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Prehistory to Egypt up to circa 1,000 BC Introduction Period before writing Paleolithic, up to 13,000 BC Mesolithic, 13,000 - 8,000 BC Neolithic, after 8,000 BC Paleo=old, meso=middle, neo=new lithic=stone The first “Art” • Development of early visual art – Dark outline – Outline with one color fill – Outline with two contrasting colors – Multi-colored, realistic paintings • First “Sculpture” 30,000 - 15,000 BC • “Venus” figures Venus of Willendorf • c. 30,000BC Cave painting • Lascaux France - 13,000 BC – Hall of the Running Bulls Cave painting Cave painting Mesopotamia • Meso - “middle” & potamia - “water” • between Tigris & Euphrates rivers • circa 8,000 BC • Beginnings of Agriculture – Made a stable society possible • What is “Culture”? – Originally - transmitting knowledge of growing food – Now - all knowledge of a society Map of Mesopotamia Mesopotamia • Inventions – 1. Pottery – 2. Weaving – 3. Permanent houses – 4. Organized cities – 5. Buying and selling of crops – 6. Calendars Mesopotamia • Inventions cont. – 7. Mathematics • the idea of “Zero” – 8. Writing – 9. Sail – 10. Wheel Sumer - 6,000 BC • 4 inventions – 1. Writing • Cuneiform (“Wedge” shaped) – 2. System of Math based on 60 • 60 seconds, 60 minutes, 360 degrees – 3. Wheel c. 3000BC • easier transportation – 4. Beer c.3500BC • safe drink Sumer cont. • Divine monarchy supported by armed forces – now the basis of all government • Ziggurat – stepped “pyramid” – reverential climbing – ritual, priests did praying, not people – used offerings, sacrifices Ziggurat Tell Asmar Statues, c. 2,750 BC He-Goat, c. 2,600 BC Standard of Ur, c. 2,400 BC Sumer cont. • Gilgamesh, c. 2,000 BC – ruler of Uruk (Erech in the bible) – first “Epic”/“buddy” story –Robinhood & Little John, etc. • Gilgamesh is oppressive king • the Gods send Enkidu to wrestle Gilgamesh • the match ends in a draw • they become friends Gilgamesh cont. • They share many adventures together • They return to Uruk • Ishtar professes her love for Gilgamesh • Gilgamesh rejects her • Ishtar sends the bull of heaven to kill Gilgamesh • Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the bull Gilgamesh cont. • for this the Gods condemn Enkidu to die • This greatly troubles Gilgamesh • He goes to Utnapishtim seeking immorality • Utnap. Shares the story of the great flood • He also tells Gil. Of the location of the plant of eternal life Gilgamesh cont. • It is located at the bottom of the sea • Gil. Swims and gets it • He returns to the surface and meets a snake • The snake tricks him out of the plant • Gil. Returns home and dies a lonely death European Ice-Age cultures • c. 4,000 - 1,000 BC – Stonehenge c. 1,400 BC – various stone circles around northern Europe – man-made mounds Stonehenge Stonehenge drawing Babylon • c. 1,900 - 539 BC • Hammurabi’s Code of Laws – An eye for and eye… • Nebuchadnezzer – Jewish capitivity (586-538 BC) – Temple of Entemenaki (Ziggurat) • Foundation of Heaven and Earth • may have been the “Tower of Babel” Tower of Babel Babylon cont. – Hanging Gardens • One of 7 ancient wonders of the world • Belshazzar (563-539 BC) – Daniel and the Lion’s Den – Samson and Delilah Assyria • c. 1,000 BC • Mesopotamia • First militaristic state • Huge cites with master plan – laid out to show “class” system • Sargon II - built, occupied, and abandoned in 1 generation (20 years) Persia • 539-331 BC • took over Babylon • network of roads Persia cont. • Zoroastrianism – 1st ethical, monotheistic religion – Twin evil spirit (devil) to the one God – Personal religion, no rituals, priests, or temples – waiting for coming savior, judgement, resurrection Judea • Hebrews, 12 tribes • earliest written Bible from time of King David, 1,000-961 BC • Third King - Solomon 961-922 BC • Temple of Solomon – House of the Lord – not a place for common worshippers – plans detailed in I Kings, 5-9 Temple of Solomon Africa • General Concepts – Non-Western culture Africa India Far East – Western culture – influenced by the Greeks Circular view of time, re-occurring cycles • (also by Meso-american peoples) Western view of time as linear •Past Present Future Africa cont. • All art is useful, no “art” for arts sake • Not written, oral transmission • Art as symbol of traditions • Reinforce practices that keep tribe alive Literature / Drama • Mythology / Myth • popular def. - Impossible or untrue story • Real def. – profound human truth portrayed by a fictional story (proverb, parable, fable, etc.) • Strong ethnic/tribal identity 2 basic questions of story-telling; • Where did we come from? • Where do we go? • Trickster tale – 1 character tricks or betrays another – good and bad tricksters – has a “moral” at the end Music • Northern Africa – Muslim/Islamic – Arabic – Small groups – Vocal and instruments Music • Western Africa – Complex rhythms/Polyrhythms – Repeated patterns with soloist – Percussion, sometimes with vocal – Unaccompanied vocal – Large Ensembles – Essential for all ceremonies Visual Arts • Art classified by purpose • Household objects – Head rests – Stools – Pot lids Visual arts cont. • Fetish figures – Object with supernatural powers – Power in relation to size – Good or bad – Composite works Ritual • Initiation rites • Transition from child to adult – Bar Mivtoza – Drivers License • Dance costumes Kente Cloth • Geometric • Simple Colors • Strip weaving • Strips sewn together to make larger pieces of “fabric” • Each tribe has it’s own pattern (like tartans to the Scots) Kente cloth Kente cloth Kente cloth Masks • Spirit • Ancestor • uses idea or trait of animal gazelle = fast lion = great hunter • never thrown away, but destroyed African Mask examples Fertility figures • Continuance of tribe – Dolls (“Venus” type figures common) – Used by mother until childbirth – then given to female child to ensure her fertility Religious figures • Creation myth – Primordial couple (Adam & Eve), or – Two pairs of twins – One destroys the other in a struggle of good vs. evil (Cain & Able, Egyptian & Greek myths) Reliquary figures • Holds bones of ancestor (cremation urn) – Ancestor spirit in control – Older people almost worshipped in many tribes – “Elders” many times rule tribe Dance • Very important • To be Ashante King, you had to be a good dancer – Mimics animals – Displays power, virtue, honors ancestors – Free expression Dance • “religion without dance would be impossible” • Dance acc. By drums • Drum censorship Egypt • 4,000BC - 332AD • Longest, uninterrupted history of any culture Egypt cont. • Pre-dynastic – 4,000 - 3,000BC • Old Kingdom – 3,000 - 2,400BC • Middle Kingdom – 2,400 - 1,575BC Egypt cont. • New Kingdom – 1,575 - 1,100BC • Late period – 1,100BC - 332AD • c. 600BC - conquest by Persia • 332AD - conquest by Rome • Ptolemaic period (Ruled by Rome) – after 332AD General Concepts • Protected by deserts, isolated • Depended on yearly flooding of Nile • Art in service of the Pharaoh • Order and Balance • 90% of population within 10 miles of Nile Maps of Egypt Egyptian Mythology INTRODUCTION The religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians were the dominating influence in the development of their culture. A true religion, in the sense of a unified theological system, never existed among them. The Egyptian faith was based on an unorganized collection of ancient myths, nature worship, and innumerable deities. In the most influential and famous of these myths a divine hierarchy is developed and the creation of the earth is explained. CREATION According to the Egyptian account of creation, only the ocean existed at first. Then Ra, the sun, came out of an egg that appeared on the surface of the water. Ra brought forth four children, the gods Shu and Geb and the goddesses Tefnut and Nut. Shu and Tefnut became the atmosphere. They stood on Geb, who became the earth, and raised up Nut, who became the sky. Ra ruled over all. Geb and Nut later had two sons, Set and Osiris, and two daughters, Isis and Nephthys. Osiris succeeded Ra as king of the earth, helped by Isis, his sister-wife. Set, however, hated his brother and killed him. (Osiris & Isis legend, see below) Isis then embalmed her husband’s body with the help of the god Anubis, who thus became the god of embalming. The powerful charms of Isis resurrected Osiris, who became king of the netherworld, the land of the dead. Horus, who was the son of Osiris and Isis, later defeated Set in a great battle and became king of the earth. Nut and Geb The Legend of Osiris and Isis There were the four children of Geb and Nut; Boys - Osiris & Set Girls – Isis & Nephthys Osiris married Isis Set married Nephthys Osiris became the living king of Egypt Set was VERY jealous of this Set tricked Osiris into getting into a gold box, which he then closed and threw into the Nile Set took the throne of Egypt This upset Set’s wife, Nephthys, and she left him to help her sister Isis Together, Isis and Nephthys found the body of Osiris on the island of Byblos and brought it back to Egypt Set found the body and ripped it into 14 pieces, throwing them again into the Nile, where they were scattered. Isis and Nephthys went all over Egypt and found the 13 of the parts (all except the penis), building a temple to Osiris at each place Isis then bound up the 13 pieces in cloth (mummification), and constructed a penis Isis turned into a Kite (a hawk) and flapped her wings on the body of Osiris, breathing the wind of life back into his body Osiris and Isis then had a child, Hours Isis raises Horus in secret so Set cannot find him Osiris becomes the lord of the dead, as he was the fist person to die When Horus grows up, he avenges his father’s death by defeating Set Horus castrates Set and sends him into the desert to live forever in isolation Horus becomes the “prototype” pharaoh, after which all pharaohs are viewed as divine, being “Horus” LOCAL GODS Ennead, a group of nine divinities, and the triad, consisting of a divine father, mother, and son. Every local temple in Egypt possessed its own ennead and triad. The greatest ennead, however, was that of Ra and his children and grandchildren. This group was worshiped at Heliopolis, the center of sun worship. Their importance increased with the political ascendancy of the localities where they were worshiped. As the religion became more involved, true deities were sometimes confused with human beings who had been glorified after death. Thus, Imhotep, who was originally the chief minister of the 3rd Dynasty ruler Zoser, was later regarded as a demigod. ICONOGRAPHY The Egyptian gods were represented with human torsos and human or animal heads. Sometimes the animal or bird expressed the characteristics of the god. Ra, for example, had the head of a hawk, and the hawk was sacred to him because of its swift flight across the sky Anubis was given the head of a jackal because these animals ravaged the desert graves in ancient times. Because of the gods to which they were attached, the sacred animals were venerated, but they were never worshiped until the decadent 26th Dynasty. The gods were also represented by symbols, such as the sun disk and hawk wings that were worn on the headdress of the pharaoh. SUN WORSHIP The only important god who was worshiped with consistency was Ra, chief of cosmic deities, from whom early Egyptian kings claimed descent. Beginning with the Middle Kingdom (2134-1668 BC) Ra worship acquired the status of a state religion. During the 18th Dynasty the pharaoh Amenhotep III renamed the sun god Aton, an ancient term for the physical solar force. Amenhotep IV, instituted a revolution in Egyptian religion by proclaiming Aton the true and only god. He changed his own name to Akhenaton, meaning "Aton is satisfied." This first great monotheist was so iconoclastic that he had the plural word gods deleted from monuments, and he relentlessly persecuted the priests of Amon. Akhenaton’s sun religion failed to survive, although it exerted a great influence on the art and thinking of his time, and Egypt returned to the ancient religion of polytheism after Akhenaton’s death. BURIAL RITUAL - The Book of the Dead Burying the dead was of religious concern in Egypt, and Egyptian funerary rituals and equipment eventually became the most elaborate the world has ever known. The Egyptians believed that the vital life-force was the ka. The ka, a duplicate of the body, accompanied the body throughout life and, after death, departed from the body to take its place in the kingdom of the dead. The ka, however, could not exist without the body; every effort had to be made, therefore, to preserve the corpse. Bodies were embalmed and mummified according to a traditional method supposedly begun by Isis, who mummified her husband Osiris. After arriving in the kingdom of the dead, the ka was judged by Osiris, the king of the dead, and 42 demon assistants. The Book of the Dead also contains instructions for proper conduct before these judges. If the judges decided the deceased had been a sinner, the ka was condemned to hunger and thirst or to be torn to pieces by horrible executioners. If the decision was favorable, the ka went to the heavenly realm of the fields of Yaru. Anubis as the God of Embalming Gods and Goddesses Anubis Anubis was the son of Nephthys. Anubis was depicted as a jackal, or as a jackalheaded man. Probably because of the jackal's tendency to prowl around tombs, he became associated with the dead, and by the Old Kingdom. Anubis was worshipped as the inventor of embalming, who had embalmed the dead Osiris, thus helping preserve him in order to live again. Anubis Apis An early deity, probably the best known Egyptian deity represented only as an animal. He was represented as a bull crowned with the solar disk and serpent. He was primarily a deity of fertility. Aten The sun-disk itself. Aten was depicted as a disk with rays, each ray terminating in a human hand and bestowing symbols of "life" upon those below. Bast A cat-goddess. A protector of cats and those who cared for cats. As a result, an important deity in the home (since cats were prized pets). Bast Geb The god of the earth. He is generally represented as a man with green or black skin - the color of living things, and the color of the fertile Nile mud. Note that Geb is masculine, contrasting with many other traditions of Earth being female. Hathor A very old goddess of Egypt, worshiped as a cowdeity from earliest times. She was usually shown with a solar disk flanked by cow horns on her head. She was also the patron of love, dance, alcohol, and foreign lands. Hathor Horus One of the most important deities of Egypt. As the Child, Horus is the son of Osiris and Isis, who, upon reaching adulthood, avenges his father's death, by defeating and castrating his evil uncle Set. He then became the divine prototype of the Pharaoh. Shown with the head of a hawk. Horus Imhotep Imhotep was a historical figure. He was the architect, physician, scribe, and vizier (adviser) of the 3rd Dynasty pharaoh Zoser. It was Imhotep who conceived and built the Step Pyramid at Sakkara. In the Late Period, Imhotep was worshipped as the son of Ptah and a god of medicine, as well as the patron of scribes. He was one of the few mortals born of common blood to be elevated to the rank of deity. Isis Perhaps the most important goddess (or god, for that matter) of all Egyptian mythology. Her most important functions, however, were those of motherhood, marital devotion, healing the sick, and the working of magical spells and charms. She was believed to be the most powerful magician in the universe, owing to the fact that she had learned the Secret Name of Ra from the god himself. She was the sister and wife of Osiris, sister of Set, and twin sister of Nephthys, and was the mother of Horus. Isis was responsible for protecting Horus from Set during his infancy; for helping Osiris to return to life; and for assisting her husband to rule in the land of the Dead. Isis Nephthys "Lady of the House", the youngest child of Geb and Nut. The sister and wife of Set, and sister of Isis and Osiris; also the mother of Anubis. She abandoned Set when he killed Osiris, and assisted Isis in the care of Horus and the resurrection of Osiris. She was, along with her sister, considered the special protectress of the dead, and she was the guardian of Hapi, the protector of the lungs of the deceased. Nephthys Nut The goddess of the sky. Nut was generally depicted as a woman with blue skin, and her body covered with stars, standing on all fours, leaning over her husband Geb, representing the sky arched over the earth. Osiris The god of the dead, and the god of the resurrection into eternal life; ruler, protector, and judge of the deceased. Osiris was the first child of Nut and Geb, thus the brother of Set, Nephthys, and Isis, who was also his wife. By Isis he fathered Horus, and according to some stories, Nephthys assumed the form of Isis, seduced him thus, and from their union was born Anubis. Being the first person to die, he subsequently became lord of the dead. Osiris Pharaohs as deities From earliest times in Egypt the pharaohs were worshipped as gods: the son of Ra, the son of Horus, etc. The pharaoh was looked upon as being chosen by and favored by the gods, his fathers. Ra Ra was the god of the sun; the name is thought to have meant "creative power", and as a proper name "Creator", similar to English Christian usage of the term "Creator" to signify the "almighty God." Very early in Egyptian history, Ra was identified with Horus, who as a hawk or falon-god represented the loftiness of the skies. Ra is represented either as a hawk-headed man or as a hawk. In order to travel through the waters of Heaven and the Underworld, Ra was also depicted as traveling in a boat. Ra Sekhmet A lioness goddess Created by Ra from the fire of his eyes as a creature of vengeance to punish mankind for his sins. Selket A scorpion-goddess, shown as a beautiful woman with a scorpion poised on her head; her creature struck death to the wicked. She was also petitioned to save the lives of innocent people stung by scorpions and was also viewed as a helper of women in childbirth. She is depicted as binding up demons that would otherwise threaten Ra, and she sent seven of her scorpions to protect Isis from Set. She protected Qebehsenuef, the son of Horus who guarded the intestines of the deceased. She was made famous by her statue from Tutankhamen's tomb, which was part of the collection which toured America in the 1970's. Selket Set He was the patron deity of Lower (Northern) Egypt, and represented the fierce storms of the desert that the Lower Egyptians sought to appease. When Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt and ushered in the 1st Dynasty, Set became known as the evil enemy of Horus (Upper Egypt's dynastic god). Set is best known for murdering his brother and attempting to kill his nephew Horus. Horus, however, managed to survive and grew up to avenge his father's death by establishing his rule over all Egypt, castrating Set, and casting him out into the lonely desert for all time. Set Sobek The crocodile god. Sobek was worshipped to appease him and his animals Sobek Thoth The god of wisdom, Thoth was said to be selfcreated at the beginning of time, along with his consort Ma'at (truth). Thoth was depicted as a man with the head of an ibis bird, and carried a pen and scrolls upon which he recorded all things. He was shown as attendant in almost all major scenes involving the gods, but especially at the judgement of the deceased. He served as the messenger of the gods, and was thus equated by the Greeks with Hermes. He is a god of the moon, and is also the god of time, magic, and writing. He was considered the inventor of the hieroglyphs. Thoth Literature / Drama • Old Kingdom – beginnings of Hieroglyphics - ("sacred carving") • INTRODUCTION • Characters in any of several systems of writing in which the characters are pictorial, that is, represent recognizable objects. • The term hieroglyph is, however, most generally associated with the script in which the ancient Egyptian language was written; the Greeks applied the term to the decorative characters carved on Egyptian standing monuments. Hieroglyphics • The word hieroglyphic was later used to describe the pictorial writing systems of the Hittites, Cretans, and Mayans, but their systems are in no way related to one another or to the Egyptian, having in common only that they are pictorial. IDEOGRAMS AND PHONOGRAMS • Egyptian hieroglyphic inscriptions are composed of two basic types of signs: ideograms and phonograms. • Ideograms signify either the specific object drawn or something closely related to it; for example, a picture of the sun may mean "sun" or "day". • Phonograms, or sound signs, were used purely for their phonetic value and have no relationship to the word they are used to spell. IDEOGRAMS AND PHONOGRAMS • The development of the principle, by which the picture of an object could stand not only for that object but also for a word with the same sound but a different meaning, made possible the writing of proper nouns and abstract ideas. • A sign might serve as an ideogram in one word and as a phonogram in another. • Most words were written with a combination of phonetic and pictorial signs. IDEOGRAMS AND PHONOGRAMS • A picture of the floor plan of a house meant "house," but the same sign followed by a phonetic complement and a picture of a pair of walking legs was used to write the verb meaning "to go out." ARRANGEMENT OF HIEROGLYPHIC INSCRIPTIONS Hieroglyphic inscriptions could be written either vertically or horizontally, usually from right to left, or top to bottom. The direction for any given inscription is indicated by the individual signs, which normally face the beginning of the inscription. The king's two most common names were inscribed in cartouches or "royal rings," stylized representations of loops formed by a double thickness of rope with the ends tied at the bottom. DECIPHERMENT OF HIEROGLYPHS The Romans believed that Egyptian hieroglyphs were symbolic and allegorical, not phonetic; this theory prevailed into the time of the Renaissance. The breakthrough came in 1799, when a soldier serving in Napoleon's campaign in Egypt discovered the Rosetta Stone, a bilingual stela inscribed (196 BC) with a decree in honor of Ptolemy V in Greek, hieroglyphic, and demotic (“popular” writing form) Egyptian. It was not until the work (begun 1821) of the French Egyptologist, Jean François Champollion, however, that the two Egyptian scripts were recognized as phonetic. In earlier stages of the work Champollion had predicted the hieroglyphic spelling of various royal names based on the demotic; these spellings were confirmed by actual cartouches on the Rosetta Stone and other Ptolemaic monuments. After identifying the names and titles of the GrecoRoman rulers, he combined the phonetic values he had so derived with his knowledge of Coptic, the late stage of the Egyptian language. This achievement enabled him to decipher earlier Pharaonic cartouches. In 1822 the decipherment of the script was completed. Hieroglyphic name translator web page: • http://www.eyelid.co.uk/e-name.htm Sculpture / "Solid" arts • 1st and most important art form of the Egyptians • Small to life-sized • Realistic, with some idealization • Cubic, upright rectangle, frontal • To be viewed from the front • To glorify the king, and to give the spirit the things it needed for the after-life Show parts of the body from their most identifiable side; Head – side Lower body – side Eye – front Upper body – front Face rarely shown from front Idea was to preserve the essence of what was being shown, not always realistic. Old Kingdom • Oldest surviving metal statue – Pepi I (ruled 2395-2360BC) • Copper, circa 2300BC • Pottery – Well made – Variety of shapes – Usually un-decorated Old Kingdom • Jewelry – Gold and precious stones – Animal and plant designs Middle Kingdom • More realism (less idealization) – Jewelry • Precious metal inlaid with colored stones – Few large sculptures New Kingdom • Combination of realism and idealization • Decorative arts – Well designed and made – Alabaster, ebony, gold, ivory, precious stones – Love of decoration Painting / "Visual" Arts • Relief carving – Painting on carvings and sculptures – Tomb wall painting – Palette of King Narmer • 3100BC • Shows uniting of upper and lower Egypt • Make-up palette • Shows king in “smiting” pose –Arm raised in striking gesture Palette of King Narmer Treasures of King Tut Tomb plan Antechamber as found Opening the three coffins Gold mask as found Gold mask restored Anubis Alabaster case Canoptic shrine Two part case Portrait head Relief of Selket Tut’s throne Vulture pendant Wooden chest Architecture 2nd most important art form Old Kingdom Imhotep, architect for Zoser Stepped pyramid at Saqqarah c. 2,720BC Grew from mastaba (Ar. “bench”) Pyramids - c. 2700BC • 80+ still in existence • Giza Pyrmid complex most famous • Oldest existent complete buildings in the world • Only remaining structure of the 7 ancient wonders of the world. • Necropolis – city of the dead Reconstruction of the pyramid complex Cheops/Khufu (The “Great” pyramid) • 755’ 8” on a side (13 acres, area of 10 football fields) • 481’ tall (40 story building, 1 and 2/3 football fields) • 2.3 million blocks • Base covers 13 acres • Base is level 1/4 inch from corner to corner • Oriented perfectly N and S • Used as a Geodetic marker for the entire ancient world • Is at the center of a circle drawn around the Nile Delta the other pyrimads at Giza • Chephren/Khafre, son of Cheops – 707’ on a side – 471’ tall – appears taller because it’s built on higher ground • Mycerinus, son of Chephren – 356’ on a side – Less well made “Man fears time, time fears the pyramids.” Sphnix – head of man, body of lion, guardian of pyramids Architecture • Middle Kingdom – Little building, almost none still existing • New Kingdom – New focus on religious building (see following) Temple at Luxor • Temple of Amun, Mut, and Chons – Anchorage for the royal boats during the floods – Main religious center at various times in Egyptian history Temple at Luxor Temple at Al Karnak • Valley of the Kings • Tombs cut into rock, underground • Covered to hide (Tutankhamun) Temple at Al Karnak Tomb of Hatshepsut • Only true female pharaoh • Vast above ground, terraced structure • Many shrines to gods and carvings of her accomplishments Temple at Abu Simbal • 4 large statues of Ramses II (pharaoh at the time of Moses) • Deep rock-cut temples behind in mountain • Moved in 1968 to save it from the rising of Lake Nasser Temple at Abu Simbal