Sculpture in Ancient Civilizations
The Stele of Naram-Sin depicts Akkadian King Naram-Sin defeating an enemy army. The king is on the top of a mountain, and his army is marching behind him, while the defeated soldiers are spread around chaotically. The clothes and weapons show that the people on the stele are warriors, and the composition is rather well-structured. The Palette of Narmer depicts Egyptian King Narmer (close-up on one side and in a procession on the other) surrounded by various characters. People and other creatures look rather odd in terms of sizes, proportions, and poses, but it is due to the conventions of Ancient Egyptian art. Two creatures crossing their long necks on one of the palette’s sides indicate that the time of the sculpture is the period of unification of the two parts of Ancient Egypt. The Akhenaten and His Family stele depict Pharaoh Akhenaten, his wife Nefertiti, and their three children. The composition and the characters’ clothes show a higher level of artistic skillfulness than that during Narmer’s times. What is similar among all three sculptures is that rulers are depicted as much larger figures than other people.
The practice of exaggerating the size of rulers comes from the recognition of the superior power, greatness, and perhaps the divine origin of monarchs in the ancient world. Objects play a significant role, too; Naram-Sin wears a horned helmet that symbolizes divine power (Chul-Hyun, 2012). Narmer wears two different crowns on the different sides of the palette, which shows that he is the king of both parts of Egypt. Akhenaten and his family are surrounded by rays of sunlight, which symbolizes being blessed by the gods. The first stele indicates that the Akkadian society could be highly militarized; the palette shows that the Egyptian society could be highly ritualized, and the second stele confirms that family values were respected and promoted in the same society almost two millennia later.
Monumental Architecture
The Nanna Ziggurat was built in the 21st century BCE by King Ur-Nammu in honor of Nanna, the god of the moon, but later went to ruin and was restored in the 6th century BCE by King Nabonidus. The building was a temple and also an administrative center; the creation of the structure was justified by the close connection between the religious leadership and state governance in Mesopotamia. The function was stressed visually: the ziggurat is large and must have been particularly impressive to ancient people. Like Mount Rushmore, the Nanna Ziggurat is a massive structure that symbolizes the powerfulness and magnificence of the state.
The six pyramids of Giza were built at different times under different rulers. It is still unclear who exactly was involved in the construction, and there is an ongoing debate on the function, too; while most researchers consider them to be the tombs of pharaohs, there are also speculations on alternative purposes, even such as being “site markers for alien landings” (Derricourt, 2012, p. 357). The reason for building the pyramids was the cult of pharaohs, and the massive structures pointing at the sky were needed to stress the ruler’s special status. In terms of expressing sorrow and grief—in this example, about losing the pharaoh—the pyramids can be compared to the 9/11 Memorial.
The Lion Gate was built by the people of Mycenae and commissioned by the rulers of this city. It was the main entrance to the citadel, i.e. the central fortress. The massive structure represented the impregnability of Mycenae, and the need for the Lion Gate indicates that large ancient cities were constantly under threat of attacks and sieges. The meanings of the two figures of lions—or lionesses (Blackwell, 2014)—and the column between them are still debated; most likely, they represent certain religious beliefs.
References
Blackwell, N. G. (2014). Making the Lion Gate Relief at Mycenae: Tool marks and foreign influence. American Journal of Archaeology, 118(3), 451-488.
Chul-Hyun, B. (2012). Religion, art and literacy: three critical devices for the legitimation of King Darius’s kingship. Web.
Derricourt, R. (2012). Pyramidologies of Egypt: A typological review. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 22(3), 353-363.