Near Eastern and Egyptian Art - Essay Example

Near Eastern and Egyptian Art The cultures of early Israelites and the ancient Egyptians may not seem to have any similarities with each other. Forone thing, the Egyptians have much more tangible surviving legacies, such as the ruins of their ancient temples, and as for the early Israelites, their ancient holy books or scriptures were one of the few things that were able to remain intact up to this date. However, upon closer inspection of each group there are certain characteristics that have similarities, such as those in the social and political context. Such similarities can be attributed to the bureaucratic society present in both civilizations, as well as their values focusing on the family and religion. It can be observed that in most of the world’s civilizations, there is a certain kind of interaction involving a deity, a holy person and the people of a nation. Such interactions are exemplified by passages from the Revised Standard Version of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible like in Numbers 21:4-9 and 27:1-11, and Leviticus 8:1-9 as given from the readings. In all three readings, it is written that God speaks to His people, the Israelites through his prophet, Moses. He does not speak directly to the people, and He does not show Himself to them, but only to Moses. The people, on the other hand speak to God only through Moses, as they are not allowed to even set foot on holy ground. Moses is seen as an intermediary between God and His people, and he can speak to God directly and tell Him the pleas of the people, and he can tell the people the words of God. Based on this situation, there is a certain distance between the deity and the people through a mediator chosen by the deity as his representative to the people. Such similarities in religious customs can also be seen in the polytheism of ancient Egyptians. Much like in the early Israelites, the deities of ancient Egypt also do not speak to the people directly, but through medium such as the high priests in their holy temples, or through pharaohs that were given the same status as the gods. Such division between gods and men can be seen in the layout of the temple of Amun-Re, where there are only designated areas where the common faithful can reside, and there are restricted areas where only the priests and the pharaoh can enter (Stokstad and Cothren 66). The ordinary worshippers can only go within the forecourts, although during religious festivals they could go further to bring their offerings to the gods, through the priests. The most sacred place of the temple is in the farthest room inside the compound, where the designs of the building are much more ornate, and less light gets inside the structure. Such a setting keeps the sanctity of the place, and also to keep away most unauthorized people. Similarly, such an interaction between a god and man can be seen in the artwork depicting Hammurabi and the god Shamash, the Stele of Hammurabi (Stokstad and Cothren 37). This interaction mirrors how Moses received the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai, and based on the shape of the Stele, Hammurabi also received his own set of laws while on a mountain. It can be inferred from the depiction that Hammurabi acts as the intermediary of Shamash and the citizens, creating a certain distance between two parties. This setup is very much similar with God, Moses and the Israelites, as well as with the ancient Egyptians, the priests and their numerous deities. Due to the rules of the deities to the people of not entering holy ground, except for the prophet or other holy men alone, a distance between the gods and the people are made. This is a setup that keeps everything in order and the people following only one person, especially since only the prophet is able to talk to and relay instructions from the god. Based on context, the prophet or holy man also act as the law enforcer of the people, and to prevent chaos within the society, laws must be made and put into order. This is the main reason why the Ten Commandments and the Code of Hammurabi were written. Based on the given readings as well as the two artworks mentioned, the people during the ancient times were governed under bureaucratic governance, with the main emphasis on religion. The most powerful people in this kind of social structure are the royal families and the priests, or in the case of the early Israelites, the prophet chosen by God. Since most of the rules and laws were supposedly given by their gods, the people treated the commandments with utmost respect. Also, disobeying the rules would have severe punishments, so people took care to please the gods as well as keep their lives by dutifully following them. In short, religion was taken as seriously as politics. In other samples of architecture, the distance between the gods and the people are also exemplified by the ancient temple structures in Dur Sharrukin in present-day Iraq. Based on the reconstruction of the Palace Complex of Sargon II, the ziggurat or the place of worship is built inside the citadel and near the palace of the king (Stokstad and Cothren 40). By building a wall surrounding the ziggurat, the distance between common people and the holy ground is kept fairly well, and only the holy men or the members of the royal family are able to enter. In similar fashion, the temple built during the reign of Rameses II also gives distance between common people and the god, by putting the sacred room at the farthest end of the whole structure, as seen from the reconstruction (Stokstad and Cothren 75). The entrance of the temple has four large statues which seemingly impose authority over the onlookers, as if forcing them to stay out. This shows the need for people to keep their distance while on the premises of the holy ground. As implied by such laws, the distance of gods to men not only keeps people in following the rules set by the gods, but also keeps the peace and order within their society. Works Cited Division of Christian Education, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version. National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, 1971. Print. Stokstad, Marilyn and Michael Cothren. Art History, Volume 1 (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print. Read More