici-
pating countries, but also the supply of red meat showed
an increasing tendency. However, the mean supply of
bovine meat in the EU in 2001 was about as high as it was
in 1961. It showed an increasing tendency until the early
1990s and a decrease in the following years. The reason
for this was probably the appearance of BSE (Bovine
Spongiform Encephalopathy). Also the supply of mutton
and goat did hardly change in the EU average.
• The average supply of fish and seafood in the EU
increased during the observation period. The lowest sup-
plies were found in countries of Central Europe.
1
The 15 member states of the EU before May 2004.
–In the EU
1
, an increase in per capita supply during the
past four decades was observed for fruit, vegetables,
sugar and sweeteners, oilcrops, vegetable oils, animal
fats, red meat, poultry, fish and seafood, milk (exclud-
ing butter), eggs and beer.
–The average supply of potatoes, cereals and wine
showed a decrease, that of pulses stayed at a relatively
consistent level.
–Despite an increasing tendency in vegetable and fruit
supply, the current supply situation cannot be regarded
as sufficient.
–The average supply of meat is high in the participating
countries.
–The proportion of fat in total energy supply increased
during the past four decades.
–The average supply of total carbohydrates decreased,
with a simultaneous increase of sugar and sweeteners.

Executive SummaryXII
• Also the mean supply of milk and milk products in the EU
increased in the past four decades.
• The supply of beer increased on average during the obser-
vation period, whereas the average supply of wine showed
a decreasing tendency.
• The total energy supply increased in the EU from 14.6 to
17.1 MJ/capita/day and was thus clearly sufficient.
• In the period of 1997–1999 the proportion of animal prod-
ucts in total energy supply was 28% and that of plant
products 72%. The energy supply of animal products
increased in the period of 1967–1999 by 8%, that of plant
products increased by 14%.
• The average absolute energy, fat and protein per capita
supply in the EU increased during the period of 1961–
2001. The relative share of protein and alcohol in total
energy supply remained at a consistent level (14 and 2 %E,
respectively). The proportion of fat increased from 34 to
41 %E, that of carbohydrates decreased from 50 to 43 %E.
• The data derived from FAO food balance sheets often dif-
fer from nationally published data.
Food Availability in the European Union
on the Basis of Household Budget Surveys,
Data from DAFNE Project
• The highest potato availability in the participating coun-
tries which also were part of the DAFNE project was
observed in Portugal, the lowest in Italy. In all countries
the average availability decreased with increasing educa-
tional level of the household head.
• Pulses were preferably consumed in South Europe. In
general, households with household heads of low educa-
tional level recorded higher values.
• The same trend was observed for the availability of cere-
als and cereal products. The highest availability of this
food group was observed in Italy.
• Finland recorded the highest availability values for milk
and milk products, Belgium the lowest. A higher milk and
milk product availability in households of lower education
was observed in Austria, Finland, Norway and Spain, a
higher availability in households of higher education in
Belgium, Germany, Greece, Portugal and Norway. Greece
and Belgium were the high consumers of cheese, which
was on average preferred in households with higher edu-
cation.
• Meat and meat products are commonly consumed in
European households. In the late 1990s, the daily avail-
ability values ranged between 129 g/person (Norway) and
182 g/person (Austria). Disparities are also observed in
the type of meat preferred in the different European
regions. Poultry was particularly consumed in Spain and
Hungary, processed meat in Central Europe. In general a
decrease in the daily availability of meat and meat prod-
ucts was observed with increasing educational level of the
household head.
• The highest fish and seafood availability was found in
Portugal, followed by Spain, Norway and Greece. The
lowest availability was found in Austria in 1999–2000 and
in Hungary in 1991. Urban areas had in general higher
fish consumption.
• Greece recorded the highest vegetable availability,
Finland and Norway the lowest. In South Europe elemen-
tary education of the household head was found to be
associated with higher vegetable availability, whereas the
reverse trend was found in Central and Northern Europe.
• The average fruit availability was also relatively high
in Mediterranean countries, but it was also considerable in
Austria and Germany. Apart from Austria, Italy and
Spain, the highest fruit consumers were households with
a household head of college or university education.
• The range of availability of fruit and vegetable juices was
substantially large. In general, countries with high fruit
availability had a lower availability of juices. Juices were
preferably consumed by people living in households with
a highly educated household head.
2
In the DAFNE food classification scheme, added lipids include
animal lipids, vegetable fats and vegetable oils.
– The average availability of fruit and vegetables was par-
ticularly low in the UK and in Scandinavian countries.
– The average availability of meat and meat products, as
well as of sugared soft drinks was in general high in
European households.
– In countries participating in the DAFNE project the aver-
age availability of potatoes, cereals and cereal products,
meat and meat products, and of added lipids
2
decreased
with increasing educational level of the household head.
– The average availability of fruit and juices of fruit and
vegetables was higher in households of higher educated
household head.
– The average vegetable availability in South Europe was
higher in household with a household head of elemen-
tary education compared to households with a house-
hold head of higher education. In Central and North
Europe the opposite trend was observed.
– In countries with a high consumption of cheese, the
average milk and milk products availability increased
with increasing educational level of the household head,
in those with a generally low consumption it decreased.

Executive Summary XIII
• South European countries recorded the highest fruit and
vegetable availability. Some Central European countries,
however, seemed to be forging ahead, particularly in
relation to the availability of fruit and juices of fruit and
vegetables. The deficit however remained in the UK and
in Scandinavian countries.
• The highest availabilities of total added lipids were noted
in Greece, Italy and Spain, with olive oil being the pre-
dominant added lipid. In all countries lipid availability
was higher among households of elementary education.
• In Hungary, Norway and Austria the highest availabilities
of sugar and sugar products were recorded.
• The daily availability of soft drinks ranged from 38 ml/
person/day in Portugal (1995) to 202 ml/person/day
in the UK (1999). Values should however be interpreted
with caution, since beverages consumed out of the house-
hold are not included. The effect of education on the
availability of soft drinks does not follow a constant
pattern.
Energy and Nutrient Intake in the
European Union
The methods used for nutritional assessment in the partic-
ipating countries were various, and also the age groups were
not uniform. Thus, a direct comparison was not aspired to in
this report.
Children
In European children, the average share of protein in total
energy intake was between 12 and 17%. In Germany this pro-
portion was particularly low, in Spain it was relatively high
compared to the other countries. Spanish children further had
a low average carbohydrate intake (43–45 %E). In all other
countries it was at least 50 %E or only slightly below. In
Austrian and Norwegian boys and girls, and in Finnish
infants, the share of this nutrient in total energy intake was
particularly high. The average proportion of sucrose in total
energy intake was – apart from Finnish children aged 3 years
or less – higher than 10%.
The mean proportion of fat in total energy was in children
of the participating countries higher than 30%, and it was
notably high in Spanish and Belgian children. The average
intake of saturated fatty acids (SFA) was between 14 and
18 %E. Only in Italian and Hungarian children it was lower.
Apart from Hungarian and German children, the average
intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was in this pop-
ulation group below the recommended level of the WHO.
The mean intake of vitamin D and folate was in general low
in children of the participating countries and mostly not satis-
fying. Further, insufficient potassium intakes were observed in
Austrian, German, Hungarian and Italian children, and in
Danish girls. In contrast, the sodium intake in children of some
countries (especially Hungary and Italy) was already consider-
able, and in some countries even above 5 g/day.
In the participating countries younger children had on
average a more sufficient calcium intake than children of
higher age groups. A low intake was observed in Austrian,
German, Hungarian, Italian and Norwegian children. As
expected, the average intake of iron was too low in girls at
fertile age.
Adolescents
Apart from Spain and Austria, the average share of protein
in total energy intake of adolescents was within the recom-
mended range of the WHO (2003). The highest proportion of
carbohydrates was found in Norwegian adolescents and cor-
responded to the recommended intake of at least 55 %E
[Eurodiet, 2000]. In all the other countries it was clearly below
this level, the lowest proportion to be found in Spain with only
42 %E. The average proportion of sucrose in total energy
intake was above the level proposed by the WHO (2003) in
all countries with data from adolescents. Sugar-sweetened
– In the participating countries, the average share of fat
in total energy intake was in general above the recom-
mended level of b30 %E [Eurodiet, 2000].
– That of protein was either within or also above the rec-
ommended range of 10–15 %E.
– As a consequence of this, the mean proportion of car-
bohydrates was generally below the recommendation
of Eurodiet (r55 %E).
– The intake of sucrose was relatively high (a10 %E) in
nearly all population groups and countries.
– In contrast the mean intake of dietary fibre was too low.
– The average intake of saturated fatty acids was in the
participating countries too high, whereas the intake of
polyunsaturated fatty acids was low in many of the
participating countries.
– The proportion of alcohol in total energy intake was
particularly in men of most countries considerable.
– Food folate and vitamin D were critical micronutrients
in all participating countries.
– In some countries inadequate intakes of potassium,
calcium and iodine were observed.
– The average intake of iron was too low in women at fer-
tile age of all participating countries.
– The sodium intake was in general too high.

Executive SummaryXIV
beverages make a considerable contribution to total sucrose
intake, not only in adolescents. Apart from Norwegian girls,
the upper level of fat intake of Eurodiet (30 %E) was exceeded
by all countries. The highest intake was observed in Spain.
However, in Spain – beside Norway – the lowest proportion of
SFA in total energy intake (%E) was recorded. On average the
mean intake of PUFA (%E) was too low in European adoles-
cents. The average cholesterol intake was in general higher in
boys than in girls.
The vitamin D intake was in general low, especially in
Austrian male and female adolescents, and in Spanish female
adolescents. In Norwegian male adolescents it was particu-
larly high with an average of 5.4 µg/day. The mean folate
intake was low and clearly below the recommended level of
400 µg/day [Eurodiet, 2000]. Female adolescents of all par-
ticipating countries with data of adolescents had an insuffi-
cient potassium intake. In Austria and Germany it was also
too low in boys. The supply of calcium was on average good.
Only in Austrian adolescents the mean intake was too low. In
some of the participating countries low magnesium intakes
were observed as well. The iron intake was too low in female
adolescents.
Adults
The average share of protein in total energy intake in adults
was above the recommended upper level (15 %E, by Eurodiet,
2000) in some countries, whereas the mean carbohydrate
intake in European adults was low. In Belgium and France it
was even lower than 40 %E (compared to the recommended
55 %E, by Eurodiet, 2000). Apart from Hungary and the UK,
the mean proportion of sucrose in total energy intake was
relatively low in European men. As a consequence of the
low proportion of carbohydrates (%E) the average intake of
dietary fibre (g/day) was low in European adults, especially in
women. The highest intakes were recorded in Germany,
Portugal, Finland and Norway. On average, the fat intake in
the participating countries was high (%E). The highest pro-
portion of fat in total energy intake was found in Belgian men
and women. In contrast, Portugal and Norwegian women had
the lowest fat intakes (%E). The intake of SFA (%E) was very
high in Austrian and Belgian adults, whereas in Italian and
Portuguese adults it was relatively low. In many of the partici-
pating countries the average PUFA intake (%E) was below the
recommended lower level of the WHO (2003). As a conse-
quence of the high fat intake, the average intake of cholesterol
(mg/day) was relatively high in the participating countries as
well. In Hungary and in France the highest average cholesterol
intakes were recorded, in both men and women.
The intake of vitamins in European adults was in general
relatively good. However, the vitamin D intake was low in
UK and Swedish women (below 2 µg/day), but particularly
high in Swedish men (6.3 µg/day) and Finnish men (6.3 µg/
day). The average folate intake was below the recommended
level of 400 µg/day [Eurodiet, 2000] in men and women of
all participating countries.
Typical for the usual diet of industrial countries, the aver-
age estimated sodium intake (g/day) was relatively high in
European adults, especially in Hungary and Italy. An insuffi-
cient intake of potassium (g/day) was more prevalent in
women than in men. The mean supply of calcium was rela-
tively good in European adults. Only in Austria, Hungary and
the UK low calcium intakes were observed. Apart from
Portugal, the average iron intake in women was clearly below
the guideline of 15 mg/day [Eurodiet, 2000]. The average
iodine intake was particularly high in adults of Finland and
the UK.
Elderly
The share of protein in total energy intake was in
European elderly in general within the recommended range
of the WHO (2003). Like in adults, the average intake of
carbohydrates (%E) was too low and that of fat too high.
The carbohydrate intake was particularly low in Belgian and
Danish elderly men. The average sucrose intake was above
the recommended upper level of 10%E [WHO, 2003] in
Germany, Greece and the UK. Especially in the countries
with a high total fat intake, the average intake of SFA (%E)
was very high. The PUFA (%E) intake was in general too low
in European elderly.
The vitamin A intake in elderly of the participating coun-
tries was on average sufficient. Only in Hungarian elderly it
was clearly below the recommendations. The mean vitamin
D intake was below the recommended intake of 10 µg/day
[Eurodiet, 2000] in elderly men and women of all partici-
pating countries. The highest mean intakes were found in
Norwegian and Austrian elderly men. Low intakes of ribo-
flavin were more prevalent in male than in female elderly.
The mean folate intake was among women and men of all
countries below the recommended level of 400 µg/day.
Like in adults, the mean estimated sodium intake was rel-
atively high in European elderly, especially in Hungarian
men and Italian elderly of both sexes. The mean supply of
potassium was not sufficient in elderly of most participating
countries. In Austrian, Hungarian and Spanish elderly the
average calcium intake was below the recommended level of
800 mg/day [Eurodiet, 2000].

Executive Summary XV
Health Indicators and Status in the
European Union
• The prevalence of overweight and obesity is already consid-
erable in children. In Spanish boys the prevalence of obesity
was particularly high with more than 20%. In European girls
overweight and obesity were less prevalent than in European
boys of the corresponding age group. In adult men of the
participating countries which had data about overweight and
obesity, the prevalence of overweight was between 35 and
53%, in women between 20 and 35%. The prevalence of
obesity was on average between 6 and 26% and 6 and 31%,
respectively. The highest percentage of overweight and
obese men and women was recorded in Greece.
• In European adults the total blood cholesterol level was
on average too high, whereas the status of HDL-choles-
terol was relatively good. The quotient of total cholesterol
to HDL-cholesterol was within the recommended range
(3–5) in all countries. The serum LDL-cholesterol con-
centration was on average too high in European adults.
• Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of
death in European countries. Most death cases due to
CVD can be attributed to cardiac heart disease, followed
by cerebrovascular disease.
• Malignant neoplasms are the second most prevalent
reason for death in the participating countries.
• The incidence of cancer was in 2001 on average higher in
men than in women. In men, the most prevalent types of
cancer were lung and prostate cancer, in women it was
breast cancer. The prevalence of malignant neoplasms of
the lung was in men clearly more prevalent than in
women. However, it has to be considered that the amount
of smokers in women has noticeably increased during the
past years and that in the future the prevalence of lung
cancer in women might not differ very much from that
in men.
• The proportion of smokers – in men as well as in women –
is relatively high in the participating countries. On average
it was higher in men than in women. Apart from Denmark
and Belgium, the prevalence of smokers increased in the
participating countries during the period of 1995–2002.
– The prevalence of overweight and obesity in the partici-
pating countries was very high. It was already consider-
able in childhood.
– The average blood cholesterol levels were in general
elevated.
– In some countries the amount of exercise and the propor-
tion of people doing exercise were assessed and were in
most of them low.
– The proportion of smokers in the participating coun-
tries was high and increased in most countries between
1995 and 2002.

XVI
Outlook
The description of dietary habits, nutrient and food intake,
and health status of people of the participating countries was
not the only aim of the European Nutrition and Health
Report. It should also be a basis for other projects or assess-
ments, which will be accomplished in the future.
Concerning the outcomes of the presented data, the most
prevalent inadequacies in health and dietary lifestyle are:
• A too low availability (and in some countries intake as
well) of fruits and vegetables, despite an increasing sup-
ply of these food groups.
• A too high supply and availability of meat and meat
products.
• A generally too high intake of fat, especially of saturated
fatty acids.
• A generally low intake of complex carbohydrates and,
consequently, a low intake of dietary fibre.
• A relatively high proportion of sucrose in carbohydrate
intake in most population groups and countries.
• A generally inadequate intake of some vitamins (espe-
cially vitamin D and folate).
• A generally inadequate intake of some minerals (e.g. cal-
cium, iodine, and iron in women).
• A generally too high intake of sodium (particularly in the
form of table salt).
• A generally high intake of alcohol, particularly in men.
• An alarming high prevalence of overweight and obesity.
• A low amount of exercise and low proportion of people
doing regular exercise in some countries.
• A high proportion of smokers, which even shows an
increasing tendency in most participating countries.
In order to obtain comparable data for future European
nutrition and health reports, the following goals should be
considered for further assessments:
• Standardised methods for the assessment of nutritional
status, including food and nutrient intake, should be used
(e.g. according to the suggestions of the EFCOSUM
group).
• For the assessment of overweight and obesity a consistent
method should be considered (preferably measured data
should be used).
• For children uniform cut-off points for the definition of
overweight and obesity should be chosen.
• A standardised method for the assessment of physical
activity should be used (e.g. International Physical
Activity Questionnaire
3
).
• Uniform age groups should be used.
• Uniform educational levels should be used.
• Reference values for nutrient intake valid for whole
Europe should be updated including also aspects of health
promotion and disease prevention.
3
More details to the International Physical Activity Question-
naire can be found at http://www.ipaq.ki.se (accessed September 7,
2004).

The food balance sheets (FBS) of the FAO (Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) are
agricultural statistics which are available for numerous
countries in the world. They are available from 1961 on
and for each following year, currently until 2001. Due to
the fact that the method used for the assessment of food
supply is equal for each country, FBS deliver interna-
tionally comparable data and are a unique source for
showing international trends in food supply. However,
FBS can only show national and international trends
within one country but cannot show any differences
between regions, different age groups, ethnic groups or
men and women. Only per capita average food supply
can be shown by FBS.
Supply data obtained by agricultural statistics are in
general clearly higher than the actual intake. The total
food supply is calculated from production, imports,
stock changes and exports. Per caput average supply, i.e.
the utilisation side is then determined by considering
feed, seed, losses through processing, storage and trans-
portation, as well as waste and other use [FAO, 2001].
The average intake can still not be calculated.
Considering all the positive and negative aspects of
FBS, they are still very useful for showing trends within
the past four decades and are thus used in this chapter.
The FBS for the European Union (EU) are from the
15 member countries who were members already at the
beginning of 2004.
For Belgium no separate data exists, but only supply
data for Belgium and Luxembourg combined.
It has to be considered that the data derived from FBS
do not always correspond to national agricultural statis-
tics. In Denmark for example, the data derived from
FAO FBS differ from the nationally published supply
data.
In the following figures of this chapter, the highest
and lowest level of supply of different food groups
(table 1) in the participating countries are presented, as
well as the EU calculated average (EU 15). The develop-
ments in food supply are given in five year intervals
starting in 1961. During these four decades the highest
and lowest food supply levels were usually observed in
different countries.
More detailed figures can be found in Annex
(Illustrations of Food Supply Data, Based on FBS Data).
Fruit
The average fruit supply in the EU increased during the
past four decades and still shows an increasing tendency
(71 to 114 kg/capita/year; fig. 1). This is a positive and
desirable development. Still the supply cannot be regarded
as sufficient (see chapter ‘General Discussion’). Austria is
the only country where the average fruit supply was lower
in 2001 than in 1961 (126 compared to 134 kg/capita/
year). It was still higher than the average of the EU.
Greece (145 kg), Italy (140 kg), Portugal (132 kg), Spain
(123 kg) and Germany (120 kg/capita/year) had availabili-
ties above the EU average in 2001 as well. All the other
participating countries had a mean supply below the aver-
age of the EU. The lowest supply of fruit was observed in
Hungary (62 kg), Belgium/Luxembourg (84 kg), the UK
(91 kg/capita/year) and Finland (94 kg). The highest sup-
ply in the EU was reported in 1992.
Vegetables
The amounts of vegetables available in European
countries differ notably from each other; a south-north
gradient can be observed (fig. 2). The highest vegetable
supply was observed in Greece (272 kg/capita/year) in
2001, followed by Portugal (188 kg), Italy (178 kg) and
Trends of Average Food Supply in
the European Union
On the Basis of the FAO Food Balance Sheets
Elmadfa I,Weichselbaum E (eds): European Nutrition and Health Report 2004.
Forum Nutr. Basel, Karger, 2005, vol 58, pp 1–11

Spain (154 kg). This high vegetable supply is character-
istic for the countries of Southern Europe. The average
vegetable supply in France (130 kg) was slightly above
the EU average of 126 kg/capita/year in 2001. All the
other participating countries were below this European
average. The lowest vegetable supply was observed in
the Scandinavian countries with 63 kg/capita/year in
Norway, 70 kg in Finland and 74 kg in Sweden (data
from 2001).
In the EU an increase from an average of 94 kg
per capita in 1961 to 126 kg in 2001 was observed. All
participating countries showed an increase in vegetable
Trends of Average Food Supply in the
European Union2
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001
Vegetables (kg/capita/year)
HS EU mean LS
Fig. 2.Average supply of vegetables in the EU. HSAhighest supply
in the EU: E (1961), GR (1966–2001); LSAlowest supply in the
EU: FIN (1961–1986), N/FIN (1991), N (1996–2001).
Source of raw data: FAO, 2003.
Table 1.List of commodities classified by major food groups
Fruits Melons, Watermelons, Apples, Apricots, Avocados, Cherries, Figs, Grapes, Mangoes, Papaya, Peaches, Pears,
Persimmons, Pineapples, Plums, Quinces, Blueberries, Cranberries, Gooseberries, Raspberries, Strawberries,
Kiwi, Other fruits (fresh), Dates, Figs (dried), Prunes Currants, Raisins, Other dried fruits
Vegetables Beets, Carrots, Turnips, Rutabagas or Swedes, Onions (green), Onions (dry), Artichokes, Tomatoes, Asparagus,
Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Kale, Lettuce, Spinach, Beans (green), Broad beans (green), Chilli peppers, Garlic,
Cucumbers, Mushrooms, Eggplant, Peas (green), Pumpkins, Squash, Gourds, Okra, Radishes, Other vegetables
Cereals Wheat, Rye, Barley, Oats, Maize, Rice, Mixed grains, Buckwheat, Sorghum, Millet, Quinoa, Other cereals
Sugar and sweeteners Sugar (raw equivalent), Sweeteners (other), Honey
Pulses Beans (dry), Broad beans (dry), Peas (dry), Chick peas, Cow peas, Pigeon peas, Lentils, Vetches, Lupins,
Other pulses
Oilcrops Soybeans, Coconuts (incl. copra), Oil palm fruit, Groundnuts, Olives, Rape and mustard seed, Sunflower seed,
Cottonseed, Linseed, Hempseed, Sesame seed, Other oilcrops
Vegetable oils Rape and mustard seed oil, Sunflower seed oil, Cottonseed oil, Linseed oil, Hempseed oil, Sesame seed oil,
Copra and coconut oil, Palm kernel oil, Palm oil, Soybean oil, Olive oil, Maize oil
Animal fats Butter, Ghee, Other animal fats, Fish liver oil, Whale oil
Red meat Beef and veal, Buffalo meat, Pig meat, Mutton and lamb, Goat meat
Poultry Chicken meat, Goose meat, Duck meat, Turkey meat
Fish and seafood Freshwater fish, Demersal fish, Pelagic fish, Crustaceans, Molluscs, Aquatic mammals meat, Aquatic plants
Milk (excluding Cow milk, Goat milk, Sheep milk, Buffalo milk, Skim milk, Evaporated (unsweetened, whole), Condensed
butter) (sweetened, whole), Evaporated (unsweetened, skim), Condensed (sweetened, skim), Dried (whole), Dried
(skim), Cream, Cheese, Hard cheese, Semi-soft cheese, Soft cheese
Eggs Hen eggs, Other eggs
Source:FAO, 2001.
0
25
50
75
100
125
150
175
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001
Fruit (kg/capita/year)
HS EU mean LS
Fig.1.Average supply of fruit in the EU. HSAhighest supply in the
EU: A/GR (1961), GR (1966), I (1971), A/I (1976), GR (1981),
A (1986), GR (1991–2001); LSAlowest supply in the EU: FIN
(1961–1971), UK (1976), P (1981), FIN (1986), H (1991–2001).
Source of raw data: FAO, 2003.

supply, apart from France (150 to 130 kg/capita/year)
and Spain (162 to 154 kg). The most significant increase
in vegetable supply was observed in Greece (115 to
227 kg/capita/year).
Potatoes
Figure 3 shows that the mean potato supply in the EU
decreased from 105 kg/capita/year in 1961 to 78 kg in
2001. This trend can be observed among nearly all
participating countries, except for Portugal, Greece and the
UK. The most significant increase was observed in Greece
with a supply of 73 kg/capita/year in 2001 compared to
32 kg in 1961 but it was still below that of the EU. The
mean potato supply in Portugal has increased from
88 kg/capita/year in 1961 to 123 kg in 2001. This was the
highest supply among the participating countries in 2001
followed by Belgium/Luxembourg (113 kg) and the UK
(111 kg/capita/year). However, the peak level of potato
supply in Portugal was observed in 1987 and has decreased
since that time. A noticeable point is the meaningful
increase of the supply of potatoes in 1986, the year of the
entry to the EU. In 1985 the mean potato supply in Portugal
was 95 kg and in 1986 145 kg/capita/year. In the UK the
average supply has increased continuously in the past
40 years (98 kg/capita/year in 1961 to 111 kg in 2001).
Beside Portugal, Belgium/Luxembourg and the UK,
the average potato supply of Spain (83 kg) and Denmark
(82 kg/capita/year) was slightly above that of the EU in
2001 as well. All the other European countries had mean
supplies below it. Italy showed the lowest mean potato
supply of 40 kg/capita/year in 2001, followed by Sweden
with 53 kg. France, Austria, Finland, Hungary, Norway
and Greece had about the same supply (between 67 and
73 kg/capita/year) and were thus slightly below the
mean supply of the EU. The average potato supply in
Germany was identical with that of the EU.
Cereals
The mean cereal supply in the EU has decreased in the
past 40 years from 126 kg/capita/year in 1961 to 116 kg
in 2001 (fig. 4). This decreasing trend is to be valuated
negatively as cereals are very important sources for
dietary fibres and many vitamins, minerals and trace ele-
ments. The average supply in Austria and France in 2001
(118 and 117 kg/capita/year, respectively) was about
equal to that of the EU. In both countries the mean cereal
supply is lower than in 1961. However, an increasing
tendency was observed from the early 1970s in France
and from the early 1990s in Austria.
Italy had the highest cereal supply in 2001 (162 kg/
capita/year). Italy is followed by Greece with an average
supply of 154 kg/capita/year in 2001 which was below
the amount of 1961 (167 kg) as well. The mean cereal
supply further decreased in Hungary (which had the
highest supply in 1961), Spain, Finland and the UK. The
mean supply in Spain fell from 144 kg/capita/year in
1961 to only 101 kg in 2001 which was below the EU
average.
The supply data of the UK and Finland of 2001 (103
and 113 kg/capita/year, respectively) were lower than
those of 1961 (110 and 137 kg, respectively) as well, but
they have shown an increasing tendency within the past
few years. Their mean supply is however still below that
of the EU. The rest of the participating countries showed
Trends of Average Food Supply in the
European Union 3
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001
Potatoes (kg/capita/year)
HS EU mean LS
Fig. 3.Average supply of potatoes in the EU. HSAhighest supply in
the EU: D (1961), BL (1966), BL/D (1971), E (1976), BL (1981),
P (1986–2001); LSAlowest supply in the EU: GR (1961–1966),
I (1971–2001).
Source of raw data:FAO, 2003.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001
Cereals (kg/capita/year)
HS EU mean LS
Fig. 4.Average supply of cereals in the EU. HSAhighest supply
in the EU: H (1961–1966), I (1971–2001); LSAlowest supply in
the EU: S (1961–1971), DK (1976), S (1981–1991), FIN (1996),
E/D (2001).
Source of raw data:FAO, 2003.

an increase during the observation period. In Portugal
a slight increase of cereal intake was recorded
(123 kg/capita/year in 1961 compared to 132 kg in 2001).
In Norway and Denmark the increase was larger (100 kg/
capita/year in 1961 to 128 kg in 2001 and 101 kg in 1961
to 127 kg in 2001, respectively). In these three countries
the average supply was, in 2001, above that of the EU.
Germany and Sweden had a mean supply below that of
the EU but both showed an increasing tendency as well
which was more meaningful in Sweden (77 kg/capita/
year to 103 kg) than in Germany (97 to 102 kg).
Sugar and Sweeteners
In the EU the mean sugar and sweeteners supply
increased from 34.3 kg/capita/year in 1961 to 40.2 kg in
2001 (fig. 5). The trends in the different participating
countries were very diverse. Noticeable increases were
observed in Greece (15.3 to 35.8 kg), Portugal (18.8 to
34.1 kg), Spain (20.5 to 32.6 kg), Italy (24.7 to 31.6 kg),
Austria (40.9 to 50.1 kg), Germany (34.7 to 46.6 kg),
Hungary (30.2 to 50.4 kg), Belgium/Luxembourg (27.7
to 52.2 kg) and France (40.9 kg/capita/year). Denmark
(A51 kg), Norway (A46 kg) and Sweden (A47 kg/capita/
year) had about the same supply in 2001 as in 1961. The
UK and Finland showed considerable decreases (51.9 to
38.9 kg and 45.2 to 36.7 kg/capita/year, respectively). The
highest supply in 2001 was found in Belgium/
Luxembourg.
Pulses
Figure 6 shows that the average supply of pulses in the
EU scarcely changed in the period of 1961 to 2001 (3.5
and 3.7 kg/capita/year, respectively). Different from the
EU as a total, the supply amounts have changed in its
member states.
The largest decreases were observed in the three
countries which had the highest amounts of pulses
available in 1961: Spain (9.8 to 5.7 kg), Greece (7.9 to
4.5 kg) and Portugal (7 to 3.9 kg/capita/year). Italy
showed a slight increase from 4.8 kg/capita/year in 1961
to 5.5 kg in 2001. The UK showed a substantial increase
between 1961 and 2001.
The average pulses supply in all the other participat-
ing countries was clearly below that of the EU. The low-
est supply was observed in Austria with 0.9 kg/capita/
year, followed by Norway (1 kg), Denmark (1.1 kg),
Finland (1.4 kg), Germany and Sweden (1.6 kg both)
and France with 2 kg/capita/year. In most of these coun-
tries the mean supply slightly increased in the period of
1961 to 2001 with the exception of France (2.5 to 2 kg)
and Norway (2 to 1 kg/capita/year). In Denmark the sup-
ply of pulses was practically zero until 1979, suddenly
rose up to 1.14 kg/capita/year in 1980 and stayed at
about the same level during the following years.
Oilcrops
Oil-bearing crops are plants whose seeds, fruits or
mesocarp and nuts are mainly used for extraction of
culinary and industrial oils, excluding essential oils.
Consequently, dessert or table nuts, such as walnuts, are
excluded because although they are high in oil content,
they are not used mainly for extraction [FAO, 2001].
The average oilcrops supply in the EU increased from
1.6 kg/capita/year in 1961 to 4 kg in 2001 (fig. 7). The
highest supply of oilcrops was recorded in Greece with
15.1 kg/capita/year in 2001 compared to 6.1 kg in 1961.
Trends of Average Food Supply in the
European Union4
HS EU mean LS
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001
Sugar and sweeteners
(kg/capita/year)
Fig. 5.Average supply of sugar and sweeteners in the EU. HSA
highest supply in the EU: DK (1961–1991), H (1996), BL (2001);
LSAlowest supply in the EU: GR (1961–1971), P (1976–1981),
E (1986–1991), I (1996–2001).
Source of raw data:FAO, 2003.
HS EU mean LS
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001
Pulses (kg/capita/year)
Fig. 6.Average supply of pulses in the EU. HSAhighest supply in the
EU: E (1961), GR (1966), P (1971), GR (1976–1981), GR/E (1986),
GR (1991), E (1996), UK (2001); LSAlowest supply in the EU: DK
(1961–1976), S (1981), DK (1986), S (1991), A (1996– 2001).
Source of raw data:FAO, 2003.

Spain and the UK had an average supply above the EU
mean in 2001 with 6 and 4.3 kg/capita/year, respectively.
All the other countries were below the EU average.
A decrease in oilcrops supply was only observed in one
country, in Portugal (2.8 to 2.4 kg/ capita/year).
Vegetable Oils
The supply of vegetable oils showed an increasing
trend in the EU (fig. 8). Between 1961 and 2001 the
amount of vegetable oil available in the EU doubled
from 10.7 kg/capita/year in 1961 to 21.5 kg in 2001. The
increase shows a continuous curve progression.
Denmark was the only country which showed a decrease
in vegetable oil supply. This trend significantly differs
from that of all the other countries. In Denmark the
average supply in 1961 was 11.9 kg/capita/year and fell
to a mean supply of 6.9 kg in 2001. This was the lowest
supply among all participating countries in 2001.
All the other countries showed an increase in veg-
etable oil supply. The highest increases were observed
in Italy, Spain, Hungary and Norway. Norway had a
supply of only 1.6 kg/capita/year in 1961 (the lowest
supply of this year) and increased up to 15.6 kg (n13.8),
nearly the decuple of the initial value. Further, Norway
showed big fluctuations in vegetable oil supply during
these years, especially from the early 1960s to the early
1990s.
Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Belgium/
Luxembourg and the UK showed about the same incre-
ases of approximately 10–12 kg/capita/year between
1961 and 2001. The increase during this time was
slightly lower in Finland, with n7.8 kg/capita/year, but
was relatively high referring to its initial value of 3.4 kg
in 1961. The average supply of vegetable oils in 1961 in
Portugal was about 7 kg/capita/year lower than in 2001.
It showed an increase until about 1990 and a decreasing
tendency from that time on. The lowest increase in veg-
etable oil supply was observed in Sweden with n3.6 kg/
capita/year. However, it has to be considered that –
compared to its neighbour countries Finland and
Norway – it showed a relatively high initial supply of
13.5 kg/capita/ year in 1961 and still had the highest
supply among the Scandinavian countries in 2001 with
17 kg/capita/year.
The highest amounts of vegetable oils in 2001 were
available in Spain, Greece and Italy with about 28 kg/
capita/year and were thus far above the EU average. The
average supply in Germany was slightly above the EU
average, that of all the other countries was below it.
Olive Oil
The olive oil supply was as expected very high in the
Mediterranean countries Greece, Italy and Spain as well
as in Portugal. Greece had the highest supply of 18.6 kg/
capita/year in 2001 compared to 14.6 kg in 1961. It is
followed by Italy (9 kg/capita/year in 1961 to 13.1 kg in
2001) and Spain (8.2 to 12.1 kg/capita/year). Portugal
showed a decrease in the supply of olive oil (6.6 to
4.4 kg/capita/year). In 2001 the European average was
4.4 kg/capita/year (compared to 2.9 kg in 1961) but was
mainly determined by the four countries mentioned
above.
Apart from France, with an average supply of 1.5 kg,
the rest of the participating countries had a mean olive oil
supply of less than 1 kg/capita/year. This result may mean
that only a small number of inhabitants use olive oil.
Trends of Average Food Supply in the
European Union 5
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001
Oilcrops (kg/capita/year)
HS EU mean LS
Fig. 7.Average supply of oilcrops in the EU. HSAhighest supply in
the EU: GR (1961–2001); LSAlowest supply in the EU: FIN
(1961–1971), H (1976–1991), H/DK (1996), FIN (2001).
Source of raw data: FAO, 2003.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001
Vegetable oils (kg/capita/year)
HS EU mean LS
Fig. 8.Average supply of vegetable oils in the EU. HSAhighest
supply in the EU: GR (1961–2001); LSAlowest supply in the EU:
H (1961–1981), FIN (1986–1991), DK (1996–2001).
Source of raw data: FAO, 2003.

Animal Fats
In the EU no significant change in animal fat supply
during the past four decades has been found. Only a slight
increase was observed during the observation period (12.8
to 14 kg/capita/year) (fig. 9). In general, the supply of
animal products and thus animal fats is too high.
The average supply of animal fats in the countries
with a high supply of vegetables and vegetable oils was,
as expected, lower than the EU average. These countries
are Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Also in Finland
and the UK the average supply in 2001 was below that of
the EU. In contrast to these two countries, which showed
a meaningful decrease in animal fat supply between
1961 and 2001 (UK: 19.2 to 6.9 kg; Finland: 21.6 to
11.4 kg/capita/year), Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal
showed a substantial increase. In Greece the average
supply rose from 1.9 kg/capita/year in 1961 to 3.1 kg, in
Italy from 3.4 to 10.8 kg, in Spain from 1.5 to 4.7 kg and
in Portugal it quadrupled from 3.3 to 12.9 kg/capita/year.
The mean supply of all the other countries was above the
EU average, although most of them showed a decreasing
tendency. Hungary had the highest supply of animal fat
in 2001 (37 kg/capita/year), followed by Denmark
(27.5 kg) and Belgium/Luxembourg (24.9 kg).
Norway showed a noticeable decrease in the supply of
animal fats from 29.3 kg/capita/year in 1961 to 14.8 kg
in 2001, which was only the half of the initial value. It
showed big fluctuations, particularly during the period of
the early 1960s to the early 1990s.
Red Meat
The supply of meat and meat products in general and
particularly of red meat is high in industrial countries.
The average supply of red meat in the EU increased
from 45 kg/capita/year in 1961 to 66 kg in 2001 (fig. 10).
This increasing tendency was observed in all participat-
ing countries except for the UK, Hungary and Germany.
The UK showed a continuous decrease whereas in
Germany and Hungary the supply increased until the late
1980s and then showed a meaningful decrease.
Bovine Meat
According to figure 11 the average bovine meat sup-
ply in the EU in 1961 was about 19 kg/capita/year,
increased until 1991 up to about 23 kg and showed
a decreasing tendency between 1992 and 2001, where
the average per capita supply was 18.6 kg/capita/year.
The decrease in bovine meat supply during this last
decade may be related to the appearance of BSE
(Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy). The peak level
Trends of Average Food Supply in the
European Union6
0
10
20
30
40
50
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001
Animal fats (kg/capita/year)
HS EU mean LS
Fig. 9.Average supply of animal fats in the EU. HSAhighest sup-
ply in the EU: DK (1961–1971), H (1976–2001); LSAlowest supply
in the EU: E (1961), E/GR (1966), GR (1971–2001).
Source of raw data:FAO, 2003.
HS EU mean LS
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001
Red meat (kg/capita/year)
Fig.10.Average supply of red meat in the EU. HSAhighest supply
in the EU: UK (1961), A (1966), D (1971), A (1976–1981), D (1986),
A (1991–1996), DK (2001); LSAlowest supply in the EU: E/P
(1961), P (1966–1986), N (1991), UK (1996–2001).
Source of raw data: FAO, 2003.
HS EU mean LS
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001Bovine meat (kg/capita/year)
Fig.11.Average supply of bovine meat in the EU. HSAhighest
supply in the EU: F (1961–2001); LSAlowest supply in the EU:
GR (1961), P (1966), H (1971–2001).
Source of raw data:FAO, 2003.

of its prevalence was observed between 1991 and 1994
in Great Britain. The UK, the country with the highest
BSE incidence, already showed a decreasing tendency
before the first occurrence of the mad cow disease. The
largest decrease however took place in 1993. In 1987
and the following years, no notable decrease was
observed. The peak level of bovine meat supply was
observed in 1979.
From the start of the observation period 1961 until
about 1990 the average bovine meat supply in Germany
was nearly identical with that of the EU. Since the early
1990s it has fallen far below the EU average. Austria and
Finland too showed an average supply which was nearly
identical with that of the EU and had about the same
curve progression even during the BSE crisis. In France,
the mean supply of bovine meat increased until 1991
with a peak level of 34.5 kg/capita/year. After 1991 the
supply fell to about 28 kg/capita/year in 2001. The curve
progression of bovine meat supply in Denmark showed a
very discontinuous trend. An increase was observed until
the late 1960s, a decrease until the early 1980s and then
a further increase up to the year 2001, with a decrease in
the curve during the BSE crisis. The average supply
in 2001 of 24.4 kg/capita/year was much higher than
that in 1961 of 16.6 kg.
A noticeable increase in bovine meat supply was
observed for Greece, Spain and Portugal. These three
countries had the lowest availabilities (5.2, 6 and 6.2 kg/
capita/year) in 1961. Greece even exceeded the EU aver-
age with 22.1 kg/capita/year in 2001, Spain (14.7 kg) and
Portugal (14.3 kg) stayed below it. Sweden was in 2001
at about the same level as in 1961 (A20 kg/capita/year),
but with an increasing tendency within the last decade of
the observation period. Norway and Italy showed a con-
tinuous increase during this period. Still, the mean sup-
ply in 2001 with 17.9 kg/capita/year was slightly higher
than that of 1961 with 15.7 kg.
The lowest supply of bovine meat in 2001 was noticed
in Hungary with 5 kg/capita/year.
Pork
The average pork supply in the EU nearly doubled dur-
ing the four decades of evaluation (from 23 to 44.4 kg/
capita/year; fig. 12). The supply increased in most partici-
pating countries. In the UK it did not change significantly
during this time and the supply was exactly the same in
2001 than in 1961 (25.4 kg/capita/year). The most signi-
ficant increases were observed in Spain and Greece, fol-
lowed by Italy and Portugal. The mean supply in Spain
increased from 8 kg/capita/year in 1961 to 66.5 kg in
2001, in Greece from 4.4 to 35.2 kg (in both cases the
8-fold of the initial value). In Italy the mean supply rose
from 7.8 kg/capita/year in 1961 to 42.5 kg in 2001
(6-fold) and in Portugal from 9.1 to 41.9 kg (4-fold). In all
the other participating countries the amount of pork avail-
able increased as well. Hungary was the only country
which showed a decrease during these four decades. In
1961 it had the highest supply of pork with 46.9 kg/
capita/year, in 2001 it was 43.2 kg and even below the EU
average. In Germany the average supply has decreased
since the late 1980s. It was however still higher in 2001
(52.4 kg) than in 1961 (37.5 kg/capita/year).
The highest availabilities in 2001 were recorded in
Austria (71.5 kg), Denmark (70.3 kg), Spain (66.5 kg)
and in Germany (52.4 kg/capita/year). The mean pork
supply of these countries was clearly above the EU aver-
age; that of all the other countries was lower than that of
the EU.
Mutton and Goat Meat
The total amount of mutton and goat meat available
in the EU barely changed during the observation period
and only showed a slight decrease from 3.4 kg/capita/
year in 1961 to 3.1 kg in 2001 (fig. 13). The by far high-
est supply of mutton and goat meat was recorded in
Greece. The average supply increased from 9.2 kg/
capita/year in 1961 to 12.9 kg in 2001 whereby the peak
level was reached in the years around 1970 with about
16 to 17 kg. Greece was followed by Spain with an aver-
age supply of 6.1 kg/capita/year in 2001 (compared to
3.7 kg in 1961), Norway with 5.6 kg in 2001 (compared
Trends of Average Food Supply in the
European Union 7
HS EU mean LS
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001
Pork (kg/capita/year)
Fig.12.Average supply of pork meat in the EU. HSAhighest sup-
ply in the EU: H (1961–1991), A (1996–2001); LSAlowest supply
in the EU: GR (1961–1976), GR/P (1981), P (1986), GR (1991),
N/UK/GR (1996), N (2001).
Source of raw data:FAO, 2003.

to 4.3 kg in 1961) and the UK, which showed a signifi-
cant decrease (from 11.6 kg/capita/year in 1961 to 5.4 kg
in 2001). With a mean supply in 2001 of 3.5 and 3.4 kg/
capita/year, respectively, France and Portugal were
slightly above the EU average. Sweden, Germany,
Denmark, Austria and Italy had an average supply
between 0.9 and 1.5 kg/capita/year; a slight increase was
observed in these countries. The lowest supply was
recorded in Finland with 0.3 kg/capita/year in 2001, in
Hungary it was 0.8 kg.
Poultry
The supply of poultry showed on average an increas-
ing tendency during the past four decades. This increase
was not only observed in the whole EU (5.6 to 21.1 kg/
capita/year) but in each single participating country as
well (fig. 14). The largest increases were observed in
Portugal (1.6 to 27.4 kg), Spain (2.7 to 26.8 kg), the UK
(6.3 to 28.9 kg), Hungary (9.4 to 31.3 kg) and Greece
(1.5 to 19.1 kg/capita/year). The average supply in
Hungary, the UK, France, Portugal, Spain and Belgium/
Luxembourg was in 2001 above that of the whole EU,
that of all the other participating countries was below it.
The lowest availabilities of poultry were recorded in the
Scandinavian countries (between 7 and 14 kg/capita/
year). The highest supply was found in Hungary (31.3 kg/
capita/year).
Fish and Seafood
According to figure 15 the amount of fish available
continuously increased during the observation period in
each of the participating countries and the EU in general.
The EU average rose from 17.4 to 26.2 kg/capita/year
(n50%). This increasing tendency is desirable as an
increased supply of fish is associated with a decreased
prevalence of CVD, due to their high content of omega-
3-fatty acids. The highest increases in absolute numbers
were observed in Portugal and Spain with a plus of
A20 kg/capita/year each (56 to 76 kg and 26 to 45 kg/
capita/year, respectively).
The highest relative increase was observed in Finland
with a plus of 80% (17.8 to 32.1 kg/capita/year). In
2001, Portugal showed the highest supply, followed by
Norway (51 kg/capita/year) and Spain. The average fish
supply in France, Finland and Sweden was higher than
that of the EU as well. All the other countries were
below the EU average. The lowest supply in 2001 was
observed in Hungary (4.4 kg/capita/year).
Trends of Average Food Supply in the
European Union8
HS EU mean LS
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001
Mutton and goat meat
(kg/capita/year)
Fig.13.Average supply of mutton and goat meat in the EU. HSA
highest supply in the EU: UK (1961), GR (1966–2001); LSAlowest
supply in the EU: DK/S (1961), FIN/A (1966), A (1971), FIN (1976–
1981), FIN/H (1986), FIN (1991), H (1996), FIN (2001).
Source of raw data:FAO, 2003.
HS EU mean LS
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001
Poultry (kg/capita/year)
Fig.14.Average supply of poultry in the EU. HSAhighest supply
in the EU: F (1961), H (1966–1971), E (1976–1981), H (1986),
E (1991), UK (1996), H (2001); LSAlowest supply in the EU:
N (1961–1966), FIN (1971), N (1976–2001).
Source of raw data:FAO, 2003.
HS EU mean LS
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001
Fish and seafood (kg/capita/year)
Fig.15.Average supply of fish and seafood in the EU. HSAhighest
supply in the EU: P (1961–1976), N (1981), P (1986–2001); LSA
lowest supply in the EU: H (1961–2001).
Source of raw data:FAO, 2003.

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the sun-disk between two horns. Among foreign war-goddesses Egypt had
ANATH, well known from Palestinian place-names. Her priesthood at
Thebes is mentioned under Thutmose III., and the favourite daughter of
Ramses II. was named 'daughter of Anath.' The deity is represented sitting
clothed upon a throne with lance and shield in the right hand and battle-axe
in the left; or holding instead the papyrus sceptre and the emblem of life she
stands erect clad in a panther-skin; her feathered crown sometimes has a
pair of horns at the base. She is called lady of heaven, or of the world,
daughter of the sun, mother, etc., and is often paired with Astarte.
ASTARTE found a place in several Egyptian temples. We also hear of
her prophets, and a fragmentary myth apparently describes how, as daughter
of Ptah, she entered the pantheon of Memphis. Here, as we learn from
another text, Egyptian and foreign deities met together, and among the latter
is a Baalath Saphun (B. of the North?), whose male counterpart appears in
Baal-Zephon near the Red Sea (Ex. xiv. 2) and the equivalent Baal-Sapun,
one of the gods of king Baal (see p. 72). The Egyptians depict Astarte with
the head of a lioness, driving her quadriga over the foe; and as goddess of
war she is 'mistress of horses and lady of chariots.' But that both Anath and
Astarte were also dissolute goddesses is recognised in a text which ascribes
their creation to Set. The prevalence of the cult of the goddess of love and
war in Palestine is well known from the references in the Old Testament to
Ashtoreth (an intentional perversion to suggest bōsheth 'shame'), from the
place-names, and from the plaques which indicate numerous minor local
types (p. 29). In the Amarna tablets Astarte (or rather the Babylonian Ishtar)
coalesces with ASHIRTA who is sometimes written in the plural (Ashrati).
Like the place-names Anathoth (the Anaths) and Ashtaroth (the Astartes),
the different conceptions of the goddess in all her local forms seem to be
combined in one term. Ashirta appears to have been essentially the goddess
of the west. In a text of the First Babylonian Dynasty she is paired with
Ramman as 'bride of the king of heaven, lady of exuberance (or vigour) and
splendour'; later, she is called the consort of the 'lord of the mountain,' an
appellative corresponding to the Baal of Lebanon. In old Arabia she was the
wife of the moon-god, and the masculine form Ashir, on cuneiform
Cappadocian tablets of our period, seems to be no other than the great god
Ashur himself. Her name cannot be severed from the Ashērah, but it is not
clear whether it was transferred to or derived from the object of cult (see p.

26). The intricacy of the history of the divine-names will be understood
when the Assyrian equivalent of Beth (house of) -El becomes the name of a
deity, or when the plural of Ishtar is used of goddesses in general, or when
Resheph (above) in Hebrew denotes a spark, flame, or fire-bolt. But the
career of the goddess of love and war is even more complicated. The
phonetic equivalent of Ishtar in old Arabia was a god (so perhaps also in
Moab, ninth century), and Ishtar herself appears in Assyria with a beard and
is likened to the god Ashur, thus finding a later parallel in the bearded
Aphrodite (Astarte, Venus) of Cyprus.
The sex of the sun-deity SHAMASH is equally confusing, for, although
he was lord of heaven (p. 73), and kings of Egypt and the Hittites identified
themselves with him, the deity was female in old Arabia, among earlier
Hittite groups, and probably once, also, in Palestine and Syria.[1] Place-
names compounded with Shemesh attest the prevalence of the deity, and
around the district of Gezer lie Beth-Shemesh and the stories of Samson
(sun) wherein solar elements have been recognised. Among pastoral and
agricultural peoples, however, the moon is more important. To the
prominence of new-moon festivals and the probable connection between the
lunar body and the name Jericho we must add the moon-god SIN, in Sinai
and the desert of Sin in the south of Palestine, and in the north at Harran,
where his worship survived to the Christian era. At Hamath, in N. Syria,
about 800 B.C., Shamash and the moon-god find a place by the side of the
supreme 'Baal of heaven.' Later, at Nerab near Aleppo the moon-god is
associated with his wife N-k-l (Nin-gal 'the great lady'), Shamash, and
Nusku (fire-god, messenger of Bel). Specific Assyrian influence might be
expected at this date, but the consort's name appears in an Egyptian magical
text, not later than the Twentieth Dynasty, as the wife of 'the high god'
(here, the Sun?).[2]
[1] H. Winckler, Mitteilungen der Deutschen Orient-Gesellschaft
(Berlin, 1907), No. 35, p. 53; id., Amarna Tablets, No. 208, 1. 22
(Knudtzon, No. 323).
[2] A. H. Gardiner, Zeit. f. Aeg. Spr., xliii. p. 97.

Quite as prominent as the sun was the weather-god, god of storm,
lightning and thunder. Known as Teshub (p. 70), Hadad, Ramman (comp.
the Biblical Rimmon), Adad, Dad, Bir, etc., the form ADDU, which was
recognised as the god's 'Amorite' designation, is adopted here in preference
to the more familiar Aramæan HADAD. This is supported by the spelling of
the name of Rib-Addi, king of Byblos. The interchange of Baal and Addu in
certain names in the Amarna letters shows that Addu could naturally be
called Baal, and to the Egyptians he was apparently the Baal. The
importance of the weather-god in the religion of agricultural and pastoral
peoples may be illustrated from one of Khammurabi's curses: 'May Adad,
lord of abundance, regent of heaven and earth, my helper, deprive him (i.e.
the disobedient) of the rain from heaven and the water-floods from the
springs; may he bring his land to destruction through want and hunger; may
he break loose furiously over his city and turn his land into the heap left by
a storm.' The gifts of Addu preserved men from dearth and starvation; a too
plenteous supply brought flood and ruin. Thus the god had a twofold aspect,
and his thunder in the heavens, his fiery darts, in fact the destructive side of
his character made him an appropriate war-god. This aspect of the nature-
deity was especially cultivated by warlike peoples.
Babylonian and Hittite sculptures depict the god brandishing a hammer
with his right hand, while the left holds up a triad of lightning-flashes or
thunder-bolts. On an inscription from North Syria (eighth century) Hadad
has horns, and with this agrees the association of the bull with the god. Like
all predominant gods he includes a variety of attributes, and we may
conjecture that the small heads of bulls unearthed by the excavations are
connected with his worship (p. 32). The inscription in question (see also p.
57) places Hadad at the head of a small pantheon with El, Resheph, R-k-b
—el (steed, chariot, or charioteer of El) and Shamash. In the Amarna letters
one writer calls the king of Egypt his Addu, and Abimelech of Tyre, who
likens him to both Shamash and Addu, addresses him as 'he who gives his
thunder in the heavens like Addu.'
Together with this combination it is to be noticed that while
Khammurabi 'the Sun of Babylonia' calls himself the mighty bull who gores

the enemy, old Egyptian scenes actually represent 'the strong bull' breaking
down fortresses with its horns or expelling the inhabitants. The Pharaoh was
symbolised by the bull, and even the Egyptian sun-god is styled 'the bull of
the gods.' The animal is doubtless typical of generative force and of
strength, while the union of the attributes of Shamash and Addu are
intelligible since to the sun and weather man owed the necessaries of life. It
is noteworthy that the two deities are prominent in the Hittite treaty, where
each is called 'lord of heaven' (p. 73), and, as early as the nineteenth
century, the Assyrian compound-name Shamshi-Adad indicates that they
could be easily combined. The name is borne by two kings; one a 'priest-
king' of the god Ashur, the other a son of Ishme-Dagan ('D. hears').
Dagan (DAGON) has left his traces in place-names and in the ruler,
'Dagan is strong' (Amarna letters). The deity seems to have been of
Assyrian or Mesopotamian rather than of Babylonian origin. It is possible
that he was a corn-god. The Babylonian NEBO, the 'teacher,' can only be
recovered from place-names in Judah and Moab. NINIB (native form is
uncertain), both sun- and war-god, appears in the Amarna letters in two
place-names (one in the vicinity of Jerusalem), and in the personal-name
'Servant of Ninib.' The swine was sacred to Ninib, as also to Tammuz and
the Phoenician Adonis; but neither of the latter can be traced in our period.
SHALEM, in Jeru-salem (Uru-salim in the Amarna letters), has been
identified (on the analogy of Jeru-el) with a god who is known later in
Phoenicia, Assyria, and North Arabia, and who is perhaps combined with
Resheph on an Egyptian stele of our period. He was perhaps identified with
Ninib. The antiquity of GAD, the deity of fortune, can be assumed from
place-names. In a disguised form the goddess, 'Fortune' was the guardian-
deity of the cities in the Greek age, and allusion is made in the Talmud to
the couch reserved for the 'luck of the house.' A deified 'Righteousness'
(sedek) has been inferred from a name in the Amarna age; it would find a
parallel in 'Right' and 'Integrity' the sons of the Assyrian god Sham ash, and
both 'Integrity' and 'Righteousness' find a place in the Phoenician
cosmogony which, in spite of its late dress, preserves many old features
which recur in Hebrew myths.

The Babylonian NERGAL, god of war, burning heat and pestilence, and
ruler of Hades, the deity with whom was identified Saturn (and also Mars),
should find a place in the pantheon. A seal from Taanach describes its
owner as 'servant of Nergal' (p. 110), and the king of Cyprus reports to
Egypt the desolation caused by the god's hand. Even as late as the third
century B.C. we hear of a Phoenician who was his high-priest. As a solar
fire-god he had in the west the name Sharrab or Sharraph with which the
familiar Seraph may be identified. The god El of later Phoenician myth (the
Greek Kronos; Saturn) was depicted with six-wings like the Seraphim. He
was the god to whom children were sacrificed, whence the story that he had
set the example by killing his own. If infants had been slain to Sharrab in
Palestine, this would be in harmony with Nergal's character, and it may be
noticed that Nusku, who is sometimes associated with Nergal, was
symbolised by a lamp (cp. above, p. 41). In the Old Testament the grim rites
belong to Molech (properly Melek), but there are independent reasons for
the view that the latter was the proper-name of the Phoenician El.[3]
However this may be, the name MELEK, although really an appellative
('king'), passes over into a true proper-name; but it is not clear whether this
is the case in our period where we meet with the personal names 'servant of
Melek' (or, the king), 'El is Melek,' etc.
[1] M.-J. Lagrange, Études sur les Rel. Sémitiques, p. 107 sq.
It is uncertain whether there is external evidence for the name YAHWEH
(Jehovah), the national God of the Israelites. Unambiguous examples
outside Palestine appear in North Syria in the eighth century in the form
Yau (Yahu), which in one name interchanges with El. Cuneiform evidence
for the name in the First Babylonian Dynasty has been adduced, and in the
abbreviated Ya it possibly occurs in 'house of Ya,' a Palestinian town taken
by Thutmose III. Further, in Akhi-yami (or, yawi), the author of a cuneiform
tablet from Taanach, an identification with Akhiyah (the Biblical Ahijah) is
not improbable, although other explanations are possible. While other
writers salute Ishtar (or Astarte)-Washur, the governor of Taanach, with:
May Addu, or may the gods preserve thy life, Ahijah (?) invokes 'the lord of

the gods.' In the course of his letter he asks whether there is still lamentation
for the lost cities or have they been recovered, and continues: 'there is over
my head some one (who is) over the cities; see, now, whether he will do
good with thee; further, if he shows anger, they will be confounded, and the
victory will be mighty.' It is not clear whether these words refer to the
divine Pharaoh or to a deity, the supreme god whom he invokes. If the latter
view be correct, it is difficult to decide whether the reference be to the Sun-
god, patronised by the ruling powers (whether Egyptian or Hittite), or the
great Addu who would be quite in keeping with the allusions to war and
victory. Some, however, would recognise a Providence, or, from their
interpretation of the writer's name, Yahweh himself. But a single tablet has
little evidential value and we can merely mention the possibilities.
The preceding paragraphs touch only the fringe of an important subject
—the Palestinian pantheon in and after the Amarna age. Egyptian
supremacy involved the recognition of Amon-Re, but it is difficult to
determine to what extent this deity differed from the Palestinian Shamash.
Excavations illustrate the result of intercourse, especially in the southern
part of the land, but the numerous characteristic scarabs, and the
representations of Osiris, Isis, Ptah, Sebek, Anubis, and the ever-popular
Bes (with moulds), need have no significance for the gods of Palestine.
They may not always be specifically Egyptian; Bes, for example, appears to
be of non-Egyptian ancestry. Further, a number of the names in the Amarna
letters are neither Egyptian nor Semitic, but of northern origin, and the
name of the king of Jerusalem, 'servant of Khiba,' introduces a goddess of
the earlier 'Hittite' peoples whose influence upon Palestine is to be inferred
upon other grounds.[4]
[4] H. Winckler (Mittheil., No. 35), p. 48.
In Egypt, Babylonia and Assyria numerous deities of varying rank were
venerated by the people. Bes, himself, in spite of his subordinate position in
the pantheon was a favourite among all Egyptians outside the more elevated
classes. The popular beings, like the popular religious ideas, are not to be

found in royal inscriptions or temple-hymns. The state and the priesthood
often refused to recognise them, but they are to be found not rarely among
the personal names of ordinary individuals. This probably holds true also of
Palestine, and consequently we must not suppose that the influence of
foreigners upon the popular cults of the land is to be ignored or that the
more honourable names which we have been noticing were the sole
claimants to the worship of the peasantry.[5]
[5] Comp. M. Jastrow, Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens, i. p. 164 sq.;
H. P. Smith, 'Theophorous Proper Names in the Old Testament,' in O. T.
and Semitic Studies in memory of William Rainey Harper, i. pp. 35-64
(Chicago, 1908).
CHAPTER VIII
CONTEMPORAR Y THOUGHT—CONCLUSION
Miscellaneous Ideas.—Although the native literature of our period
consists almost entirely of the begging-letters and reports in the Amarna
Tablets, yet even from the language addressed to the human representative
of the Sun-God, we may gain some idea of the intellectual environment,
some hints, it may be, suggestive of the religious thought of the age.[1] The
Egyptian monarch is addressed not only as king of lands, king of battle but
as a god (pp. 63, 78). His commands are as powerful as the Sun (Shamash)
in Heaven; he is like the Sun which rises over the lands every day, and, as
for the rising of the Sun in Heaven, so the writers await the words which
come from his mouth. They keep the king's command day and night and
acknowledge that the king will curse the man who does not serve him. He
who hearkens not to the word of the king, his lord, his city and house go to
ruin, and his name will not be in the land for ever; but (says the writer, the
king of Tyre) the servant who hearkens to his lord, his city and house

flourish, and his name is unto eternity, 'for thou art the Sun which rises over
me and the wall of bronze which is lifted up for me.'
[1] It need hardly be remarked that the paragraphs classifying the more
interesting ideas in the letters from Palestine and Syria have been made
as literal as possible.
The vassals do obeisance seven and seven times; they prostrate
themselves upon breast and back. (Both attitudes are illustrated in the rather
later tomb of Harmheb.) They call themselves the throne on which the king
sits, his footstool, the dust of his feet and of the soles of his sandals. They
are the ground upon which he treads, the dirt over which he walks; his yoke
is upon their neck and they bear it. 'Whether we mount up to heaven or
descend to earth, our head is still in your hand,' writes one, and he makes
the following striking acknowledgement: 'I look here and I look there and
there is no light, but I look to my lord the king and there is light; and though
a brick move away from under its coping, I will not move away from under
the feet of my lord.' These phrases, which were evidently popular, are used
by two other writers. A vassal thus declares his fidelity: 'I have not sinned in
aught against the king my lord, I have not sinned; may the lord my king
know his evil-doers.' Another seeks the way to his lord, and from his lord
deserts not. A confident vassal prays the king not to take anything to heart;
let not thy heart be pained, he writes. One writer asks if he is a dog that he
should not obey the royal commands, and a second emphasises his remarks
by a repetition of the oath 'as the king, my lord, liveth.'
The king of Byblos, who calls his city the king's faithful handmaid,
complains of a deed against his city which had not been done since eternity;
the dogs (i.e. his adversaries) act after their hearts and cause the king's cities
to go up in smoke. The fields are like a wife without a husband through lack
of sustenance. He himself is caught like a bird in a cage. Again, he is old
and stricken with disease; the gods of Byblos are enraged, and the illness is
very severe, but, he continues, 'I have opened (confessed) my sins to the
gods.' He declares that since the day he received favour from the king his

heart had not changed, his face is (fixed) to serve him; if the king's heart is
for his city (or, elsewhere, if it is on his heart) let him send help.
The vassals write that they stretch out their hand to the king's feet, or
pray that the king may extend his hand unto them. The citizens of Tunip
assert: 'thy city weeps and its tears flow; there is no seizing of the hand
(help) for us.' The ruler of Beirut trusts that the royal troops may shatter the
heads of the king's enemies, while his servant's eyes gaze (i.e. with
pleasure) upon the king's life. The elders of a city entreat: 'May the king our
lord hearken to the words of his true servants, and give a present to his
servants, while our enemies look on and eat the dust; let not the king's
breath depart from us.' The king is the breath of his vassals' lives; they
rejoice when it reaches them, for without it they cannot live. The thought
was a common one, and in an Egyptian text the defeated Hittites are
represented as saying to Ramses II. 'in praising the Good God (i.e. the king)
"Give to us the breath that thou givest, lo, we are under thy sandals."'
Equally interesting are the words of the prince of Sidon on the receipt of
tidings from the king, 'my heart rejoiced, my head was uplifted and my eyes
shone.'
Finally, the king of Jerusalem in his letters to his god, his Sun, protests
that one has slandered him (lit. eaten the pieces). While other writers
disclaim guilt or sin (khitu), i.e. rebellion, he asserts that he has been loyal
(saduk) in his dealings. He acknowledges that neither his father nor his
mother appointed him in his place, the king's strong arm has set him up in
his father's house, he has 'put his name upon Jerusalem for ever,' therefore
he cannot abandon its territory. Indeed, his recognition of Pharaoh's
supremacy is unique, and in one of his communications to the king his Sun,
after the usual obeisance ('at the feet of my lord, seven times and seven
times I fall'), he declares that his lord 'has put his name upon the East and
upon the West.'
The Underlying Identity of Thought throughout the old Oriental world
shows itself alike in Egyptian texts and in Hittite tablets from Boghaz-keui.
The literature of Babylonia, Assyria, and often, too, of Egypt so frequently
has analogies and parallels in the Old Testament, that we may assume that

similar points of contact would be found, had we some of the religious
writings of the Palestine of our period. Though we do not know how the
Palestinian addressed his gods, the evidence whether direct or indirect
partially enables us to fill the gap. Even the simplicity and poverty of
Oriental pastoral life have never been accompanied by a corresponding
inferiority of expression or dearth of religious reflection. An unbiased
examination of the external religious literature shows the position which the
deities held in the thoughts of their groups of worshippers. Religion was
quite part of life, and the same fundamental conceptions underlay the
manifold social-religious systems whether tribal or monarchical. To their
head each group looked for all the gifts of nature and also for protection and
succour; him they were loyally prepared to sustain, and they expected a
corresponding loyalty on his part.
A topical example of the identity of thought is furnished by a hymn of
the monotheist Ikhnaton in honour of Aton. The deities are largely what
circumstances make them; the extension of Egypt's empire extended the
supremacy of the national-god, the situation encouraged the conception of a
world-god. Now, this domesticated and somewhat weak monarch, holding
himself aloof from politics, endeavoured to found a cult of the sun-disc
which was characteristically devoid of the usual association of the sun with
the destructive aspect of the storm- or weather-god. Like other individual
faiths, it was stamped with a profound spirit of humanity. Ikhnaton's deity
was the sole god, beside whom there was no other; the beginning of life, the
creator of 'the countries of Syria, Nubia, the land of Egypt'; the maker of all
mankind diverse in speech, and of all that is upon the earth and on high. It
was a despotic and ill-timed monotheism. It introduced a cult which was too
far from ordinary worship, one which threatened to overthrow the old-
established deities. What was probably more important was the fact that the
deity had not the forceful and dominating attributes of the old sun-god. He
was not a god of war, and, from the current standpoint, would be of no avail
in the political storms which were beating upon the Egyptian empire in
Asia. But this remarkable attempt at a reform claims attention especially
because the cult was as little upon traditional and specifically Egyptian lines
as was the idea of the beneficent life-giving sun whose rays were not
confined to Egypt alone. As Professor Breasted has observed, the hymn is
especially interesting for its similarity in thought and sequence with the late

Psalm civ. There is no evidence, however, that any effort was made to
spread Ikhnaton's cult over the Egyptian dominions in Western Asia, and the
possibility of Asiatic influence upon the shaping of the cult cannot be
altogether excluded. We quote a few lines from Professor Breasted's
translation to illustrate Ikhnaton's conceptions of the sun-god, whose
worship was one of the most popular in Babylonia and Assyria, who,
indeed, was regarded there not merely as an illuminator but as a supreme
and righteous judge, the god of truth and justice.
'When thou risest in the eastern horizon of heaven,
Thou fillest every land with thy beauty.
* * * * *
When thou settest in the western horizon of heaven,
The world is in darkness like the dead.
* * * * *
Bright is the earth when thou risest in the horizon,
When thou shinest as Aton by day.
The darkness is banished, when thou sendest forth thy rays.
* * * * *
How manifold are all thy works,
They are hidden from before us,
O thou sole god, whose powers no other possesseth,
Thou didst create the earth according to thy desire,
While thou wast alone.
* * * * *
The world is in thy hand,
Even as thou hast made them.
When thou hast risen, they live.
When thou settest, they die.
For thou art duration, beyond thy mere limbs,
By thee man liveth,
And their eyes look upon thy beauty,
Until thou settest.'[2]
[3] See further the appreciative account of the reform by J. H. Breasted,
History of Egypt, pp. 355-378.

The Influence of Babylonia.—The fact that Palestine used the script
and language of Babylonia suggests that it shared other features of its
culture. Among the Amarna Tablets were Babylonian mythological texts
which had been carefully studied or used for reading-exercises in Egypt.
One, the myth of Eresh-ki-gal and Nergal, narrating the descent of the latter
into Hades, recalls the story of Persephone. Another, the myth of Adapa,
tells how the hero who refused the food and water of life in heaven was
denied the gift of immortality. It is inconceivable that Palestinian
speculation did not turn to the mysteries of life and death, or that a people
should acknowledge Nergal—or any other deity—without some formal
beliefs. May we assume, therefore, that Palestinian thought was pre-
eminently Babylonian? The question is as important for our period as for
the Old Testament, and, in the absence of texts wherewith to institute a
comparison, we conclude with a brief account of the bearing of the
available evidence upon the problem.
The formulated beliefs, the theology, and the mythology which all races
possess to some degree or other have grown up from that primitive
philosophy of man which seeks to explain all that he saw about him. The
old question: 'What mean ye by this service?' (Exod. xii. 26) is typical of
the inquiry which ritual (and indeed all other) acts invariably demand; the
danger lies in our assuming that the proffered explanations necessarily
describe their origin, and in confusing the essential elements with those
which are accidental and secondary. The excavations at Gezer suggest an
illustration. What rites were practised in its caves or in the great tunnel
which leads to the subterranean spring cannot be asserted, but there is a
living tradition that the waters of the flood burst forth in the neighbourhood.
Similar flood-stories can be localised elsewhere. In Hierapolis water was
poured into a chasm below the sanctuary twice a year, and according to the
Pseudo-Lucian it was here that the waters of Deucalion's flood were
absorbed—hence the rite! But Melito reports that water was emptied into a
well in the city in order to subdue a subterranean demon—evidently some
earlier chthonic deity. Similar water-rites were known in Palestine and Syria
as a 'descent' or Yerīd, and it may be presumed that an echo of the term
survives in 'Ain Yerdeh at the foot of Gezer. We do not reach the root of the

matter, but we can notice the diverse explanations of the same rite (which
probably originated in a charm to procure rain), the ubiquity of certain
traditions, their persistence, and the ease with which they adjust themselves.
Further, it is instructive to observe how the rite has been shaped in the
Jewish Feast of Tabernacles and has been dressed in accordance with
specific religious beliefs (cp. Zech. xiv. 16 sq.).
Some archæological details may next be summarised. An altar at
Taanach, with protuberances suggestive of horns, bore in bold relief winged
animals with human faces, lions, a tree with a goat on either side, and a
small human figure clutching a serpent. Though it may belong to the eighth
or seventh century, similar scenes recur upon seals and other objects of all
dates. Animals (especially of the deer or gazelle kind) are common, either
alone or in conjunction with trees or men. Man-headed bulls with wings,
sphinxes, and scenes of combat also appear. The ubiquitous myth of the
dragon-slayer finds a parallel in the Egyptian scene of a foreign god
(Sutekh) piercing the serpent with his spear, or in the later grandiose
representations of the sturdy boy at Petra who grips the dragon.[3] One seal
shows a seven-branched tree grasped by two men with the sun and moon on
one side and two stags on the other. In a second, a human figure stands
before a kind of pillar which is surmounted by an eight-rayed star. A third
had been impressed upon a tablet from Gezer which bore nineteen distinct
objects, including sun, moon, star, serpent, fish, crab, animals, etc. Some of
the signs were at once recognised as zodiacal, and less elaborate specimens
from Gezer and Megiddo furnish parallels. But inscribed Babylonian
boundary-stones of our period bear analogous symbols; they are the
emblems of the deities whose powers are thus invoked by the inscription
should the land-mark be damaged or removed. The more gods, the more
powerful the charm.
[3] The former is given by F. L. Griffith, Proceedings of the Society of
Biblical Archæology, xvi. p. 87, the latter by A. Jeremias, Alte Test., etc.,
p. 456 sqq., fig. 151.

Such objects with all their Babylonian associations may in certain cases
have been imported or copied from foreign originals; the scenes could have
been absolutely meaningless or even subject to a new interpretation. But it
is as difficult to treat every apparently foreign object as contrary to
Palestinian ideas, as it is to determine how sacrificial and other scenes
would otherwise have been depicted. Religion found its expression in art;
art was the ally of idolatry, and the later uncompromising attitude of
Judaism towards display of artistic meaning implies that the current
symbolism, etc., reflected intelligible religious conceptions. But it does not
follow that these conceptions were everywhere identical.
Again, when a scimitar from a tomb at Gezer resembles that which a
priest holds in a sacrificial scene upon a Gezer seal, we may suppose that
the seal represents a familiar Palestinian ceremony. But the same type of
weapon is found in Assyria and Egypt in the age of the Nineteenth Dynasty,
and it is therefore impossible to treat it or the scene as distinctively
Palestinian. The ubiquity of the dragon-conflict, too, warns us that the same
underlying motive will present itself in a great variety of external shapes,
and it is interesting to find that the idea of the slayer as a child actually
points away from Babylonia. Features which find their only parallel in the
accumulation of Babylonian evidence are not inevitably of Babylonian
origin. Our land was exposed to diverse influences, an illustration of which
is afforded by certain seals with cuneiform characters. The owner of one is
styled a servant of Nergal (see p. 93); it bears Egyptian symbols (those of
life and beauty), and a scene of adoration, partly Egyptian and partly
Babylonian in treatment. It has been ascribed to the First Dynasty of
Babylon. Later come the seals of the Sidonian Addumu 'beloved of the gods
(?)' and his son; on one is an Egyptianised representation of Set, Horus, and
Resheph. Yet another combines two conventional scenes, the priest leading
a worshipper before a deity (Babylonian), a king slaying a kneeling enemy
(Egyptian).[4] In the presence of such fusion the problem becomes more
complex. If, in the Greek age, it is found that Adonis and Osiris or Astarte
of Byblos and Isis resembled each other so closely that it was sometimes
difficult to determine which deity was being celebrated, the relation
between the Baalath of Byblos and Hathor, or between Shamash and Amon-
Re could have been equally embarrassing in our period. In fact, as Palestine

continues to be brought into line with other lands the task of determining
specific external influences becomes more intricate.
[4] See (a), Sellin, Tell Ta'annek, fig. 22, pp. 27 sq., 105 (Vincent,
Canaan, fig. 117, p. 170 sq.); (b) Winckler, Altorient. Forschungen, iii.
p. 177 sq.; and (c) E. J. Pilcher, Proc. Soc. Bibl. Arch., xxiii. p. 362.
Finally, whatever was the true effect of the early Babylonian supremacy,
both Palestine and Syria, when not controlled by Egypt, were influenced by
the northern power of Mitanni and by the Hittites who preserve distinctive
features of their own. According to Professor Sayce most of the seals we
have been noticing are Syrian modifications of the Babylonian type, and
'the more strictly archæological evidence of Babylonian influence upon
Canaan is extraordinarily scanty.'[5] It is obvious that one must allow for
the direct influence exerted upon the religious conditions from a quarter of
which very little is known as yet. The fact that Babylonian was used in
Palestine and among the Hittite peoples clearly does not allow sweeping
inferences. Indeed, so far from the script or language having been imposed
from without, the people of Mitanni apparently borrowed the cuneiform
script and adapted it to their own language; while, in the Amarna Tablets,
the native tongue of Palestine and Syria has left a distinct impress upon the
Babylonian.[6] This individuality repeats itself in Palestinian pottery, which
has neither originality of concept nor fertility of resource. But it has vigour
and vitality, and has not developed into the superior art with which it came
into contact. In general the archæological evidence shows very clearly that
Palestine was not absorbed by Babylonian culture, still less by that of
Egypt.[7]
[5] A. H. Sayce, Archæology of the Cuneiform Inscriptions (London,
1907), pp. 151 sq.
[6] For Mitanni, see Sayce, op. cit., p. 167; and for the dialect of the
Amarna letters, Zimmern, Keilinschr. u. d. Alte Test., p. 651.

[7] Cp. Vincent, op. cit., p. 341 (also p. 439 and note 1).
Conclusion.—Recent research gives us a glimpse of the Religion of
Ancient Palestine which becomes more distinct as it is found to be in
general harmony with Oriental religions. The picture, as we see it, is neither
Egyptian nor Babylonian, and if the latter colours it, this was inevitable,
partly through the still obscure relations under the First Babylonian
Dynasty, partly (though indirectly) through the influence of the northern
peoples, and again partly because both (as opposed to Egypt) are Semitic.
The picture, nevertheless, has distinctive traits of its own. By the side of
sacred places of cult and rites often cruel and gross appear those indications
of loftier elements which prove that we have no mere inchoate nature-
worship. This co-existence need cause no surprise. The institutions which
combine to make civilisation do not necessarily move at the same rate or in
parallel lines, either with each other or with the progress of religious
thought. A variety of stages of development—such as can be observed in a
single province of modern India—could have been easily found amid
conflicting political groups, or in the presence of foreign mercenaries or
settlers. One may also assume that then, as now, there were the usual
contrasts between the exposed sea-ports and the small inland townships,
between the aristocracy and the peasantry, between the settled agriculturists
and the roaming sons of the desert.
The fundamental religious conceptions have from time to time been
elevated and ennobled by enlightened minds; but what European culture
was unable to change in the age of Greek and Roman supremacy, influences
of Oriental origin could not expel. Official cults, iconoclastic reforms, new
positive religions have left the background substantially unaltered, and the
old canvas still shows through the coatings it has received.
Our evidence has taken us down through the age of Egyptian supremacy,
which can be traced to the time of Ramses III., if not to the days of
Wenamon and Zakarbaal (1100 B.C.). With the decay of Egypt we reach the
close of a period which corresponds broadly to that wherein Israelite history
has placed the Patriarchs, Moses, Joshua, and the Judges. The picture which
the external sources furnish was not effaced at a stroke. But the

transformation from Egypt's suzerainty to an independent Israelite
monarchy, from the polytheism of the Amarna age to the recognition of a
single God does not belong to these pages. The rise of Yahweh as the
national God, and the development of conceptions regarding his nature
must be sought in the native Israelite records themselves, and in such
external evidence as the future may produce. Our task is finished when we
point out that the external (archæological) evidence does not reveal that
hiatus which would have ensued had there been a dislocation of earlier
conditions by invading Israelite tribes; earlier forms are simply developed,
the evolution is a progressive one.[8]
[8] Cp. R. A. S. Macalister, 'Excavation of Gezer,' Quarterly Statements,
1904, p. 123; 1907, p. 203; Sellin, op. cit., p. 102; id., Der Ertrag der
Ausgrabungen in Orient für die Erkenntnis der Entwicklung der Religion
Israels (Leipzig, 1905), pp. 33, 36 sq., 39 sq., see, in general, Vincent,
op. cit., pp. 19 sq., 147 sqq., 199-204, 225, 345, 352 sq., 463 sq., and S.
A. Cook, English Historical Review, 1908, pp. 325 sq.
PRINCIPAL SOURCES AND WORKS OF
REFERENCE
For the Excavations: R. A. S. Macalister, 'Reports on the Excavation of
Gezer,' in the Quarterly Statements of the Palestine Exploration Fund
(October 1902-October 1905; July 1907-July 1908); id., Bible Side-lights
from the Mound of Gezer (London, 1906, numerous illustrations); Ernst
Sellin, 'Tell Ta'annek,' in the Denkschriften of the Vienna Academy (1904-
5); W. M. Flinders Petrie, Researches in Sinai (London, 1906); Hugues
Vincent, Canaan d'après l'Exploration Recente (Paris, 1907; a valuable
account, from the archæological standpoint, of the results of excavation
contained in the above works and elsewhere); G. Schumacher, Tell el-
Mutesellim (Leipzig, 1908), vol. i., text and plates.

Evidence from Babylonian or Assyrian Texts: H. Winckler, The Tell-el-
Amarna Tablets (London, 1896); new edition by J. A. Knudtzon, Die El-
Amarna-Tafeln (Leipzig, 1907-8; Parts i.-x.); H. Zimmern, Die
Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament (Berlin, 1903; pp. 345-643); A.
Jeremias, Das Alte Testament im Lichte des Alten Orients (Leipzig, 1906);
M. Jastrow, Die Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens (Giessen, 1905—).
Egyptian Sources: W. M. Müller, Asien und Europa nach Alt-
ägyptischen Denkmälern (Leipzig, 1893); J. H. Breasted, History of Egypt
(London, 1906); id., Ancient Records of Egypt: Historical Documents
(1906-7); Zeitschrift fur Aegyptische Sprache, etc. etc.
Of general works, W. R. Smith, Lectures on the Religion of the Semites:
the Fundamental Institutions (London, 1894), is naturally indispensable.
Important, also, are G. A. Barton, A Sketch of Semitic Origins, Social and
Religious (New York, 1902); Marie-Joseph Lagrange, Études sur les
Religions Sémitiques (Paris, 1905); J. G. Frazer, Adonis, Attis, and Osiris:
Studies in the History of Oriental Religion (London, 1907). For Modern
Semitic Religion there is a large mass of scattered evidence; the most
illuminating works are those of C. M. Doughty, Arabia Deserta
(Cambridge, 1888); S. I. Curtiss, Primitive Semitic Religion To-day
(London, 1902); A. Jaussen, Coutumes des Arabes au Pays de Moab (Paris,
1908). For the history of the period may be consulted the works of G.
Maspero (Histoire Ancienne; Paris, 1904, etc.), or the popular account, with
typical illustrations, by G. Cormack, History of Palestine in Early Times
(forthcoming).
For those unacquainted with modern comparative study in the field of
religion, one of the most serviceable introductory books is J. A.
Macculloch's Comparative Theology (Churchman's Library, London, 1902).
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE

The following dates are based upon the latest researches, but are to be
regarded as provisional. Some Biblical dates are added for comparison,
those marked with an asterisk follow the margin of the Authorised Version.
FIRST BABYLONIAN DYNASTY (the
'Khammurabi age') between . . . . . . . . . . . . 2060-
1800 B.C.
TWELFTH EGYPTIAN DYNASTY, began about . . . . . . . 2000.
Abram enters Canaan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1921*.
Descent of Jacob into Egypt . . . . . . . . . . . . 1706*.
Hyksos invasion of Egypt, about . . . . . . . . . . 1680.
EIGHTEENTH EGYPTIAN DYNASTY . . . . . . . . . . . . 1580-
1350.
Thutmose III. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1500.
Exodus of Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1491*.
Invasion of Palestine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1451*.
Amenhotep III. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1411.
Amenhotep IV. (Ikhnaton) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1375.
NINETEENTH EGYPTIAN DYNASTY . . . . . . . . . . . . 1350-
1200.
Sety I. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1320.
Ramses II. (? Pharaoh of the oppression,
Exod. i. 11) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1310.
Merneptah (? Pharaoh of the Exodus;
defeats Israel in Palestine) . . . . . . . . . . . 1244.
TWENTIETH EGYPTIAN DYNASTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1200-
1090.
Ramses III. (first mention of Philistines) . . . . . 1200-
1169.
Ramses XII. (? age of Eli) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1118.
Tiglath-pileser I., about . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1100.
Saul, King of Israel (? 1025) . . . . . . . . . . . 1095*.
David, King of Judah (? 1010) . . . . . . . . . . . 1056*.
Solomon, about . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 970.

INDEX
ADDU, weather-god, 79, 89 sq., 95.
Adonis, 36, 47, 92, 111.
Aegean isles, 6, 8.
Agriculture, 7, 9 sq., 11, 33 sq., 88, 90.
Allah, 21, 61, 68.
Altar, 18 sqq., 27, 39, 108.
Amarna tablets, 6 8, 10, 33, 63, 76, 78, 92, 96, 98 sqq., 106, 112, etc.
Amenhotep II., 44.
Amenhotep III., 5 sq., 56, 70 sq., 81, 118.
Amenhotep IV. See Ikhnaton.
Amon, the god, 54 sq., 61, 71, 74 sqq., 77 sq., 81, 95, 111. See Re.
Amulets, 17, 32, 35, 38, 51 sq.
Anath, goddess, 85.
Ancestor-worship, 57 sqq.
Animals, 22, 30 sq., 39sq., 43 sqq., 47 sqq., 50, 61, 85, 108 sq.
Animism, 60.
Anointing, 14, 27, 42, 64, 76, 79.
Anubis, 96.
Anthropomorphism, 28, 49.
Apollo, 23, 84.
Arabia, 7, 87 sq., 92.
Archæology, 2, 7 sq., etc.
Arts, 8 sq., 112 sq.
Ashērah, 26, 87.
Ashirat, Ashirta, goddess, 53, 87.
Tell 'Ashtarah, 77, 81.
Ashur, the god, 53, 87 sq., 92.
Assyria, 5, 7, 39, 62, 78, 87 sqq., 92, 102.
Astarte, 29 sq., 45, 49, 70, 73, 86 sq.
Atargatis, 31.
Aton, 103 sqq.

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