More handpicked essays just for you.
Pharaohs were the most powerful people in Egypt
Early 18th dynasty Egyptian pharaohs
Early 18th dynasty Egyptian pharaohs
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Statue of Ramesses II
The statue of Ramesses II is an ancient Egyptian artifact constructed in the 19th dynasty (around 1250-1280 BC). Despite its missing parts, it can still tell us a lot about Egyptian culture at the time of its creation. Ramesses II (also referred to as Ramses the Great), was the third Pharaoh of the 19th dynasty and is often considered the most influential pharaoh to ever reign over Egypt.
To begin analyzing the statue, we must first look at what was happening and what beliefs were held during the time of Ramesses II. Ancient Egyptians followed the various pharaohs because they claimed to be God, and were supposed to be responsible for the flooding of the Nile River and the wellbeing of future generations. The flooding
…show more content…
of the Nile River happens in a cycle, so since the pharaohs always did their rituals around the same time when the signs of the flooding were present, the Ancient Egyptians had no reason to believe that the pharaohs didn’t cause the flooding (usually). The Ancient Egyptians were also polytheistic, meaning not only did they worship the pharaoh, but many other gods as well. However, these traditions changed under the rule of Akhenaten. He demanded that only one God should be worshipped, that god being Aten, who was seen as being light and the reason for life on Earth. After the death of Akhenaten, the pharaoh Tutankhamun took over and attempted to reinstitute the old way of thinking. But after the outrage of the people when Akhenaten changed the way they saw religion, and Tutankhamun’s efforts to change things back, Ancient Egyptian culture was left permanently changed. During the rule of Ramses the Great, several things began happening.
Egypt was expanding and thriving, so Ramesses II was using this prosperity to build numerous monuments, temples, and buildings. He was highly respected for the growth he was bringing to Egypt. Pharaohs before him had caused more destruction than growth, and the people most likely realized and respected that. Not only did he frequently build, but he also provided protection from potential attackers, primarily from Egypt’s main enemy, the Hittites, a problem he and his father before him had to be constantly weary of. His many great victories earned him the respect of his army. He brought Ancient Egypt to the height of its power, and he wanted to make sure he was known for his accomplishments. Anytime he captured new territory, he was sure to build temples or monuments of some sort. Whenever he did something great for Egypt, he made sure it was written down, and/or a monument was erected in his honor. This is likely why the statue of Ramesses II was constructed. Ramses the Great wanted to exhibit his power and importance to Egypt and all the territories under his rule. He also had a great amount of respect from the people of Egypt, for his construction, protection, and long life. The statue’s intended message was likely to show the immense amount of power and respect Ramesses II held during his long rule. It was made very large to show just how important he was to
Egypt. After analyzing Ramesses II’s image, we can learn a lot about the society that created his statue, and why the statue looks like it does. Aside from the many great things Ramesses II did during his rule, the Egyptians had other reasons for building the statue. Again, they believed that the pharaoh had control over the future of Egypt, and the citizens obviously wanted future generations to live full, prosperous lives. Ramesses II being the most powerful pharaoh ever seen, citizens were understandably ready to build things in his honor. From this, you can tell that Egyptians, like any other society, cared about the future well-being of their civilization. As for the statue itself, it was pretty generic looking, but rather large. Egyptian statues were generic a majority of the time, because the thinking was that the statues showed their flawless “god” form. They believed that the flesh they had on Earth just covered their true appearance.
Looking at this Palette, it isn’t hard to see how the old Egyptian subjects were so entranced by their leaders and how that compares to our modern viewpoints. Where we view politicians and leaders as a wiry group, always keeping an eye on them lest today be the day they raise their daggers against us, the ancient Egyptians saw their leaders as infallible, godlike beings to be trusted, obeyed, and adored. Standing just over 2 feet tall and 1.4 feet wide, this Palette was carved out of a majestic shade of grey-green siltstone, almost shield-like in appearance. Both sides are exquisitely carved out, each one uniquely decorated but both sides containing a central serekh used to identify and in this case even confirm the subject as royalty. This serekh contains the symbols n’r and mr, which as you may have noticed, phonetically spell Narmer. These symbols are surrounded by two bovine heads, which could either represent the Goddess Hathor or Bat. The front s...
The Egyptians created Ramesses’ statue 1279-1212 B.C. using granodiorite. The statue is currently being exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Its dimensions withouts a base are 59 3/4 x 23 1/2 x 30 inches (seems bigger than life-size). One must look at the statue from various sides in order to see its entirety. Ramesses II, known also as Ramesses the Great, ruled Egypt for over sixty years. there are thousands of statues made in his honor to proclaim his power and divinity.
Pyramids, gold, the Nile, hieroglyphics, gods and goddesses…no matter how much we know about it, we all see one of these things when we picture Egypt. However, this image is not complete without the Pharaoh. Not much in Egypt was. So to be considered “The Last Great Pharaoh of Egypt” is quite an honor, an honor that Ramesses III carries. A ruler in the time of the New Kingdom, he gave Egypt a few more years of glory before it’s decline.
The statue of Hatshepsut seated down is made with the material limestone. This limestone is lightly colored, which created a larger contrast with the other statues nearby. Her face was carved bringing out her eyes, eyebrows and other facial features. Her eyebrows also come slightly together towards the middle. Her lips forming a slight archaic smile. The dimensions are larger than an average female size. The statue is of great size, yet still in proportion. The body and head fit well with each other overall. However, it is greatly exaggerated in size.
The statue and the lamassu are similar in nature because they are both carved sculptures with animals. The Lamassu is a creature wearing the hat of a god with the body of a lion, the head of a human, and the wings of an eagle. The title for this piece of art is appropriate because it gives the viewer an idea about the creature’s composition. The animal parts represent different things such as the body of the lion representing strength and protection. The wings were also symbols of strength because the eagle was an animal that was looked at for having power like the lion. The statue of Horus, on the...
After his ascent to the throne, the kingdom prospered and the young Pharaoh poured his energies and national treasures into building temples and monuments honoring his father, Egypt's gods and himself. In Nubia he constructed six temples, two of which were carved out of a Cliffside at Abu Simbel, with their four colossal statues of the king, are the most magnificent and the best known. Engineers designed the temple so every year on February 22 and October 22 the earliest sunrays shine on the back wall of the innermost chamber and lights up the pharaoh's statue, and fitting, he sits with the three gods of the sun. In all of his monuments he had his name cartouche and texts engraved so deep that no successor would be able to remove it.
Abu Simbel (cited in Clayton, 1994), is a colossal temple carved from sandstone rock at Abu Simbel which is far south in Nubia. At the entrance of Abu Simbel, there are four huge figures that are 18 metres high, of Ramesses II seated in pairs. This temple is an overwhelmingly grand monument and would have been an effective means of propaganda for Ramesses II, as many Egyptians would have viewed it. Furthermore, as the figures of Ramesses II in front of the temple were grand, many Egyptians would have likely viewed it often or came often to view it, as something this big may not have been present in Egypt. Further evidence of Ramesses II building large-scale monuments, which were used as effective propaganda, includes the Great Hypostyle Hall Karnak (cited in The Great Columns, n.d), which entail 134 sandstone columns in the form of papyrus stalks. These columns are all inscribed by Ramesses II, with royal cartouches and his other royal titles everywhere. Clearly, Ramesses II effectively utilised propaganda in monuments built by himself. Respected British archaeologist and writer, Peter A. Clayton (1994) suggests that, “No other pharaoh constructed so many temples or erected so many colossal statues and obelisks.” Hence, it can be determined that Ramesses II effectively utilised his own constructions in Egypt to implement propaganda and
The need of kings to glorify themselves on statues is a testament of their ruling power, Egypt created many statues that displayed their gods, kings and queens. It was the Egyptians that influenced the Greek to create sculptures of their own ruling powers. Other then sculptures, the Egyptians influenced the Greeks to write on surfaces of buildings, it first started with Hieroglyphs then the ancient Greeks improved on writing, they wrote on large sheets of papyrus which lessened time and made recording events easier.
The statue of King Khafre Seated , from the fourth dynasty of the Old Kingdom, 2520 - 2492 BCE, was created by an unknown artist in the smooth permanence of graywacke stone. Although the statue is currently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as number 56 in the Special Egyptian Exhibition, its true home is at the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo. The man being portrayed, King Khafre, ruled Egypt for approximately thirty years, during which he commissioned the single most recognizable monuments of Egypt, the a fore mentioned Pyramids at Giza and the Sphinx. These monuments of symmetry and solidity characterize the focus of popular architecture and sculpture from the Old Kingdom in Egypt.
The pieces of art I will be comparing and contrasting are the three statues of David, by Donatello (Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi), Michelangelo (Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni), and Bernini (Gian Lorenzo Bernini). The statues are modeled after the biblical David, who was destined to become the second king of Israel. Also most famously known as the slayer of the Philistine giant Goliath with a stone and a sling. The sculptures are all based on the same biblical hero, but differ from one another. Each David is unique in its own certain way.
Ramses III (reigned 1182-1151 BC), Egyptian king of the 20th dynasty, a great military leader who repeatedly saved the country from invasion. In the 5th year of his reign, Ramses defeated an attack by the Libyans from the west, and two years later he routed invaders known as the Sea Peoples. In his 11th year he again repelled an attempted attack by the Libyans. Ramses was also a builder of temples and palaces in the tradition of his 19th-dynasty predecessor, Ramses II. His victories are depicted on the walls of his mortuary temple at Medinet Habu, near Luxor. Egyptian records tell of a strike by workers at Ramses's burial site and a plot against the king near the end of his reign. Ramses III was the last of the great rulers and after his death there were centuries of weakness and foreign domination.
The statue of Menkaure and a Queen was made by the Egyptians. This was made with greywacke and is 54 ½ “tall. In the double portrait we can see the power of the kingdom in the king’s stance. He is standing stiff and is getting ready to walk, he holds cylinder shaped objects in his hands that he holds very tightly.
The Great Sphinx is thought to be built to guard the pyramids of Giza. At the time, Egyptians often carved statues of sphinxes to guard royal places, like temples and tombs.
...n 1163 B.C., Egypt entered a period of slow decline (Scarre 1997:116). Pharaohs became less powerful, and their prestige dwindled. Hungry soldiers were terrorizing the community, while tomb robbers were raiding the pyramids for resources that were very much needed. They had buried their pharaohs with food, goods and jewelry, all of which were needed to keep the civilization in tact. They had built too many pyramids, and there were setbacks in Asia which corrupted trade. People did not understand why the pharaohs could not fix the problems that were going on. They viewed them as gods and lost trust and faith. Egypt fell apart as these things culminated with loss of belief in the pharaohs.
The great pyramids had been built by the Israelite slaves for one major purpose, to serve as the tombs of their pharaohs and queens, wherein their mummified bodies are placed along with all their gold, jewelries and treasures that are said to aid in their afterlife (Orcutt, 2000).