The Da Vinci Code

But according to the Louvre website, the pyramid is covered with 673 diamond-shaped panes of glass and not 666 (http://www.louvre.or.jp/louvre/presse/en/activites/archives/anniv.htm). This is a very minor error.

Some pages later the author states that the Olympic games were originally based on an eight year cycle and that the planet Venus traced a perfect pentagram in the ecliptic sky every four years. This error appeared in early editions of the book and was corrected in later printings including the April 2003 printing of the US hardback. His statement now reads,

. . . Venus traced a perfect pentacle across the ecliptic sky every eight years. So astonished were the ancients to observe this phenomenon . . . As a tribute to the magic of Venus, the Greeks used her eight-year cycle to organize their Olympic Games. Nowadays, few people realized (sic) that the four-year schedule of modern Olympics still followed the half-cycles of Venus. Even fewer people knew that the five-pointed star had almost become the official Olympic seal . . . (DVC p. 36-37)

Mr. Brown has finally corrected his error. Careful research would have discovered that the European Southern Observatory presents compelling data on their website that Venus completes a pentacle in eight years. This was a fact known to the ancients.

However, Mr. Brown is still not correct regarding the symbol of the Olympic Games. The following quote from the official website of the Olympic Museum makes this comment.

Even though Pierre de Coubertin intended the Olympic Games to be an international event from the time of their re-establishment in 1896 in Athens (Greece), it was only at the 1912 Games in Stockholm (Sweden) that, for the first time, the participants came from all five continents. One year later, in 1913, the five rings appeared at the top of a letter written by Pierre de Coubertin. He drew the rings and coloured them in by hand. He then described this symbol in the Olympic Review of August 1913. It was also Coubertin who had the idea for the Olympic flag. He presented the rings and flag in June 1914 in Paris at the Olympic Congress. The First World War prevented the Games from being celebrated in 1916 in Berlin (Germany) as planned. It was not until 1920 in Antwerp (Belgium) that the flag and its five rings could be seen flying in an Olympic stadium. The First World War prevented the Games from being celebrated in 1916 in Berlin (Germany) as planned. It was not until 1920 in Antwerp (Belgium) that the flag and its five rings could be seen flying in an Olympic stadium. (http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report 672.pdf)

The Da Vinci Code implies that Leonardo named the “Mona Lisa” painting in order to communicate another secret. (DVC p. 121) But history tells us that Giorgio Vasari named the painting in AD. 1550 in a book titled “Leonardo; The Artist and the Man.” (Serge, Bramly. Lives of the Artists. NY: Penguin Books. 1991. p. 362) Before that event, the painting was simply referred to as “a portrait of a lady” by Leonardo’s pupil and heir. (Marani, Pietro C. Leonardo da Vinci: The Complete Paintings. NY: Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 2003. p. 198-199). In conclusion, the historical data states that Leonardo did not name the painting. The name “Mona Lisa” was given to the painting later.

Numerous other minor errors occur throughout the book. Here are a few more wrong statements: 1) God and His female counterpart, Shekinah, lived in Solomon’s temple (DVC p. 309), 2) pagan symbols are hidden under carpet in the Chartres Cathedral (DVC p. 7), 3) Sunday worship was stolen from pagan ritual (DVC p. 232-233), and 4) the Priory of Sion is a secret organization (DVC p. 113).

The Major Errors. While there are fifty-six major errors in the book, we have chosen to focus on four key errors in the rest of this discussion. There are currently numerous Christian and secular articles, books, and at least one excellent DVD which document these errors. We will provide recommendations in the conclusion.