Intro to the gods SYMBOLISM - East West North South 18 th century re-discovery Egypt: Location, location, location Tigris & Euphrates flood irregularly Nile floods regularly Nile Valley Nile brings silt from mtns. of Southern Africa Egypt has CYCLE of life Cycle = stability 2 words for travel up river & down river Not on watch for invasion Desert/water Duality of nature Sun & river Create& destroy Death and rebirth Foundation for religion Ra Osiris/ Set/ Horus myth Pharaoh also deity Ra stands between Horus & Set Manifestation of Horus After death, manifestation of Osiris Icon stability Importance of mummification Ka spirit-self Ba soul/ personality Akh reunited, glorified individual in afterlife Society structured around reliogion Royal - female lineage Priessts Nobles Middle class (scribes, merchants, artisans, wealthy farmers) Peasants Slaves
Gap between life of classes Dynasty Division of rulers, found in tomb, used for dating Pre-dynastic Egypt Upper Egypt (S dry, rocky, rustic) Lower Egypt (N lush, urban) Unification of the 2 shown by Palette of Narmer Palette for mixing eye makeup sunglasses King white bowling-pin shaped crown of upper Egypt Sacrificing to the gods On R Horus as human-armed bird holds man-headed hieroglyph decorated with papyrus on it representing lower Egypt King red cobra crown on lower Egypt Reviewing decapitated bodies of conquered enemy Hathor/ nut heads at top flanking cartouche Bull knocking over city shows ascendance of king Symbolism of the bull Apis bulls - perspective of portrayal (profile vs. full) - size = power - commemorative rather than funerary Old Kingdom Policy of peace Local militias called in when needed Re supreme no delineation between good of individual and nation Grandiose projects pyramids to ensure Pharaoh s afterlife Crop failures & noble power lead to decline & chaos Middle Kingdom Pharaoh takes power back Alliance among middle classes & pharaoh limits nobles power Public works instead of pyramids Extension of salvation to all Osiris/ Horus/ Isis strengthened Invasion of Hyksos New Kingdom Joining of faiths WAR power & expansion Absolute gov t w/ pharaoh as dictator Focus on immortality trial in afterlife
- priests sell trinkets to trick the gods - magical artifiacts Amenhotep IV introduces new system Akhenaton Qualified monotheism - Aton, no physical form - Pharaoh worships god, people worship pharoh - No promise of afterlife Lost after Akhenaton s death Tutankhamen returns to old ways ART Writing hieroglyphs - Formal writing system used only by scribes/ priests - 1% of populace was literate - 700 characters - No vowels used - Rosetta Stone - Some poetry, short stories, literature Architecture Tombs reflect focus on afterlife Old kingdom - Mastaba o Central room surrounded by storage chambers o Simple, perhaps derived from earlier cairns - necropolis established at Memphis o step pyramid o Djoser or Zozer o Imhotep o 1 million tons of quarried limestone o 200 high o Part of complex surrounded by walls 35 high o Dark entrance to light courtyard parallels cycle of life - at Giza, big 3 o Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure o Took about 75 years for 3 o Possibly inspired by Heliopolis near Memphis Cult of Re Fetish was pyramid stone Ben-Ben o Khufu oldest and largest
Orig. 482 feet high Area of 13 acres, single side 775 Stone cut, floated down river in flood, dressed, and labeled for its position Pyramid originally surfaced with smooth limestone 2.3 million blocks each approx 2.5 tons o Enough blocks in the 3 pyramids to build a wall 1 wide and 10 high around France. o Aligned to compass points Middle kingdom - smaller pyramids - elaborate interior design/ passageways - rubble filled - sarcophagus massive up to 150 tons Statues Used as augmentation to artchitecture Stylized to express ideals Deformed for consistency Khafre - Twined lotus & papyrus symbol of united kingdoms - Horus blessing - Idealized canon of proportion - Rigid, symmetrical, compact - 4 sides, each traced out/ carved, then corners rounded o Bronze tools o Finished/ worked by hand abrasion Menkaure - affection shown only by pose - faces stylized - idealized proportions - no weight shift Formality increases w/ importance 2-D art - intended to convey importance & activity in afterlife - conceptual portrayal vs. optical portrayal - animals portrayed extremely accurately New Kingdom
Architecture shifts to temples - rock cut tombs - mortuary temples worship of gods during reign, pharaoh after death Hatshepsut Ramses Abu Simbel 65 high statues Relocated by hand Temple at Karnak Hypostyle Hall - columns are 66 high - 22 diameter at the top - No cement used Akhenaton Amarna art Naturalistic/ stylized Discarding of former traditions Portrayal of physical issues Bust of Nefertiti Thutmose lotus styling Tutankhamen 3-layer coffin Innermost of beaten gold (1/4 ton)