Egyptian Art: Power

Introduction

What we call Egyptian art was originally created for religious and magical purposes. Its symbols and functions reveal the EgyptiansÕ beliefs about the world and their attempts to understand and relate to it. In the Egyptian social and religious context, works of art played a practical role, whose straightforward physicality is not easy for the modern viewer to realize.

For example, the reliefs on temple walls depicting the king making offerings to the gods and smiting EgyptÕs enemies not only communicated the idea that the king was fulfilling his duty to maintain order in the universe. Egyptians also believed that these images, through their very existence, were instrumental in making this order a reality. Likewise, the statues Egyptians placed in their tombs and temples served as physical repositories for the spirit and material representatives of important and venerable persons. Through the ritual of Òopening the mouth,Ó each statue was made an actual living being able to receive offerings and prayers. The fundamental difference between an ordinary living being and a statue was that the Òwork of artÓ was destined to live eternally. To this end statues ideally were made of stone or other durable materials, such as hardwood or metal. Their features and poses were idealized, that is, they were represented according to the general standards Egyptians held for the beauty, dignity, and ethical attitude becoming to gods, kings, and human beings in high places. The identity of a statueÕs subject was established only in exceptional cases by the depiction of individual features. Identification was usually established by an inscription giving the individualÕs name. Writing, therefore, was an integral aspect of art; composed of pictorial signs, writing was, in fact, in itself a work of art. Aesthetic beauty, superb workmanship, and choice materials enhanced the potency of works of art for the ancient Egyptians as they do for us.

Cycles of Life

Egyptians believed that at the beginning of creation, a mound of earth arose out of an infinite watery darkness, just as the fields of Egypt reappear after the annual floods of the Nile. Upon this mound the Creative Force, the most visible aspect of which was the sun, generated the gods and, ultimately, all the living things on earth, in the waters, and in the sky. In plan and construction, Egyptian temples were metaphors in stone for these creation myths. (Redford, 6-15)ss

For the Egyptians, creation was reenacted yearly as the inundation of the Nile receded and the land was renewed, bringing forth lush vegetation and a good harvest. They interpreted this annual event as a renewal of life and a triumph over death. They saw the same cosmic drama embodied in the daily cycle of the sun, which was born in the east and died in the west only to be reborn the next day. They also saw it in the human cycle of birth, death, and rebirth in the afterlife.

The Role of the Gods

The Egyptians believed the universe and all events that occurred within it were governed by the ...