Goddess Hather and King Seti I: Linking the Political and the Divine - Essay Example

Hathor and King Seti I - from the tomb of Seti I (1290-1301 BCE Linking the Political and the Divine A continuing theme in politics is in suggesting that power over a state is given, by the consent of, or through the control of the divine. This theme can be seen throughout history, from the Greeks with stories of gods fathering children and leaving them to rule over cities, to the roman Caesars who often declared themselves divine, and even into modern day politics where the President of the United States, George W. Bush, declared himself mandated as ‘the right man’ by God to abolish evil and establish peace. The association of a secular leader with the divine has been a method of swaying the public ot the policies and belief systems of the person in power. The work Hathor and King Seti I - from the tomb of Seti I (1290-1301 BCE) provides visual imagery to affirm the association of the divine and an earthly leader, even going so far as to suggest that he holds sway over the goddess. Found on his tomb, this painting suggests that even in his death he will prevail over the dominions of the after life, perhaps in supporting his rebirth through his own will. Pieces of art, such as Hathor and King Seti I - from the tomb of Seti I (1290-1301 BCE), show the relationship between art and the belief in the divine right as a way of providing propaganda for the relationship between secular rule and religious fervor used to support that rule. As the piece The goddess Hathor and King Seti I - from the tomb of Seti I (1290-1301 BCE) is viewed, the first thing that is noticed is that there is an emotional, intimate connection between the two figures. The shoulders appear slightly raised towards each other and the hands are delicately and formally touching one another at a low level, which has a sexual suggestion, and at a high level which has a spiritual suggestion. The male figure is slightly dominant, taking the emotions of the female as he presses towards her. The imagery suggests the power and virility of Seti I, that he has an intimate relationship with the divine and even holds sway over her. The two figures are dressed as if to somewhat mirror tastes, with Seti being more detailed and dominating the majority of a portrait that might otherwise have been more balanced. Rather than suggesting that Seti I was equal to the divine, this suggests that he has power over the supernatural, imposing his will even within the intimacy of the relationship that is suggested in the work. The use of invoking the divine has been used throughout history. U.S. President George W. Bush declaring in the January 2003 State of the Union Address, “But what if God has been holding His peace, waiting for the right man and the right nation and the right moment to act for Him and cleanse history of evil?” (Tremblay 44). Through invoking the name of God or the gods, rulers have been using their position to impose their will by not only holding on to the earthly power that they have, but by suggesting that they have that power by the will of a deity. The work on the tomb of Seti I impressively conveys this message by giving the viewer the sense of the power of Seti I, even over that of a goddess. Hathor, according to Graves-Brown, “personified love, beauty, and rebirth, but was also a goddess of minerals and the Eastern Desert” (166). Hathor is a link to the other worlds, a conduit between this world and the next. The other worlds in relationship to death and rebirth are under her domain (Graves-Brown 166). In the painting, the sway that Seti I seems to hold over her in the depiction suggests that he has power over the her, thus having power over her dominion as well. This gives him an association with the power over life and death, thus giving a sense that he will return through the way in which he is represented in association to Hathor. Seti I was associated with Horus during his reign, and in the relief she is presenting him with the necklace that holds protective liquid that has been noted in history as the necklace that was given to the first ruler at Dendera giving him the right of rule (Tremblay 38: Andrea and Overfield 166). The composition of the work is specifically related to the political message that is sent to the viewer. With Seti I taking up the majority of space, this leaves Hathor compressed, her position within the relationship clearly submissive to that of Seti I. The use of splayed perspective had many functions. One was to ensure that each part of the body was represented as all parts were associated with a god. The other was so that the individual would enter into the afterlife whole, an image having left out a part of the body risking the individual entering the afterlife without that part (Faulkner, Wasserman, Goelt, and Dassow 151). In this respect, attention is given to Seti I, while this attention is not as relevant to the depiction of Hathor. The work is inside the tomb, thus it is on the sandstone that was used to build the structure. Natural and created pigments, primarily the use of Egyptian Blue that was a synthesized color, were used to create the paints. The blue was synthesized by fusing together copper filings, sand, and nitrum soda (Nicholson and Shaw 109). According to Lucas, there seems to be the use of wax for the paintings, but it is unclear as to whether it was a component of the paint or if it was a substance put over the painting to preserve the work (402). Nicholson and Shaw, however, report that paints were bound through acacia gum (488). The intention would seem to be to create something that would last, as the tomb was to be a place of rest for eternity. The eternal union between the state and the gods was also represented by the sense of eternity in which the tomb would serve as a place of honor and rest, thus was given enormous attention to detail and to preservation of those details as in evidence of it still being available after thousands of years. The lines of the work are intended to represent the splayed perspective, but are not done without thought. The dominance of Seti I is accomplished by restricting the lines of her figure and showing her in such a way as to see only a portion of her body. Seti I, on the other hand, is shown in full frontal view, with his body twisted to meet Hathor’s without appearing to be deformed. The image is such that the eye believes they are seeing something that reflects reality, but the drawing methods have disproportionate angles on the arms as they reach to meet Hathor. The use of these lines allows for the whole of the individual, the representation of the Ka, to have a full body view so that the essence of the individual will enter the afterlife whole (Faulkner, Wasserman, Goelt, and Dassow 151). Unlike Christian belief systems, the Ka, the Egyptian equivalence of the soul, was tied to the earthly presence of the body which was forever the essence of the individual, thus the need for mummification (Lucas 401). The work is clearly intended to associate Seti I and Hathor, and by association of Hathor to Horus, Seti I back to the house of the deity he associated in during his life. This political tactic has been used throughout history, even being seen in this new millennia. The image reveals the power of Seti I, suggesting he has power over his new domain, that of death and rebirth, as he dominates the image. The piece was created on sandstone with those of the ancient Egyptians, using both natural and synthesized pigments with elements of gum found in the paint, as well as a possible use of wax to preserve the work. The composition is constructed to reflect the beliefs of ancient Egypt with a splayed perspective that allows for the Ka to remain whole in the afterlife. Through political associations with the divine, the continuation of rule was ensured by creating not only an earthly belief system, but mandates by gods that support the needs of power. Works Cited Andrea, Alfred J, and James H. Overfield. The Human Record: Sources of Global History. Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. Faulkner, Raymond O, James Wasserman, Ogden Goelet, and Dassow E. Von. The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by Day : Being the Papyrus of Ani (royal Scribe of the Divine Offerings), Written and Illustrated Circa 1250 BCE., by Scribes and Artists Unknown, Including the Balance of Chapters of the Books of the Dead Known As the Theban Recension, Compiled from Ancient Texts, Dating Back to the Roots of Egyptian Civilization. San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2008. Print. Graves-Brown, Carolyn. Dancing for Hathor: Women in Ancient Egypt. London: Continuum, 2010. Print. Lucas, A. Ancient Egyptian materials and industries. London: The St. Ann’s Press, 2003. Nicholson, Paul T, and Ian Shaw. Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology. Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2000. Print. Tremblay, Rodrigue. The New American Empire: Causes and Consequences for the United States and for the World. Haverford, PA: Infinity Pub, 2004. Print. Read More