Amenhotep III was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt from around 1388 BC till about 1350 BC. During his rule of Egypt, was a period of unprecedented prosperity and artistic splendor (Wiki: Amenhotep III). The art from this time showed several gods that ancient Egyptians worshiped, such as Amun, Anubis, Aten, Ra, and many others. Most art was drawn in a way that most of the body parts were sized according to standard proportions, yet the poses were so rigid that they seem to have little sense of movement, if any at all. Many of these drawings were reliefs on walls and pottery. The art was known for its boldness and controlled vitality. Most of the architecture and sculptures were made from heavy materials, mostly stone, which helped to emphasize bulk, solidity, and impersonality. Some examples of these would be the Luxor Temple and the Colossi of Memnon. This was the art of the New Kingdom, which combined the monumental forms of the Old Kingdom and the drive and inspirations of the Middle Kingdom.
Amenhotep III had two sons Thutmose (“Thutmose V”) and Amenhotep IV. With Thutmose being the elder of the two, he was the one recognized as the heir of his father. Unfortunately Thutmose had died at a young age and the cause of death is still unknown. Due to Thutmose’s death, after Amenhotep III passed away his second son, Amenhotep IV, took his place as pharaoh.
Amenhotep IV was crowned in Thebes which is where he started ruling from. Once crowned he started building programs, just like many pharaohs of ancient Egypt. He decorated the temple of Amun-Re (or “Amun”, King of the gods and god of the Wind), with himself worshipping Re-Harakhti (or “Ra” god of the Sun) (Wiki: Akhenaten). Soon after he decided to construct a temple dedicated to Aten (...
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Works Cited
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During the New Kingdom of Egypt (from 1552 through 1069 B.C.), there came a sweeping change in the religious structure of the ancient Egyptian civilization. "The Hymn to the Aten" was created by Amenhotep IV, who ruled from 1369 to 1353 B.C., and began a move toward a monotheist culture instead of the polytheist religion which Egypt had experienced for the many hundreds of years prior to the introduction of this new idea. There was much that was different from the old views in "The Hymn to the Aten", and it offered a new outlook on the Egyptian ways of life by providing a complete break with the traditions which Egypt held to with great respect. Yet at the same time, there were many commonalties between these new ideas and the old views of the Egyptian world. Although through the duration of his reign, Amenhotep IV introduced a great many changes to the Egyptian religion along with "The Hymn", none of these reforms outlived their creator, mostly due to the massive forces placed on his successor, Tutankhamen, to renounce these new reforms. However, the significance of Amenhotep IV, or Akhenaten as he later changed his name to, is found in "The Hymn". "The Hymn" itself can be looked at as a contradiction of ideas; it must be looked at in relation to both the Old Kingdom's belief of steadfast and static values, as well as in regards to the changes of the Middle Kingdom, which saw unprecedented expansionistic and individualistic oriented reforms. In this paper I plan to discuss the evolvement of Egyptian Religious Beliefs throughout the Old,
The Ancient Egyptian sculpture, “Statue of Nykara and His Family”, was sculpted during the late fifth dynasty. The sculpture is a depiction of Nykara, his wife, Nubkau, and son, Ankhma-Re. The statue is in poor condition with pieces of limestone missing and chips on the three subject’s faces and bodies. The painted limestone shows the conventional colors for the male and female subjects. There is a clear discoloration among Nykara and his son’s bodies. The brownish red color they once were has eroded to a light yellowish color, which resembles the purposeful color of Nykara’s wife. The hieroglyphs on Nykara’s seat insinuate that the sculpture is meant to be viewed from the front view. This is also evident by the way the three subjects are facing forward in frontal view. There are hieroglyphs on both the chair and base of the statue near Nykara’s wife and son’s feet.
Faulkner, Raymond Oliver. RAMSES II THE GREAT (REIGNED 1279-1213 B.C.). n.d. 12 October 2013 .
Amenhotep IV was born in c. 1365 BCE during the 18th dynasty in Egypt to Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiye (Aldred 11). He was given his name in honor of the Gods Amun and Re whom Amenhotep III sought to be the earthly representative of (Bratton 17). Amun-Re was the creator God, and Re was the God of the sun (Assmann 485-6). Combined, these two deities were the most powerful God and are therefore normally referred to by their conjoined name of Amun-Re (Redford 97). Although Re was the sole Sun God, there were others under him who were individually responsible for a specific detail of the sun-God. Aten was an aspect of R...
"Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History." The Achaemenid Persian Empire (550–330 B.C.). N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.
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 Metropolitan Museum of Art. ‘Egyptian Art’, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Art. New Series, Vol. 41, No. 3, Egyptian Art (Winter, 1983-1984): pp. 1+3-56
The young Pharaoh was the first ruler to commence the removal of Amon-Ra, the sun God of a symbolic falcon that has been worshipped by his previous predecessors since the beginning of the 18th Dynasty. Subsequently, Amenhotep IV hated how the representation of his name stood as “Amon is pleased” and changed his name to Akhenaten, which means “He who is profitable to the Aten”. When Akhenaten proclaimed Aten is the only one true God across Egypt, he began to remove the priests of Amon and dissolved any religious institutions that practiced Polytheism and Amon-Ra. In addition, Akhenaten builds a new capital city called Akhetaten between Memphis and from the original capital of Thebes in Egypt, to honor the new sun’s rays God, Aten. The high taxation of the infrastructure cost of the new capital, and the removal of Amon-Ra and the Polytheism religions had profoundly upset the Egyptian people. Soon after Akhenaten death, the Egyptian people eradicated his identity, the memory of Aten, and the capital of Akhetaten from recorded
Fleming, Sean Michael. "Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia." Library Journal 15 Feb. 2006
During this semester, so far, we have discussed many different periods of cultures and arts in society and the history behind it. I feel that Egypt was one of many that interested me to talk about for a few reasons.
Munn, Mark H. The Mother of the Gods, Athens, and the Tyranny in Asia: A Study of Sovereignty in Ancient Religion. N.p.: Berkeley: University of Califronia, 2006. Print.
Pomeroy, Sarah B. Women in Hellenistic Egypt: From Alexander to Cleopatra. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990.
Damrosch, David, and David Pike. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. The Ancient World. Volume A. Second Edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. Pgs. .656-691. Print.
The civilization of Ancient Egypt was one of the earliest in world history. Its timeline spans from 3000B.C to 31 B.C before it was annexed by the Roman Empire. During that period a lot of art was made that still remains to this day. Mostly statues and reliefs where made for religious purposes either for divine or deceased recipients and so not made to be seen. Ancient Egyptian art is five thousand years old. It emerged and took shape in the ancient Egypt, the civilization of the Nile Valley. It was highly symbolic and fascinating - this art form revolves round the past and was intended to keep history alive. Through these depictions historians have seen how the civilization changed and evolved; which has made it one of the most
“Egyptia... ... middle of paper ... ... 25 Sept. 1789. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. .