per‹han sadiko⁄lu ancient egyptian art

Transcription

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tinually protects its attractiveness and continuity. There is also the share in this that
the other antique civilisations that come forth with a large heritage like Greek and
Roman have transferred, used and transformed the information from Egypt. The fact
that the thesis of Perihan Sadikoglu and her examination of Egypt is important and a
well-chosen topic is also directly related with this historical reality.
The work of Sadikoglu, not only examines Egypt chronologically within the historical development process, but also it sets out from the hints in the huge works in
arts and the rich religious accumulation that has mystical roots and displays both the
socio-cultural structure of Egyptian civilisation and focuses our attention to the fact
that this civilisation is penetrated into other great civilisations and continued its existence in different forms.
The “Book of the Dead” of Egypt that can be evaluated as a great heritage of
humanity is based on Platonism in Ancient Greece and then Christian Pantheism
through The Knights of the Temple. The roots of the holy cross ankha and the celestial baby Jesus icon in the arms of Mary with the image that goddess Isis and her son
Horus formed together; and even the fact that the eyes of Isis that is symbolised with
a big bolted eye over a blue background inspired the blue bead that is believed to protect from the evil eye representing a widely known belief in the society, renders the
Egyptian culture and civilisation attractive and also the reason why the work of
Sadikoglu is attractive.
Egypt civilisation that is still alive/lived with the artistic product examples. As is
usual, the only activity that renders a civilisation permanent is art. As a result, the
work of Sadikoglu enabling us to re-conceive that; such an ancient civilisation that
became a source for Greek and Roman art with the pyramids that are developed
for an eternal existence and works of great sizes can not be ignored, comes before
us as an important research.
AYHAN KALAYCI
PER‹HAN
SADIKO⁄LU
And eventually, Sadikoglu who focuses on extensions of Egyptian civilisation
on today’s artists and the artists of the modern era states the dimensions of the
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART
Egypt art is among the traces of this civilisation where we have the chance to follow in the brightest example in history. There is no such second civilisation that con-
AND INFLUENCES ON MODERN TIME THROUGH HISTORY
The Life of Ancient Egypt that Continues
in Modern Era
PER‹HAN SADIKO⁄LU
ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN
ART
AND
INFLUENCES ON MODERN
TIME THROUGH HISTORY
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ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN
ART
AND
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Perihan Sadikoglu was born in 1971 in Trabzon. She finished
primary school and high school in Istanbul. In 1994, she graduated from Marmara University (M.U.) Ataturk Faculty of
Education painting tutorship, department of Graphic Arts. In
1995, after she made her graduate studies at Marmara
University Contemporary Sciences Foundation Management
(English). In 1996, she founded her own graphic design office.
She made graphical designs for 6 years. Starting from 1999,
she spared more time for her art work and participated in 5
personal art exhibition and many mixed exhibitions. In 2002,
she founded art design workshop. She organised works at the
workshop until 2005. In 2003, she went to Egypt, took photographs, video shootings and made researches. She completed her thesis with the subject “The Effects of Ancient Egypt on
Contemporary Art and a Reinterpretation” in 2006 under the
management of Prof. Ozdemir Altan at Yeditepe University.
In 2004, she made paintings on Ancient Egypt. And she
exhibited these works in Ankara Art Exhibition in 2005. In
2005, she participated in colloquys with art critic Umit Gezgin
and Sociologist Ayhan Kalayc› on “The Mystery of Ancient
Egypt”.
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ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN
ART
AND
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ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART AND INFLUENCES ON
MODERN TIME THROUGH HISTORY
Translation: Asude Ayd›n
© 2007 Perihan Sad›ko¤lu
Contact: Ba¤dat Cad. No:161/4 Feneryolu-Kad›köy ‹ST.
e-mail: [email protected]
ISBN: 978-975-23-0390-4
Book design: Aç›l›mDizayn
Tu¤ba Alpagu
Cover: Murat Kars
© All rihgts of the texts and pictures are reserved by Perihan Sad›ko¤lu.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted without prior permission of the publisher.
Publisher
Yüzy›l Mah. Matbaac›lar Sitesi,
1. Cadde No:115
34204 Ba¤c›lar - ‹stanbul
Tel: (212) 413 33 33 pbx
Fax: (212) 413 33 34
www.boyut.com.tr
e-mail: [email protected]
Press
Boyut Matbaac›l›k A.ﬁ.
‹stanbul, 2007
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CONTENTS
PREFACE 7
I. Section
WHY EGYPT? 17
1. METHOD 18
2. EGYPYT AND EGYPTOLOGY19
II. Section
LOOKING TO EGYPT 29
1. GEOGRAPHICAL STRUCTURE 31
2. SHORT HISTORY 31
3. SOCIAL STRUCTURE 34
4. BEELIF SYSTEM 42
III. Section
EGYPTIAN ART 57
1. ARCHITECTURE AND VISUAL ARTS 62
2. RELIEF 70
3. MURAL PAINTINGS 74
4. SCULPTURE 80
5. OBJECTS 90
IV. Section
THE ARTISTIC INFLUENCE FROM EGYPTIAN ART TO
ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS IN HISTORICAL COURSE 93
INTERACTION WITH NEIGH BOURING COURTRIES 99
V. Section
LASTING INFLUENCES OF ANCIENT EGYPT 121
1. REDISCOVERING ANCIENT EGYPT 124
2. EGYPTIAN REFLECTION IN EUROPE 137
VI. Section
THE INFLUENCE OF EGYPTIAN ART ON OUR
CONTEMPORARY ART AND ARTISTS 139
1. ARCHITECTURAL PLASTIC 139
2.SYMBOLS IN ANCIENT EGYPT 205
VII. Section
ARTISTIC EXPLANATIONS 249
GENERAL EXPLANATIONS 249
PAINTINGS EXPLANATIONS 251
CONCLUSION 259
LEXICON 262
CHRONOLOGY 303
BIBLIOGRAPHY 307
INDEX 310
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I dedicate this book to my valuable father
Mehmet Sadikoglu whom I respect and love, who
has always sincerely encouraged and supported
me in all my life and my research studies…
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PREFACE
Despite all kinds of romantic and commercial exploits, Egypt that has the most
noteworthy section of the human history constitutes a focus and area of interest
beyond the period it has lived with its unknown facts and surprises upon discoveries. Today, it still excites people with the question “What exists where in the pile
of the sand”? I do not know for sure whether there is any archaeologist or historian in Turkey who has sufficient expertise on the issue, but what is seen is the
foreign publication and documentary.
When Perihan Sadikoglu, who is my student due to the master’s programme,
started the thesis about the issue and mostly the influence of Egypt on visual arts,
I did know that her job would be difficult. Because everywhere that Egypt influence is seen, the artist also becomes extremely sensitive. Thus, he is left in the
position of watching or witnessing.
Thus, Sadikoglu joined these viewers as author and researcher. However, her
careful and attentive work has brought us a publication that does not exist in
Turkey which the name “Everything on Egypt” would be more suitable.
ÖZDEMIR ALTAN
6th, May 2006
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ANCIENT EGYPT
AND TODAY’S ART
When ancient Egypt continued its unique way of thousands of years
within mystery, it also produced the art that has its own aesthetics.
However not only did this art and its mysterious depth, but also the culture, life style, religion and continuous history was left in the dark for a
long time. When author-researcher Jean Vercoutter says “Egypt’s history
constitutes the longest experience of human on the way of civilisation”, he
is not only right, but also he would like to explain us that Egypt has a just
priority in the formation of the civilisation, art and culture of human kind.
The civilisation here is not brought from outside and on the contrary; it
was formed within confusing processes of the native people. This civilisa-
Hieroglyph (The life of the Goddess’ and the
Gods of Egypt is told with the hieroglyphs.)
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tion did not only construct the giant pyramids; it founded and improved a
discipline on its own and civilisation continuously for more than three
thousand years with its temples, thousands of gods, pharaohs, large statues, palaces and writing.
The sophiscated and mysterious largeness of Egypt also brought the
foundation of Egyptology which is a great discipline. The founder of this
science, French researcher, Jean Francois Champollion did not only enlightened the history, sophisticated civilisation and art of Egypt by decipting the
language which is the code of that civilisation, but also left many issues
that needs to be researched after his early death. It has to be mentioned
that the re-discovery of Egypt after Champollion became much more clear
after the publication of Description of Egypt in 1809 after the excursion of
French travellers to here in 1798. Also, we need to say here that the
research and examinations made by the French were not just an innocent
research of civilisation.
The researches regarding Egypt did not start with Champollion of
course; the philosophers and authors of Ancient Greece were also interested in Egypt; they wanted to research it and understand it; and in time, they
started to use it. Diodorus of Sicily, Strabon, Plutarkhos, Herodotus tried
to understand and define Egypt from their point of view. However, at the
time of the Ptolemy, an Egyptian monk named Manetho prepared the history of Egypt upon request of a Greek ruler which probably had a more
coherent depth and reality than the researches of other authors. If the book
of Manetho was not lost, maybe Egypt would emerge with a more unique
reality and depth.
It can not be said that the efforts of Champollion who is accepted as the
pioneer of modern researches, to enlighten the general Egypt civilisation
and the works after him within the discipline of Egyptology are sufficient
even though hundreds of books were written about it. It is because Egypt,
where many complexities, mysteries, magic, religion, art and law is kept
needs many more researches. Especially in Turkish, ancient Egypt is in total
darkness. This world is seen with random and average works that lack
wholeness both from the perspective of copyright and translation. At this
point, we need to state that the research of Perihan Sadikoglu named “The
Effects of Ancient Egypt on Contemporary Art and a Reinterpretation” that
also forces the general Egypt history and civilisation is important as a copyright work in Turkish. The researcher thoroughly examines the world and
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art of ancient Egypt, the way it is reflected on today, the way it influenced
the artists and brings it before us, sometimes in a surprising way. This
work also means that the copyright research and examination on Egypt in
Turkey are in serious phase. Besides, this work and such works also seem
to pave the ground for many more research on Egypt.
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART AND
INFLUENCES ON MODERN TIME THROUGH HISTORY
The ancient Egypt lives within today’s art and continues this life by
adding its unique composition to the art and the unique expression of the
artist and by including a culture image and reality thousands of years
towards the past and a new civilisation, information and artistic realities
towards the future.
Perihan Sadikoglu, within her thesis, while signing a rare work in
Turkish about the ancient Egypt world and especially its areas that are the
subject of art within the borders of academic language, she was aware how
difficult an intellectual effort she was in. As a result of dedication to art
and culture, such a deep issue emerged by gaining a new dimension in the
pen of the researcher. Because I witnessed the work of Sadikoglu, I can easily say; The work with the title “Ancient Egyptian Art and Influences on
Modern Time Through History” did not only emerge as a result of long
years of hard work, but also it is finalised with great care and is valuable
also because it is has the feature of being only one in its field.
Not only the history, architecture, life style and all details of art of
ancient Egypt is within the pages of the book, but also its dimension of
gradually being a source for the artists of the world is examined thoroughly. Egypt, as a civilisation that influenced and even formed all art creations
based on thought and visuals is still met with awe and appreciation today.
Even though it has been searched a lot, Egypt with its parts left in the dark
comes as first among the civilisations that mostly keep their mystery.
Thus, this voluminous work of Perihan Sadikoglu stands before us as an
important work in order to re-evaluate this historical mystery, deep and
rooted civilisation. The fact that this kind of work is turned into a book
means that anyone who would like can benefit from this work and this
also has another importance. Because works about ancient world, especially the ones about Egypt and Mesopotamia are very rare in Turkey. A few
works that exist are translations. We need to congratulate at first the
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researcher for examining the ancient world and Egypt which is the oldest
and the most rooted civilisation, and also examining its influence on
today’s art as it requires courage.
Today’s architecture and today’s visual arts bend towards the future by
carrying the influence of ancient Egypt on them. Besides, is it possible to
move forward in civilisation without taking the inspiration from the great
civilisations of the past. Ancient Egypt, by writing a surprising success
story in the oldest ages of history, was a great and mysterious civilisation
that put forward the courage and ability of human kind to create and his
eternal respect for information. However, just like any other civilisation, it
also came to an end. What is important for now and always is to know the
values of the cultures that have contributed to civilisation and to benefit
from them. At this point, doesn’t it present us, new researchers and artists
a rich heritage as the centre of such cultures and civilisations in Anatolia?
Therefore, this meaningful book of Perihan Sadikoglu is not only a present
to the art world, but also, it encourages the reaches the new researchers to
put forward new data that needs to be found about their own roots of civilisation.
While ancient Egypt which is the source of many art disciplines, especially Cubism, the great opening point of modern art, that has influenced
and formed many important artists who are modern/post-modern to direct
the world art comes forth, it shows that, contrary to the general opinion,
not Ancient Greece but Ancient Egypt is an important and great civilisation.
As a result, Perihan Sadikoglu has done a very good thing in making
such a detailed thesis a book. This work which is important from the point
of copyright in Turkish is also a valuable source for the researchers after
this. The discovery of Ancient Egypt which is carried out by going through
hundreds of sources and going to the place; that discovery extending to all
areas of art from architecture to thought and the life of society carries the
uniqueness and importance of its claim within itself. This book titled
“Ancient Egyptian Art and Influences on Modern Time Through History” is
not just a research on Egypt as many others do, but it also has the identity
of a real “thesis”, that is, claim. In the research, we see how much the world
artists of today are influenced from Ancient Egypt and even how much
their art is formed by this mysterious civilisation. The careful research,
design, the harmony of writing and visual has rendered the book easy to
be read and perceived and this is very important in the popularisation of
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the book and its content as well as reaching the masses and getting wider.
We also would like to state here that we expect other researches, examinations and books from Perihan Sadikoglu who has carried out such a work.
Ümit GEZG‹N
Art Critic
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INTRODUCTION
T
his study motivated by a desire to investigate the impressions over the
socio-political, socio-economic and socio-cultural aspects of the
ancient Egyptian civilisation, mainly via the works of contemporary art
and artists, has been reflected in a wholeness that covers the influences of
Egypt. Here, it is aimed to specify the intersection areas and divergences
between the thoughts of the artists and that prevail in the old civilisation of
Egypt.
Ancient Egypt communicated with other civilisations of its time and was
quite influential. Even we can say that various cultures collectively have formed
a chain from the time of ancient Egypt to now and the artists are just the last
ring of this chain. Different perspectives of the Egyptian civilisation has been
looked over thoroughly by the artists for centuries and reflected in various ways
to their own works.
In this book, besides the work I have done, it is explored how all these features are reflected and expressed in the works of other artists. While doing this,
starting with the history of Egypt, the links with other civilisations is explicated. The basis of this work is constituted by the Ancient Egyptian art and hieroglyph, the symbolic paintings and writings of the ancient civilisations, their
drawings, statues, architectural structures and relieves. These are directly reflected in the works of some artists, while only vaguely took place in some others.
Goddess Hathor on a wall painting (Queen
Hatshepsut Temple, Deir el Bahari)
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I. Section
WHY EGYPT?
W
hen one mentions the ancient civilisations, the first ones to remember
are obviously Mesopotamian and Egyptian. The very starting point of
a civilisation to take place is the settlement of men in a certain area. A
settled life requires a geographical and climatic compatibility. Egyptian civilisation
was one extended over a large area thanks to both its geographical situation and the
displacement of the population by the trade roads and other reasons. Egyptians had
been in close contact with others because of wars and invasions. Such contacts
gave birth to numerous reliable historic records and documents regarding ancient
Egypt. Alexander the Great conquered Babel and so opened the way to a very fertile cooperation of Egyptian and Hellenistic scientists that would continue even
after his death. Hittites, Phoenicians, Cretans and Hellens in time made really good
use of the Mesopotamian and Egyptian achievements in the field of sciences.
Anatolia (the Minor Asia), Western Mediterranean zone and the Aegean Sea served
as passages of this information. The basis of today’s sciences has been founded on
Mesopotamian and Ancient Egypt sciences. The inheritance of the ancient Egypt
includes the evidences of a great civilisation.
A deeper analysis of the civilisation of the ancient Egypt with respect to techniques and culture would bring us face to face with some elements that overstrain
the existing limits. Ancient Egypt is not a starting point from the primitive times of
humanity but one of the last vestiges of a highly advanced civilisation. The main
ideas of this great civilisation about the metaphysics and cosmogony, as well as the
information about the Egyptians’ idea of immortality that was the axis of the reli-
Daily fight of God Re with Apophis
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gion and the social life, were mainly compiled from religious texts that have
reached us by keeping their existence for thousands of years and the graves.
Because Ancient Egypt is the extension of a mysterious civilisation that gives the
feeling of immediate preparation and emergence, it still keeps its magic thanks to
the large publications, movies and works in other fields of art about it tremendous
past. It has influenced the whole world with its big cities, immense temples, and
superior works with noticeable craftsmanship, streets, perfect sewer system, and
stone tombs inside the rocks, pyramids, gods and pharaohs. The monotheistic religions are also the fruit of the civilisations of Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia.
The branch of astronomy that examines the celestial body and the roots as well as
the development of the systems created by these.
The impressions that we have acquired about Ancient Egypt shows explicitly that
some interesting popular conventions resemble today’s superstitions and are also
widely reflected in today’s arts. So all these have been the main reasons that have
caused me to research the extensions of Ancient Egypt to contemporary arts.
1. METHOD
The fact that the civilisation of ancient Egypt lasted for three thousand years and
went as long as six thousand years before today, the existence of a huge bulk of
information about the highly elaborated Egyptian culture and it’s development
without any outer effect for two thousand years constitutes a unique example in
the history of humanity. This was a world order that the humanity managed to
realise since the very first eras, and it influenced today’s people and gave them creative inspiration. Stories similar to tales have been written, movies and documentaries have been made about the assumptions that the sources regarding Ancient
Egypt extends back to Atlantis, the lost continent, and that the inhabitants that lived
together migrated (such as Maya and Aztecs to the South America and Egyptians
to Africa).
In order to base this research on more solid ground, that started because the
influences of this civilisation still continue today, a part of the study was conducted in Egypt and historical sites were seen. The visual beauty of the ancient Egyptian
civilisation was recorded with photographs and video and archived.
Because computer technology which is wide today has entered nearly all areas,
internet was used when data banks were researched that would help in the hard
research works. Besides the source prints here, other information have been found
and filed. They were watched on white screen so that the Ancient Egypt history of
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three thousand years could be understood better. Articles regarding this subject
have been read and examined from the source books of Ancient Egypt, linings have
been made and they have been separated to files. The new terms have been chosen that are in the documents. The works of artists have been examined in order to
search the main subject “Ancient Egyptian Art and Influences on Modern Time
Through History”. The documents were filed in folders and given numbers to classify and articles explaining the achieved opinions were written. All data were gathered together in order to state the reflections of the ancient Egypt’s rich cultural heritage over the contemporary arts and also the transformation of the mentioned heritage to unique works.
Finally, paintings were made onto bag, papyrus and jute inspired by the Ancient
Egyptian jewellery. It was described in an artistic expression the specific side of the
ancient art that affected the works for each case. In the meantime, the photographs
taken in Egypt, and the paintings were turned into a presentation in a CD accompanied by ancient Egyptian music.
2. EGYPT AND EGYPTOLOGY
First tribes in ancient Egypt were the inhabitants of Palestine and Syria.
Travellers were described in some examples of Egyptian paintings, but the visitors
did not leave texts that transferred what they saw and learned.
“It was the Greeks who had travelled to Nile delta. Homerus who was one of
them tells about a raid by Greek pirates to the Nile Delta in his work Odysseus”
(Vercoutter, 2004).
In this raid, the Greeks were taken as prisoners by the Egyptians. Odysseus
was also among the captives. The historian Herodotus arrives in Egypt in 450
BC. Due to Herodotus’ talents of observation and strong expression, the very
details of the life in Egypt are known. Diodorus of Sicily, a contemporary of
Julius Caesar, visits Egypt. Later on Roman Strabo whose mother was Greek
comes to Egypt towards 30 BC. The famous traveller Plutarch who lived in the
1st century AD is also among the ones who came to Egypt. At that period,
detailed information about the legend of Osiris was acquired due to the work of
Plutarch named “Isis and Osiris". Isis, Osiris and Anubis cults were very wide
spread over the Roman Empire, especially in the region Galia, saving the magical rituals from being forgotten.
Hebrew history from 2000 BC is mostly related with that of ancient Egypt.
Several books of the Old Testament (genesis, exodus from Egypt etc) are real doc19
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uments about the political history of Egypt. Many legendary events regarding
Egypt have been transferred to today with the Sacred Book.
Travellers from Late Middle Age and Renaissance mention Nile Delta and pyramids. They were fed of the Bible and generally considered ancient Egypt as a
place for a break on the pilgrimage road to sacred lands.
Byzantine emperor Theodosius I announces that all the old pagan shrines were
closed by 391 AD at Byzantium where Christianity prevailed. So hieroglyph writing that was effective until that time, quickly lost its understandability after the collapse of these shrines. Because there was nobody left towards 450 AD who could
read and understand Ancient Egyptian texts; however the works of some Greek
and Latin writers who were interested in Egypt were kept both at Rome and
Byzantium.
Interest towards antiquity rose along with the Renaissance and the earliest classical texts were revisited by the 15th century. One of them is Horapollo's
Hieroglyphica from 4th century AD. In the work that is claimed to belong to
Egyptians the meaning of some of the hieroglyph letters was given. Another work
was Corpus Hermeticus (complete works of the monks). These were philosophical pamphlets written originating from the ancient Egypt but belonging to a period after Christ and incorporating old Egyptian ideas with neo-plutonian and similar ones. This second category did not support at all the thesis that rooted to the
old Greek philosophers claiming ancient Egypt as the main source of all the knowledge. The same thought is valid for Hieroglyphica that claimed that the painting
letters were the essence of deeper thoughts. With the ancient remnants taken
much more carefully into consideration by the 16th century, Egyptian remnants
were found in Rome and the Egypt works brought here earlier were studied. These
works that were seen in prints that belong to antiquity were a matter of study,
together with the obelisks with the information offered by the writers from the
classical period etc.
By the end 16th and early 17th centuries, the turn of the first collectionners visit
to Egypt starts. Pietro della Vale (1586-1652) travelled all around the eastern
Mediterranean region and stayed from 1614 until 1626 in the East, to return then
to Italy with some Egyptian mummies and a collection of Coptic manuscripts.
“These manuscripts were written using the last form of the Egyptian language
and in Greek letters, a language re-learned by the Egyptian Coptic priests and
adopted by the Egyptian Coptic Church’s rites. Therefore, people who knew
Hieroglyph
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Arabic were able to examine these manuscripts
because Coptic alphabet was written in Arabic. Coptic
language would be quite useful to transcribe the hieroglyph two centuries later" (Maurejol, 2001).
Athanasisus Kirchner (1602-1680) researcher on
ancient Egypt and who worked on transcribing hieroglyph made his first publication in Coptic. An
unknown Venetian claimed Karnak to be even superior to the pyramids, already accepted as one of the
seven miracles, so worth to be visited, in his travel
book manuscripts. Because this work would only be
published in the 20th century it could not be influential on any other writers. The text that resembled this
most and learned from secondary sources in the next
century is the story of two Franciscan priests visited Luxor and Esna in 1668. The
history and civilisation of Egypt that endured some three thousand years was not
examined until early 19th century.
Napoleon’s occupation of Egypt in 1798 encouraged a mass attention towards
the ancient Egyptian civilisation in many European countries. In August 1799 a
French officer, Pierre Bouchard found over an old wall a black stone with hieroglyphs of three chapters. English diplomat Hamilton who would keep this stone
which was afterwards called Rosetta as a prize of war. This stone is now in British
Museum, London, in the Egypt halls’ entrance. French researchers made several
copies of Rosetta.
On July 1794, Vivant Denon, who was back in Cairo from Upper Egypt, submitted a report to Napoleon about all he had observed in Egypt supported with
illustrations. Upon this report two separate committees would be appointed by
Napoleon to go to Upper Egypt and to prepare the monumental work of
Description of Egypt in two years. The two hundred artists, with the reliefs, zoology, botanic, panoramas, descriptions of old professions and ritual objects made
the recovery of ancient Egypt possible. The result was ten volumes of one meter
length with 300 illustrations, 837 copper gravure tablets, and the first volume
appearing by 1809.
From 1802 to 1830, numerous French, German, English, Swiss travellers went
to Egypt upon what was written in the travel and description. Their books and
paintings helped considerably to promote Ancient Egyptian culture.
Many ancient monuments and works would be recorded by the year 1820,
with these travel books, painters’ surveys and works of scientists who accompa22
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nied Bonaparte. Also many pieces, statues, objects, documents, papyruses and
reliefs were brought to Europe.
“Wilkinson, an English scientist who went to Egypt in 1821 would make excavations in Thebes for ten years and create his chef d’oeuvre Uses and Customs of
Ancient Egyptians that was presenting also copies of old texts and drawings”
(Vercoutter, 2004).
Peasants and artisans of the era of the pharaohs have been for the first time
described in this book.
The research growed by the second half of the 19th century faster and much
more regularly thanks to the efforts of French Emmanuel de Rouge (1811-1872)
and Auguste Mariette (1821-1881) as well as German Carl Richard Lepsius (18101884) and Heinrich Brugsch (1827-1894). With the foundation of the
Administration of Ancient Monuments of Egypt in 1858, with Mariette as its first
director, a period with bright discovery works in Nile Valley started.
One of the page from Athanasisus Kirchner’s Musurgia Universalis’s Book (Left)
Entrance tunnel of Cheops Pyramid (Right)
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Mariette who compiled the results of the excavations she made at the little
museum in Bulak at the port of Cairo is also the founder of Cairo Museum of
today. The interest was so dense to ancient Egypt and written monuments and
works in the period of Renaissance and the baroque age, however the problem
consisted of the assumption that Egyptian script was a symbol writing or based on
syllables like Chinese, despite which researchers as J. J. Barthelemy (1716-1795),
Akerblad (1763-1819) and Thomas Young (1773-1829) could make great successes to solve the meaning of the hieroglyph, even before Champollion.
Jean-François Champollion (1790-1832), the son of a bookseller in Figeac
France is shown a copy of the Rosetta stone as a present from his cousin, military
captain. So Champollion would be very interested in eastern languages since he
was very young. He learns Latin, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, Syrian, Armenian and
Amharic only at his sixteen, not to mention Chinese and Persian. This is in the year
1809 and age nineteen that Champollion began to work on Rosetta. In 31st, July
1828 he goes to Egypt for this reason. He was in collaboration with the mathematician Joseph Fourier, a participant of the Egypt campaign and a friend of his
brother Jacques Joseph Champollion, whom he met in 1802. J-F. Champollion met
also Don Raphael de Monachis, an ex-monk of Greek origin, lecturer of Arabic language in College de France, in Paris, who taught him to concentrate on Coptic language, the way to find out the hieroglyph, to which he would be oriented in the
following years.
Researches and scientists were sure at that time about the Coptic language
being born by the late age of the pharaoh period and the elliptical cartridges over
the hieroglyphs consisted of the names of the kings. Champollion worked densely on the Stone’s royal ornaments in which he stated the name "Ptolemy" of Greek.
He totally left the false assumptions about the hieroglyph script and proved in the
date of 14 September 1822 that the latter was a phonetically script system as a conclusion of his research on the texts found in Abu Simbel, where there existed two
temples built by Ramesses II (1304-1237 BC). So he succeeded to completely clarify the script and language of ancient Egypt in a few years. Even though this revolutionary discovery was mostly ignored at the beginning as it was in a complete
opposition with former assumptions, Egyptology started with Jean François
Champollion’s transcription of hieroglyph script (1822). Champollion continued
his works on Egyptology from this date on until his death.
His early death negatively influenced Egyptology which was a very young discipline, and this would be only after some ten years that new colleagues could
emerge in many countries taking his contributions as their own foundation.
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“Egyptian archaeology” founded only in 1850s as a chapter of the science of
“antiquity”, quickly turned to be an autonomous scientific branch, named
Egyptology. Even though this science covered only Ancient Egypt, it assembled
together philology, archaeology, ethnology, arts, history and theology. Egyptology
is generally limited to the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, the moment
when the age of pharaohs finishes and the Hellenistic period starts. Ptolemy who
follows this partially considered the Roman reign and their “mixed culture”.
With the Egypt culture frequently interacting with the neighbouring regions in
Africa and Asia, Egyptology collaborated with both the African culture and folklore and the Minor Asia Antiquity sciences and Semitics.
The Golden Age for the Egyptology was the years 1881-1914. The research
methodology and general table of Egyptology were quite changed within the first
10 years of this age.
“Adolf Erman (1854-1937) did lay the foundation of the Egyptian linguistics, so
made true translation possible. He also wrote for the first time a history of the
country based on first-hand sources" (Hornung, 2004).
This research refuted much information, integrated scientific truth with a live
description, and as a result attracted a young generation of scientists to the field. A
year after in 1887, Eduard Meyer (1855-1930) published his work called Geschichte
Agyptens. With this work which would be incorporated in his universal “oeuvre”
Geschichte des Altertums, Egyptology would be evaluated more correctly.
At the same time, Sir Petrie (1853-1942) who contributed to the excavation
methodology by stating what was not concretely seen. He also made valuable
publications of the reports of several excavations beginning from 1884 in Tanis.
With the works he conducted in Negada and Abydos, that would be completed
with the findings of Quibbels in Hierankopolis; pre-historical and archaic Egypt
took its place in the scientific performance at the beginning of the century. Gaston
Maspero (1846-1916) took over the responsibility of Egypt Ancient Monuments
Administration after Mariette. He served by conducting the excavations and preserving the ancient pieces found starting from 1881. If needs to be properly mentioned, the very first important research were done thanks to the French Institute
of Eastern Archaeology of Cairo founded by the French. Then came Germans
(especially Lepisus), English (Sir Flinders Petrie) and Americans who all contributed
a lot to Egyptology.
Field researches in the 20th century are the most systematic and long-term ones
based on newly discovered and reliable data. So excavations in the tombs of Giza
pyramids, those near Tell el-Amarma and in the cemetery and workingmen’s quarters of Deir-el Medina, though they have been interrupted for long periods, respec25
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tively since 1902, 1908 and 1915, are successful works but still uncompleted. This
is the same for Hermopolis; the French works in Tanis ruins were initiated in 1927,
then interrupted and now are being carried on again. The immense activities of
restoration in Karnak temples and Saqqara region of stepped Pyramids (since 1927)
have also been fruitful.
There are two great initiative of inscription science that is accepted among the
major successes of modern Egyptology; one about the Medina Habut Temple,
where the inscriptions and architectural structure have been recorded since 1924
by the Eastern Institute of Chicago University and the other a similar work being
done since 1896 by the French Institute of Archaeology in Cairo, on the temple
inscriptions appertaining to Ptolemy-Roman period. However both works are
unfinished yet. We owe the consideration of the architectural and constructional
aspects in field researches to Ludwig Borchard (1863-1938) who set in Thebes a
“German house” (since 1904), cooperated with the German Institute of
Archaeology in Cairo and therefore provided a solid base for the work of German
specialists. Again the Switzerland-Egypt Institute for Construction Researches that
Borchard founded in Cairo keeps on working successfully today as well.
"The making of the Assuan barrage opened the way for three big international
campaigns that turned the region of Nubia, between the first and second cascades
on the river Nile, into one the most carefully discovered out of the African continent. The first archaeological activity at Nubia was carried on between the years
1907-1911, just after the elevation of the old barrage, and the second between
1929 and 1934 before the elevation of the barrage. New barrage construction
attracted attention on Nubia and other regions that were inundated in Egypt and
Sudan because of the barrage became the subject of a systematic work after the call
by UNESCO in 1960 and thanks to an international cooperation. Numerous
important monuments in this region were saved by being removed to other sites
using unique technical initiatives"(Hornung, 2004).
Besides field works there are two great initiatives too, accomplished by international cooperation: The works on the General Catalogue of the Cairo National
Museum led by L. Borchardt and the great dictionary of Wörterbuch der ögyptischen sprache in Berlin in 1897. However with new interests and perspectives, the
change and deepening of our image of Egypt was with the steps taken by Erman
in the 20th century for the understanding of Egyptian grammar and comment on
texts and were improved by great linguistists like Kurt Sethe, Sir Alan H.Gardiner
and Hans J.Polotsky. Later on Heinrich Schafer (1869-1957) managed to clarify the
very specific rules of description in ancient Egyptian statue and low relief. Erman
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Kess (1886-1964) formulated quite systematically the hierarchy of the officers and
priests in Egypt and therefore made it possible for the old administration structure
to be defined and understood. He collaborated with Sethe and Alexandre Moret
(1868-1938) and left a permanent mark on the research and interpretation method
of ancient Egypt religion. Later on, Henri Frankfort described thoroughly the
uniqueness of the belief system in ancient Egypt. The last representative of
Egyptology is Erman Junker.
There exists an understanding in Egyptology, which was exceeded long ago for
the researches on classical ancient age. Despite its history of 170 years, Egyptology
which is a young science keeps this feature with its rapid development.
"The only general description of Egyptology that is widely used was written by
H. Brugsch: Die Aegptologie (1891, 1897). W. Helck-E. Otto's publication of
Kleines Wörterbuch der Aegtologie (1956, 1970) and G. Posener's Dictionnaire de
la Civilisation Egyptienne (1959, 1970) were followed in 1972 by the seven–volume collective work of W. Helck, E. Otto and W. Westendorf, Lexikon der
Agyptologie (1922)" (Hornung, 2004).
“Articles, even though quite different, offer us a general view. Early
Egyptological works were published in reviews of archaeology, theology or oriental studies. The first scientific magazine of Egyptology was Zeitchrift für ögyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde founded by H. Brugsch in 1863“ (Hornung,
2004).
Still accepted as the most important organ of Egyptology, this magazine was
followed by
Recueil de travaux relatifs a la philologoie et a I'archeologie egyptiennes et
assyriennes which addresses the complete old East in 1870 and Revue egyptologigue in 1880. There were also summarized monographies in serials besides
magazines. These serials were published mostly by the Egypt Studies Association
in London, French Institute of Oriental Archaeology in Cairo, Oriental Institute of
the University of Chicago and German Institute of Archaeology. One must also
mention the minutes of meetings of several academies or works that are published
within the content of their researches as well as rich material addressing
Egyptologists and the representatives of neighbouring disciplines.
Technological progress made it possible to take the x-ray films of the mummies
and reconstruction of the temples by using computer graphics. Also were discovered the source of the exotic stones and metals and medical technology offered a
chance to learn about the health of the Ancient Egyptians. Egyptology keeps developing with ongoing excavations and new findings are published systematically
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II. Section
LOOKING TO
EGYPT
A
ncient civilization of Egypt is in fact the second greatest after the
Mesopotamian and one of the oldest and most important civilizations in
human history. C.W. Ceram defines Egypt as a “river culture”. Hekate and
Herodotus write as "Egypt is a gift of the Nile”. Actually, the fact that Egypt was surrounded with deserts is a main reason in the formation of the civilization that is unique
and closed to outer effects. Because of this geographical feature, the Egyptian civilisation has been protected against outer attacks. Also the desert offered to the Egyptians
undistortable stones for the construction of temples and statues on the name of and
also to preserve in safety the pharaohs, their immortal gods and kings that they accepted as equivalent to gods. Ancient Egypt civilization owes its existence to the Nile River.
The Nile also determined the seasons. Egyptian calendar described three seasons and
twelve months. The valley was green when Nile overflowed. This was a holy river that
kept flowing since thousands of years continuing to enliven the land that it watered has
hosted one of the most long-lived and wealthy civilization of the world history. Nile
also caused the discoveries in the science of mathematics with its floods and the country experienced serious progress in the agriculture, irrigation and village life, even five
thousand years before Christ, in the new Stone Age. Starting from the years 3500 BC,
a very successful period started.
Egyptian civilization from 3000 BC until the arrival of the Macedonian king,
Alexander the Great in 330 BC created really deep traces with respect to the religion,
art, culture, architecture etc within a history of 3 thousand years and kept also its unique
mystery in nearly all periods of history.
View of Egypt from the space
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1. GEOGRAPHICAL STRUCTURE
Ancient Egypt was surrounded with Libyan Desert on the east and Arabian
Desert on the west, the latter covering all the Arabian Peninsula to the Red Sea.
In ancient texts there were considerably numerous names of places, what led
the geographical and topographical researches of Egyptology to start early.
Recently found texts contributed to the number of names, most of which
belonging to the environment of Egypt, they are especially Syrian or Palestine.
The geographical horizon of the list of “foreigners” was extended to Troy
(Ililion) and the shores of Somalia, in the age of New Dynasty. So Egyptology
attained a wealthy set of materials also useful in geographical and topographical researches on the Old Middle East, Asia Minor, Sudan or Eastern
Mediterranean region.
Nile had once seven branches instead of two as in our times. In the age of
the New Dynasty, it is certain that there were at least three. The lake in Faiyum
region, the ratio of the cultivated area and desert were quite different from
today’s; it is assumed that in many places of Middle and Upper Egypt, the river
bed changed places. It is certain that climates changed considerably in the prehistorical times but the dimension is still under discussion.
2. SHORT HISTORY
In the Palaeolithic age, ruled a tropical climate in Egypt, with a corresponding
flora. Houses were on the valley then and people were occupied with hunting
and fishing. By the end of this period arts on rocks extended all over Africa. The
rocks and caverns in the upper Egypt were elaborated with visuals of animals,
hunting scenes and sailing.
In the early Neolithic period the geographical formation of the Nile valley
was completed. The hunting dog watchers, Paleoafrican herdsman, fisherman
of Nilot roots, artisans and farmers improved techniques of cereal agriculture,
flax plantation, textile and pottery. The view of the villages changed with the
mud-brick houses replacing sedge huts.
Towards 4000, techniques were elaborated and also were born the ivory
craftsmanship and small sculptures were made. At this period, the difference
View of Cairo, capital of Egypt
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between the northern and southern cultures became more obvious. Both civilisation centres were organised with parallel cultural centres. In the north the king
with a red crown on the head and defended by Osiris was ruling the west and
east states, while in the south another one ruled, who was wearing a white
crown and protected by the god Seth.
When the emperor Justinian’s closed down the temple of Isis in Philae (last
pagan centre in Christian Egypt) on 6th century AD, doors were closed on this
civilisation that is accepted as the oldest civilisation in the world. The work
Aigyptiake of the Egyptian priest Manetho was very useful for the researches:
General Views of the pyramids Cheops, Chefren and Mykerinus (on the left)
entrance of Karnak Temple at Luxor (above)
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Manethon sets out to write an Egypt history and compiles the Egypt pharaohs
in 31 Dynasties and makes a list of pharaohs. Modern sciences have always
used this work. The inscriptions and archaeological tools that the ancient Greek
writers, especially Herodotus, Doors of Sicily examined were so various and
rich that even now, the main lines of the Ancient Egypt civilisation and history
can be drawn from the pre-historic period until Christianity and the most
unique sides can be determined.
In Egyptian geography Lower and Upper Egypt were called the Delta and
Valley that would gradually be integrated by late pre-historical times. According
to the archaeological findings, the dispersed Nomes of Upper Egypt were taken
into an initiative of gathering together under a central administration by
Zekhan, who was also named as the Scorpion King because of his symbol
which was a scorpion. He was followed by the king Narmer who carried on the
unification and also extended the limits of the country towards the moors of
Delta. Both kings were the pioneers of the legendary pharaoh Menes the
founder of the united Egypt. The first unified crown was made of the “deshret”
of the lower country and the “hedget” of the upper. Therefore both Egypts were
combined meaningfully.
3. SOCIAL STRUCTURE
The success of the ancient civilization of Egypt was due to its strong social
structure and administration. Egypt consisted of two regions. In both regions,
strong rulers provided balance and order. One of the most centralist states in the
ancient times is Ancient Egypt. They did successful progresses in military
domain and in social services. State and religion were tied strongly to each other
in the social structure that Ancient Egypt developed. This system endured the
history of three thousand years mostly successfully. However, because the system was too rigid and self-reflexive, it was difficult for other nations to adopt.
Each pharaoh ruled just like a god. The divine pharaoh was the state itself.
The divine pharaoh had an absolute authority and his commands were holy. In
Ancient Egypt, there was no written strict laws and rules. When the pharaoh provided the national welfare, security and just administration, his “holy rule” was
supported; however if he renders the rule unsuccessful he would be removed
from the crown despite his divinity. Among the success criteria of a ruler, were
Pharaoh bust
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fertilility of the land, profitable commerce, and rapid social development.
Pharaoh was regulating the moral relationship between the divinities and people.
Language did not contain the words of government, state nor nation because
the state and pharaoh were identical. The distinction only existed with geographical sense of “country” and expressions directly referring to the pharaoh,
like “ruling” and “administration”. Immortality was a natural right of the
pharaohs. Ancient Egyptians believed that his rule lived forever, even after the
death. Only once, in the Ancient Egypt history, in the “First Intermediate
Period” people argued that pharaoh also could make errors and evil like ordinary
men. Ancient Egyptian thought attributed three divine characteristics to the
pharaohs: “hu” (orienting and creative command or authoritative discourse),
“sia” (seeing, hearing, understanding) and “maat” (justice, law, good administration). This last one, the most important for state affairs meant “right”, “truthness”, “reality”, “order” and “goodness”. The words of “government”, “state” and
“maat” were very critical in Ancient Egypt language. The foundation of the just
administration and social morality was the “maat” that the pharaoh created and
continued. The laws of the country were the pharaoh’s “maat”.
The ruler was responsible of the country’s security, defending it against outsiders’ attacks and enlarging Egyptian lands and resources by conquests. To
improve agricultural land and increasing fertility was expected from the
pharaoh. From the early periods of the ancient Egyptian civilization until the
central government, the power that was based on the personality of the
pharaoh was more “certain” than earlier and later periods. There were two classes in the Old Dynasty: nobles and people. The majority were peasants used as
slaves. The government and religious life belonged to the nobility. New classes
aroused in time: professional soldiers, free peasants, craftsmen and artisans,
administrators, priests…
There was not any certain “cast system” in Ancient Egypt. Craftsmen and
artisans were dense in the cities. Most workers were living in groups settled in
specific parishes of the cities according to their specialisation. Each was organized as a trade guilt. Professional soldiers multiplied in number during the centuries. In the following periods, the Ancient Egyptians used slave soldiers. After
the 8th Dynasty soldiers would assume critical political roles until the end of
the history of ancient Egypt. On the other hand peasantry was not interested in
politics, at all. During the history of ancient Egypt, not only the pharaoh but all
the nobility and high level administrative body and the priesthood lived isolated from the masses. Clerks and officers were accepted as of the privileged class.
The literate elite who made the state apparatus work ensured the continuity of
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the state affairs like in any contemporary bureaucracy. But the administrators
and officers listening the problems and complaints of the people was a necessity that the Ancient Egypt culture emphasized. The pharaoh who was in the
highest level of the state was leaving the governmental responsibilities to his
counsellors, especially the vizier. The upper strata in ancient Egypt consisted of
nobles, priests and state officers. The latter were required to know well about
the literature, maths, engineering, construction, controlling the public facilities.
Even some times they should behave as military commanders. The road to the
vizier ship was open to the officers according, of course, to the abilities of the
candidate. Pharaohs used a lot of the knowledge, experience and diligence of
this class of administrators in order to strengthen Ancient Egypt.
3.1. Social Classes
"Ancient Egyptian society was never a pure and homogenous nation. It was
an African one as to the origin. Actually, its determining properties show similarities with other Northern and Eastern African peoples like berberians of
Libya. Its Semite qualities were mixed with those coming from Sina, Northern
provinces, from the deserts of Arabia and Red Sea and those from the South.
Egypt was an African nation in close relation with the Mediterranean. Lower
Nile Valley was inhabited with a quite mixed population with respect to the
racial and ethnical properties. In the south lived negroids, but the Northern population were much more whitish, and Caucasian-like type with straight hairs.
The archaeological past of the Ancient Egypt is the product of interaction of
many different races. Ancient Egyptians were not black, brown nor white but
only Ancient Egyptians. The pharaohs of the New Dynasty, Seti I and Ramesses
III had tombs in the Kings’ Valley with description of many different types of
humans in a universe dominated by Re, the sun-god. These showed a certain
opposition with the red-brown Egyptians, black Nubians, whitish Libyans and
Asians. The function of these pictures is to define the Ancient Egyptians as a separate nation differing from the rest of the world. The observable racial properties
present us a complex mixation of Mediterranean and Ethiopian elements under the
influence of Orientals, an ongoing process already realized in the pre-historical
times. However, on the basis of the cranium formation, there is no need for highly used assumptions like the ‘invasion’ of new races" (Fagan, 2001).
Nubians served from the 4th Dynasty as house servants, soldier and police.
In the Old Dynasty, other foreigners that Egyptians kept contact with had no
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importance in the social life. A crowded class of Asians began to be active in
various professions by the late Middle Dynasty; an Asian group, believed to be
the leaders of the professional militaries manage to take the power in the
Second Intermediate Period and for the first time, the dynasty in the ancient
Egypt enters the rule of a foreign dynasty with the Hyksos. So the country
began to be much more open to the outside than ever before. We know that
ordinary people of the ancient Egypt hated vigorously anything not belonging
to himself in the opinion; but were very open to take advantage of the foreign
and what was superior to itself. Syrian officers for example would attain the
highest ranks in the period of Ramesses, thanks to their unique ability in administrative affairs.
3.2. The King and the Dynasty
"As there did not exist a word of state in ancient Egyptians, the institution of
dynasty took place in the idea of state. Pharaoh, seen as a man who adopted the
role of creative god, took over the symbols of the gods” (Hornung, 2004).
Pharaoh really had the properties and the power of a god. His mission was
to restore and maintain divinely order of the world, set by the very creation. So
the King was accepted as the “son” (4thDynasty) of the sun-god, the creator of
the world, and its “figure” (17th Dynasty and its pre processes 12th Dynasty)
and it was more similar as expression. This concept ruled until Ptolemy Period.
The question of the usage of each individual title of the kings was taken into
consideration by H. Goedicke within the content of the Old Dynasty and this
has been an important step for the researches.
Even though kings emphasized that they were appointed to their divinely
ranks “even before they were born”, they acquired their heavenly powers only
when they ascended the throne. Princes of the Middle and New Dynasties had
roles in the political life and in the cults only exceptionally. Some daughters of
the kings who were adopted and so become “God’s wife” played critical roles
in terms of politics and cult, especially in the Upper Egypt and the Third
Intermediate Period, until the Persian invasion. During the 12th and then the
18th and 21st Dynasties crown princes had a place near to their fathers as prince
regents having his own title and dating and Ramesses sufficed to transfer some
ruling rights to them. Crown prince was rather the elder son born out of the first
Statue of Priest Imhotep
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wife, as pharaoh could have many wives. So the Egyptian queen had a key role
in the throne, especially in the passages from one dynasty to another, she was the
carrier of legitimacy. This role turned out a political influence; and provided the
taking over of the Dynasty in the cases of Sobeknofru, Hatshepsut and Tausret.
3.3. Vizierate
“The most superior official in the Old Dynasty was the vizier. Only princes
could be appointed as vizier in the 3rd and 4th Dynasties, but in the late Old
Dynasty, the king appointed any official to that rank. This office had a specific
tradition but was cancelled after the Persian invasion of ancient Egypt in 343
BC. The vizier was coordinating all the administrative domains, controlling the
state monopolies and was responsible of the justice mechanisms and keeping
the state archives; the vizierate office also had a function with regard to the
priesthood, construction and discovery expeditions but it was not a military
function. In the New Dynasty vizierate was divided in two as the Upper and
Lower Egypt after Thutmosis III. The political authority of the vizier should be
analyzed specifically as it differed from one to the other. In practice, the king
was also helped with other clerks and priests" (Hornung, 2004).
3.4. Priesthood Institution
A separate clergy appeared in the Old Dynasty period. Senior officials were
appointed to superior priest offices. The “spiritual” tendencies first observed
with Ramesesses Period reached to the peak when the high priest of Thebes
took the power in the Upper Egypt in the 21st Dynasty’s ‘god-state’. Cult
needed the appointment of the priest by the king, as “the only master of the
cult” was the king himself; but the hereditary transmission of the post was
much more common than other posts. H.Kees analyzed in his many works
that the priesthood were seen both as a religious statute which was the door
for living for the noble families in the New Dynasty and then more commonly in the Third Intermediate Period.
There were ‘prophets’ at the head of the temple priests and these had a
‘chief prophet’ at top. The hierarchy was including one to fourth prophet in
the big temples, as in the case of Karnak Amun, where the First Prophet was
called the ‘high priest’ of Thebes. High priests of Memphis and Heliopolis
were wearing very archaic titles. ‘Prophets’ were followed by ‘god fathers’ and
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‘pures’, and the death priests and those serving in the ceremonial rituals had
special titles. Among the officials of the temples there were many clerks,
singers and musicians. Kings’ donations contributed a lot to the treasury of
the temples that was administered by an assignee with numerous officials
under his command. There were also ‘hourly priests’ who were serving in
shifts and divided in four branches. Women in the goddess cults had also the
title of ‘prophet’. In the big temples, because there were many gods worshipped, higher priests had the names of many gods in their official titles"
(Hornung, 2004).
3.5. Daily Life
Habits, daily activities in the house and at work, relation with the surrounding people and events, clothing that changed according to the fashion of the period, jewellery and cosmetic materials, the joy he attained from sports, games and
entertainment of the Ancient Egyptian are very concretely felt despite the long
distance of time between there and today. All these worldly details were
described in the tombs that show how the Egyptian perceived the otherworld
and the death in an integrated manner. A few papyruses and ostracons found in
Deir-el Medina help us to understand the life in a city of artisans in the time of
Ramesses. Therefore all the elements of the society were talked about in these
papyruses and ostracons, from the viziers to water bearers.
The nucleus of the state and the society in the Ancient Egypt consisted in general of a family formed of a married couple and their non-adult children. Parental
relations like ‘uncle’ or ‘cousin’ did not mean a lot.
Monogamy ruled even in the superior classes in the society and marriage
between brothers and sisters was only limited within the royal family before the
Roman period. However kings of the 8th and 19th Dynasties were allowed to
marry their own daughters. Within the royal family, a man could marry his sister. The marriage of brothers and sisters were not observed among common
people, while marriage between cousins, or uncles and nieces were quite widespread. Sons were circumcised at the age of fourteen and so accepted in the
adulthood with a religious ceremony. We have records of mass circumcision ceremonies in the First Intermediate Period, once of 120 children together. Girls
stayed at home and it is assumed that they had only a ceremony when marrying. Even Diodorus described the situation of the women as a good one, with
legal equality with men and a declaration in the marriage ceremony to guarantee
the financial independence of women. There were divorce records from Late
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Period. A woman divorced of her husband had a right to be supported by the exhusband until death. In a script from the New Dynasty was mentioned the freedom of travelling for women outside the house. We also know that women
cared a lot for their personal beauty in the 18th Dynasty. Sons and daughters
were equal as to the law of inheritance. The first duty of a son was to care for
his father’s life in the otherworld. A somewhat cult of ancestors was observed
only in the royal family.
4. BELIEF SYSTEM
Egypt was the scene of the most important paintings of old times and the first real
painters were grown up in Egypt. This fact came from the critical conception of the
image in the Ancient Egyptian thought and life. In the oldest period of the Ancient
Egypt civilisation, a spirit was attributed to not only the animals but also to plants,
mountains, rivers, stones and any object like all primitive societies. This belief was
seen in every period and nearly every region before history. However Egyptians were
deeply affected of that common belief and imagined about the images for the objects
having inside a human spirit despite they were not human beings at all and when
they adopted a real religion in time they still represented their gods in the forms of
animals or simple objects.
The belief of Ancient Egypt was based upon the knowledge and not mere believing. It was quite important for their culture to know about the gods, to assign them
names, to discover the creative powers a god functioned with. Hieroglyphs were
words on the road to such knowledge. Ancient Egyptians believed the immortality of
the spirit and the existence of a unique god. Even the meaning of the human existence
was reduced to its coincidence with the god after judgement in front of a heavenly
court in the other world.
Religion in Ancient Egypt had a serial of Amun’s forms summarizing the source
of heavenly essences and their peak point. The supreme and primary being, AmunRe, was the father of himself, so the husband of his mother. That is, the husband of
the goddess Mut was both male and female. Other Egyptian gods were just forms of
this divine source. These forms are seen in different relationships from each other
from different perspectives. These secondary and tertiary forms formed a chain that
is embodied as a human coming to the earth from the skies. The last bodified being
was the defender and the inspiration of the pharaoh, Horus. The complex and arbitrary hierarchy of gods on local systems can be compared to each other.
The most common grouping is a three-element one, with two adults and a young.
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The stele that describes Apis with the sun disc
above his head symbolising God Re.
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Therefore the Thebes trinity consists of the gods Amun-Re, Mut and Horus in the
main Karnak temples. This offers a form of family. Egypt also welcomed new gods
and spiritual powers. It either accepted them or assimilated them.
The first role belongs to the ‘sun’ in the Egypt belief. The basis of the religion that
the Egyptians believed in was the sun. Re, the supreme god symbolised the sun. Re
had diverse names and forms. The morning sun was named Khepri and it was represented as a scarabe. According to the old belief, the sun was a round fire turned by a
scarabe. Scarabe turned the sun in the sky just like it rounded the excrements on the
earth. In noon time the name was Horus and it was depicted as a falcon. Again
according to an old belief, the sun was nothing more than the eye of the falcon scanning the sky. The evening sun was Atum. It is claimed to be an old and tired god. The
sky was represented by the goddess Hathor (or Nut) who was extremely important.
This was sometimes symbolized by the head of a beef or just the horn. In the old
times men used to comment the sky as a big beef with feet laid onto the earth.
The third Ancient Egyptian god was the god of the moon, Toth who represented
wisdom. It was represented as a monkey or just the head of a monkey. These gods
were the oldest ones of Egypt. Then in the period of Middle Dynasty two new were
innovated and respected much more. These new gods that were named Isis and
Osiris were described with human forms. Osiris was one of the oldest sun gods of
the Upper Egypt, while Isis was once representing the sky again in the old ages. When
dynasty was taken by the southern pharaohs these two regained their primordially
and even overcame all other gods. In Egypt, it is impossible to comprehend the sciences of economy and law without considering that they were integrated with the
world of religious thought.
According to the Egyptians human being is composed of three elements. These
elements are the body, spirit and the productive force, Ka. Spirit owes its existence to
the body, which should not be spoiled at all. The corpses were buried together with
the belongings because they believed in life after death. Therefore mummification
process starts so that the corps are not corrupted.
Belief regarding the tomb and the idea of the other world were reflected in the
Book of the Death consisting of methods by the priests of big temples. This book,
from the New Dynasty comprised more than hundred chapters and was illustrated.
It was put into the tomb of the king and high rank officials so that it helps the person
against the fears of the other world and for the eternal happiness therein. Tomb belief
was also an instrument of repression against the inferior classes. Those who did not
have a copy of the Book of the Death should have to obey to the superiors and live
in a well defined virtuous and honourable life.
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In 1880s, researchers working on religion thought that Egyptian religion was
transformed from a pure monotheism into polytheism as a very degenerative change.
Egyptian polytheism was sometimes superficially commented as having a monotheistic basis. Even though there existed a tendency to devotion for a single god in Egypt,
polytheism was always in the conscious of the Egyptians. The interesting example of
monotheism was Akhenaten, discovered by the modern research as the early founder
of Egyptian religion.
Divine representations also changed by the historical process, from objects to
plants and animals towards humans. A typical mixed one having human body and
animal head appearing in Early Period and giving the chance to refer to different gods
only by alternate animal heads: we have in other cultures different belongings held
by the gods; in Egypt these were put onto the body or head, while a lifeless or alive
thing can be personified with a human head. So Egypt had a different way of description. Egyptian pantheon also welcomed new or foreign gods and even men deified
after death.
4.1. Egyptian Pantheon
History of the Ancient Egypt begins with various clans and continues with different nomos, what resulted in the fact that the pantheon had so many divinities. Egypt,
was first ruled by, as in the case of Sumerians, the city states. These city states called
nom were unified by the 4 thousand BC to form a centralized dynasty. Old clan
chiefs had sceptres like old nom gods and they were generally forked on one end. On
the other side, there was the totem animal head representing ‘nom’. Totem animals
and their fetish would become the well-known symbols of the provinces.
There were a lot of local cults before the unification of the Upper and Lower Egypt
and each clan worshipped a different god. In fact these cults constituted the religion
of Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt dynasties. This system inherited traces from each
clan. Pantheon of a clan was enlarging through the wars, the winner including the
god of the defeated into its own pantheon. Along with the unification, Horus, the
supreme god of dynasty was accepted as the first god of the sky. Horus was also
thought to live in the pharaoh and related with that cult. The cult of Seth also lived
among the masses besides the Horus culture. The Seth cult that was wide spread in
Upper Egypt continued at the time dynasties as well and especially during the second
dynasty, Seth replaced Horus for a while as the supreme god. The competition
between Horus and Seth was reflected to the mythology of the later periods. Seth cult
kept existing in ancient Egypt for long times and Seth became the representative of
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evil powers. In the archaic period of ancient Egypt, it is seen that other divinities
became important in different locations. Re and Osiris were among important gods
at Heliopolis. Ptah and Busiris are among the respected ones in Memphis.
4.2. Mythology
"The mythology of Ancient Egypt had a real treasury of myth motifs and has
much more information about the mythical formation in early historical times,
than any other ancient culture. Because of the personification of deities at the
crossroad of the pre-historic and historic times, the gods turned into humans and
beings that act and suffer in everywhere that the language of imagery is understood. Egypt of the pharaohs is a culture that lived very integrated with myths,
cult, ceremonies, historical sarcasms and one that shall be recalled as the first witness when the meaning of myths for humans is asked" (Hornung, 2004).
Ancient Egypt mythology is much more complicated than others and shows
unexpected developments. In Ancient Egypt, the left coast meant the the east
with the light expanding and the right coast, the underworld, where sun set and
that is ruled by Osiris.
An important element lacking in ancient Egypt and so mentioned in the
mythology is water. Egyptian myths were not so rich and looked like tales.
Maybe the attitude of the Pharaohs was effective in this. Ancient Egypt Pharaohs
had wanted to take advantage of their success and eternalize their personality.
The pressure they provided with the help of pharaohs and priests limited the
imagination of the people and the pharaohs were accepted as real heroes. For this
reason, it was possible in Egypt that the real events were processed and turned
into an unrealistic legend. The legends of ancient Egypt could never represent the
properties of people. The paintings on the walls of ancient Egypt palaces and temples were mainly about the pharaohs and heroes of people or events about the
people could never raise the same attention.
Ancient Egyptians were really pious. Each Egyptian worshipped to the
guardian deity of his city in the beginning, and then got acquainted with other
gods. Regional deities were generally represented in the form of animals or
humans with animal-heads. Universal ones were represented as humans. Horus
was sometimes a falcon and sometimes a man. Nut the sky goddess was a cow
or woman. Golden Hathor, the goddess of beauty and pleasure was a woman.
Hapi, was a man with female breasts.
Ancient Egypt gods never mixed into men’s affairs, opposite to Greek deities.
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Feelings of love and hate and charity were the highest virtues among ancient
Egypt gods. An Egyptian had the duty to obey his/her god and take the divine
approval. In time, the fear of the divine was reduced: around 1300-1200 BC, the
general thought that gods would even forgive those people who committed sins,
as gods were tender and merciful started to be spread. The tendency to assign to
human properties to the gods improved. The myth named “Conflicts of Horus
and Seth" witnessed the belief that Egyptian gods could be captured in excitement
and frenzy just like men started to be settled. In Ancient Egypt there were about
two thousand names used for deities, as long as we know. Deities were
regrouped in a theocracy. Their importance changed according to the region they
were guarding or the changes in the political role of their cities.
The interest of the people in death did not come from a lack of interest in life
or a sign of leaving to get happy only to the other world. The Ancient Egyptians
were optimistic, joyful people who enjoyed life. Even those who had difficulty of
survival were attached to life. Tombs, great and rich or simple were done as a
challenge and ignorance to death. A common script in the tombs says: “Oh those
who lived on this world, who loved the life and hated the death...” (Halman,
2004).
4.3. Myths
According to the Heliopolis creation mythology, Re was born in Thebes, the
Egyptian capital, by ascending from the liquid Chaos (that is Nu or Nun) as a form of
island. To express it differently, the first formation was the only island Re in the midst
of oceans. Because Re was a male god, according to some sources, created other
beings by calling Amun, which is his copy or by masturbation or by his tears or saliva. In pyramid texts Atum/Ra took his penis between his hands and jetted to create
the twins: Shu and Tephnout.
Shu, whose name meant to elevate was carrying the sky, a corresponding deity of
Atlas of Greeks. Actually Shu represented the air. Tephnout was the goddess of the
humidity and rain.
Twin sister of Shu was also his wife. Tephnout whose roots are thought to date
back to older times, even the sun cult symbolised the humidity and rain. In some
texts they carry the sky from the rise of the sun with his sister Shu.
Shu and Tephnout gave birth to two other deities: Geb and Nut. The male one,
Geb represented the land of Egypt and the sky in general; while the female, Nut symbolised the sky. In Indo-European mythology earth is commonly female. However in
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Egypt the earth was male and the sky around is female. In the inner side of the sarcophaguses the mother-sky Nut was represented with the arms opened, guarding the
mummy. In their turn Geb and Nut gave birth to four other gods: Osiris, Isis, Seth
and Nephthys.
4.3.1. The Myth of Isis and Osiris
Geb the god of the earth and Hathor the goddess of the sky had two sons and
two daughters. Sons are called Osiris and Seth, and the girls ‹sis and Nepthys.
Ancient Egypt belief did not forbid brothers and sisters to marry and Osiris married
Isis and Seth married Nephtys. After a while Geb left the administration of the earth
to Osiris. Osiris, after having ascended to the throne, first aimed to civilize the
primitive people of Egypt. He teaches them agricultural tools, farming the land, cultivating wheat and grape, making bread and wine. Osiris mobilized the wind, harvested the crops and trained animals. It was also Osiris according to the legend,
which taught Egyptians to build temples, to worship gods and organized religious
ceremonies. Even the first flute was made by Osiris.
In the beginning he was a god of nature, but after civilizing ancient Egypt he
decided to expand that civilization all over the world and left the crown to his sister Isis who was also his wife. He took with himself his vizier Thot and Anubis for
the expedition. When he came back the country was further developed thanks to
the successful administration of Isis. The whole Osiris period was a quite happy
one and other gods accepted her rule in time. However the superiority of Osiris
who became the most important god did not last long. Her successes caused jealousy of her brother Seth. The attempts of Seth who was eager to ascend the throne
but could not reign even in the absence of Osiris and who tried to kill him were
unsuccessful. Because Isis saved the life of her husband each time. Seth, unable to
kill his brother decided to trick collaborating with 72 people. He made a plan consisting of constructing a large chest in human form and adorned of worthy jewellery. He organized a feast, during which he would give the chest as a present, to
which it would suit. Guests tried one by one to lie down in it. When it was Osiris’
turn, as the chest was made just for his measures, when he laid in, Seth ran and
closed it. He then ordered his men to nail and to seal with lead and makes them
throw it into the deepest water of the river Nile.
God Osiris
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This was the 28th year of Osiris rule, the month of Athyr, day seventeenth. Isis
waited for him days and days in vain. Eventually, she goes out to look for her husband. When she learns what has become of her husband, she cut her hair, tears
all her clothes and starts to look for the chest that Osiris is kept at. After wandering the whole country she goes to foreign countries. In the meantime, the chest
with Osiris inside was driven ashore in Phoenicia, near to Byblos city.
A tree would soon grow and take the chest inside. Malkandros, the king of
Byblos passing by, saw the magnificent tree and decides to have it cut and
brought to the palace as a column. When the tree is cut, a very formidable perfume emerges. This event reaches Isis. She understands the situation and goes
to Malkandros’ palace. Here she first serves as the baby-sitter of Astarte's child.
One day she decides to make the child immortal and put him into the immortality fire. The mother queen who sees this screams and tries to prevent her. So
When Osiris who is killed by Seth is about to die,
transferring Isis the rest of his line.
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Isis is obliged to declare herself and takes the authorization of the king, opens
the tree and takes out the chest.
Isis brought Osiris's corpse back to Egypt to Buto city and hides in a place
that she believes to be safe. Seth who learns about what happened fears of a
possible resurrection of his brother. One night while hunting in full moon, he
finds the place of the chest and opens it without the seeing of anyone. Seth who
recognises the body of Osiris cuts it in fourteen pieces and sent each one to
another place in Egypt. Isis, who hears this gets on a barque of papyrus tree and
makes a journey throughout the country and collects the pieces and builds a
temple for each piece. That is the story of the existence of numerous temples all
over Egypt that are claimed to have the corps of Osiris.
The deep sorrow of Isis affected all the gods. Isis and Nephtys asks help from
Re for the resurrection of Osiris; Re authorizes Thot and Anubis. Isis who learns
about this situation sets out to road again and collects the pieces of her husband
one by one. With the help of Re’s son, Anubis she makes the body of her husband a whole again. Then she creates a wind of life with her wings. God Anubis
and Isis tape the body of Osiris. Therefore the first mummification in history
occurs. However one part of the body remained unfound and it was the male
organ of Osiris. They make the copy of phallus out of mud and Osiris immediately comes back to life. Then she blows a new wind of life to Osiris. Isiris
enters intercourse with her husband and have their son, Horus. Osiris resurrected does not want anymore to live on the earth and prefers to go to the underworld. He does not have the right to live on earth again. Osiris can not live on
the earth. So he becomes the king of the underworld, the country of dead people. Anubis would be with him there and bring the dead before Osiris for the
judgement.
Osiris left one son on earth. Isis feared of a possible conspiracy of Seth to her
son so weaves a basket to save him, just like in the case of St. Moses. She takes
Horus in his basket to a far corner of the Nile Delta and brings him up there.
When Horus grows up, he decides to take the revenge of his father and enter a
battle of death with Seth. By the end of the fight, both were seriously injured.
Horus loses one eye, but replaced with a new one by Thoth, the god of fertility. Seth could not take the trimming by someone younger. He applies to the
court of gods claiming that Horus was not the son of Osiris. Judging takes a
very long time. Eventually, the verdict confirms that Horus was Osiris’ real son
and decides that Horus should rule the earth. There after pharaohs who ascend
the Ancient Egypt throne would be declared to be the representatives of Horus.
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4.4. Death and Beyond
Ancient Egyptians conceived Osiris as a holy ruler coming from the heaven.
As Osiris cult expanded in Ancient Egypt, the immortality referred once to
pharaohs and nobles came to cover all Ancient Egyptians. The belief that after
the spirit died, it would go –if not to the heaven- to the underworld ruled by
Osiris started to be spread. Osiris also settled the understanding that being good
and making good deeds on earth was necessary in order to reach immortality.
Earlier, this was due to build up immense tombs, graves, pyramids, but with the
cult of Osiris goodness replaced such material contributions. Still rich men kept
on to build such monuments to guarantee immortality. Pyramids in Egypt were
built to offer pharaohs safe passage to the otherworld, maintaining the corps
uncorrupted and to continue to be a joyful and happy. Tombs and pyramids
were filled up with food, drinks, cloths and tools that would suffice for years.
The most precious examples of the ancient Egypt were found in the pyramids
with the excavations of 19th and 20th centuries. The art of mummifying which
was a method to preserve the body for long time reached the peak in 1000 BC.
The process was consisting of taking first out all the innards and the brain, then
filling up the body with mud and sand. Rouge was put on the lips and the cheeks
and ruddle would be put on the whole skin. Eyes were replaced with crystal. The
corpse was covered with special bands and then was performed a ceremony acting as if the dead was still seeing, hearing, speaking, eating, etc.
God Anubis used to open the mouth with the instrument in his hand so that
the spirit leaves the body like a bird. Again, it was the god Anubis who opened
the doors of the other world. The underworld was imagined in the west, and the
god Amente waited at the gate to welcome the newcomers. The Egyptians called
the dead people “people of the west” thinking that the other world was in the
west. According to the Ancient Egypt religion, there were two spirits in human
being: "Ba" and "Ka". The second one Ka would keep existing in the statue of the
dead man. For this reason, in Ancient Egypt there existed a close relation
between worshipping of Ka and sculpture worshipping. It is the same belief system which enhanced the process of mummification despite thousands of years
that passed.
According to the Ancient Egyptians the life was endless. They thought that
when a man died, his spirit would go before Osiris, the god of death and his
judges. According to them, the spirit of the dead goes to the other world. The
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When God Anubis is mummying
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spirit was going to the underworld by passing through the fear country of scare
between the earth and the underworld, and taken in front of the great judge, by
Anubis or Horus. A ceremony is held there including where Anubis, the god of
the underworld holds a scale in his hand. The heart of the dead is put in one of
the pans and the second pan was balanced with a plume weighting the justice
and the rightness. If the scale was not balanced, what meant that the person had
not lead a just and honest life on earth, his heart would be given to the monster
"Ament" to be eaten. All this ritual was recorded by Thoth the clerk of the gods.
The bodies were mummified so that they never cease to exist. The function
of the cult was to bring back the non-physical element of energy of the physical
Ba that was freed from the body, by the way of magic. It was believed that when
this was made, the death would be overthrown. It was thought that Ba who
went to the other world might come back with some ceremonies. For the belief
that the organs might attain the ability to move again, the priest was opening the
mouth before putting it into the grave.
Description was accepted identical with the original and a statue of the dead
man was put into the grave so that he can live again afterwards. But a man
should not only be alive but also happy in the other world. Since pre-history,
foods, jewellery like pearl necklace, ivory made objects also were buried together with the body, and the servants that would help him were sacrificed. Small
relieves or statues were symbolizing the slaves with clothes or nude who would
serve and help. In case a god, tough in character asks for hard things to do from
the dead, it was the ‘ushebti’s who would replace him.
The importance ancient Egyptians assigned to the dead resulted in special
places to preserve them. Human body should not be injured by enemies.
Another interesting tradition was to place dead people into the grave, faces looking to their homes, a tradition since the Neolithic age, to give the dead a chance
to see his or her grand children. The hands were often placed near to the mouth
with wheat inside and next to the head.
As ancient Egyptians were a rural society the wheat was representing the
value attributed to the dead. The Ancient Egyptians also thought that names
were very important and much more powerful than any description. So the
name of the dead was encrypted on the wall of the grave so that priests passing
by could pronounce it and contribute that the dead should keep alive in the
underworld.
Egyptians believed that Re used a stairway to reach the earth and in texts
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about the funeral ceremonies were used the term “asket pet” (asketi: walking) to
stress that this was a real stairway that Re owned that unify the sky and the
earth. In the graves from the Old and Middle Dynasties were found stairways
and steps too.
Ancient Egyptians thought also that the life in the underworld would be similar to that on earth. Rituals often included sacrificing the wife of the dead man
and even the whole harem and servants in the case of rich men
When God Osiris and God Thot
are weighing the heart of the dead
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III. Section
EGYPTIAN ART
E
gypt art which witnesses the ancient civilization is unique with evidences carried today reflecting a whole culture that includes social life,
social ideas and religion that prevailed in Upper and Lower Egypt during three thousand years. Egyptian art offers outer aspects of events and the
essence is hidden. The art carried out its mission only when it emphasized this
fact. Besides, all the works produced in ancient Egypt and identified as artistic in our days do have a different dimension: “nobody but the spirit of the
dead should see the artistic work”. According to ancient Egyptians the mummified corpse keep on living with the spirit whose artistic needs and the need
of orientation would be satisfied with the worthy objects left within the grave
and mural paintings and so on.
In Egyptian art, the geometrical symmetry and observations on nature are
integrated. The art played a critical role in their lives. “Joi de vivre” was a priority of Egyptians not observed in any other old or primitive society, neither
in poetry nor in literature.
Successes they got in techniques, art and crafts promoted important progresses in the human history of civilization. Architecture, sailing, calendar,
painting, sculpture, poetry and literature, engraving and inlaying, medicine,
mummifying, stonework, textile industry, dancing, pottery, jewellery are
some of the domains ancient Egyptians left behind very enviable works.
Ancient Egyptians could integrate different tools even before 500 BC. They
were really developed in mathematics and engineering.
What was useful, ancient Egyptian society considered as good. This integration of the practical usefulness and social ethics led the Egyptian civiliza-
A wall picture depicting the Pharaoh with the king
crowns that represents Upper and Lower Egypt.
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tion to many innovations and improving the old innovations. This was the
year 4241 that a calendar of 365 days would have been developed. From 3300
to 2500 BC Egyptians made great progress in culture and technology. The
construction of large ships for open seas was also at this period. Also, there
had been important developments in mathematics, geometry and astronomy.
An earlier tendency of great pyramid was replaced later with small buildings. Most of the architecture in late ancient Egypt would be composed of elegant temples, tombs in form of labyrinths and nice graves.
Most stone buildings were made on the name of gods for pharaohs and
other state men. Ordinary people lived in houses of wood, mud brick or
sedges. At the first periods, they often lacked roof. By time kitchens, bathrooms, sitting and bedrooms were developed, also modern stables and kiosks
with small windows. In some of those, there even was a second floor.
Egyptians liked mural paintings on the walls of their living rooms.
One of the successes of ancient Egypt civilisation is Karnak temple developed through 2 thousand years. Almost each pharaoh added a column, a
building, a statue to this temple and the result became an architectural chef
d’oeuvre of one and a half kilometres. Many contributed but Ramesses II was
the most important among them. Another building worth to mention is Abu
The view of Ramsseum columns at the temple of Luxor
(above and on the right)
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Simbel in Nubia. This building erected on Nile for Ramesses II is accepted as
the the peak of ancient Egypt art.
The famous giant sphinx in Giza, was made of stone during fourth
Dynasty, around 1600 BC with a height of 20 meters. It has a human-head
and a lion-body. According to some historians, the head represents pharaoh
Chafre.
There were three basic artistic kinds of ancient Egypt:
- Art for house tools for daily use like instruments, glassware, ornaments
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- Art works for the dead and the other world (masques, mummies, coffers)
- Art related to gods and pharaohs (generally called art of temple)
The ancient Egypt civilisation’s primary gifts to humanity are paintings and
sculptures. Mural paintings reflect the most lively, joyful, dramatic and fun
scenes of the life in ancient Egypt. These are very informative; if there is to
mention some elements: pharaohs, queens, blind singers, temple scenes, fishermen taking out fish nets, chess players, sacrifices, feasts, hunting parties,
horses, falcons, farmers, herdsmen, journey to the underworld, mourners,
rabbits trying to escape from the hunter, grape collectors, dancers, views from
stories and myths, harvest, animal and hen keeping, butchers, musicians,
bulls, gooses, grasshoppers, donkeys with loads over, professional soldiers,
barques and ships, dying fox, carpenters, fig trees, lotuses, crying women,
man carrying a gazelle, bull fight, hippopotamus hunting, cats, men and
women faces drawn with sharp lines (especially in side view), funerals etc…
Portraits and sculpture also were important in Egypt, because people
believed spirit would keep alive in the grave as long as descriptions coincide
with the original face, even live for eternity. This art reached its peak with the
immense statues made at the time of Amenhotep III. Later on a pharaoh or an
invading ruler, had their faces destructed. He therefore believed that the adversaries and enemies would be erased from the world for ever.
Ancient Egypt art was superior in the uniqueness of style in each sculpture,
painting and architectural form. Style was formed of a set of rules that a young
artist should be educated of since his very young years. For example a sitting
sculpture should place both hands on the knees; men skin shall be darker than
women. Each ancient Egyptian god had a specific view that is determined
before. Horus the god of sun was described as a falcon or falcon-headed and
Anubis the god of death as a jackal or jackal-headed etc. Then each artist
should learn calligraphy, also be successful in a test of dragging the images
and hieroglyph representations onto stone. The apprenticeship could only be
completed like this. An artist had not to be unique, but on the contrary a criteria of being a good artist was to approach to the old works of art.
Egyptian art is the closest description system to the visual picture among
other systems, a character based also on its very theory. Egyptians used objective and decisive mathematical descriptions as in human faces. Early Chinese
and Central American art had a complicated discourse, Egyptian is simple and
easy to be transferred. The reason may be the Egyptian belief in the creative
force of the description, even a somewhat exaggerated belief. If taken to the
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extreme- that Egyptian artists were inclined to writing more than what is
assumed. In short artistic descriptions display all the Egyptian values.
The primary characteristic of all Egyptian descriptions is the scale that consists the main tool of ideological expressing with iconography. The pieces of
a figure is presented in its original ratio, it is valid for all of the figure. The bigger the description, the greater its importance. In private graves the visage of
the dead, the proprietor of the monument, covers the whole wall. For example, the dead man is generally described several times bigger than his wife and
children who, in sorrow put their arms around. The king is described as standing much over his subjects. In New Dynasty period, war reliefs of the king and
his chariot fills up almost half of the area. The rest offers Egyptian soldiers,
enemies, small men whom the king tries to catch with his hand or an enemy
front over a hill. The principal temple reliefs displays the figures of king and
other holly ones in original sizes, while objects around are also proportional.
Therefore, altar porters are described in all the periods, generally with a short
animal on the knees. Such a design offers a much more economic use of space
and a systematic gathering of figures. In contrast we see in 4th century altar
porters with giant goose on the shoulders, an alternative for provoking an
enthusiasm in style.
Egypt’s art has a structure as basic as descriptive art. Many pieces of art
have an idealization, with objects not as they are but as they should be. But
this is a selective idealization. The main shapes are idealized: the youth is
mature, women young and nice. Generally all of them are immobile.
Secondary shapes are wrinkled in faces, bald, skewy, sometimes quarrelling.
These details, often seen in Old Dynasty tombs make the description quite
interesting and add a personality.
What were conceived as good or nice, kept to be commented alike even
after a thousand years. New fashions meant new themes in the art; but the
form of imaging the man and the nature remained the same. Only one person
brought in radical changes to the artistic style of the ancient Egypt. This was
Amenhotep IV or Akhenaten, the king of the 18th Dynasty, named as the
New Dynasty that was born out of a terrible invasion.
However the realistic and ornamental artistic concept of Akhenaten, the
pharaoh of the New Dynasty period was largely criticized. In hieroglyphs
there was not any word referring to the art or artist. In this language, only the
work and craft was mentioned. Any piece of art aimed a certain act and utility. Craftman, taking off from a mythological view, uses ornaments and finish61
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es with beings as realistic as their originals in the nature. The specific piece
could only be distinguished with the hieroglyphs written on it.
After Akhenaten died the priests of old religion forbid the new religion.
They also struggled to liquidate all the innovations that the pharaoh wanted
to do in arts. However many artists did not give up the realistic style, freedom
of expression, satire and humour.
In Egypt also developed many art and crafts during these centuries. 1500
years before Christ, Egyptians were moulding the copper and tin and making
bronze. This means that they also were aware of principal metals that are used
today. They could process gold better than all of the other ancient civilizations. They developed ivory and ebony. No other nation in the old ages was
as successful as Egypt in tanning. In textile, the humanity would wait until
20th century to attain the quality of ancient Egypt.
1. ARCHITECTURE AND VISUAL ARTS
Ancient Egyptian artists used together and in harmony both the simple elements conforming to the geographical surrounding and surprising drawings.
Architectural monuments along the Nile River are in fact monuments built up
by the rulers for their nations on the command of gods. The artists tried to
reflect the greatest human spirit but using primitive materials such as wood,
mud bricket, brick and stone. Bricks and stone would be substituted by stone
and then, two thousand years after, by limestone (early third Dynasty). Stone
style was born in Hellas. The immensity of the structures was not only resulting of the correct proportions but also of the big monoliths (cracker, granite,
basalt) totally plain, without any sign or relief over them. These stone monuments were for gods, dead men and pharaohs. In houses and palaces only
bricks were used as construction material.
A critical element in the religious architecture of ancient Egypt is grave
monuments. The thought that the dead would soon regain his spirit, paved
the way for monumental graves to live in. These graves are divided into three
types; mastabas for nobles, hypogees and pyramids for pharaohs.
Hypogees made for nobles can be seen along the Nile from the Valley to
the Delta, because of the abundant limestone rocks there. As to the architecture the elements are similar with mastabas. The room for the offerings consisted of a table for the presents, a niche with the statue of the dead person, a
tomb room with the sarcophagus and the mummy inside. By late 5th
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The ram headed sphinx’ that combines the Temples of Luxor and Karnak
Dynasty, administration began to loose the central character and every noble
man built a tomb in a rocky region under his control. In general these grave
rooms in these monuments were not ornamented at all.
Mastabas were large as a grave room of mug bricket; the upside with a rectangular plan, a conglomeration of sand and pudding stones, mastaba was put
on one or more holes as a block of stone. The oldest mastabas had a stele on
the side looking to the sun and there was a blocked gate inside. The blind gate
was surrounded by hieroglyphs telling the identity and biography of the dead.
Sometimes the dead person’s statue was erected inside the fake door. Across
the gate was the room of offerings and presents for the dead. Again in this
room, presents, objects about the dead, food and the statues of the dead are
left on a table. This was a small room and walls were painted with descriptions reflecting the man’s real life and not religious subjects. This was strictly
applied so these descriptions are real documents of ancient Egypt. Issues of
god and religion were never reflected on the tomb paintings. By the 6th
Dynasty mural paintings were accompanied by hieroglyphs that gave concrete information about the deeds of the dead man.
In late Old Dynasty mastabas began to have more rooms, labyrinths and
passages. Mastabas in the time of Old Dynasty were around the ruler’s grave.
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Mastabas lined around a pyramid in Memphis region form a necropolis with
perpendicular streets. When the centralism has weakened in the late Old
Dynasty mastabas left the king’s grave and shifted to the private regions of
each noble. Ordinary citizens apart from the nobles were burying the dead in
a hole. The grave holes, circular or oval in form in Thinit period were closed
afterwards with mud-brick. These structures were first covered with a ceiling
of tree branches and leaves and after the 3rd Dynasty with overlapping arch.
Negada grave monument in Saqqara built in 1st Dynasty was thought to
belong to the pharaoh Aha-Menes. The outside of this monument was wavy
and ornamented with ranks. The fact that there was no window nor door
shows the Sumerian influence. The walls were made of mud-bricks and ceiling of wood. The room in which the dead was under the ground and there
were four more rooms with personal belongings of the ruler, their ceilings
covered with soil and brickets. The area that the grave monument stayed in
was surrounded by a wall.
In the years 2900, in the time of the pharaoh Zoser, a famous architect
called Imhotep began to put rectangular objects one onto other and called this
pyramid "mastaba". He left the upper surfaces of the mastabas as rectangular
and places a cult temple nearby. Therefore making a temple for the cult of the
dead next to the tomb monuments started. The last pharaoh of the 2nd
Dynasty, Khasekhemoui had a tomb in the centre of a monument of 83
meters long and 58 rooms.
Monument erected in Meidum, on the name of Snefrou, a pharaoh of the
3rd Dynasty, was staged and 66 meters high. By the fourth dynasty rectangular form was replaced by square, both for base and the ceiling face. Mastabas
might have up to hundred rooms or divisions. The big pyramids or graves
especially those made for the pharaohs and rich nobles were able to take
inside daily tools, food, artistic works and scenes of ancient Egypt life was
depicted on the walls.
A very ancient pharaoh Djesser I Neterferkhet was the first who had his
people make a pyramidal grave monument for him. Imhotep, his counsellor,
prime minister and first architect, surrounded the monument with a wall of
two meters height enhancing the feeling of immensity. This wall comprised
of a two staged mastaba and six grave monument in various sizes, each of
which could be seen from far away.
Pharaohs preferred smaller graves by the 5th Dynasty, but the temple of
the grave room was much more ornamented in details. The last king of the
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5th Dynasty was Ounas; his pyramid was different in the fact that there were
religious texts on the walls of the mummy cell. These texts comprised of recommendations from the pharaoh who reached his gods, to his successors. In
fact these recommendations were written by Heliopolis priests on the Ounas'
wall. The pharaohs of 6th and 2nd Dynasty had these religious texts written
exactly the same on the walls of the tomb monuments.
Nearly all the big pyramids were built in the period of 4000 to 2200 BC.
Their actual situation resisting to a so long history, despite the simple and
primitive tools used in construction, clearly proves the power of Egyptian
architecture and engineering and labour organization. There were a lot of
stones near the river. They were cut and carried by floats along the Nile,
brought to the work site and placed by the human work force alone.
Pyramids which are among the most important monuments of ancient
Egypt civilisation are kings’ graves. They needed a big force and high technology for the construction and offered the following generations a lot of data
about Egyptian history. Pyramid construction was initiated when the king
came to power and still continued after his death. From the Old Dynasty until
the Middle Dynasty, pyramids are seen as the king’s graves. In fact pyramid
was only a part of the grave monument which is made to protect the king’s
grave. The whole monument-grave consisted of a valley temple and a long
entrance ramp that provides this to enter the pyramid. Smaller pyramids for
the Middle Dynasty were done from brickets and covered of stone.
The pyramidal shape would always be kept at graves. The kings of the
New Dynasty, when they would make underground tombs on the left shore
of Thebes, inside the Lybian mountains, what Greeks would call syring,
chose a dried water course on the foot of a hill as the Kings’ Valley, a valley
naturally resembling to a pyramid. Some nobles and craftsmen who were
influenced by the stone pyramid of King Mentuhotep in Deir el Bahari, would
make small pyramids of limestone as their own tombs symbolizing the
immortality.
Temples that are the home of the god or the dead king were built somewhat differently from the god or dead king. The most important ones
remained unchanged for three thousand years. They were two main types of
temple: classical temple of gods and temple of sun. Temple of sun was
believed to be once in Ayn Sems; but remnants would be found during the
fifth Dynasty in Abukir. The basis of the cult was an obelisk formed of big
blocks of stone. The obelisk was raised over a large floor with stairs inside.
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There was an altar of four stages in the middle of the open court in front of
the obelisk and this altar was reminding the four directions. Obelisk was surrounded with terrace-roof with numerous rooms and warehouses. Temples
of 18th Dynasty in Amarna, whose architectural plans were much more carefully designed were open. However they were not, as it was so believed, representing the essence of the cult. The most famous of the classical temples
still afoot are those from the New Dynasty: Abidos in Thinis, Karnak-Luxor,
Deir el Bahari, Gurnah, Ramsessum, Medinet – Habu in Thebes, Der in
Nubia, Gerf Hussein (a half speos temple) and Ebu Simbel (speos); from hellenistic-roman age, Dendera, Karnak, Edfu, Esneh, Kom-ombo, Philae in
Thebes; Kalabia, Dendera, Dakke in Nubia...
These temples or god’s homes were designed as real fortresses in order to
hide from the ones who did not respect the sacred values. There were opened
monumental stone doors at the high outer walls. The dromos was leading to
these doors and then people could enter into the court, in which there was
the main temple and other buildings necessary for the cult, like holy lake, stables for holy animals, residences for priests, warehouses, grain depot, administrative units, school etc. The front side of the Temple was ornamented with
gates with high towers; and the gates opened on an inner court with archways. A door with a smaller and secondary tower comes that leads the visitors to a hipostil hall via a labyrinth. The hall had many columns that direct
you to the classical terrace. A passage that is kept higher enables light to enter
through the engraved windows.
Hipostil hall in the temple of Karnak was 103 meters long and 50 meters
in width. At the place of worshipping, where a god statue, falcon and naos
was placed among other ceremony accessories. Generally there were many
god descriptions in supplementary departments of the temple. Walls were
decorated according to the purpose of the room. The walls of the popular
courts display the historical successes of the pharaoh. Halls –from the
Hipostil hall onward- were decorated with divine reliefs and sculptures and
the performances of the king. Ornaments on the walls represented the intermediary mission of the ruler between his subjects and the heavenly universe.
Walls of the worship places were decorated with reliefs often showing daily
life. In the rooms of basement were hidden the treasury of the temple. During
Ptolemy and Hellenistic-Roman periods, descriptions began to cover social
scenes other than the historical events. There also appeared departments
called “birth room”.
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1.1. Religious Architecture
In Ancient Egypt, a temple was never thought simply as a building. Next
to the temple, there were locations for services related to God are placed, religious education, ceremonies and rituals. The oldest remnants are found in
Hieraklapolis, period of Thinit. Later would be also discovered in the same
place a round wall made of big stones, dated of the first Dynasty.
From the first to the third Dynasty, were used bricks along with rough
stones, and wood materials in domes, belts and columns. However after the
4th Dynasty big stones replaced all other main materials of construction and
domes of bricks were changed with plain ceiling supported with wooden
columns. Stones would become smaller and smaller in the 5th Dynasty so
that to increase the general resistance of the building and also provided beauty and balance with the architectural harmony of the elements used in the
constructure. Old Dynasty pharaohs started temple construction all over the
country. In time, these temples would be renewed, enlarged, embellished or
just destructed and built again.
There was not a unique style in the construction of temples in the Old
Dynasty, but the architecture differed as to the place and purpose. At that time
political and social meetings and ceremonies were performed outside the temples that were only used for pure religious reasons, so were also closed to
ordinary citizens and only allowed for the kings, priests and soothsayers.
Let us give some brief information about some of these temples:
Rock Temple: It was on the mountainous region of Nubia. House of the
god was built among the rocks or under against enemy attacks.
Temple of Sun: This type appeared in late 3rd Dynasty, when passing
from wood to stone architecture. Varying in size, this temple was sometimes
built for the sun god and sometimes for others. This progress would be elaborated in early 5th Dynasty. The oldest temples were Ne- user- Re in Abu
Gurub and the temple of Heliopolis. Both were totally perished, but their
shapes are known through other resources. These temples were in a holy
domain, encircled in its turn with city walls. Near to the temples was portic
and a closed ramp was opening to the terrace. Entrance of the construction on
the terrace was placed just on the medium axis; after passing the entrance
there was a court regularly paved with stones. An obelisk in the midst, sym67
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bol of the son of god, Re. There were another division in the court, an altar of
marble and a basin for cleaning. Court was the scene of religious ceremonies
and rituals. Outside the wall was Re’s barque made of brickets and wood.
Temple for the cult of dead: "Such temples were at the west side of the
pyramidal monuments. It had a court with a portic and places around. Between
portic columns there were some niches in which were put statues, symbolizing
the king. Altar was on the niche or the stele. The oldest temple was the temple
of sphinx, part of the complex of Chepren pyramid with a t-plan and from the
time of 4th Dynasty. On the right there was en entrance that led to a room and
stairs to the terrace. The portic in the court was supported by 6 x 10 ranks carrying columns, each having over a monolith architrav. On the east, there was
another room and a well linked to the river Nile" (Ustuner, 1998).
1.2 Military Architecture: Defence policy would not be considered important anymore as in the past, after the national unity was established by 4000 BC.
The statues of Queen Hatshepsut at Amun Temple (Deir el Bahari)
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However some city walls from the old empire times were found in Abidos and
Nkreb, in the south of Thebes.
1.3 Civil architecture: Ancient Egyptians were inhabited in woody huts
before the Neolithic and dynastic periods. In the old empire period, sites inhabited were changing depending on region and society. While poor families had
huts of soil, richer people lived in mud-brick buildings. The only example from
the houses of the old empire period, discovered near Saqqara was one consisting of an entrance and three divisions, made of rough bricks. This building was
probably used by the construction superior who made the tomb monument of
Djesser I. In the case of palaces, there was an air conditioning window over the
main gate. On the Mykerinus’ sarcophagus was seen his royal palace.
The ceiling was supported by architectural elements like columns and carrying columns in ancient Egypt architecture. The square portic in Chepren
temple is the oldest known carrying column of four corners. Ornaments are
integrated by the 5th Dynasty. Egyptian columns are rectangular. Column
capitals present the head of the goddess Hathor or that of Osiris, the god of
the underworld. Reliefs, other ornaments, column capitals with lotuses, palms
or papyruses have all some religious references and meanings. In the old
empire age there were rather granite columns than adobe or wood supports.
In case of Chepren pyramid the columns had no head or pedestal. In the
“Southern House” in Saqqara column heads had the form of papyrus flower.
Such papyri-form columns were processed as long and monolith in the Old
Dynasty.
Southern House had also old Greek-Dor style prototypes. These columns
that are 8 meters long have a head as abacus, the body with cavities and sixteen grooves. They were called proto-Doric columns. By the 5th Dynasty in
the Old Dynasty period, there were also palmiform columns with heads having motives of various plan.ts. The body of the column begins to narrow from
the base on and the head looks like a palm three and has eight or nine leaves.
This type of column that is intended to resemble to palm tree was used mainly in the courts and temples. Loti-form columns used in mastabas by the 5th
Dynasty were inspired by the lotus flower and were in two kinds, one as a
bud the second as a mature flower with leaves.
Inner ornaments in the temple architecture started to be preferred with the
Old Dynasty period. Though there was not any stylized arc moulding in the
ancient Egyptian architecture, here we observe a kind of moulding that was
covering the eaves of the terrace. Actually such moulding arcs are a character69
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istic of the passage from wood to stone using in architecture. An inspiration
was the branches of the date-palms twisting because of the wind. The arc seen
over the window, door and ranks were ornaments inspired by the joint flexion of the reed sticks.
Cornishes zigzagging called “donkey back” was another popular style in
the Old Dynasty. There were also reliefs and hieroglyphs on the inner walls
of the temples. Reliefs and statues were generally plastered and dyed.
Geometric shapes, plant and flower motives, human figures were witnessing the artistic superiority of the Egyptian architecture. Plant and flower
motives and sometimes description of animals, were mostly observed on the
frizz filled grounds. Human figures were specific to religious references and
also used in daily life descriptions. The works of art were always lively, as
were used appropriate colours as blue, red, yellow, green, brown, black and
white together with eggs and glues.
2. RELIEFS
Mural reliefs are a valuable source about the social and daily life in
ancient Egypt. These mural reliefs reflect the objects copied and so eternalized in very details. Relief was not only an ornamental accessory but
described as a zoomed inscription. Because the artist in the reliefs showed
the movements of men including the upper part of the body, shoulders and
breasts from across the body and the movement of the arms and the legs
from the side, the eyes were shown as is seen from the front but from the
face profile. This method gives the opportunity to make a comment on and
to get an expression to the figures at a single dimension. As a result the
moves and anatomies were generally described in a deformation. This relief
style was very close to a painting conception and was meaning that the great
Egypt way of expression is on the eve. Egyptian artists had difficulty in displaying the feet frontally, so described them as viewed from a side.
Therefore it gave an impression as if the figures had two left feet.
Reliefs were used in integrity with the techniques of light and shadows.
The surface around the reliefs was forming a cavity of 5 mm, so that the figures were placed frontally. If the case was just the inverse the outer lines
would be engraved in the surface. The first type was preferred in the buildings and the second type in outside, as the latter could be better seen under
sunlight. Techniques also changed in the course of history. The reliefs under
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the surface were cheaper economically. Principal religious buildings and
important private tombs were embellished with reliefs. For the ordinary
tombs with poor quality stone or houses and ordinary buildings was used
brickets of mud that did not suit with relief works and pictures were placed
on the front.
A small group of grave ornaments in Meidum, dating of the 4th Dynasty
were fabricated of coloured mud placed in the cavities of stone pieces. Later
on, small objects and big reliefs would be treated with coloured pieces of
stone and glass, a method very special to the period of Amarna. On grave
reliefs the main style was to enlarge a hieroglyph that replaced the sign that
mentioned the name of the dead and was not repeated in the text itself; the
form and text were interdependent.
Low reliefs are most of the time only a few millimetres. Egyptians rather
used cavity surface to better preserve the description. All the walls of the
temples were plastered and statues dyed. Columns, sculpture and walls
were often covered of gold panels, while in human figures were used copper around the eyes. Instruments of cult, grave objects, jewellery and furniture were ornamented with animal representations; artists were using them
for thousands of years as symbols to help people against evil and sickness.
Funeral chapels were decorated generally with scenes of daily life.
Notwithstanding, underneath the attractive and even simple expression
there is hidden some thoughts for beyond death with some secret rituals.
For example, scenes as the hippopotamus hunting party of the seigneur,
symbolized killing the devil for ever, while fishing red fishes meant the resurrection of the dead people.
A relief on a toilet table dated of 2800 BC was representing Egyptians
against Libyans, with figures individually independent but painted in a mixed
manner. The surface was tried to be filled as far as possible, figures touching
each other without intersecting. This relief was the first known Egyptian art
describing the king. Here, the king is the main figure. Besides there was a sense
of space in the figures, and a floor line is emphasized. On the upper side of the
platform, there is the expression of a god-like figure with a human face but bull
head.
The knife of Gebel el-Arak and the toilet table of the king Nar-Mer might be
distinguished of the whole ancient Egyptian art in the following respects:
1.Animal paintings are in an effusion, almost thinking first of filling the area.
2.Two animals face-to-face as anti-theses, used like a state-symbol (flag),
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but over the composition itself.
3.Depiction of mythological animals
Bull form in the toilet plate does not refer to the nature, but the royal
power and force; bull being the king himself, and its figure is accepted as the
king himself. The enemy was represented as a man under the bull, but not
concretely, only as the concept of animal. Thus, a painting was not described
as would be in a hieroglyph inscription but was told through symbols. The
unique side of the Egyptian art is the deification of the king and it was symbolised with an animal. King on the toilet plate of Nar-Mer was not a bull but
a man. Here the expression was not at the force and the mass to represent the
power, but the attitude and the lines. One of the most important reliefs from
the 1st Dynasty, also a very interesting example was a grave stone with a
hawk, described over the frontal side of a palace with columns and a snake
relief above its feet. Relief was not embellished at all. Here, the hawk was the
savior, a divine bird. The snake was the name of the king. The bird was dominating the eternity with its sharp lines, quietness and greatness.
That time, Egyptian reliefs tended to a representation with less depth. By
the late 5th Dynasty reliefs and sculpture adopted an easier expression.
In the Middle Dynasty reliefs the rectangular surface was very clear and
borders sharp. Another feature was that foods, animals and bowls were drawn
as decisive and simple as hieroglyphs, so it was not easy to distinguish them
from hieroglyphs. If you compare the hieroglyphs of the Old and Middle
Dynasties, you will state obviously that the former were not decisive at all,
even written just in a haphazard.
Middle Dynasty reliefs had a structural depth, the idea of depth getting
more important, diligence in composition, the rising importance of each figure, considering a figure as a separate and whole piece of art and lastly the representation of daily events.
12th Dynasty of the Middle Dynasty would be the scene of the first “beautiful human figure” whose source was outside effects. Relief was kindly
processed and a low protuberance. Such features are also seen in Hatshepsut
reliefs. Besides, 18th Dynasty’s Iemhet and Ramose's graves in Thebes are
also engraved elegantly (1400 BC)
This was the first time in history that historical stories were told in great
measures and with triple paintings. For example Setos I made the trophy of
Falcon God Horus with Double Royal Crowns
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his glorious wars written on the walls of the columned hall in Karnak's temple. However this relief with a war subject was not accepted as successful
because of its mixed composition. On the other hand reliefs in Ramesses II’s
Abidos temple were somewhat real impressions and quite rich with regard to
a sense of devotion of the nation’s history. Despite all its qualities worth
praise, a loose classicism also prevails.
Concrete observation was esteemed more than the artistry in the historical
reliefs. Middle Asia effect also became evident. For example, the lion that was
reflected of frontal side and as a free figure, but having a relief effect with side
view.
In Egypt’s art late reliefs were not low-reliefs but rather began to acquire
shape as in sculpture. Figures were completely separated from each other.
After Alexander’s conquest of Egypt in 332 BC artistic creativity would be
reduced to traditional handiworks. King represented in a meeting of gods in
Kom-ombo Temple’s mural reliefs is displayed with an unimportant deed.
However, a powerful relief is distinctive here. Figures are within a decorative
expression. The bodies in the reliefs are in a high form. The forms are softened
and got much more important as jewellery. This was the same in the periods
of Thutmosis III and Amenophis III; however reliefs of that time were rough
but also filled with simplified figures, borders disturbingly sharp, jewellery,
garments and hair-do so vulgar. Dresses were long to the feet, clothes too gallant, rich looking and full of plumes. Feminine forms getting in may be interpreted as a proof of relationship with Greek art.
3. MURAL PAINTINGS
Mural painting in ancient Egypt was religion–oriented and mysticism was
its most important way of approach. In short mural paintings were done to
express Egyptian mysticism, that establishes an equilibrium between the
needs of the worldly life and the eternal life. Belief in the life after created the
tradition to bury all the belongings and tools together with the dead. Symbols
inherited from totemism related to the judgment of the dead when passing to
the other world and the relations between the animals and religious beliefs all
contributed to transcribe the ancient Egyptian paintings. For example animals
like bull, cat, crocodile, falcon are very related to the divine powers, a concept
together with the representation of some gods under human form, what
resulted together in descriptions with animal-head, human-body.
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In ancient Egypt, writing and expression were very close. Hieroglyph signs
were paintings themselves and their expression is not much different (except
for the ones that aim linguistic and ornamentation determining their lineage).
In the opposite, many paintings included hieroglyph texts, these could give
information explaining the visual or shape the visual element as in some temple reliefs.
In ordinary tombs or non-lasting buildings built of non-quality stones and
that do not need reliefs and any mug surfaces of the royal palaces that are not
convenient for, paintings were used. Painting art was of a secondary importance
and there were really great pieces of art in this field. Besides, the techniques that
are used, also favoured much more liberal results in painting than relief.
For example fresco technique discovered by ancient Egyptians consists of
applying the paint on plaster that is still wet. First the artist draws a pattern on
the layer just before the last and marks the borders bold with dark dye. Then
a last layer of plaster is applied onto the pattern and painted. When plaster
starts to get dry, there occurs a reaction between the air and the lime, releasing out calcium carbonate and so creating a chalk-like layer on the colourifying materials. Fresco colours are cast, lucid and cloudy, pieces so produced are
lasting, many examples standing on sarcophaguses. Fresco pigments were
prepared by dissolving the powders into water dissolving material like wattle
resin. The blend was applied on the wet plaster with a brush in a manner that
looks like watercolours technique.
Ancient Egyptians made large use of, somewhat, watercolours paints in
drawing on papyrus and writing hieroglyphs, but only a few examples
remained. Later artists began to use a new technique called “encaustic” painting, Greek term originating of “enkaustikos” meaning “process through burning”. This was consisting of heating the pigments first mixed with resin and
bee wax in order to soften. The warm, soft and coloured material was applied
on the surface and processed with a special knife heated on a brazier.
Encaustic technique offers a durable covering with very beautiful colours, but
the painting would be very open to be badly effected of water, that really
swept off several pieces of art.
Another old dying technique, probably developed by Babylonians and
transferred to the ancient Egyptians is called “tempera”, i.e. watercolours technique. The pigment was hidden in yolk in traditional tempera painting and the
paint was applied with a brush. The problem was that the paint would get dry
very soon, so the artist should work very fast. Egyptian tempera examples are
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God Horus and Pharaoh at the wall relieves
usually made on plaster and generally used models are description on sarcophaguses. Yolk, butter, water and lesithin are mixed to get a natural emulsion material which, as it gets dye in a very short time, causes a matte look.
This paved the way for the invention of emulsion technique of painting on
tempera. The yellowness of the egg comes from the carotenoid, that disappears under sun light and so does not affect the colour any more.
Pre-historical Egyptian painting is similar with the paleolithic works of
Northern Spain and Southern France. There was a primitive naturalism in the
paleolithic art of the glacial period. In Egyptian paintings there were no raccourcits but figures drawn on side face. The similarity of Egypt with works on
cave walls in Northern Spain and Southern France comes from an artistic consideration of the forms of nature. These paintings do not aim to specify any
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place nor a figurative expression based on ratios; there are not figures placed
side by side nor on the back ground. Just like in the examples from the Old
Stone Age.
In the Upper Egypt, in a grave at Heraclopolis, works used for the ornamented expression unique to frescos of pre-historic pieces and bowls is
found. However those discovered in Heraclopolis were quite different from
other Palaeolithic paintings, with a specific ancient Egypt style. All the figures
are shown as silhouette within a scene order.
Egyptians described an object giving emphasis over the most interesting
or evident sides, so a great part of the information we need are already hidden in the draft. Forms are nevertheless represented as long as they really are
without shortening. Method used on the non-flat surfaces was much more
complicated. Even though it is not valid for the whole of the system, the
method of shortening from the front was used though rare. There were many
more expression methods derived off from the fundamental principles. Thus,
any side of an object actually impossible to be seen may be described thanks
to a fake transparency or reflecting the content of the object to the above.
What determines the number of the objects represented or how they were
chosen, is rather the information they offer, than visual concerns. This was
one of the countless spontaneous details of the system.
In forming a collective image and covering the whole wall, there were two
main departure points; to regulate the elements on an ordinary surface or to
use the surface as a descripted flat area like a map. The former approach was
based on linking the elements of the painting to each other, so on recording
all and it was universal, while the second was appropriate for specific cases
and periods. Figures are on a line that represents the ground and is called the
base line. But this is not frequent; on the contrary we often have figures
placed on the wall with a certain distance from each other. Images in group
and interrelated as to the meaning are placed next to next on a common line
or from above to below, or in a few cases in both directions, horizontally and
vertically.
So it was possible to read the events from the wall. Two distinct expression of a collective image, like from ploughing plow to harvesting might be
displayed in an opposing manner, which means that the situation expressed
on the wall is not necessarily an information in itself. The standing man figure generally is looking at the right side, with head shown by side and a half
mouth on the face, generally smaller than a real mouth. Not forgetting one
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eye and one eyebrow, shoulders are given in true length, but the frontal side
of the trunk together with all the part of the body from the armpit to the
waist is seen from the the side. There were garments details on the large chest
but no part of the body was given in details, except those with collars,
clothes ornaments. Legs, waist and feet are imaged together, and the hub is
placed near to the waist that was shown a bit ahead of the body. Artists
began to describe also one thumb and the physiognomy of the foot by the
mid 8th dynasty and later times. Foot was not put on the ground when
depicted, and the other foot was seen from the space between.
The alternative method of mapping was used to depict house plans and
desert areas, borders in both cases very rarely were shown in a specific area.
They were also used as the base line for the figures. Again very rarely some
objects were given as vertical layers or stages in mapping method, what was
making sense of the image of back ground and this was the only thing that
led to a unifying point of view. Such an assumption would be in contrast
with other properties. What we know about gardens in ancient Egypt gardens today is due to visual arts. These gardens were ideal, but also were carefully planned to live in. Numerous paintings of garden depicted on grave
walls prove that the art for Egyptians was a specific instrument. Motives in
this kind of paintings symbolized the eternity. Houses, gardens, deserts,
rivers landscapes are reduced in time consisting of a smaller area. However,
in detailed compositions like pools encircled with trees and bushes, the gardens played an important role. Many works display a pool, by a view from
above, in the middle of a garden that is in its turn enclosed with a wall.
Buildings and garden gates are shown from the frontal side or from profile as
they should be; in order to hide the borders of the pool, the buildings and
trees are shown from the front.
Art of painting in Ancient Egypt enhanced another sector, manufacturing
daily home objects. Paintings on the walls or furniture seriously served all the
artistic activities to gain a deep sense of composition, technical ability and
harmony. Since the Old Dynasty ancient Egyptians were using colours of
white, black, yellow, red soil paint, blue or green (generally copper oxide).
Lighter tones were very useful in stressing animal fur or emphasizing details
of human body during Amarna period and Ramesses II (Nefertari's tomb).
Ancient Egyptians were masters in catching any trait and expressing it clearly. They also did not give up the usage of referring to elements from before
the Pharaohs age. Painting for ancient Egyptians should, first of all, reflect the
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object it would eternalize in every aspect and portrait them as good as possible. Opposite sculpture which was monotone, drawings and reliefs were
not just ornaments but an enlarged inscription. So when the artist tried to
describe the man, he preferred to describe his eyes and shoulders from the
front, the other three quarters of the trunk in a turning move and legs on a
lateral view. Scenes were placed regularly: one closest to the ground was also
the closest to the spectator. The big conception of composition would only
appear after Amarna.
In the beginning of Middle Dynasty period, the depth in expression started to become important. However in tombs of the Middle Dynasty scenes of
stylised figures are seen. For example carrying a mummy, a barque with men
inside. These did not have the lively movements of the Old Dynasty. A representative example from the painting in the New Dynasty is surely the birth
scene on the Hatshepsut's tomb. The relief on this tomb was brightened simply and elegantly. The drawings of the relief are very harmonious though
sharp. Painting no more depicted the slaves but respectable householders
hosting their visitors or embassies, no spoils of war but presents, no dangers
but delicate adventures. They were two figures in general; both had parallel
steps, on a straight marching on position.
In the New Dynasty divinities became more powerful than rulers. Pharaoh
while keeping its rank among the gods was no more the symbol of the greatness nor the honour as he was in the Old Dynasty. However, like in the period of Middle Dynasty, they were still under the protection of the gods and
continue to be the people that the gods adore. There were no more pharaohs
depicted as even higher than the gods as it used to be in the Old Dynasty. In
the Old Dynasty, the pharaohs were in an actual god position.
Tutankhamun's tomb in Thebes has something in common with Amarna
with respect to the art, form and content. Wrinkles and face expressions were
softer, lines humanized, and women were shown nude. This was a return to
the art of New Dynasty before Akhenatens with show and appearance gaining importance again, through valuable fabrics, coloured pieces of stone and
precious jewellery. This was also the peak point of a three dimensional
expression in the arts.
Victorious scenes were depicted in Abu-Simbel. The essence and forms of
these paintings were not specific to this time. The subject that was the king
hitting the head of an enemy with a hammer was old as the art of ancient
Egypt itself. Pharaoh was represented twice the normal size but not depicted
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as elegant as the statue of Thutmosis III. Also, there was a naturalism in the
description of foreigners.
4. SCULPTURE
Ancient Egypt art of sculpture was made for religious purposes; ancient
Egyptians desired to add continuity to their possibility for existence and the
immortal look of their gods. The artists who found the possibility to depict
richly within limiting conditions had redepicted the face of the ideal god and
the man. Sculptures we may see in world museums or Cairo Museum of
Ancient Arts are all found in temples, tombs and grave chapels. Even though,
sculpture showed more difference of style under the effect of palace and religious workshops, brilliant pieces in different periods and by different schools
were produced. Women figure of clay dated before Negada period were representing the reproductive women of the old stone age, and symbolised fertility. Scenes were designed with small statues of women made of clay. With all
these expression styles, ancient Egypt relates to African cultures of the time.
A passage would be witnessed from the realistic conception giving emphasis
over a physiognomic expression, to the archaic-constructive conception.
Figures were taken from the real life and accompanied with hard form and
archaic character figures of animals and bowls.
Sculpture of Old Dynasty (2780-2160): Old Dynasty’s fabulous and
powerful realism created chefs d’oeuvre of the art of sculpture, like Chepren,
Sheikh el-Beled, Cairo’s Ti, Ankhaf Bust (Boston), The Seated Scribe, Louvre
– a group of woodwork
A critical example of the sculpture in the Old Dynasty is the statue of the
King Djoser from the 3rd Dynasty. The head, foot and body were vertical, but
in contrast hips are in a sitting position, what offers a total expression as a
block column. All the body has a monumental attitude. The legs, arms and
hips are emphasized, the eyes are fixed as a god who sees everything... Face
lacks expression, like the picture of an immortal existence. The throne and
body make a whole, what is a massive expression. There are some differences
between the statues of Prince Rahotep and Princess Nophret and that of
Djoser’s. Prince and princess are standing quite simple, in a cubic form and
bodies far a bit from the wood. Figures are seen of front side; legs adjacent and
A cubic expression of Goddess Nekhbet in Egyptian sculpture.
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The sphinx statue with pharaoh head and lion body
a massive expression prevails in the standing that is not divine any more.
Statue is standing in a very natural view. This is the naive art, we can say.
A new approach that may be observed in the room of the dead, with the
general order in the room and the description of the dead put on the fallacious
door. Symmetry makes part of this approach. Fallacious doors appeared by
the 4th Dynasty to mislead the visitors. Statue made in 2550 BC in the
Chepren pyramid, a pharaoh of the 4th Dynasty, is the best example of the
block expression and the form of whole body. The frontal view shows an
archaic vertical standing. Right arm is on the leg. Thus, it is seen that a powerful symmetric expression gains importance.
The period of Chepren is the period where the latest mathematical forms
developed in the pyramid architecture. Small rooms of worshipping in
Saqqara would be replaced in that age, by big halls. A new understanding
came through by Mykerinus’ period, which consisted of decreasing the ratio
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of concentration on body details in statues in contrast to the desire of the
enormity of the pyramids. The same understanding is reflected in the standing statues of Mykerinus. Mykerinus walks in a heavenly superiority, however the statue had no monumental effect as did Chepren's sphinx. In the walking of the tall Pharaoh the silence inspiring pose of Cheops or Chepren is not
seen. Body details were important in Egyptian sculpture. The archaic expression was there with the care over the frontal view and the verticality. Body
parts were taken separately and in a tendency to resemble to the nature. These
characteristic points and the separation of the body from the block behind are
in fact novelties in sculpture by the 4th Dynasty. With such features, the art
of the 4th Dynasty relates to the 5th. For example, the statues of Ranopher, a
king of the 5th Dynasty, in Saqqara have the figures linked smoothly to the
block behind by some ties visible between the arms and legs. The right leg
was linked to the block behind, representing the living inheritance of the
archaic character. But the statue was not any longer a relief on the block. Eyes,
chin and the face as a whole were much more lively. Body surfaces were not
cubic but closer to a naturalist expression.
The Seated Scribe statue made in the age of 5th Dynasty is very important.
There is no block behind, as were the previous pharaohs’ statues. Arms away
from the body are not attached somewhere behind but to the body simply.
Neck was autonomous from the shoulders, and free; mouth has a personality; the face makes deep sense, like the face of somebody listening carefully to
his master, not missing a single world. Copper statues of Per-her-Nophret and
Pepi I of the 6th Dynasty and his son are viewed front side again, but only
slightly remarkable in the dispersed parts of the body. In this case the celestial
standing of the pharaohs disappears and they look like to ordinary men. Faces
are portrayed in an unusual liveliness, and a natural expression prevails.
Reliefs or statues would be put in front of the fallacious doors of the 4th
Dynasty, such statues having no connection with the doors and looking to the
spectator directly not laterally. We know temples were not simply grave houses, but palaces in which dead people would live and rule. Statues were placed
in accordance with the look of the visitor.
Sculpture in the Middle Dynasty (2052-1670 BC): There is a dark age
from 2190 to 2052 BC between the Old Dynasty and the Middle Dynasty,
during which ruled Dynasties from 6th to 11th in the country.
Sesostris I and Amenemhet III had quite interesting statues on their names.
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played topless in accordance with the Old Dynasty’s traditions and with a
piece of cloth below. Besides, he was also wearing another fabric on the
shoulders and he was bearded. Left hand was in a direct position and put onto
the leg. The body, taller than Chepren's, young and in a round form. Chepren
was sitting on the throne as the symbol of immortality, while Sesostris I had
a view as in a ceremony of reception, so standing here very temporarily. His
face was narrow and noble. Body was assembled in large parts.
The statue of Amenemhet III was much more natural than the previous
with the harmony of the shape of the figure. The mass has a softer expression
and stands relaxed. Chest and abdomen muscles were depicted as sophisticated as a naturalist sculpture. The neck is tall, the face is round and healthy.
These statues were worldly if compared with Old Dynasty’s divinely ones.
Their movements looked like an ordinary man. Neferhotep I’s bust dates late
Middle Dynasty; this work had no more a spiritual expression on the face,
neither a sign of will, nor an energetic looking. This lack of clear expression
was common.
In the Middle Dynasty and of the 12th Dynasty, a realistic style emerged
that promoted rude and tragic faces, as in some portraits of Seotris III (Louvre
or British Museum) and Ammenemes III (British Museum and Cairo,
Pseudohyksos monuments). However this realism became more stylized as
The statues at Memnon at Thebes and Sesotris
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long as the concept was getting dominant and lastly turned to be the classical
style of the 2nd Thebes period (in Havara, Ammenemes III). This style
attained to the greatness and powerfulness of older times (sphinx, gigant statues) and also an unlimited beauty and elegance. Body and face descriptions
got softer along with the artistic progress.
Men were depicted in their clothes in the Middle Dynasty. However,
among the statues that are made at the first and last period there are differences as of spirit, will and clothing. For example, many statues of Sesostris I
are cubic and based on a block expression way, what was common to the Old
Dynasty, Osiris statues were undetermined in the clothes resembling to mummies and the body is mobile.
"In the art in the Middle Dynasty masculine expression was important, so
much so that even women were approaching to male form, with hips small
and energetic as in men. Eyes, nose and mouth were differing according to the
individual characters but with no definite direction. Statues of Sesostris I and
Amennemhet III (12th Dynasty) were clearly expressing senescence and fatalism. Whenever ancient Egypt art did display senescence and fatalism, it was
time to begin for darker periods" (Turani, 2003).
Understanding of the form in the time of the Middle Dynasty zoomed out
the figure from the hegemony of the block form, brought the description of
the face and body closer to the nature and enhanced a fastidious tradition.
Relief which was a three-dimensional way to depict the figure progressed into
a large-plan description and produced examples of body perfectness. Sitting
figure was in cubic or square prismatic shapes. The ancient Egypt archaism
was giving the human body a monumental form and this was one of the most
important features of Middle Dynasty statues.
Sculpture and painting in the New Dynasty (1610- 715 BC) (17th
Dynasty- 24th Dynasty): After liberation wars, in the period of New
Dynasty, the first woman ruler in the history, Hatshepsut encouraged royal
workshops and effected the birth of Thebes art. A typical example is the painting of Temes III, the great conqueror and the smoothness on his face traits
reflect well the art of Thebes. This was in the age of Amenophis III that the
coins with portraits of the ruler and the queen really witnessed the artistic talent reaching its peak in Egyptian civilization.
Statues of Hatshepsut, a 18th Dynasty pharaoh, looks like those of
Sesostris I and Amenemhet III, that is, there is a common approach between
the New Dynasty and the Middle Dynasty artistic principles. The block
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behind the statue which was a strict rule in the Old Dynasty, does not exist
in the statues of Hatshepsut. The figure was only based upon a throne of rectangular prism. Different from the serious look of the Middle Dynasty statues,
this statue of Hatshepsut has an expression on its face that is saluting people.
It was very important, because for the first time was evident a feminine elegance in a male figure. Thutmosis III was put on make-up on the face with
ochre and his glances were quite animate, forms classical and lines very
severe. The statue is made of a polished stone. Outer borders in nobility
statutes are easy and elegant. In New Dynasty, Hatcshepsut’s daughter was
depicted in a block and cubic form, sitting on the floor and holding the knees
with both hands, presenting a round movement. With this specific movement
form and volume, something remembering the strength and monumentality
of the pyramids are also observed in the sculpture.
In late 18th Dynasty, during the period that includes the Thutmosis IV
(1422 -1413 BC) and Amenophis III’s (1413 – 1377 BC) periods, ancient Egypt
made considerable progress in its relations with the other countries in a pacific way, mainly through cultural and commercial trade. The first period of the
New Dynasty includes the rule of Hatshepsut and Thutmosis III, and the art
level inherited from the Middle Dynasty was very refined, with respect to the
kindly and recherché forms. The New Dynasty was also characterized by the
feminine elegance in the relief and sculpture. For example, in the Middle
Dynasty, women are masculine in attitude and body form and in New
Dynasty, even men are feminine. The male seriousness of the Middle Dynasty
left its place to figures of an idealized beauty. Therefore, it is understood that
the feminine poses influenced the movements of man as well. Sculpture had
never been such a sophisticated work before in ancient Egypt's previous ages.
With the need to ameliorate how to depict sexual divergences, aroused fluent
body lines instead of sharpness.
This sophistication meant a divergence in the fundamental attitude in
Egyptian art, by the age of Amenophis IV. Men were also wearing jewellery,
the body should not be necessarily strong and muscular any more, but
smooth and embellished with richful accessories. This feminine, soft
expressed figure was in a clear contrast with the Old Dynasty’s harsh block
expression. Lion form statue of Amenophis III is an evident example of this
different understanding; there was no more frontal figure depiction. Lion separated the head from the direction of the body, that is the profile and turned
by side, so destructed the block expression. By liquidating the block expres86
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sion ancient Egypt acquired a momentary expression that consists of evaluating the actual, momentary movement. This is a proof that ancient Egyptian art
was loosing its archaic expression for ever. Sphinx statue of Amenophis III
was not the lion ready for the assault anymore but the lying lion. Visage got
important in the women statues, face was placed in front. Women’s breasts
were pendent, faces insensitive as a mask. Art tended to reflect the inner life,
shifted towards naturalism and the hairpiece entered all human figures.
In this new period men’s clothes were down until the foot ankle and
women’s’ until tiptoes, while in the Old Dynasty figures could be topless, and
the skirts short. Once nudity was the fashion, in the New Dynasty, it was just
the reverse. Men were not depicted topless and jewelleries were shown in
both sexes. Thus noble and the most simple standings in ancient Egypt art left
their place to feminine, dressy but spiritless poses.
Kings were not exactly identified with gods in the Ramesses period, but
they were rather their servants. The relation was quite the opposite as in the
Old Dynasty these were gods who used to serve the kings who ascend the
throne. The sympathy between two sides was described in the reliefs of the
time of Middle Dynasty, early 13th Dynasty displaying gods and kings
embracing each other. However by Ramesess, kings would kneel before the
gods. This in fact means that the priesthood situation got stronger in their relationship with the rulers. So much so that Ramesses would almost enter under
the supremacy of the priests and naturally the sculpture art created pieces of
work reflecting priests. Amun temple in Karnak and Rock temple in AbuSimbel were built in the time of 19th Dynasty; both comprised many statues
with monumental and colossal expression. With the supports carrying the
columns were making a whole construction body together. While on the
other hand, Old Dynasty’s statues of pharaohs were in ordinary human sizes
and they were placed in front or between the column supporters. These giant
statues of that period which were not used for architectural nor ornamental
purposes were in a decorative and regular order. These monumental figures
may also be found in the temple of Amenophis III.
Period of Amenophis IV (Akhenaten): In late 18th Dynasty begins the
period of Amenophis IV (1377 – 1358 BC). Pharaoh shows great efforts to settle a monotheist religion. The name of the new god is Aten, that is, the sun.
Amenophis tried to loosen and liquidate the belief in Amun, the old god in
favor of the new one. However Amun priests came out against this attempt,
but the pharaoh still insisted to remove Amun paintings and statues off all
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temples and had new temples built on the name of Aten all over the country.
Amenophis IV changed his name of ruler, Amenhotep and adopted
Akhenaten; took the capital to the city of Amarna. However his successors
would rule only a short while, as insurgency spread all over the country in the
time of Tutankhamun. General Haremhab, a previous Amun follower destructed the new religion of Aten and declared himself as the pharaoh.
Artistic experience in Amarna period led Pharaoh Amenophis IV Akhenaten
to break off with the unfaithful tradition that does not produce any special
products anymore. Many artists whose talents were freed returned to the alive
sources of the inspiration for a period of twenty years. Very interesting works
would be done, but not totally ignoring the principles in force; but some new
artists tending to an extreme realism succeeded to reflect the social life much
more largely and densely. Artists generally descripted facial expressions, in
stress or sorrow, and tried for an inner observation. Statues of Sethi I and
Ramesses II (Museums of Torino and Cairo) reminds us the art pieces of
‘Ramesside’ period.
10th Dynasty sculpture did not go further than repeating the usual, routine
forms. 25th Dynasty, the Abyssinian, left after a real artistic inheritance very
characteristic to the novelties of the 26th Dynasty of Sait. This period was
sometimes or often called a renaissance, but sculptors chose their models
from the idealized forms of the Old Dynasty. Sait Dynasty was sympathetic,
scholastic and abstract. There was a slight smile on the lips, artists attained
great successes in animal depictions by using the hardest materials. Bronze
statues like that of Pepi I (from Memphis, now in Cairo), sphinx of Tutmes IV
in Louvre represent a peak of the art of sculpture.
Ptolemyes witnessed an artistic synthesis of two civilizations, ancient
Egyptian and Greek, both adding many influences to each other. By time passing Hellenistic effect became more apparent in the statuary garments, standing and traditional approach to anatomy, which would change radically and
get three-dimensional. Egyptian sculpture disappeared by 3rd century AD. As
a result one can state that ancient Egypt inherited the painting art of the Old
Stone Age in many respects, developed and progressed it and created a quite
mature expression appropriate to the age of great civilizations.
A new artistic concept raised in Akehanatons period with serious visage
expressions and a new form other than what has been done until that day.
This gave us evidence about the foreign origin of this Dynasty. Their faces
were far of a stylized beauty, but Amarna period was the scene of the most
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elaborated samples of the sculpture.
“Amarnan art rediscovered the toplessnes in the king statues as was once
in the Old and Middle Dynasty. Strongness was a principle, there was a tendency to use ornaments, and also a reservation against clear sentiments on the
face what all together showed that this art had not yet well settled principles.
It was including a quite delicate handworks and a very advanced artistic culture on the one hand and a familiar but intentionally rough way of expression
on the other; so there was an anarchy of values" (Turani, 2003).
Revolution led by Amenophis IV would be swept off in the period of
Tutankhamun and the old god Amun and priests be rehabilitated. So the era
of the New Dynasty was designated by the return back to the feminine elegance and vanity, with an artistic concept of giving more importance to
embellishment. There was not a sign of heroism, enormity or strongness in
the works describing General Haremhab, Tutankhamun and Tiye. General
Haremhab the leader of the revolution and follower of the tradition became
later the king and founded the 19th Dynasty in the Egyptian history.
Exaggeration in the sculpture of the era of Amarna was left, came back a sense
of proportionality. Haremhab ruled in the period between Tutankhamun and
restoration and during this time a new realism with the sense of space is
observed. Most known examples had in common, the eyes blackened with
kohl and marked lips. Technique was sophisticated, standings of the figures
were elegant and noble in the statues of this period.
The art of the 19th 20th Dynasties (restoration art) covers the rule of
Haremhab, Ramesses II, Setos I, Merenptah, the age of Rameside from
Ramesses III and IV to Ramesses XIV. Haremhabian period’s thin technique
was followed by a monotone expression in form and Egyptian art did not display any new creative style. Reliefs were more exaggerated than the statues.
Statue of Nophretete was made of sandstone and had a strict form representing a great step forward in ancient Egyptian sculpture. Besides the statues
were animated by dying and colouring.
Last Era of Egyptian Sculpture (25th and 26th Dynasties): The late
Egyptian sculpture naturally gathered together all technical facilities of its history and works. The old tradition supported by the priests gradually lost
importance. The late period was like a repeated classicism, so Egyptian sculpture’s wealthy heritage with techniques was weakened and spoiled. In the
long period of stagnation including the Abyssinian hegemony, arouse a new
sculpture concept, which was concentrated on busts with a tendency to a
strong naturalism. This was as if they were returning the early Egyptian strong
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and harsh expression. The Egypt history found the strongest and roughest
expression of what it had went through in the 25th Dynasty period at the statues of Motemhet. This artistic approach was not similar to that of the
Ramesside era.
The art of this period reflected adoration of the old times, both as being
closed to the nature and as a tendency to or nostalgia for the artistic simplicity and strongness. How to depict human skin was an important question.
Priests’ busts were witnessing an advanced ability of observation, with
esquisses of an anatomical preciseness and detailed description of personalities. This was a realistic-naturalist method together with a traditional block
form. Most women figures were like those depicted by tribes that did not
develop the writing, art of inscription. Forms were quite sharp on the shining
surface. In short this was one of the most important periods in the history of
Egyptian sculpture.
5. OBJECTS
Ceramic objects are found any where in the archaeological works about the
ancient Egypt. However, it was the coloured ceramics of the New Dynasty and
the ceramics of pre-history that played a critical role in the history of arts. Other
clay bowls were only simple objects of daily use, without any characteristic to help
the researcher to fix the date. The epoch making researches by W. Y. Adams in
Nubia on Meroe and Christian ceramics were followed by an international
research group which made real progress in the classification and fixing the dates
of ancient Egyptian ceramics. For the works of this group one may refer to the
“Arnold Studien Zur Altagypt Keramik, 1981” and the bulletin of the group
“Bulletin de Liason Du Groupe Internat D'etude de la Ceramique Egyptienne”
under publication since 1975. The most brilliant period begins by the late pre-historia and comes to the 3rd Dynasty, famous with the stone bowls that were even
more important than ceramic objects in the ancient Egyptian history of art. Bowls
(since the 4th Dynasty were made only of limestone) were ‘ornamented’ with
inscriptions and were very impressive regarding the form and workmanship.
Egyptian handcrafts did not only mean to embellish the tombs, many works
were to be presented secondarily onto the grave and their manufacturing cared
a lot about understanding of the underworld. Foundings informing us about
Egyptian handcrafts are mainly the treasuries of tombs from the Old and New
Dynasty.
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"Egyptian handcraft production of seals and amulets, made use a lot of a great
variety of forms and materials. The materials are varied, widely collected by the
institutional or private collectionners all over the world, what made classification, dating and interpreting the pieces quite a hard work. Only the collections
of Cairo and University College of London are published among the great collections. Cylindric seals were in use since the very beginning of the historical
period in Egypt, with the peak in the early and Old Dynasty eras. Cylindric seals
were replaced with ordinary, simpler ones by the end of 5th Dynasty and sealrings. Seals and amulets were difficult to be distinguished, but still there were
inscriptions, figures and symbols helping for the typological classification and
dating. The first and very common form of the seals was scarabe. Scarabe
amulets had inscriptions over that are generally religious texts and often cryptographied. This large field may only be entered with works that compensate the
lack of Egyptian numismatics. The largely preferred form of seal and amulet, the
scarabe would be gradually left and almost forgotten by the end of 26th
Dynasty; still did it keep living as a religious symbol on the magical stones"
(Hornung, 2004).
Statues of Pharaoh
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IV. Section
THE ARTISTIC
INFLUENCE FROM
EGYPTIAN ART
TO ANCIENT
CIVILISATIONS IN
HISTORICAL
COURSE
“There was no art at the beginning, because the thought of art has been
existing since we began to recognize it as art” (Erguven, 2002).
T
he products made 50,000 years ago by people motivated by their instincts
for sheltering and nutrition had been the first artistic works. The first
humans’ drawings reflected their beliefs. Paintings have been serving religion since the first paintings carved or drawn in caves. The hunting scenes and natural events drawn by the first humans in the caves using brands were symbols of
belief. The pictures drawn by primitive humans on the walls of the caves of
Sphinx statue with a woman’s head and lion’s body
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Altamira, Lascaux, Fonde and Gamme turned into artistic works thousands of years
later. Because art is the superior creativity reached, thanks to methods used to
express a feeling, a design or a beauty.
At the beginning, science, art and religion started at the same point. First human
communities recognized that they were surrounded by superior forces and looked
for protectors in their neighbourhood. Animals, plants, the sea or stars were seen as
protectors and they were called ‘totem’. The main concept of totem mean is a widespread and holy force residing in people themselves. In Egypt too, prehistoric religious beliefs were based on totem. After the formation of nomes (a “nome” is a subnational administrative division) by human groups of ancient Egypt who had been
living in clans, their symbols which are totems became the deity and gods of these
places. The nomes which were a political and administrative division were carrying
the names of animals that had been chosen as totem.
In the course of time, totems became insufficient and people created some living but invisible spiritual beings in their neighbourhood. Invisible ghosts and living
dead persons led to the birth of magic. Magic started to be seen with animism. It
was believed that gaining possession of images of desired objects was the way of
obtaining real objects. That belief was used for magic and later for religions.
Drawing the picture of the animal that he wanted to hunt was not because of the
will to hunt it for the first man. In brief, the source of art was magic and belief. After
beginning to use their intelligence, people tried to reach beauty through art, truth
through science and the God through religion. The human referred to art in order
to purify himself of feelings.
According to some anthropologists and historians of religion, art and religion
originated from magic. Magic and superstition dominated every moment of everyday life. Ancient Egyptians too, deeply believed in magic and magicians. They
sometimes equated magicians with gods. According to them, magic was a very natural event. Mythology too, included magic. In Egypt, magic had an official character and it was a part of everyday life. Gods gave examples of magic and spell. In the
legend of Osiris and Iris, Set was described as a terrible magician and Thoth and Isis
were described as big magicians. Even the formulas of creation, the ritual of funerals, writings and duties related to the afterlife were magic. Egyptian faith was full of
magic and the balance of the world was maintained thanks to magic.
Meanwhile, the culture of the natives of Egypt had a Shamanic nature, because
of its African character and since it was a religion of nomes. For instance, during ceremonies, Anubis priests were wearing jackal masks and they were either playing the
role of Anubis or they were channelling his energies. The ancient Egyptian religion
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is essentially a religion of cults. According to Egyptian people, history was a ceremonial form of cult. Hunts and wars were directed by rituals. Egyptian painting too
was based on religion. Egyptian wall pictures were drawn to express Egyptian mysticism.
The myths of primitive societies reappeared as doctrines in the more advanced
civilizations. Legends had their own logic and rules. Polytheism, which is characterized with the variety of mostly inconsistent mythological beliefs and traditions has
continued to live in some civilizations during the entire history. During the course
of development, fairy tales and legends were made consistent through reason and
thought. Under convenient social conditions, superior religious authorities were
established in order to collect, define and organize principles of faith. Thus, various
mythological traditions that had come together arbitrarily were replaced by ideology and doctrine, which is a normative system. That was the beginning of theology.
Religion and magic were very close to each other, because the definition of religion resembles that of magic in some aspects. Religion as well as magic includes
faith and ceremonies. Those of magic had been more primitive. Magicians had tried
to get the help of gods, even foreign ones and they occasionally used the devil too
as a means. In many primitive societies the devil was seen as a god. Though they
have many common aspects, there is a big antagonism between magic and religion.
Magic does not respect the holiness of religion. On the other hand, religion does not
respect magic. The continuity and unshakeable faithfulness of religion is not found
in magic. Religion is a system containing solidarity, which is the result of beliefs and
worships of a community that has a spiritual unity, related to holy things.
Durkheim’s definition is more concrete. According to him, religion is “certain
ceremonies and worships of a community believing in the holy things and forming
a spiritual unity”. In the history of art, the magic of primitive times has a special
place. Primitive humans conducted ceremonies of magic in order to overcome their
fears. In the legend of Osiris and Iris, one of the myths of ancient Egypt, Isis used
magic in order to protect her husband Osiris from her brother Seth. Each time, she
protects Osiris from the evil actions of Seth, however, she was not able to overcome
his final trick and Seth divides Osiris into 14 parts. Later, Isis and Thoth find the
parts of Osiris and rejoin them through magic.
‘Myth’ which means a word spoken or heard, tale, story or legend is a chain of
encoded thoughts and values of a culture. And the artist uses the myths as the raw
material of a work of art. During the history, as well as indicating a social direction,
the myths also played a decisive role concerning forms of art through their deep
impact on social ways of life. Ancient Egyptians made paintings similar to
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Palaeolithic wall paintings about rituals of fertility. Those paintings containing animals, plants and even humans were retouched at the beginning of the rain season
to obtain a rich harvest. Pyramids and temples are art works expressing mythic and
religious beliefs. The myths, which changed during the history of Egypt, had been
belonging to the ruling pharaoh and celebrated as the Seth festival. Later, dead
pharaohs settled in Thebes in 1555 BC and from the 18th Dynasty on, all grave
owners started to be mummified and they became a part of this myth. Osiris forms
the basis of the myth and the pharaoh civilization.
The human reflected his mystic thoughts, religious beliefs and life to art works.
Both in its abstract and concrete forms, art is the expression of faith. The thoughts,
beliefs and legends of a society support art and its essence. The expression of those
beliefs and legends form art works. The ancient Egyptian art too, is based on religion. In ancient Egypt, art and the social and religious structure were inseparable
and very few works were made according to the principle of “art for art’s sake”. Each
of the art works had a function in everyday life or in general in religious rituals. The
paintings and reliefs on the walls of graves or temples aimed at keeping customs
and religious ceremonies alive for ever.
Ancient Egypt made the world’s strongest and most mystic structures. Hundreds
of years later, Plato assumed that the beauty of Egyptian artistic forms had been the
outcome of the expression of geometric laws in a pure form. However, the beauty
of Egyptian art was not a result of the forms based on geometric laws; it was beautiful since it was experienced with its symbolic content in those times.
Art and art works are under the influence of religious, magic-related, mythological and philosophical beliefs. Thus, solving the mystery of art works starts with
knowing those beliefs. The birth of art occurred under the strong influence of these
beliefs. According to ethnological institutions, in the history of religion, animism
was followed by monotheism. In ancient Egypt, religious beliefs form the basis of
a general world view. Egypt never separated this world view from the unifying concept and that was the main factor behind the integrity and permanency of the
Egyptian civilization.
Regardless of religious, language-related and cultural differences, there are superstitions in every place where human lives. Some of the superstitions arise from religious duties, some others were formed in order to support religious understanding
and some of them were even against religion.
Myths brought symbol forms too. Within this context, the art work, which is the
expression of artist’s perceptions and mental activities, obtained a symbolic meaning. The symbolic form is a system of symbols expressing the cultural world of
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human. Symbol is the appearance of story, event and concept as an object. As it can
be understood, those are objects replacing feature scenes and summarizing the
event or person. Egyptian art is a symbolic art since it is different, fantastic and complicated. In the Egyptian mythology, everything was expressed through symbols.
The basis of the Egyptian mythology was formed by philosophical thoughts hidden
behind events, but not by events. The figures in Egyptian paintings aim at providing information. The Egyptian culture provided a special position to those who
were able to use painting and hieroglyph. Every form of symbol is an abstract pattern determined by the tradition. Hieroglyphs are formed by pictures with a refined
style. That form of written expression is more artistic than the simple, geometric
and abstract cuneiform. Hieroglyphs are series of images belonging to holy, supernatural and celestial feelings.
Except the era between 10.000 and 5.000 years ago, South Egypt had a dry
weather. Approximately 11.000 years ago, the summer monsoons of Middle Africa
moved to Egypt, which brought rains that formed temporary lakes and waterholes
and allowed Neolithic herds to come to this region. Thanks to seasonal rains,
nomadic shepherds and their cattle were able to reach here. Those nomads developed a more permanent life style in this region in time. The biggest of those regions,
Boulder, was established in Nabta, as defined by McKim Malville from the
University of Colorado at Boulder (US). Climatic change and the resulting re-desertification caused the final evacuation of that region 4800 years ago. Exactly 500
years later, a step pyramid was built in Saqqara, in a manner forming an evidence
of this cultural basis.
According to researchers, one of the most important factors behind the creation of
Upper Egyptian civilization was the settlement of well organized nomads who developed spatial consciousness to the Nile Valley. Egyptian people of the Old and Middle
Stone Ages lived outside of caves, on the terraces along the Nile Valley as hunters and
nomads, thanks to suitable climatic conditions. In the New Stone Age, when climatic
and geographical conditions became suitable, the nomad, dispersed and collected people established stationary sites. Hunting and farming families lived on the northern
shores of the lake of Faiyum under the leadership of a chief and in reed houses on the
slope of tumulus (4400-3900 BC). Those were the first settled communities of Egypt.
The settlements were above the valley and the main human activities were hunting and
fishing. At the end of the Palaeolithic Age, the rock art was developed in all parts of
Africa. In Upper Egypt too, there were animal paintings, hunting scenes and paintings
related to sailing on rocks and cave walls. At the beginning of the Neolithic Age, the
geographical formation of the Nile Valley reached its final stage and hunting dog han97
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dlers living in Desert, Pale African herdsmen and fishers originating from Nilot gradually began to use techniques of cereal cultivation, flax cultivation, textile, mat making
and pottery. The appearance of villages changed and reed huts were replaced by brick
houses.
Ancient Egyptians who were nomads before settling on the valleys of Nile came
from the regions of Semites, Berber people and Bantus from different regions of Asia,
Europe and Africa to form a mixture of races in Egypt. From shelter-making to handicrafts making, they produced pioneer cultural works. As every settlement had a local
god and every community formed a different social group, nomes (states) emerged. In
the course of time, villages turned into towns and those turned to sultanates or small
Dynastys, which were called “Nome”s. King Menes, started the era of pharaohs. Once
ruled by city-states, Egypt became a country with a central government under the leadership of kings called pharaohs. The known history of ancient Egypt started with citystates called nomes. The provinces were ruled by governors appointed by the centre.
The pharaohs had unlimited powers since they were recognized as god-kings and this
led to absolutism.
The paintings of Egyptian art are seen on graves. Religious events and victories were
drawn on the graves of kings, and events of everyday life on the graves of society’s
graves. The ancient Egypt art is anonymous. Painters and sculptors accepted the stylized traditional symbols, instead of developing their own styles. They used the main
characteristics in frescos, especially in indoor and outdoor reliefs. 2000 years before
Christ, Egyptian painters drew what they knew, rather than what they saw. Egyptian
painting is in general an art of walls and religion. However, there are works drawn on
papyrus too. The paintings of the Old Dynasty era are seen around Meydum region
and the paintings of the Middle Dynasty are seen on the walls of graves carved into
rocks around Thebes. The aim of the Egyptian wall painter is showing the most characteristic feature of the individual or object. How the individual or object should be
seen is more important than how it looks in reality. Like the primitive artist who tried
to draw figures with shapes he knows well, the Egyptian artist derived the plane figures
from taught, known models. Defects caused by the lack of use of anatomy were hidden with smooth lines. In Egypt the main form of social institutions, the cultural order
which established art with religious behaviour of the society was consciously formed
in the first one or two centuries of the long political history of the country and applied
by being maintained until the last. According to their tradition, Egyptians expressed historical events on the walls of temples and actual events and their social relations on the
walls of graves, sarcophaguses or gravestones. The traditions and mystery of religious
ceremonies had impact especially on the planning of temples and graves in architecture.
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1. INTERACTION W‹TH NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES
The ancient Egypt was located on the southeast coast of the Mediterranean Sea,
the common sea of the continents of Europe, Asia and Africa and the origin of
ancient civilizations, and within Asia Minor, together with Syria, Mesopotamia and
Anatolia, which are seen as the centre of old civilizations. The rivers of Tigris and
Euphrates helped the birth of Mesopotamia and the Nile River helped the birth of
ancient Egyptian civilization, which were the world’s first civilizations. In the course
of time, trade among civilizations allowed cultural interactions. Countries and
islands neighbouring the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea were culturally
integrated in ancient times. The western and southern coasts of Asia Minor and
Greece were lands neighbouring the same seas. Thanks to trade, migration, colonization and wars, the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas were easily passed.
Common beliefs and cultural values spread throughout the settlements on the
coasts. In the Ancient Age, artistic interaction began among civilizations visually
and formally. Besides all these, ancient Egypt influenced its neighbouring civilizations with which it communicated. The first period of interactions was experienced
at the beginning of the period, the second during the New Dynasty era and the
third one during the transition period between the Late Era and the Greek-Roman
Era.
In 3200 BC, Egyptian merchants established contact with the other side of the
desert, Mesopotamia, which was between the rivers of Tigris and Euphrates. So,
they entered the world called the Ancient Near East. The Ancient Near East includes
the present-day east Turkey and Caspian Sea in its north, Iran and Iraq towards
south and Syria, Israel, Jordan and Lebanon in its southwest. Between 3500 and 500
BC, there were big civilization centres among Near Eastern civilizations in
Mesopotamia, Palestine, Phoenicia, in the north of Palestine (present-day Lebanon),
Syria and present-day Turkey. The first dynasties and empires of the world, metal
working and constructions made of brick appeared in Mesopotamia.
Since the civilizations of the Ancient Near East had commercial and cultural relations both among themselves and with the other parts of the world, all of the developments were able to spread to Mediterranean countries and to regions beyond this
region. The term “archaic”, which had been defining the cultural development of
that era at the beginning, turned into a word describing the whole age. The Archaic
Age became a start heralding the Classical Age. Artistic relations among the civilizations of the Ancient Near East and Egypt’s neighbouring countries developed
because of their international political and cultural relations. Those relations reached
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peaks at the beginning of the history, during the New Dynasty era and during the
transition period between the Late Era and the Greek-Roman Era. Thus, a real interaction between the Egyptian art and its neighbourhood was established at the end
of the prehistoric era thanks to intense cultural relations.
During the Old Dynasty era, exploratory expeditions to the regions of Libya and
Nubia were conducted and from the 5th Dynasty on, voyages were organized to
Punt (Somalia shore), the land of incense, via the Red Sea. Egyptian merchants
organized voyages to East Mediterranean ports, Red Sea and Punt. They went to
Punt in order to look for valuable gum trees used in the production of incense.
During the Old Dynasty era, commercial relations were established with Asia
Minor and Crete; and during the Middle Dynasty era, Egyptians increased the
number of their expeditions to Palestine and Nubia. The cultural isolation of ancient
Egypt has started to end during the Hyksos Rule and reached a peak with the 19th
Dynasty. Thanks to archives found in Amarna, Hattusa and Ugarit, there are plenty of records about the diplomatic, political and cultural relations between Egypt of
the New Dynasty and the big states and city-states in Asia Minor. Traces and location names in the south and north give hints about the enlargement of Egyptian’s
horizon. Knossos, Pylos, Troia and other maritime cities of the Aegean Region
entered the world of Egyptians. In Sudan, Egyptians went up to the fourth waterfall
and encountered black people for the first time.
First Roman emperors used the cereals of ancient Egypt for strengthening their
rule and feeding Rome. When Constantinople (Istanbul) was founded in 330 AC,
they transported the cereal stocks to that city. Cereals from the ancient Egypt
allowed Istanbul to become the capital of East Roman Empire and to develop.
Therefore, the ancient Mediterranean civilization starts with Egypt.
Egyptian art is the beginning of the Western art. Egypt inevitably inspired those
who communicate with it. First, Greeks and Cretans took the Egyptian art as a
model, and later Romans imitated them.
1.1. Egyptian Effect on Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia established close relations with Egypt. As a result of those cultural and political relations, tall creatures were seen on the cylindrical seals of
Mesopotamia. Bull-human sculptures located in front of the doors of castles and
palaces as gate-keepers and guards reflect the impact of Egypt. For instance, the
door of the palace of Sargon (722-705 BC, Khorsabad; Paris, Louvre). Animal-bodied and human-headed sculptures came from Egypt. Mesopotamia developed
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The low relieves at the reconstruction of Isthar Door at Babylon
winged animal bodies. There are tall creatures on the “Narmer Palette” (Narmer was
the first pharaoh). Those creatures were seen on stone vessels, figures, reliefs and
paintings. In Hamann’s book, “Geschichte der Kunst, Altertum”, it is explained that
those figures on the vessels are relatives of Egyptian paintings. Besides ceramic and
stone vessels, there are polished and levelled metal vessels resembling the ceramic
vessels of Egypt. A big woman statue found in a grave in Tell Halaf reflects the
impact of Egyptian cubic, block figures. The eyes of the statue, which most proba101
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bly belongs to Sargon (2250 BC) or Naramsin (2233 BC) are made of glass. That tradition came from Egypt. The eyes of the Egyptian are made of glass. In Uruk too,
the glass eyes of a sculpture from the Jemdet Nasr era had been placed in the eyeholes. Similar to the Egyptian architecture, elements such as columns and front
views, symmetry and vertical placement are seen in the Mesopotamian art.
1.2. b. Egyptian Effect on Hittites
In 1265 BC, Hattusili, the king of the Hittite Empire, and the Egyptian pharaoh
Ramesses II signed the Kadesch treaty and Ramesses II married Hattusili’s daughter. The statue of Muwatalli III, the winner of the Battle of Kadesch, is a monumental portrayal of which first examples are seen in ancient Egypt. On the seal of
Hattusili, he is seen while being embraced by a god. Like Egyptians, Hittites formed
their statues according to the positions and importance of figures. Hittites took the
Kadesch Peace Treaty ( Anatolian Civilisations Museum, Ankara)
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monumental expression of animal sculptures from Egypt, however the simplicity,
lack of anatomic knowledge and proportion could not prevent the monumental
feelings. The ‘Lion Gate’ in Hattusa is an example of the belief that animals are protectors which had been transferred from the Egyptian civilization to Hittite.
1.3. Egyptian Effect on Phoenicians
It is thought that Phoenicians called themselves “Canaani” or “Cinaani”
(Canaanites). “Canaani” means “merchant” in Hebrew. Semitic people had been living in an area surrounded by Cilicia, the Red Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Syrian
steppes. Semitic people, who settled there at the end of the third millennium BC,
had been the first people of Canaan. Canaanites lived in an area surrounded by the
Orontes River, Jordanian rivers and the Mediterranean Sea. Meanwhile, Amorites
lived in North Syria. Aramaeans, a nomadic Semitic people, settled in this region
from 1200 BC on. In the following century the remaining Canaanites settled in the
coastal region: These were the Phoenicians.
In the texts of the Old Age, Phoenicians had frequently been described as powerful merchants and sea people. On the other hand, the Greeks named the
Phoenicians as “phoinikes”, which means “red people”, because of the valuable reddish violet cloths they were selling. The main cities of Phoenicians were Gebal
(Greek: Byblos. Today: Jbeil), Sidon (Today: Saida), Tyrus or Tyre (Greek: Tyros.
Today: Sur) and Beerot (Greek: Berytus. Today: Beirut). In the south, the Philistines
(a branch of sea peoples) gave their name to the region they settled in: Palestine.
Aramaeans founded small Dynastys in the eastern region up to the mountain of
Lebanon. They were people such as Hebrews, sons of Israel and Jews living in
Palestine around 1000 BC.
The country of Canaanites had a strategic importance in that era among the great
powers. One of the cities founded here was the city known as Ugarit in the Ancient
Age, which was founded as a village in 8000 BC and this city was cosmopolitan and
rich because of its special location. It had been founded as a village in 8000 BC. The
city of Ugarit, where Semitic people using a language similar to the language of
Canaanites were living, was in the sphere of influence of Egypt. Like other sites of
Canaanites, it declared loyalty to all of the empires of that time. All of the products
of the Mediterranean region were passing through that city. The Canaanite
Civilization began to live on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea from 12th century BC on. The disappearance of the naval forces of the Crete-Mycenae civilization
helped the expansion of Phoenicians. Phoenicians set out to the sea and remained
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unrivalled until the beginning of Greek expeditions in 8th century BC. These expeditions that reach Atlantic Ocean are made for the purpose of trade. So they discovered the west, founded ports and sites that were to become independent later.
In the Levant area, which is shared today among Lebanon, Syria and Israel,
Phoenicians appeared as a political and cultural power (1100 BC) and they dominated the Mediterranean Sea from 9th to 6th century BC. They founded trade centres
and colonies in Cyprus, Aegean Sea, Italy, North Africa and Spain. Most of the
coasts of North Africa turned into areas of settlement thanks to the colonies founded by East Mediterranean Phoenician cities such as Tyre and Sidon. The initial aim
of the colonization had been founding outposts a day’s sail away from each other
on the route to Spain.
The Phoenician population was not large. Therefore, they chose protected
islands against attacks or capes for settlement. The Carthaginians are a historical
people mentioned together with Romans and they had originated from
Phoenicians. One of the richest colonies founded by Phoenicians had been Sicily
and among their colonies, there is even Sardinia. That wealth and power affected
the Roman Empire and frightened them. Therefore, three big wars were fought
between Rome and Carthage within 150 years (Punic Wars). The final winner was
Rome and Carthage was reduced to ashes.
Phoenician colonies remained loyal to Phoenicia for a long time. Among them, only
Carthage turned into an independent power because of its geographical location. In
order to overcome the Greek threat, Carthage made a deal with Etruscan cities and cut
the ties between Greece and Spain with their help and expanded their trade colonies to
Asia Minor. Samal (Zinjirli) in East Cilicia and Karatepe in the Taurus Mountains were
the main Phoenician settlements in Anatolia. They continued to expand towards the
north and settled in the coasts of the Black Sea. Phoenicians settled in Bafra (a district
of Samsun province of Turkey) and established trade houses along the estuary of the
Red River. In the past, there were two bays in this region: Kumcagiz and Kumbogaz.
Phoenicians named those bays “faria” and their trade houses “bafra”.
Except Carthage, none of the Phoenician colonies turned into an important military
force. They tried to maintain their independence by paying taxes to the big powers of
their regions. They remained under the control of big Dynastys such as Hittite, Egypt
and Assyria for many years. In 538 BC, they accepted the domination of Persia. The
domination of Persia ended with the arrival of Alexander the Great. After 65 BC, the
Roman Empire declared Phoenicia to be a part of the province of Syria. Though cities
such as Arwad, Sidon and Tyre maintained their autonomy for a while, the Roman
occupation pushed Phoenicians out of the history.
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With their ships equipped with oars, Phoenicians ventured north into the Atlantic
Ocean as far as Great Britain, which was called the Tin Island, and Baltic countries,
which were called the Amber Coast. They found copper in Cyprus and Malta,
turquoise in Mafkat Peninsula (present-day Sinai) and silver in Silver Mountains
(today’s Taurus Mountains). For Phoenicians trade and exploration had the same
meanings. They used every region they explored and every settlement they founded in
order to expand their commercial activities.
Their most important foreign partner was Byblos, a city-state in Lebanon. Byblos
was a small city of old Phoenicia close to the Syrian coast. Objects of ancient Egypt
belonging to the eras of 12th and 13th Dynasties were found in the ancient cities of
Byblos and Megiddo. Byblos had trade relations with Egypt. Due to the rareness of
trees in the Nile Valley, Egyptians were giving gold, cereals and papyrus in exchange of
cedar, fir and cypress trees. Byblos was exporting Lebanese wood and Caucasian copper used for ship making to Egypt. Egyptians learned ship and glass making from
Byblos people. The rulers of Byblos used Egyptian royal titles and hieroglyphs. They
included the ceremony arrays into their culture. That is the influence of Egyptian art
continued after the New Dynasty era at the Syrian region and especially Phoenicians.
The Palestinian seal art too was influenced by it. The Uluburun Shipwreck, discovered
off the south coast of Turkey, indicates that cargo ships went directly from Crete to Nile
in the 14th century AC.
In Byblos, where a special unique alphabet had been developed, all of the eastern
languages were written, Sumerian texts were copied by scholars and scribes were translating the mythological and literary texts of the Canaanites to the Ugarit language. The
alphabet, which means a system of written symbols, originates from paintings and pictograms. In the Egyptian hieroglyph, the same system is explained with figures. The
meanings attributed to each figure were standardized and shortened concepts, and
thoughts were brought together in order to develop a form of written expression
accepted by the society. About 1500 BC, Canaanites used an Egyptian hieroglyph to
write a consonant in their language. The Phoenician alphabet is known as the first
alphabet. During their trade trips to Egypt, Byblos people adapted Egyptian hieroglyphs. In Byblos, on the sarcophagus of Ahiram, who had lived in the same time as
Ramesses II, together with reliefs of religious scenes, the oldest known Phoenician
scripts were seen. The texts were written with scripts similar to hieroglyphs which are
found upon digging the soil layer by layer. Tough only a dozen of examples remained,
some of the scripts had been directly taken from Egyptian hieroglyphs. Around 13001000 BC, Phoenician cities developed their own alphabet and spread it through the
ports they visited.
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Phoenician ships transported not only bitter Palestinian wine or purple Sidon
shirts, but also one of the first alphabets of the world from Asia to Europe.
Merchants spread the Phoenician alphabet to all corners of the Mediterranean Sea.
The scripts were transformed while passing from Egypt to Phoenicia and from
Phoenicia to Greece, and they turned into letters. The Phoenician alphabet reached
Greece approximately in 9th or 8th century BC. The Greek alphabet and consequently all Western alphabets originate from the Phoenician alphabet. The
Phoenician alphabet consisted of 22 letters. All of them were consonants and they
were written from right to left. Greek and Roman alphabets are based on Byblos
alphabet.
Transformed versions of Phoenician words such as “galer” (a galley-like ship),
“vino” (wine) and “khiton” (tunic) continued their existence with some changes and
are even used in many languages today. That indicates the existence of cultural
interactions among countries. Acting as cultural middlemen, the Phoenicians disseminated ideas, myths, and knowledge from the powerful Assyrian and
Babylonian worlds in what is now Syria and Iraq to their contacts in the Aegean.
Those ideas helped spark a cultural revival in Greece, one which led to the birth of
classical Greek civilization. The Phoenicians imported so much papyrus from Egypt
that the Greeks used their name for the first great Phoenician port, “Byblos” to refer
to the ancient paper. The name Bible or “the book” (Sacred Book) also derives from
Byblos.
The products of Egypt, in the Third Intermediate Period, reached west
Mediterranean, Carthage and Spain thanks to voyages of Phoenicians. In the Late
Period, monographs were written about Punt, Libya, Asia Minor and the Greek
world of the 1st millennium BC.
1.4. Egyptian Effect on Crete-Minosian and Mycenaean Civilizations
One of the biggest centres that influenced the Greek culture is Crete island.
Copper and turquoise from the Sinai desert and most of the goods imported from
Asia were brought to Egypt. From the big ports close to the shore, goods were transported to the Nile Delta. Merchants from different regions were buying cedar tree,
Cyprian copper, Anatolian tin and luxury and basic necessary goods from
Euphrates Valley and from Mesopotamia. Merchant ships departing from the East
Mediterranean were going to Rhodes, Crete and far Aegean islands. The remains
from the 12th and 13th Dynasties found in the palaces of Crete prove that there had
been regular relations between them.
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With regard to the art of sculpture, the primitive sculptures made from materials
such as clay, stones, bones, ivory and bronze turned into monumental works from
the 7th and 6th centuries BC on. Meanwhile, some schools flourished. Artists of the
Crete-Peloponnesus school made sculptures of monumental naked men standing
erect, under the influence of Egypt.
In the 3rd Middle Minos period (~1600-1400 BC), the relations of the Crete civilization with Anatolia weakened, while its relations with Egypt became stronger.
Egyptians were giving linen, papyrus and jewellery in exchange of olive oil, wood
and wool. Many stone utensils and tile vases unique to Egypt were found in Crete
and king names had been written on some of them. Besides the ones that are made
by drawing on a wet plaster plate and colored or worked on straight surface, there
are paintings made loyal to the techniques in Egyptian painting. One of them is the
wall paintings in the Palace of Knossos at the capital city of the Minos Kingdom.
Because of the strong ties of Crete civilization with Egypt, some features of Egyptian
paintings, for instance darker body colors of men compared to women, appears in
Wall paintings at Knossos Palace (Crete)
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Crete too. The Lion Gate also came from Egypt. Cretan paintings resemble the
primitive style of Preliminary Egyptian art. Human paintings bear the same primitive features too. As it is known, those features are the magnification of the body
and hip.
1.5. Egyptian Effect on Greek Civilization
In Egypt, the excellence of the form was of secondary importance. However, in
Greece, form was everything. In Greece, art was for the sake of art. But in Egypt, art
was only a strong tool of drawing thoughts. All of the decorative architectural elements in ancient Egypt expressed a thought. Any little ornament in Egypt architecture has a unique expression and that ornament is suitable for the thought that
enables the whole structure. On the other hand, the decorative features of Greek
and Roman temples were targeting the eyes of people, rather than reflecting any
thought. The writing and depiction separates in early ages. The Egyptian dynasties
were spread to wide periods and influenced many cultures and people. As stated by
Herodotus, Egypt had a very strong impact on the development of Greek civilization. Ancient Greeks obtained the knowledge of painting from Egypt, and created
an extraordinary artistic tradition by making their own contributions.
As Egypt became more open to the outside world in about 500 BC, the styles of
art were seen more frequently in its neighbours, particularly on the island of Crete,
which had a very advanced culture of its own. These ancient Cretans were actually
the original classical Greeks. In about 1000 BC the ancient Greek civilization was
invaded by warlike tribes from Europe, which precipitated great conflicts. The art
and architecture of these new hybrid Greeks was initially primitive and rough, but
in about 600 BC a shift occurred and these people began to build in stone and start
a civilization of their own. Where the Egyptians built colossal temples reflecting the
fact that they had just one divine ruler, the Greeks built smaller structures reflecting
their opposite thought. The real revolution in Greek art took place in the city-state
of Athens where philosophy, theatre, politics and many other forms of expression
were developed.
Greek art flourished with its interaction with the barbarians living in Attica and
Peloponnesus peninsula but still used the Egyptian rules to some extent; clear outlines and knowledge of human anatomy were very much in evidence, but the old
rules were no longer sacred. These new Greek artists began where the Egyptians
had left off, but they began to use their eyes rather than simply to follow a formula. Surviving paintings from around 600 BC (mostly in the form of pottery) show
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the Egyptian style being faithfully copied, but by around the 5th century BC the
style had changed considerably. This Greek era gave us the first example of a foot
being painted from the front view. Nothing of the kind had occurred in the previous 40,000 years of art history: it was a total revolution.
The time between 520 BC and 420 BC was one of newfound artistic freedom in
Greece where people began to be interested in art for its own sake. They began to
collect art and criticize it, comparing various styles and works. The Greek artists
paint motion as the Egyptians. At this period, the Greeks, like the Egyptians, applied
the rules of anatomy to attain the perfect human form; however the individual portrait concept did not develop at all until the time of Alexander the Great.
Some Egyptian concepts reached the Western civilization thanks to Greeks. As
the Pharaoh Psamtik I (Psammetichus) (664-610 BC) opened the doors of the country, first Greek merchants and visitors rushed into Egypt. The colossal stone structures of Egypt deeply affected Greeks. The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus in Delos
in 7th century with its two rows of columns reflects the style of Egyptian columns.
Most of the Dorian decorative elements had been developed from the wood models of early Greek period. For example, triglyphs are copies of roof girder ends that
are made of stone. However, in the roots of the empty cavettos that are cut in half
circles in some molting prints aimed for ornamentation that is unique to the Dorian
temples at the Temple of Hatshepsut at the enshrine at Deir el Bahari, the Temple
of Hera in Olympus (590 BC) and the Temple of Apollo in Corinth (540 BC) originate from Egyptian art.
The main source of the development of the Greek painting is Egypt and
Syria. Greek seamen who more actively founded colonies in this century introduces
them to the rich decorative elements of the East and they transported goods illustrated with plants, birds, lions, panthers and every other kind of animals, and
mythological creatures like gryphon and sphinx to Greece. Due to the interest of
Greeks in Egyptian objects, which were seen as a treasury of esoteric wisdom without understanding their main features, Egypt was imitated superficially.
The Egyptian art began to influence the Old Greek art probably after 660 BC,
when the first Greek merchants had arrived in Egypt and spreads through merchants from Corinthos. Around 600 BC, Egyptian effects appear in Greek sculptures. In the 6th century BC, Greeks started to use the techniques of Egyptian and
Assyrian artists. They examined Egyptian art works and imitated them. They
learned how to make sculptures of standing men and how to organize different
parts of the body and the muscles supporting those parts. The influence of Egypt
meeting Greek art by 26th Dynasty is seen much more clearly. Consequently,
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strange mixed forms appeared. As reflected by the grave of the high priest Petosiris
(approximately 320 BC) and by many monuments from the eras of Ptolemy and
Rome, Egyptian and Greek styles got mixed.
Most of the Greek sculptures we have today are copies made by Roman art collectors. They are beautiful, but they express the Greek art in a lifeless and cold manner. The persons look with empty eyes. Nothing may be more far from reality, since
the original sculptures had been taller than 10 meters, they had been made of either
bronze or wood, and they had been painted with bright colours and decorated with
gem stones. In order to produce a lively appearance, the eyes of the sculptures had
been made with gem stones and minerals.
1.5.1. Hellenistic Art
The Hellenistic period was the period between 3rd century BC and 1st century BC. In that period, the states replacing the empire of the Alexander the Great
after his death became the representatives of the new culture. Thus, the Greek
art influenced countries from Asia Minor to Egypt. Even in Iran and India, the
traces of the Greek culture can be seen. The classical style was replaced by a
pompous kingdom art. Big libraries and museums were established. Academies
defending various thoughts are established and the works of the old culture were
collected. Thus, a kind of historicism emerged. The philosophical school of
Epicurus, who died in 270 BC, was very influential. The philosophical thought
of a philosopher whose name was Stoic Zeno became prevalent as a school. The
beliefs related to old gods gradually dissolved. Works praising kings appeared
and the palace art emerged. Poets such as Callimachus, Theocritus and
Apollonius were the chief poets.
From the middle of the 2nd century on, Romans began to invade former
Greek colonies and Mediterranean countries. Corinth was annexed to Toman
land in 146 BC, Egypt in 30 BC, Syria in 64 BC, Pergamon in 133 BC,
Peloponnes, Middle Greece and Thessaly in 27 BC. Commercial and cultural
relations developed among Mediterranean countries.
During the Hellenistic Age, the Greek art was disseminated. The respect for
gods diminished. Together with kingdom, the palace culture allowed the emergence of works suiting the needs of the palace. Besides, individualistic thoughts
gained importance. Those individualistic thoughts raised the value of human
against kings and gods. As a result of the spread of the individualistic philosophical thoughts among the people, values related to the individual began to be
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reflected by art works. Thus, ideal, divine values and consequently the temple
lost importance. Big grave structures and ancient graves of humans appeared.
Sarcophaguses spread to whole of Asia Minor. Personal portrait sculptures were
made, magnificent king palaces were constructed and planned cities allowing the
organization of city life began to be established. The cultural and artistic life of
Alexandria influenced other Mediterranean countries and especially Rome.
Distinguished architectural works, sculptures, paintings, furniture and jewellery
were designed and produced by Alexandrian artisans. Though most of the handicraft works were extremely realist, strange objects difficult to understand originating from grotesque or ancient Egyptian cultures were made too.
In the Classical Age, during which the Aegean civilization reached its peak,
geometrical figures became finer and they were stylized conceptually. At the
beginning, there were no perspective and motion in the human and animal figures. But, the Hellenes initiated the three-dimensional painting art through
adding shadow and light to the two-dimensional reliefs and paintings of the
East.
Alexander the Great’s March to the East (March to Asia), allowed the fusion
of the Greek civilization and the ancient Asia Minor civilizations. That period,
during which positive and experimental sciences were developed, was influential on the emergence and development of the Islamic civilization. New cities
and cultural centres were established, while the centre was formed by
Alexandria (Egypt). The manuscripts of the era were collected in the libraries of
Alexandria and Pergamon. Alexander accepted the central kingdom and godking concept of the east. Thus, the democracy was abolished.
Greece, Iran, Mesopotamia, Egypt and Anatolia became parts of the empire
of the Alexander. In that period, positive sciences, history and philosophy developed rapidly. The rise of the cultural evolution that had started in West Anatolia
(Aegean) Region and passed to Athens and later to Alexandria, was continued by
the Islamic world between 750 and 1258 AD by Arabian, Iranian and Turkish
scientists such as Al-Farabi, Al-Biruni and Avicenna. This eastern influence initiated the formation of Renaissance in Europe that occurred in 14th and 15th centuries. Consequently, the Western world overcame the darkness of the middle
age and the dependency on church and reached the modern concept and science.
On the basis of proposals formulated on the present-day market of world views,
there was a mixture of old and new religion, philosophy and science. A big part
of today’s new knowledge is comprised of old thoughts, which originate from
ancient Egypt and partially from the Hellenistic period.
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1.6. Egyptian Effect on Etruscan Civilization
Etruscans had probably passed from Anatolia to Italy at the beginning of the first
millennium BC and had founded a great civilization. In their cities surrounded with
walls they built houses with brick walls and wood roofs, and temples. Grave architecture was very important for them and they decorated graves with reliefs and frescoes. Etruscans migrated between 1000 and 800 BC from Asia Minor to Italy. They
had strong trade relations with Greeks. Etruscan art works reflect the impact of
Greek and Egyptian traditions. The sculptures seen on the Greek sarcophaguses had
been works made in order to make the every day enjoyments and happiness of the
dead persons eternal in Egypt. The tombs found in the region named as Tarquinia
have shown that Etruscans were in relation with the cult of death like other ancient
societies. They decorated those tombs with paintings reflecting their joy of life and
belief in eternity. In the 5th century Etrusc tomb painting in Tarquinia, the life after
death is depicted. As it had been the case in ancient Egypt cult, paintings of banquets and dinners participated by the dead person were made on the tombs.
Etruscan sculptures show men and wives serving each other in happiness and love.
Furthermore, servants, musicians and other serving people as well as hunting, water
birds, fishes, coops and pantries were included in the paintings, as it had been done
by Egyptians.
1.7. Egyptian Effect on Rome
At the end of the Hellenistic age, the centre of art passed to Rome from West
Anatolia and Greece. The roots of the Roman art were formed by Italian, Etruscan
and Hellenistic art.
“The most famous mosaic found in Pompeii is a mosaic of Alexander which is
claimed to be a copy of a Greek painting made in 4th century BC. The Roman
Emperor Titus was depicted in 80 AD on a temple wall in Egypt, then one of the
states of his empire, standing and showing his mace in his right hand in a threatening manner. 3200 years earlier, one of the first rulers of Egypt, King Narmer, had been
depicted in the same pose. In the republican era, portraits made under the influence
of Egyptian and Etruscan death masks are more widespread. Those portraits, which
were made in relation with the ancestral cult and which reflected the features of the
dead person, were used during funeral ceremonies and kept in special cabinets in
houses. ‘Faiyum grave pictures, which are categorized within Roman painting art
though its examples can be found in Egypt, are very valuable in terms of art and doc112
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Etrusc tomb mural painting in Tarquina
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umentation as examples of portraits. Those portraits contain traces of the icon art of
Christian Orthodox circles. Especially the bigness of eyes is emphasized in those
paintings of which portrait characteristics are very strong” (Tansug, 2004).
“Roman Egyptians who lived between 1st and 3rd centuries AC were drawing
portraits on the mummies, as seen on the mummy of a children found in Hawara,
which is located in the north of the pyramid of Amenhotep III. Those mummies are
called Faiyum mummies” (Fagan, 2001).
In one of the examples of the Faiyum mummies, a young woman, who had died
just before her marriage, was painted with a death mask depicting her as a bride,
since it was believed that she was to marry in her following life.
With regard to sculpture, Romans collected Greek works and brought them to
their country, made collections and copied them. It was the Romans who showed
the most interest in Egyptian objects. After the annexation of Egypt in 30 BC by the
Roman Empire, antiquities were bought and exhibited in order to use as ornaments
in the streets, houses or gardens and in order to place into the temples of Egyptian
gods. A pair of sculptures in the Iseum Campense (Rome) is one of them. Romans
preferred to use strange looking objects among those unique to the Egyptian art.
That strangeness became much evident when the effects of the Egyptian art were
used by the Roman art. For instance, in the garden of Villa of Adrianus in Tivoli
which is named as “Nile Coast” or “Canopus”, there is a bust uniting the heads of
an ox and a girl. On the other hand, a sculpture of Hapi, which is displayed in the
Vatican Museum, depicts a naked man with wheat ears in his hands, a bunch of
papyrus on his head and an organ of hermaphrodites on his breast. The 16 children,
each of which is 1 cubit tall surrounding him were made in order to symbolize the
truth that a flood of Nile lower than sixteen cubits would cause famine.
All of the branches of Roman art reflected the influence of the states. Anatolia
was one of the most important states. From the 2nd millennium BC on, Anatolia
had been open to the influence of the East however, from about 1200 BC on, the
relations with the West gradually became more important and this lasts until the
end of the Roman era. The origins of present-day Western civilizations lie mainly in
Anatolia’s cultural development that began in 1200 BC and that continued long
years. In Old Rome, influences related to Egypt were first seen in the late
Republican period (1st Century BC), when Romans started to regard Isis and
Sarapis, Alexandrian gods, as divine.
A wall painting of Cleopatra with Caesar on her arms at the tomb room of
Kenamun, one of the high bureaucrats of Amenhotep II.
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Roman emperor Julius Caesar had a golden statue of Egyptian Queen Cleopatra
put to the temple of Venus Genetrix, who was accepted as the mother of the Julius
family. Because of this statue, Romans reconciled the Egyptian queen with goddesses of Isis and Venus. There were many places on the Mediterranean coasts of
Anatolia named as Cleopatra. For instance, there is the Cleopatra mud in Black
Island in Bodrum and Cleopatra beach in Gokova. But the most famous one is the
Cleopatra Gate in the Tarsus district of the Icel province. Cleopatra came to Tarsus
with her ship decorated with golden ornaments and violet satin sails and is together with Antonius. They celebrate their relation. Cleopatra, made herself described
on the coins she stroked in the form of Isis or Afrodit, with Caesorion in her arms
described in his turn as Horus-Eros. Besides she has them make reliefs on the
Mammisi’s walls, the temple of maternity on the Dandera Mount near Thebes, that
was representing Caesorion’s birth. On these reliefs, Cleopatra in the shape of
Goddess Isis is shown giving birth to Caesorion in front of the deities led by Amun,
the god.
After she died, the last traditional representative of ancient Egypt, the Ptolemy
Dynasty ended and Egypt turned to be a Roman province. On Roman coins, it is
written that Egypt is conquered. Romans are influenced by the Egyptian culture
which is very high and old and Horus, the Egyptian god with falcon head would be
depicted in Roman emperors’ garments. Even Octavianus was represented in a statue wearing typical pharaoh clothes. In short, if Roman emperors are commented as
deities according to the empire cult, this may be connected to the Hellenistic influence and to Alexander the Great.
1.8. Coptic Art after Christianity
Emperor Iustinianos closed down Isis Temple in Philae (the last paganistic centre inherited by Christian Egypt) by 6th Century AD, an act that symbolized the
shutting down of a civilization accepted as the oldest in the world. After an existence of three thousand years Ancient Egypt adopted Christianity or Coptism
under Byzantine rule by 395 AD. Coptics and other Christians would be splitted
after the council of Khalkedon (today Kad›koy of Istanbul) in 451 and Coptic
Church follows its own pope, Dioscorus and names itself as Orthodox.
First collectionners came to visit Egypt in the late 16th and early 17th centuries,
among which should be mentioned Pietro della Vale who returned to Italy in 1626
together with old mummies and a collection of Coptic manuscripts. The letters
were written in Egyptian language but with its latest form and the Greek alphabet,
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what would be kept in the church rituals of the Egyptian Coptics till today. Coptic
language uses the Arabic alphabet, and Arabic speaking people are able to analyze
these manuscripts too. Athanasisus Kirchner (1602-1680) who had contributed
considerably to uncover the hieroglyphs and created many works on Ancient
Egypt, also wrote his first book in Coptic language. This language would serve as
a basis for discovering out the hieroglyphs, two hundred years after.
Arabians used to call the Christian population of Egypt Coptic. According to a
Coptic inscription, the Greeks called the Egyptians who circumcised their children
“coptos”, that is “cut off”. Today there exist similarities between Coptic-Christian
beliefs and those of ancient Egyptians. Coptic period from the adoption of
Christianity to the birth of Islam in the 7th century was one during which traditional Egyptian thought and beliefs survived under Christian patterns. Coptic art
is both related to the late dynasties under the Hellenistic-Roman styles and to
Islamic art. In the beginning there was an obvious impact of the local and
Hellenistic art. The themes were mostly paganistic.
By late 4th century began the use of themes and forms of the Christian culture.
As a result Coptic art is in fact the ancient Egyptian art within a Christianized form
and the word “Coptic” is often used in Egyptian texts on behalf of the word
“Christian”. With the victory by Isis and her son Horus over Seth, the devilish
would be transformed to Saint Georgios who killed the dragon; the god Toth to
Saint Michael; and ankh, the symbol of the immortality to the cross. Hipostils, the
multi-column halls of the Egyptian temples affected the Christian basilica architecture as in the case of Greek temples. Basilicas in Hermopolis Magna and in Abu
Mina, in the south-western side of Alexandrapolice are typical early examples of
this kind of constructions. Coptic column capitals generally date of early roman
age, and they have often leaves and spirals forming baskets and ornamented with
flower motives.
Coptic painting took its themes from the Bible. One is Jesus Christ’s entrance
to Jerusalem. Paintings were rather naive and the main figure was presented in
front view and secondary elements and animals in profile. Especially the Coptic
tomb steles were quite similar with those of ancient Egypt’s late dynasties, as to
the motives and applications. Isis themes were kept, also were used Kerubi
descriptions and they were mostly with a pigeon on the hand and a bunch of
grape on the other. Painting witnessed a considerable progress, fresco technique
very widely in use. Monasteries, churches, chapels and houses were painted in live
colours, and the walls were surrounded with decorative borders most of the time.
Icons also were intensely used during the Coptic period. These works that generally depicted saint figures were surely related with ancient Egypt but much clos117
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er to the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) icons. They were often painted in brown or
red colours with tempera technique, and sometimes in purple or green. We
observe till the 6th century, in the icons from Lower Egypt, with the inspiration of
Alexandriapolice philosophical school that Jesus Christ was represented as an old
sage. However in the works from the Upper Egypt Jesus was a Nubian, following
the ancient traditions of Egypt and this practice is even reflected on the figures.
Composition design was affected of ancient Egypt as for example in the icon
(Louvre) describing Menna the monk (the founder of Bawit monastery in the
Middle Egypt) and Jesus together. In this icon, the yellow coronas over the head,
referring to the sun rising from the mountains, what was typical of ancient Egypt
is seen. Coptic traces may be observed in that the figures were shorter and the big
eyes drawn separately from each other.
Manuscripts form another critical group in the Coptic art. The oldest one dates
of the 3rd century, when Christianity entered Egypt. These new manuscripts were
different from the previous works done in ancient Egypt and very helpful to learn
the pronunciation of the language and inspiring Western books and manuscripts
with high quality and wide-range miniatures. Mummification was still kept.
The daughter of Ramesses II called Merytamun
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V. Bölüm
LASTING
INFLUENCES OF
ANCIENT
EGYPT
A
ncient Egypt has always drawn the attention of Europeans and has been a
source of inspiration from Greek Hekataios who lived in Miletos in the 6th century BC (his book was lost) to a great many of authors till today. Termination
of the ancient Egypt civilization in the late Roman period had also become the ending of
the contemporary studies; Egypt was remembered with its monuments throughout the
middle ages and especially with its pyramids. The pilgrims who happened to go to the
holy lands mostly visited Egypt in order to see the places related with the regions where
Christ stayed. Even it was believed that the pyramids were the depictions of the grain
depots of the Prophet (Joseph) which was narrated in the Holly Book. As Theodosius I,
Eastern Roman Emperor banned temple visits and killing animals as a sacrifice in 391 AD,
he also issued the imperial edict which caused all the polytheistic temples to be closed
down throughout the Dynasty including the temples in the ancient Egypt. Just three
years after such imperial edict, in 394 AD, the Egyptians engraved the last epitaph known
to be written with hieroglyph in the Philae temple which was in the close vicinity of the
city of Aswan today. This last temple in the Philae Island which was deemed as the holy
Firavun Tutankhamon’un büstü
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place of Goddess Isis as from the earliest ages in ancient Egypt remained open even
though the imperial edict of the Theodosius I which banned the worshipping to Osiris
and Isis was in force. However it was closed down by the command of Iustinianos I in
551 BC not to be opened ever again. Here, the Egypt hieroglyph was buried down into
the darkness of unintelligibility. Thus, the civilization of ancient Egypt had to remain in
the darkness for centuries.
The historian Herodotus and the geographer Strabo wrote their impressions from
their Egypt excursions and a few classical authors were interested in Egypt culture.
The influence of Egypt’s high culture to the West had been the exceedingly exaggerated serials of images as from the late antique era. The Romans who did not have authentic
cultural roots adopted Greek and Hellenistic culture, art and architecture and transferred it
throughout the empire and to their capital city. As the middle years of the 4th century, a
great many obelisks, two pyramids and a wide variety of statutes were brought to Rome.
The Romans were influenced by the obelisks in the empire period and by transporting
such obelisks into the country honoured their commanders who had won victories. These
monumental figures which embellished the squares of the city of Rome dragged a miserable existence for hundreds of years after the fall of Rome; however they were erected in
the squares and in front of the cathedrals for the glory of the Papacy along with the renaissance this time by being lifted up where they were found. The grand mosaic and obelisks
of which the expenses were incurred by one of the ruler from the Ptolemy’ in the second
century BC were among the booties that Augustus brought to Rome from Egypt.
Egypt was in a position of being a part of Western culture for a long time. The world
was fascinated by the magic of old mystical Egypt civilization well beforehand. Religious
cults of Egypt were accepted and in the course of time (especially in the period of Emperor
Caracalla) were incorporated into the institutionalism of religion. The Romans were influenced by the mystery of Isis at all times. The gods of Egypt pantheon would also continue their existence in the middle Ages in spite of the endeavours of the Fathers of the
Christian Church intended to prevent from mentioning Egypt.
Two sphinxes which are found at Saint John Lateran Church in Rome were placed
there in 1222-1224. The first archaeological findings in Egypt dates back to circa 1460. A
statue of Antonius was found among the ruins of Hadrian’s villa. Antonius was a friend
of Emperor Hadrian who was drowned in the Nile; Egypt features were used in the construction of his villa in Tivoli, encouraged Isis cult and caused Antonius to be portrayed
as a god. After a short span of time artist Pinturiccio used Egypt god Apis bull in the decoration of Borgia apartments in Vatican and caused Apis to become the symbol of the
good luck of Pope Alexandre XI. Archeological findings have been backings for the artists
which they have always referred to throughout the history.
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As there is an old story which presents Isis as one of the goddesses of old Galia it was
also asserted that pagan Frankish kings worshipped Isis. There was a temple in the region
where Saint Germain-des Prés church is located at the present time which is alleged to be
constructed in the name of Isis and Isis (although it went through a big etymological corruption) has a connection with the founding of Paris. 14th century Italian author
Boccaccio in his work called genealogical tree of the pagan kings Isis of Egypt and Io of
Greek who was the young girl transformed into a cow by Zeus for the purpose of protecting her from the jealousy of his wife Hera within one other. Poetic thoughts included
Isis into the evangelic world and French author Christine de Pisan in the early years of the
15th century used Isis as the allegory of the pregnancy of the Virgin. Here, Isis is a messenger who has come from pre-Christianity periods, from very far distances.
The symbol which Leon Battista Alberti used in his works in the years between 1404
and 1472 was narrated in the classical texts in which the abstract concepts of hieroglyphs
were portrayed in a symbolically and universally apprehensible manner. This is one of the
first adaptations of such thought and is a symbol of the doctrine that God knows everything. The symbolic usage of hieroglyphs was improved in the course of time. In 1586
Vatican obelisk started to be re-examined in front of the St. Peter church. And the first
studies about the ancient Egypt were published.
The increasing interest of the Renaissance researchers directed towards ancient ages is
not limited to Greek and Rome. This is seen in the frescoes which were made for the
Antonius statue called the Fire in Borgo in Vatican by Raphael. The decoration of the
“Arms Pavilion” at Fontainebleau Palace in France was completed by Rosso Fiorentino in
1530; however, it is seen that the artist was largely inspired by the same statue of the
Hadrian’s friend. It is observed that five years later the building which is known as Batie
d’Urfe and that was built by diplomat Cladue d’Urfe was decorated with sphinxes. Five
years later from this event the ceiling of the Loggia Museum in Mantua’da Palazzo del Te
is decorated with hieroglyphs by Giulio Romano and his students. In 1559, the Bembine
Table which was left from the 1st century BC is found. The bronze table which was decorated with hieroglyphs is impressive by its design richness. In 1586 it was transported to
its current location in front of the Grand San Pietro basilica at the Vatican Hill. Lastly, in
1589 an Egyptian obelisk which was at Arena Maximus in Rome was erected to Piazza
del Popolo. Among them there are also lions and sphinxes which were reproduced from
Rome’s statutes and sphinxes. Some of them maintained their visible positions throughout the medieval age.
Francesco Collonna’s conspicuous work Hypnerotomachia Polifili (1499) has become
the essential source of those interested in Ancient Egypt. The fact that Cardinal Pompeo
Collona had made Egypt inspired printer’s flowers to be cast on the cover of the book
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inappropriately also determined the main source of the book. In the 16th century, in the
writings about emblems, hieroglyphs are mentioned. At the end of this century, Italian
humanist and researcher Pierio Valerio made a weird attempt in his work titled
Hieroglifica sive de Sacris Aegyptiorum Literis Comentarii in order to solve the mystery
of the hieroglyphs. He was followed by German priest Anthanasius Kirchner who wrote
at least ten books concerning obelisks and hieroglyphs between the years 1636 and 1678.
Edipus Aegypticatus (1652) is important among Kirchner’s studies.
The interest in Egypt was extremely upsurge as from 17th century. In France, in the
palace of Louis XIV shows, performances and bales which embrace characters of
pharaoh’s cosmology were being exhibited. When Lully and Quinault’ Isis opera was first
exhibited in 1671 it was also bearing a meaningful witness for such tendency. In 1666, a
person who was called Father Menestrier characterized Egyptian stories and such fashion
as detrimental things. In Rome, sculpture Bellini used a page which he approximately
quoted literally from the book of Francesco Collonna in design for a marble elephant statue which carries an obelisk found in the excavations of the Isis temple at Campo Marzio.
Bellini was going to make this sculpture at Piazza Santa Maria Sopra and the excavation
was carried out by Bellini’s student Ercole Ferrata. The French sculpture Lespafnandel
made a woman sphinx in 1664 for the gardens in Fontainebleau. A similar sphinx which
was made by Louis Lerambert in 1665 was placed to Orangeries in Versailles.
Approximately in 1680 sphinxes which have woman breasts were placed at the entrance
of the Fieubert Hotel in the Paris Celestin Wharf. The usage of Egypt elements and features in architecture was incrementally becoming widespread step by step.
Ancient Egypt became an inspiration source to Mozart, Goethe and Romantics. It was
referred to its sources as a bibliography during the great encyclopaedic studies in the 18th
century. In 1731 decors were made for Dinglingler’s Apis Bulls and in 1760 Piranesi made
decors for Caffe Inglese in Rome. J. Terrasson’s novel named Sethos 1731 was written
also by being inspired from Egypt. Piranesi’s Egypt style using vast dimensions found
repercussions among French and English architects. All of these were among the influences of Egypt on the European Fine Arts.
1. REDISCOVERING ANCIENT EGYPT
The Egypt objects could be seen throughout the middle ages; the discovery of the classic texts about Egypt raised the interest of Egypt among the humanists. During the
Renaissance, emergence of the works, which were copied from the big church in Civita
Castellana and in the meantime the discovery of the classic texts about Egypt also
increased the interest among the humanists. Egypt had a big impact on Erasmus of
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Rotterdam and Johannes Reuchlin, too. During the whole 19th century, the philosophers
like Goethe, Hegel and Schopenhauser were interested in the East.
18th century became a stage for high interest aimed at exotics and Egypt came up to
a place among Chinese and Turkish elements. Pyramids, obelisks and sphinxes became
the standard elements of architecture and garden design. In the beginning of 1730’s, fashion of Chinese-English gardens became widespread. This fashion was generally about
adding Egyptian style into an atmosphere which was under inspiration of Japanese art,
Gothic wreckages and of course the Chinese architecture. Pyramids started to become
widespread across Europe: Charles Bridgman in 1739 in England, Stow, Charles Cameron
in Russia near one of the Tsarskoye gardens in St. Petersburg (1770-1780) and on
Cemetery Road in Wilhelmahöle near Cassel in Germany (1775), Louis Carrogis
(Carmentelle) at the Duke of Chartres’ mansion in Monceau in France (1779) constructed pyramids and the last one was encircled with an obelisk. François de Monville and
François Barbier designed a pyramid shaped glacial house in Retz Desert (1774-1784).
The Project designed by Jean-Baptiste Kleber (a revolutionary general who went to Egypt
in the army of Bonaparte) in 1787 for Montbéliard princes’ “Parc d’Etupes” consisted of a
little Egyptian Temple with typical corrugated cornices, a winged sun-disc and fake hieroglyphs. After a short span of time, Dubois the Elder designed an Egyptian Temple for
Monsieur Dave Louis’ park at Soisy-sous-Etiolles in France. In England, Charles Tahtam
drew the plans of a winter garden which was in a form of an Egyptian Temple.
This comprehensive collection which was full of passion for Egypt gave an opportunity to know the Egyptian construction from first hand. The Antonious statue which was
discovered in 1460 was added to the Greek Chamber in Vatican, in 1780. After two years,
a chamber was opened at Villa Borghese in Rome and the first works that were brought
from Egypt were presented to the public opinion in an affected Egyptian ambience.
German Neoclassical artist Anton Raphael Mengs became the initiator of this kind of decoration in the years between 1772 and 1776 by adorning the Papyrus Room in Vatican
with sphinxes, lions, mummies and hieroglyphs. After 1775, French architect CharlesNicolas Ledoux developed designs which were directly brought from Egypt for factories
and workshops. Even the funeral architecture of Egypt influenced the imaginative power
of the architects of enlightenment. In this context, Michel-Ange Slodtz made a pure
Baroque styled obelisk which was in pyramid shape in memory of Bishop Armand de
Montmorin who was a member of the Saint-Maurice Church Chorus in Vienna. This
work had also become a source of inspiration for other monuments. During his Italy trip
(1779-1784), Louis-Jean Desprez drew imaginary mausoleums that owed a great deal to
the influences of the Egyptian funeral art. The mausoleum which was made by Joseph
Bonomi in 1794 for The Count and Countess of Buckinghamshire was a pyramid also
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with classical style entrances. Etienne Louis Boullee had tried to develop an Egyptian
styled “cenotaph” which consisted of a pyramid with steps and he had adorned the sarcophagus shaped “a cenotaph for a warrior” with Antinous fringe. Finally on August 10th
of 1792, a pyramid was built up at Gardens of Tuileries in memory of the people who
died at the rebellion which caused the dethroning of XVI. Louis and the victim heroes of
the day which were carrying the seal of French Monarchy were honoured.
At the end of the Renaissance, especially with the establishment of the trade centres
just after the trips of Pietro Della Vale and Paul Lacas, the knowledge about the Egyptian
works were saved of being limited only to the ones that had been brought before. English
Astronomer John Greve visits Egypt between 1738 and 1739 and carries out one of the
first research studies about the pyramids. In 1721 French Claude Sicard, who went on an
Egypt trip identified the city of Thebes with the City of Hundred Gates of Homer.
Frederic Ludwig Norden, who went to Nile Valley in 1737, published his book Egypt and
Nubia Trip which he embellished with many drawings in 1741. Richard Pococke’s important work named Description of the East, which was published between 1743 and 1746,
consists of detailed monument descriptions and especially information about the Zodiac
at the Temple of Dendera. Studies in the field of art history also emerged: In 1764 German
art historian and the leader of neo-classism, Johann Winckelmann, published his book
“History of ancient Art” which had been a ground for the consequent developments and
in 1785 Quartremere de Quincy, with his essay titled “Egyptian architecture and the
Greek Heritage” won the prize of “Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres” in France.
Constantine François Chasseboeuf Volney’s geographical and political study “Egypt and
Syria Trip” was published in 1872. Claude Etienne Savary, who was an eminent Koran
translator, narrated his Egypt trip in 1776 in his book “Letters from Egypt” and he also portrayed the sceneries of Egypt and Arabian life style. The book achieved a great reputation
in the period between 1785 and 1786.
The old monuments were firstly depicted in a certain part of the Count ChoiseulGouffier’s book (1799) named “A Picturesque Trip in Syria”. Although this work was
mostly related with history, the person who started the fashion trend in the picturesque
was also the same person who is mentioned hereinabove. The book which was first published in 1782 but which was not completed by 1804 yet included 180 illustrations prepared by Jean Baptiste Hilair.
Art follows the scientist. Playwright Mattheson wrote Cleopatra in 1704. In 1731,
Abbe Terrasson wrote his long novel Sethos; eight years later the same theme was going
to be reworked up from Alexandre Tannevot’s pen as a poem. In 1737 Handel composed
Israel oratorio in which the events take place in Egypt, in 1751 French composer JeanPhillipe Rameau created his work of art “The birth of Osiris”. Rameau had used one of
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the works of the choreographer Cahusac. The work of the composer who wrote
“Virginity and Love’s Feast or the Gods of Egypt” which was a ballet based on Eastern
themes was exhibited in Versailles in 1747. In 1791 Italian composer Sebastiano Nasolini
wrote the opera “The Death of Cleopatra”. “The Magic Flute” opera by Mozart was also
embracing the cults and rituals of ancient Egypt. There was an Egyptian pyramid at the
second section of the scenes which were designed by Gayl and Nessthaler even though
such pyramid’s appearance was not a very striking one.
The terracotta art works made by the French sculpture Clodion between the years
1775 and 1780 which embrace Egyptian figures shall be mentioned in the field of art and
design. The interior world of aristocracy was captured by the work of arts and articles of
Egypt. The apartments of the Queen Marie-Antoinette were also embracing the samples
of this new cult; there were sphinxes in her bedroom in Versailles and in the living room
in Fontainebleau. Jean-Baptiste Sene made pieces of furniture ornamented with sphinx for
the salon of palace in the Saint-Cloud. There had been also others who were seized by
the desire to reveal such mystique and melancholy figures from sand desert. In 1786
Charles III, King of Spain requested an Egypt room to be constructed for “Esorical” in the
vicinity of Madrid from Jean-Demosthene Dugourc; on the other hand British Josiah
Wedgwood also designed ceramics which would satisfy the requirements of Egyptian
fashion.
The pioneer of the design which is under the inspiration of Egypt is definitely the
Italian graphic artist Gianbattista Piranesi. “Diverse manieri d’adornare i camini” of
Piranesi is a collection of designs for interior spaces and was published in 1769 in Rome.
This study had been the principle catalogue of Egyptian style for Europe. It contains carvings, religious scenes, hieroglyph tags, mythological characters, divine animals including
crocodile and hawk, domed earthenware, may bugs and surely the sphinxes. Nine years
later the artist succeeded to use the Egyptian aesthetic in the designs that he made for
Caffe delgi Inglesi which was opened at Piazza di Spagna in Rome. The visitors who look
at the painted walls perceive themselves as if they immersed in the rich view of Egypt.
This view consists of pyramids, obelisks, graves and column ruins. The contemporaries
made comments concerning that the said place was depressing.
As from the end of the 18th century, “Egyptomania” became established. Its existence in the painting though prudent was yet not superficial. Up to the 17th century, the
suicide of Cleopatra was the only connection of the historical painting art with Egypt (suicide scene was the alternative of Lucretias’s numerous knife strokes). The artists gradually needed to establish more direct and individual links with ancient Egypt. French painter
Nicolas Poussuin used a special sphinx to draw a more authentic picture of Moses.
English painter William Hogarth, while drawing the salvation of Moses from river Nile,
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took a further step and used a mummified crocodile, a pyramid and a sphinx, and used
hieroglyphs as decoration in the painting.
However, as in examples of Joseph Vernet’s Port with Pyramid (Castle with Pyramid,
1751) and Nicolas de Larguillere’s Portrait of Madame Berton with her son, BalthazarBruno, most of the artists’ implications were scattered around. Egyptian components, as
a rule, were stepped in as an archaeological nostalgia, a melancholy which was inspired
by ancient ruins. Hubert Robert’s work named as The Fountain which embraced an
Egyptian woman, a lion and sphinx covered with hieroglyphics, a work of art called
Classical Ruins (1798) including a broken obelisk, pyramids and a sphinx which also
belong to the same painter can be given as examples. The most strange of him is the
painting that depicted the peasants by the fountain with a view of Italy. The painter
embraced a lion figure which converted the fountain located in the far provinces of Italy
into carved design.
When Napoleon conquered Egypt in 1798, interest towards Egyptian civilization in
many countries increased. In 1798, when Napoleon Bonaparte, took an army into Egypt,
with an objective to attack the English's route to India, brought more than a hundred and
fifty scientists and artists with him. These officers among whom there were painters,
architects, astronomers, mathematician and historians, after a close examination, contributed to the rediscovery of Egypt in Europe. A soldier in the Napoleon’s army while
digging a trench discovered an inscribed stone. This was the first sample of hieroglyphics. The commander of the soldier kept the Rossetta stone. This famous stone was
acquired by English afterwards and placed in the British Museum in London. Western scientists also went to Egypt. Archaeologists, linguists, historians, picture and statue experts,
literature researchers examined ancient Egypt and it’s newly appearing works thoroughly. During the consecutive excavations, pharaohs’ treasures, mummies, plastic art works,
historical and literary texts, ornaments and tools were found. Most of these findings were
grabbed up by London, Paris, Turin, Leiden, Berlin and later by American museums.
Egyptian art was not known by the Western world until Napoleon’s military expedition to Egypt. When Napoleon conquered Egypt in 1798, attraction towards Egyptian civilization in many countries raised. Napoleon brought France’s best known scientists to
Egypt together with the army in 1788-89. In the beginning, the painters went to East generally for drawing topographic pictures and to document the military victories. Long term
interest towards East increases either by the excursions of the painters or by the odd
objects and animal figures either used to astonish the audiences or for the purpose of decoration. Orientalist painters drew paintings about Egypt. The artists gained experience
about the other cultures thanks to their voyages and used them in their works. Some converted these accumulations into eclectic forms, whereas the others made effort to turn
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back to the source of the human soul, myths, symbols and the magical function and the
ritual of the art.
During 20th century, the characteristic of Orientalism was also changed. In the beginning, the painters went to East generally for drawing topographic pictures and to document the military victories. After Napoleon’s Expedition to Egypt, French artists were
appointed to foreign countries with political assignments. In 1830, Horace Vernet was
sent to Algeria to document the wars which caused the French occupation of Algeria.
Delacroix joined the diplomatic visit of Comte de Mornay, to enter into agreement with
the Sultan of Morocco.
Another substantial factor which had an influence on the art environment of the 19th
century was surely the improvement in the travelling conditions when compared with the
past times. With the increase of railways and steam vessels, tours to the holly lands and
to Egypt were started which were organized by Thomas Cook. For most of the traveler,
Turkish land was the starting point.
The medal box and the pylon pictures in the book of scientist Vivant Denon who participated in the French occupation to Egypt were also made by the influence of ancient
Egypt. Vivant’s work was used as a source for the book named Description of Egypt. The
work of Vivant becomes the rich source of the book The Description of Egypt. In 1809,
French scientists and historians prepared the first scientific work related to Egypt: this was
“Description of Egypt” in 19 volumes. This principal work constituted a source for the
works of Delacroix, Byron and Lamartine, regarding the East, during a period when the
romantic trend had made the past and East fashionable again.
In 1822, following Champollion’s decoding of the hieroglyphics; Western world was
introduced to Egypt again and the Western scientists rushed to Egypt. They discovered
the ancient Egypt by the help of recently found work of arts, historical and literature texts,
ornaments and tools. Most of these findings were kept by London, Paris, Turin, Leiden,
Berlin and later by American museums. Decoding of the hieroglyphics, development of
Egyptology as a science and constituting large collections in the European and American
museums, maintained the continuity of the interest towards Egypt. Some art events that
had occurred from time to time flared up this interest: the opening of Egypt Hall in
London Crystal Palace in 1854 can be shown as an example. This exhibition of the reproductions of Egypt’s well-known monuments later constituted a source of inspiration for
the Egypt Garden with pyramid shape trimmed plants which was built in Biddulph
Grange. It was the continuation of the Egypt Garden which was constructed by Angelo
Querini in the Villa of Altichiero in Padua during the 18th century and the Egyptian colonnade which was built by Canina in 1827 in the Borgia gardens. Detailed drawings of the
Egyptian temples, especially the ones which were constructed during the Greek-Roman
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period with exaggerated cornices and embroidered columns, constituted models for the
architects and they were imitated in a way which was different from the one suggested
by Piranesi.
Napoleon’s decorators Percier and Fontaine became the pioneers of the trend called
“Egyptiennerie”. This movement was expanded in the Continental Europe during the thirty years of a period following the French occupation to Egypt by Thomas Hope and others to England. In the decorative arts, Egyptian style was not exceeded beyond the usage
of some motifs as ornaments. Some works of art appeared as the identical imitations of
the Egyptian objects.
In 1922, the tomb of King Tutankhamun of the XVIIIth Dynasty and in 1925, the
tomb of Queen Heteferes of the IVth Dynasty was found. Discovery of the tomb of
Tutankhamun in 1922, led the appearance of a new movement which imitated the
Egyptian art, however, monumental architectural concept was only used in manufacturing during this century. The huge Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, which was designed
by Grauman is the biggest among them. The influence of Egypt can be perceived in architecture as well. Egyptian style was adopted as appropriate for the construction of mighty
monumental and tomb structures. In Europe and America, Egyptian style was utilized in
constructing court buildings, jails, factories, stations, bridges, churches and cemeteries: for
example Alberobello Cemetery in South Italy.
1.1. Empire Style
Interpreting the styles of the ancient centuries was a trend which appeared during the
period of Louis XVI. The style was improved to a dominating extent by the effect of Louis
David during the revolution. The continuing war during the period of Napoleon, led the
conversion of the decorative elements into military emblems. It was also possible to
observe the stability of the central authority. In 1812, Fontaine published an interior decoration magazine which included all the articles related with furnishing containing ivory
chairs, lamps with Greek lantern supported by a handle which rises on three squat
pedestals, monumental lamps with colonnade appearance.
Ancient Egypt style was perceived in the interior decoration studies and in the furniture designs of the French architectures Charles Percier and Pierre Fontaine who designed
the furniture of the private apartments of Napoleon. These architectures made a great
contribution in the creation of empire style. They compiled their opinions and views in
book named Recueil de decorations interieures (between 1801 and 1812; Collection of
Interior Decoration). During the reign of the empire style the powerful curiosity for
archaeology caused the types of classical furniture and accessories to be replicated. The
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military expeditions of Napoleon to Egypt caused the Egyptian adornment features to be
also added to such replications. Mahogany coated gilded brass crests took the shape of
the stools and tables in the ancient Rome, Greek and ancient Egypt. The designs in the
fields in where the classical samples did not exist were colored generally with the historical adornments which evoked the emperorship period of Napoleon in a symbolical manner. For example, winged victory symbols, laurels, bees, grain sheaves, horns symbolizing fertility, sphinxes and axes symbolizing conquest were used.
1.2. Art Noveau
Art Nouveau, being an authentic style, first appeared during the beginning of 1880’s
in England in the fields of weaving and book pictures. Art Nouveau which reflects the
spiritual searches of the modern world that came into existence by the motivation of the
developing technology and moreover, the confusion of the mankind against the power of
industry, by opposing to the traditional concept of art, while trying to find out new ways
of expression and application fields, it was inclined to Japanese art as well as to the exotic arts and the Gothic history of the Europe. By highlighting decoration and ornamentation in the creations where soft, agile and curly lines were dominating, it tended to adopt
an industrial based style. Colourful work of arts which were targeted to be unusual are
very important in terms of communicational power. In its origin, the signs of the curly
lines in the Blake’s work of arts, Beardsley's concept of aesthetics, Rusk’s theories, and W.
Morris's movement of Arts and Crafts and Ancient Egypt existed. In 1883, for the first
time thin and long curves were used in the cover of Mackmurdo’s book, Wren’s City
Churches. This style especially appeared in the field of practical arts, like architecture,
interior decoration and the design of small articles. "Art Nouveau" which gave important
samples in the glass made typography, textile designs and in all the fields in the jewellery
and metal works also showed itself in graphical arts. It was also reflected in the art of
painting to a certain extent. Basic characteristics of this style, is the herbal figures with naturalist curves instead of the formalized shapes. The new style based on the curls making
connotations of herbs and flowers.
Art Nouveau is known also as the “New Art” or shortly as “Style 1900”. The style
which had a far reaching influence primarily on the graphical design, illustration, and
practical arts and later on architecture, interior design and furniture in Europe between
1880 and 1910, was born as a reaction against the eclecticism of the 19th century and the
monotony of the industry which kills the art. Art Noveau, which keeps the romantic, individualistic and aesthetic values in the foreground, receives its subjects from the nature.
Natural forms like flower stems, buds, grapevine sprouts and transparent insect wings
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were stylized by thinning and elongating and such forms were used in an asymmetric
order.
This outstanding trend, which was materialized in the architecture and decorative arts,
from the middle of the 19th century, although gave its major works of art on the architectural and interior design fields, was also applied by the painters. Main representatives
of the trend are the architects like Victor Horta (1861-1947), Hector Guimard (1867-1942),
Antonio Gaudi Y Corret (1852-1926) and Josef Hoffman (1870-1960) together with the
principal painters and designers like Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) who has a unique decorative erotic style supporting the rhythm of the lines with colours, Jan Toorop (1858-1928),
and Aubrey Vincent Beardley (1872-1898), a graphical stylist having striking designs. The
works of Antoni Gaudi Y Corret, who was on of the major architects guiding the architectural trends of the 20th century, are considered to be the most unique examples of this
trend. Many artists, who were associated with Art Noveau movement, had simple yet
flowing styles and separate and specific approaches in processing the furious forms.
Art Noveau, was developed in two different directions, one of them was the decorative inclination in England, Belgium and France, whereas the other one was the geometric tendency in Scotland and Austria. In architecture, it flourished basically on surface and
decoration relations rather than the planning. Major characteristics are the elegant iron
parapets, doors, balconies and colored ceramics on the window and surface decoration,
stained glass, terracotta panels and stone wiping. During the late periods, façade decorations were used in a way that kept the structural components in the foreground. (For
example, Mackhintosh's Glasgow Art School, 1898-1909) or the entire building was
formed like a statue (e.g Van De Velde's Werkbund Theatre in Koln, 1914, and Gaudi's
Mila Apartment in Barcelona, 1905-1910).
Mackintosh and Voysey constructed the country house in England by shaping it in an
interior towards exterior manner which had passed far beyond the surface decoration
concept of Art Nouveau and thus brought an innovation to the locality shaping of the
plan. The major representative of the movement in Scotland was Mackintosh, who went
down in architectural history with the interior localities materialized together with his
wife Margaret Macdonald, and especially with famous tea halls of Cranston. Besides,
glassworks of H. J .Powell, vases of William Arthur Smith Benson (1839-1917), binding
covers of Cobden Sanderson, are the outstanding examples of the movement in England.
The movement of Art Nouveau, which became prevalent in Belgium in 1890’s, was
presented by the exhibitions of the Twenties Group here of which Ensor and Van de
Velde were also the members. Other artists who also adopted this style in graphics were
One of the Helsinki’s Railway Station example of Art Noveau
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Fernand Khnopff (1858-1921) and Georges Lemmen (1865-?). Horta’s famous residential structure Hotel Tassel (1892-93), the community centre of Labour Party Maison du
Peuple (1896-99) and Hotel Solvay (1895-1900), as well as Paul Hankar's (1859-1901) residents in Belgium (1893-1900) were the major examples of Art Nouveau movement in
Belgium. Willem Kromhout (1864-1940), Th. Sluyterman (1863-1931) and L.A.H Wolf
were the principal representatives of the movement in Netherlands. In France, the term
Art Nouveau was first used in Paris in 1896, by the gallery named Maison del'art nouveau
which was founded by Siegfried Bing, exhibiting such sort of products. Guimard's
designs for a few station entrances of Paris metro (1897-98), six storey apartment Castel
Beranger (1894-98) on the road La Fontaine, interior designs of Charles Plumet (18611928), Lalique's jewellery, Galle’s glassworks, and the furniture of Louis Majorelle (18591929) were the most considerable examples of the movement in France. One of the most
outstanding representatives of Art Nouveau movement is the Spanish architect Gaudi. Art
Nouveau, had an objective to create a new style to leave a mark on the daily life by influencing the architecture against the style of the 19th century which was based on imitating and despite its attempts to make the art prevalent in the daily life, it happened to be
left as a bourgeois movement. By the outbreak of the First World War, the movement
had disappeared. It was a major source of inspiration of Art Deco’s decoration program
which arose around 1925’s.
1.3. Art Deco
Art Deco style is a new trend which was designed and constituted by a group of
artists who reacted against the agile, curled lines of Art Nouveau (1890-1910) style
with plenty of flowers. Main principle of Art Deco style is simplicity and functionality. A liberal attitude is striking in this style. It is not a theoretical style. The influence
of this abstract art trend of which its effectiveness has occurred in the beginning of the
20th century, can be seen in the designs.
Distinct linear forms of Art Deco style appeared in the jewellery design during the
1910’s, but reached popularity during the First and Second World Wars. Effectiveness
period of the Art Deco style which became fashionable during the Second World War
is known to be between 1914 and 1940 and especially the period between 1920 and
1930 was specified as the absolute Art Deco period. The designers of Art Nouveau and
Art & Crafts periods had been effective on the companies and persons; on the other
hand Art Deco period has influenced the design of the century. Most of the Art Deco
jewellery designs are anonymous and also their cultural origins are uncertain. Art deco
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duced in the places like New Jersey and Czechoslovakia which were apart from each
other.
In the furniture, cubism and geometric shapes were the most distinctive characteristics. Asymmetry was encountered in some cases. For the design of the cocktail cupboard which was fashionable during this period, geometric and cubic lines were dominant. Besides the rectangular, linear, circular or triangular motifs, zigzag and stylized
flowers, lines which were expanding from a centre like the sun lights constitute the
main features of the designs and they carry influences from the Egyptian art. Cubic
volumes and geometrical appearances are the primary outstanding characteristics in
the armchairs. In some designs, metal accessories (nickel plated) were also used
together with the wooden material. Massive stands with heavy appearances or platforms connecting several thin pedestals were used in the tables and in the coffee
tables, forms with multi storey and a few separate sections were used.
Rene Lalique who became a famous gold jeweler and the creator of the glass jewelry, for the first time shaped the romantic females in some pendants (a hanging jewelry worn around the neck with a thin chain) in 1920’s. Handsome neo-classical figures which were depicted by Charel and Emile David and made of inexpensive white
metal were put on the dogs with small chains as accessories by the smart, elegant
women of 1920’s.
Stylized trees ornamented with stones and fruit baskets filled with flowers also
attracted great attention. The mixture of black and white materials in the designs drew
substantial attention especially at the beginning of 1920’s and furthermore, usage of
the precious stones like jade, coral, lapis lazuli, turquoise with contrast colors at the
same time was appreciated.
During the same period, rings with cabochon stone in the middle and surrounded
by usually small diamonds or rectangular baguette diamond rings that became wide
spread during those years became trendy. Wedding rings were generally worn together with platinum and diamond rings. Art Deco jewelry designs may be apart from all
the influences, developed as based on geometry. With a more explicit statement, it
was developed as based on circular, rectangular, square, arched or triangular shapes.
In those years, rectangular baguette diamond rings were widespread and became fashionable.
Art Deco style jewelry manufacturers made use of the traditional materials like
baguette cut diamonds, ruby, gold and pearl and new materials presented by the modern world, like plastic, chromium and steel were also used. Coco Chanel and Elsa
Schiaperelli who became popular particularly with ornamental jewelry, followed this
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lelism to a certain extent. Among their works which can also be featured as “eccentric”
besides being qualified as popular and leading, diamond imitation glass neckties, ear
rings and zodiac sign necklaces made of colored metals were included.
Chaos free, fashionable flowered boughs and forms of sun some of which were
made of pure metal and some of cabochon stone were frequently worked up. Wrist
watches and pendant watches attracted great attention. Louis Cartier Company also
continued its reputation which started with their invention of the wrist watch in 1904.
Geometric and abstract works of the cubist painters, linear forms of the Vienna
Secession School, machine commending approach of the futurism, graphical drawings
and skyscrapers influenced the Art Deco designs. When the jewelry found in the tomb
of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun in 1922 were added to the recently discovered Indian, Far East and African tribe motifs, designs found new sources.
Jewelry has become an important part of women’s fashion. Originally decorated
hand bags, cosmetics and cigarette holders which became popular with the trend of
smoking and make-up cases were manufactured and evaluated as artistic designs. Art
Deco style opened the way for the artists a way that knows how to simplify every
material by means of inspirational creativity.
Animals like gazelle and deer which are the symbols of speed and elegance, decorated cars and airplanes started to constitute the forms of the precious jewelries.
Technology was used in the designs up to such extent by emphasizing. Later, jewelries which were created by combining the simple and cylindrical forms with components resembling machine parts drew substantial attention. Human figures that were
frequently used during Art Nouveau period were not used in Art Deco, but only found
in the anonymous and inexpensive ornaments with the special works of some significant designers.
A diversified Art Deco artist Marie-Louis Sue who came from France to the
Decorative Arts Branch of Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul between 1939 and 1945
became the pioneer of a new locality and furniture identity in the Academy. This trend
was perceived clearly in the several furniture examples designed and manufactured in
the Academy that can reach up today. The influence of the trend was observed also in
our country until 1950’s. Geometric forms and functional cornered design lines of Art
Deco are open to influence in the latter years with a harmonious wholeness.
2. EGYPTIAN REFLECTION IN EUROPE
After Champollion reached the first sources, newfangled re-introduction of the
ancient Egyptian culture with the western world happened to occur in a way to
reach the layers. Decoding of the hieroglyph, development of Egyptology as a sci136
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ence and forming of the large collections displayed in the museums of Europe and
United States caused a continuous interest towards Egypt. Certain art events that
had happened from time to time also gave rise to incitement of this interest.
R.M. Rilke, Thomas Mann and Paul Klee also took the advantage of the creative
forces that originated from the encounter with Egypt. Ancient Egypt statues and
relief have a substantial place in the history of modern arts. German art historian
Wilhem Woringer, in his work Abstraction and Empathy which was published in
1909 mentioned about the Egyptian art to support the abstraction and empathy
concepts. Before him, Gauguin had made his work Bazaar Place in 1892 by the
influence of an ancient Egyptian painting. We can see that Italian artist Amadeo
Modigliani was also influenced by this source from his women portraits with long
necks. It is known that naïve French artist Henri Rousseau was once told Picasso
that he was “the best in the Egyptian style” (Erengezgin, 2002).
Emil Nolde was influenced from the Egyptian art in his exhibition in 1906 and
1907.
Robust archaic characteristic of the Egyptian statue, that is the robust and monumental expression influenced the German, French and English artists especially
from the beginning of our age. Egyptian art served the European art to find new
facilities of expressing itself. It was not limited by the close vicinity in Africa and
East Mediterranean, its distinctness was spread over the time and localities. This
impact in the Western world was deemed as the encounter of Greek with the
strange and attractive world of Egypt. The artists utilized all the branches that have
risen from this encounter.
Today important contemporary sculptors do not even want to compare the
Egyptian art with the Greek art in terms of the power of expression and monumental expression. Gauguin’s expressionist statues that were brought from the Oceania
islands can be evaluated within such an atmosphere. The artists like Maillol,
Despieau, Barlach, Zadkine as well as the contemporary artists Bernard Heiliger,
Baum, Brancusi and Moore all created their works with such an archaic-primitive
expression. Since the stone used in the Egyptian sculpture art was very hard, a new
approach and a procedure was developed in order to glaze the statues. Thus, especially in our era statues made of this unique stone along with the white marble
caused new enthusiasms.
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VI. Section
THE
INFLUENCE
OF EGYPTIAN
ART ON OUR
CONTEMPORARY
ART AND
ARTISTS
1. ARCHITECTURAL PLASTIC
1.1. Pyramids
eath is the basic fact that influenced the ancient Egyptian Art. According to the
D
ancient Egyptians, to continue the well-being of the deceased for a good life
after death, the wholeness of the body should be preserved. Mummifying was
done for this purpose. Ancient Egyptians believed that the humankind meant nothingness and dust but the soul, itself was luminous. And they thought that there must be a
convenient domicile to harbour that soul. They considered the graves as infinite and
Pharoah and his wife on the Mural painting
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Saqqara Pyramid
quite houses where the dead people, who they believed would come back to life to live
for a second time, rested at the intermediate phase. For that aim, they mummified the
dead people and built up the pyramid tombs which were the basic form of the Egyptian
art of architecture. Belief in the eternal life constituted the balance and sound fundaments of architecture. In Egyptian Mythology the direction of sunset was the West,
land of darkness, that is, the place where dead people lived. For this reason the pyramid
groups were located towards the west of the Nile, at the Sahara. A pyramid had two
functions. The first one was to protect the mummy and the precious belongings; and
the second one was to symbolize the existence of the absolute and divine power.
Precious gifts and articles were placed in the tomb for the use of the deceased in the
after life. Architectures of the tombs were designed in different characteristics in accordance with the living standards of the people. Starting of the pyramid construction
work dates back to the early history of Egypt. The construction of the five largest pyramids which are named as the Medium, Bent, Cheops, Khephren and Mykerinus pyramids and which belong to the Old Dynasty era, lasted approximately one century.
This era was called Age of Pyramids (2575-2472 BC).
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Pyramid is a holy symbol indicating the passion for reaching the skies and elevation. In ancient Egyptian language the equivalent word for pyramid is the word
“mere”. The essence of this term is cosmic and implies a meaning related to universe. Pyramid is derived from the word “pyramis” which means “wheat cake” in
Greek. Ancient Greeks had seen the pyramids from a certain long distance and
thought that they resembled giant cakes and they humorously named these monumental edifices “pyramides”. The triangle sign originates from the ancient Egyptian
civilization. Triangle is a mystic and religious symbol apart from the sentiment
which it evokes a soundness effect with its folding arms that is lifted towards the
sky after being rooted in the ground horizontally. Pyramid, in other words the geometrical figure which is based on a ground and which gradually gets narrowed and
combines at the top, is known as the symbol of solidity, settling and calming down.
Geometric braided pattern with triangles is essential for the art of painting. Almost
all of the geometric braided compositions, which started to be seen in the 14th and
15th centuries, were based on religious themes. Pyramidal compositions were also
seen in the paintings.
Saqqara Pyramid: The Old Dynasty, which encloses the dynasties from 2nd to 6th
had begun with sovereignty of King Zoser (towards 2700). Architect Imhotep at this
period had the step pyramid complex built in Saqqara for King Zoser. Imhotep was the
first known architect. Saqqara Pyramid was the first sample of pyramids. Saqqara
Pyramid was called as Mastaba in the era of Old Dynasty. Mastaba is a tomb edifice
which has one or more rooms, made of stone and bricks, rectangular planned with a
tomb chamber and a sacrifice chapel in shape of a pyramid truncated from the top. It is
a step pyramid that’s seen in the second stage. Mastaba is the first edifice that was built
by using intensive stone in history and in the length of time it caused the stone material to gain holiness.
Since this impressing and amazingly planned and sized pyramid was built at the
frontier of two different cultures, that is Upper and Lower Egypt, it had constituted an
origin for the art of future. In the beginning of the 3rd Dynasty at Saqqara, the monument which was built by Imhotep, the architect of King Zoser in Saqqara was really in
the shape of a “stairway to sky”. The rectangular planned tomb monument is built by
putting the other five chunks, which are gradually dwindling away, over the pure large
chunk called initial Mastaba. The parts, made for various worships are inside of the
walls that look like primitive ramparts and the quirks and ledges of these walls are
adorned with motives which have been protective and ornamental for 3000 years. The
Truncated Pyramid and The Pyramid which has double inclined surfaces were built at
Saqqara in the beginning of the 4th Dynasty era.
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Cheops Pyramid - Sphinx: The Old Dynasty era, which was symbolized by
pyramids, was the golden age of ancient Egypt. At the monumental edifices that
were built in this era, the stone took place of brick and hewn stone was used as
main material to build tombs and the tombs of the kings were built pyramidal. The
most famous three pyramids, Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinus are in Giza.
Snefru, the first pharaoh of the Dynasty, organized the turquoise deposits by leading profitable expeditions to Libya, Nubia and Sinai. At the same period, Cheops,
Chephren and Mykerinus constructed plain surfaced tomb monuments for themselves in Giza Valley - which constitutes the most important samples. These pyramids were built at the west side of Nile as the symbol of the mystic journey to afterlife. In 2470 BC, Egyptian architecture reached to a conscious plainness by means
of the pyramids. Over time the sizes of the pyramids decreased. The Egypt pharaoh
Chufu of the 4th Dynasty built the Cheops Pyramid as a monumental tomb in 2560
BC. Cheops Pyramid was built up in 20 years. First a city was constructed; the
blocks of stones were carried and piled. It took a long time to flatten the surface.
Napoleon, when he entered Egypt in 1798, told his soldiers in front of the pyramids;
“Soldiers, from atop these pyramids, forty centuries look down upon you".
This pyramid, which belongs to King Cheops of the 4th Dynasty (2615-2500 BC),
is the biggest monumental edifices in Giza. According to Herodotus, the construction
of first pyramid of the tomb monuments, which belonged to the pharaohs Cheops,
Khephren and Mykerinus of the 4th Dynasty, lasted 30 years by 100 thousand work-
Cheops, Chepren and Mykerinus Pyramides
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ers working for three months a year. There are mainly three places as King’s, Queen’s
and the underground rooms. First entrance is to pharaoh’s wife’s room; after passing a
corridor there is the pharaoh’s and through this room it is passed to the room where the
sarcophagus is located. The stone blocks which were used to construct the pyramid
exceed the height of a man. Special care was given in setting the stones of 5-7 m long
and 1.50-2.50 m high and not even a small opening was left in between them. The 4th
Dynasty (towards 2620) is pretty famous. Each of the four façades which face at four
main directions has equilateral triangle shapes. Cheops Pyramid was 145.75 meters
high but it was downsized by 10 meters. The pyramid which had been the highest edifice on earth for long years could only be surpassed in 19th century. Its surface is covered with soft and flattened stones. The sloping angle of its sides is 54 degrees and 54
minutes. The result is perfect when four sides of the base are measured and the directions are determined. A full square is obtained when the corners of the base are connected. Each side measures 229 m in length and the maximum error between side
lengths is astonishingly not even 0.1%. It is believed that the pyramid was made of two
millions of stone blocks of each weighing one or two tons. If the stones of three pyramids are lined up side by side, it may become a wall of 3 meters high and 30.48 centimetres thick, which may surround the whole France. Today, Cheops Pyramid still
stands with its appearance, dimensions and shape as a magnificent huge edifice.
Chephren pyramid is the second biggest of the monumental edifices. The dimension of the base is 215 metres and the height is 143 metres. The upper side of the edifice, which is made of granite, is covered with limestone plates. The tombs of pharaoh
Chephren’s family and the high officials of the palace are placed around the pyramid.
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Chephren Pyramid is a little bit smaller than Cheops’. Inside the pyramid, there is a
central chamber to where can be reached by two ways from the north facade.
Through the hall, on the western side of the big open court, between the columns
which are decorated with relief works it is reached to deep chambers where the
pharaoh sculptures are harboured. Mykerinus Pyramid is the smallest of these monuments with its 62 meters height.
1.1.1. The influence of the pyramidal form on contemporary artists
Symbol of pyramid is still used today and it keeps inspiring the artists. The Giza
pyramids symbolizing Egypt have influenced the subconscious of the artists.
Cheops pyramid, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, which was brought in to
the history by Egypt, still stands by the skilful construction of Snefru. Many artists
have used the pyramidal form as an element in their paintings. These artists are;
Marcel Duchamp, Barnett Newman, Richard Tuttle, Giovanni Anselmo, David
Hockney, Judy Chicago, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Serhat Kiraz and Anselm Kiefer.
Marcel Duchamp: He was born in Blainville near Rouenin in 1887 and he died
at Neuilly in 1968. In 1911 he joined to the Section d’or group of the Cubists. In
1912, the same group rejected the artist’s work named Nude descending a Staircase.
In 1914 he produced his first ready-made work of art. In 1915 he went to New York.
He worked on large glass The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even. In 1934
he published the portfolio named The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even.
He played a big role in preparation of his exhibitions in New York and Paris, in
1947. In his work named To be looked at (from the Other Side of the Glass) with
One Eye, Close to, for Almost an Hour, Marcel Duchamp created the pyramidal
form of Egyptian architecture on glass by making modern conceptual references
which are unique to him.
Barnett Newman: He was born in New York in 1905 and died in the same city in
1970. He studied art education at Boston University and London. In the period
between 1947 and 1948, he worked as a vice-editor of the newspaper called Tiger’s
Eye; and instructed courses at the Subjects of the Artist School. He staged his own
exhibitions in New York starting as from 1950.
Towards the end of 1960s he made statues which compose of a single vertical stick
or monumental works that integrated the pyramid and the prism on the apex such as
the work of art which he named Broken Obelisk.
Richard Tuttle: He was born in Rahway in 1941. American sculptor and painter.
He was educated at Trinity College in 1959-1963. He studied in Hartford (CT) and
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between 1963 and 1964 in Cooper Union in the New York City. His first works were
created in 1963. He had his first solo exhibition at Betty Parsons Gallery in the New
York City, in 1965. In 1967 he started to work with monochrome colored polygonal
fabrics. In 1968, he visited to Japan. In 1970 at Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Bufalo and
in 1972 at the New York Museum of Modern Arts he had solo exhibitions. In 19721982 period, he participated in “Documenta 5-7” in Kassel. His exhibition titled
“Retrospective” was opened at the museum of Stedelijk in Amsterdam in 1975. Most
of Tuttle’s works were created with simple materials like a small piece of paper, wooden or fabric material. He is considered to his art blurring the usual boundaries separating drawing, sculpture, and painting by using minimum material.
His work titled Mountain inspired by the pyramidion (the pyramid's apex stone)
of Hatshepsut and combines the paper, wooden and fabric materials in a formal
approach.
Giovanni Anselmo: Italian object and concept artist, born in 1934 in Borgofranco
d’Ivrea. Self educated artist’s two works were shown at an exhibition held in the
Sperone Gallery in Turin in 1967. During 1965-1968 he created a series of untitled
three dimensional objects. These objects represented some basic physical concepts
such as energy and power. After 1969 he concentrated more on abstract concepts like
infinity and invisibility. In 1972 and 1982 he participated in “Documenta 5-7” in
Kassel. After 1974, projected images, drawings, granites and such structures were to
inspire his many works. A particular work of him required 20 slide projectors.
Anselmo’s art stays in between Italian Art Povera and Conceptual Art. He was awarded by a special prize in Venice Biennial in 1992.
Giovanni Anselmo’s work Direction, which was created from granite stones, was
evoking a pyramid. Triangular shaped work with an upward pointing apex, expressing the concept alluded to by the title with its material, and form.
David Hockney: English artist, born in 1937 in Bradford. Hockney, who is among
the young representatives of Pop Art in England was known as a symbolic personality of Pop Art with his different colored, epigrammatic works integrating popular art
images with abstract forms and stage designs. He was educated at Bradford College of
Art between 1953 and 1957 and the Royal College of Art in London between 1959 and
1962. He taught at Maidstone College of Art in 1962 and at several universities in USA
after 1963. In his early paintings though influenced by F. Bacon, Dubuffet and K›taj,
he was one of the pioneer artists who used graffiti as a source of aesthetic in painting.
Hockey, in his early times, made trials beyond the boundaries of Pop Art. Hockney's
art is usually retrospective, and the subjects were related to sex, consumption objects
and the problems of art production which became clear even when he was a student
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at the Royal College of Art. Starting from the first years of 1960’s, Hockney was interested in transparent and reflecting surfaces. Later, this interest inspired him to make a
series of paintings of swimming-pools in California where he settled. In 1975 he
designed the set for a ballet of Igor Stravinsky. In the recent years, Hockney paints the
pictures of the famous persons of California and in 1983 his stage designs were shown
at a collective exhibition in USA.
David Hockney, in his work Décor for The Magic Flute, used ancient Egypt form
with a striking bright, colourful and fantastic quality. While using these forms he
showed us the difference between life and death.
Judy Chicago: Judy Chicago was born on July 20, 1939 in Chicago Illinois. She
graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and received her M.A. from
the University of California, Los Angeles. She has four honours PhD and numerous
rewards. She is also an effective educationalist and among the pioneers of the feminist
pedagogy. Additionally, she has two volumes of autobiography, five books on her art,
Women and Art: Contested Territory (1999) titled book with English critic Edward
Lucie-Smith and two other books combining her artworks and writings.
Judy Chicago, in her famous work The Dinner Party, used pyramidal shaped tables
which gives a strong feeling of living. In the ancient Egypt the philosophy of “enjoying oneself” was a social reality.
Felix Gonzalez-Torres: He was born in 1957, in Guimaro, Cuba. He died in 1996
in Miami, USA. Felix Gonzalez Torres combined his personal experiences and opinions about the theory of art with the political views. The installations he produced
including papers and candy sticks were closely related with the Conceptual and
Minimal Art of 1960’s. He used the stuff of interior design, like electric light fixtures,
candy spills to queer exhibition spaces in the most simple and poignant ways. His
works are more like poetry and such influence can also be perceived in the reproduction of the posters and jigsaw puzzles. The artist, while reflecting his personal bereavement, most of his artworks bring such feelings to the public places and furnish us with
general themes like illness, death, love and loss.
Felix Gonzalez-Torres, by placing the work named Untitled in front of a window
aims to integrate with the nature behind. Thus, he would be referring to life and death.
Frank Stella: He was born in 1936 in Malden. He studied painting at Princeton
University during 1954-1958. He opened his first personal exhibition at the Catelli
Gallery in New York in 1960 with shaped canvas and aluminium paint stripes. During
60’s he participated in the major exhibitions in New York. Starting from 1964, he
opened personal exhibitions in London.
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tangular monotony of the canvas, he cut away holes on the canvas and started to cut
the empty area around the lines of the canvas.
Lo Sciocco Senza Paura (The Fearless Fool) by Frank Stella, is a large-scale mixedmedia relief painting inspired from the pyramid shape.
Anselm Kiefer: He was born on 8th of March, 1945 in Donaueschingen,
Germany. In 1969, he created his first major work, the book named Occupancies. His
own workshop was used in building the works Resurrection, Father, Son and Holy
Ghost, Nothung, Belief, Hope, Love, and Quatrain. The principal composition of
which the subject is related with a wooden interior locality, is the oil paint painting
dated as 1973 and titled Spiritual Heroes of Germany. Anselm Kiefer is a member of
German expressionist artists’ generation. Main themes of his works were inspired by
historical and mythological events and especially by the trauma of human existence.
His work Osiris and Isis based on the Egyptian legends. It is constituted by a pyramid shaped pile that is made of material moulds. Anselm Kiefer, by using paint, mud,
tar, rock, ceramics and metal wires etc, in this work referred to the legend. Its sorrowful subject matter and rough technique implies that the world is facing a thread of disintegration. The body of Isis’s husband Osiris which was broken into pieces is depicted by wires coming out of it like plant sprouts.
Serhat Kiraz: He was born in 1954. He became famous outside Turkey. While he
was studying at the Academy he made trials on visual image, the relationship between
illusion and reality. For the series of Perception and Reality with Visual Illusion which
took place in the exhibition of 2nd Tendencies Exhibition in 1979, he used slides and
projections together with the paintings and canvas. He exhibited in 1989, at St. Irene
within the International Istanbul Biennial God of the Religions and the Religions of the
Gods, in 1990, Cult in the 2nd Minos Beach Art Symposium, in 1992, the work
Territory at the exhibition of “Art, Texnh Exhibition”. He prepared his work Antagonist
at “10 Artists 10 works at Iﬂ D Exhibition”, Translation at the Macka Art Gallery in
Istanbul and in 1993, the series of Space Time for 45th Venice Biennial. In 1994, there
is his work Twins at the Berlin Artists’ House for the “Exhibition of Orient Express”.
In his work named Cult which was shown at the 2nd Minos Beach Symposium
in 1990, he considered the statue tradition in pyramid shape and located with a
monumental expression.
In his works Translation and 1993 Time, he considered the concepts of time,
space and infinity within limitations and by locating as opposite to the space depicted the dual concepts of limitedness and infinity. At the same time presented it as a
pictorial phenomenon. Usage of the triangle which is the symbol of ancient Egypt,
over the circular shape brings an infinite opening to the limitation of time.
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1
2
3
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1.1.2. Pyramid Shaped Contemporary Architectural Works
Today, the symbol of pyramid is still used and inspires the architectural works.
Pyramid form was utilized in the construction of the museums Miho and Louvre and
the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas.
Glass Pyramide: Louvre, where many principal works of art are displayed, was initially constructed as a castle to defend Paris from the attacks that would come from the
west. During the reign of King Philippe Auguste between 1180 and 1223, defensive
towers were built on each corner of the fortress which was extended outside of the rampart surrounding the city. At that time the royal palace was in Ile de la Cité, that is, outside the borders of the city where Louvre was located. From the first building which
was started to be built in 1190, only the foundations were left that were found during
the renovation works of Cour Carrée in 1985. In the twentieth century, French President
François Mitterrand announced a project to enlarge the museum, modern parts were
added and public places were expanded. The first stage of The Grand Louvre project
which was completed in 1989 included the famous glass pyramid entrance and an
underground area open to public.
The second stage that was completed in 1993 included the transfer of the Finance
Ministry to new premises which occupied the Richelieu wing and the renovation of his
wing to open more rooms. Thus, the underground mall Carrousel du Louvre in front of
the museum was constituted with the downward pointing Inverse Pyramid that functions as a skylight. In 1993, a giant pyramid was designed and built at the front of the
Louvre Museum by architect Loeh Ming Pei who is also the architect of the Miho museum. The pyramid which was made of stainless steel and glass serves as a main entrance
to the museum and also enables to lighten the underground sections of the museum.
The “Inverted Pyramid” which is designed by the company Pei, Cobb, Freed and
Partners is a remarkable construction located at the Metro entrance of Louvre. “Inverted
Pyramid” is tensioned against a 30-ton, 4-meter square steel caisson frame, inverted
pyramidal shape in glass points downward towards the floor. Since it is located at the
grass covered circular intersection point of the main road through Louvre, it can be seen
from underground.
The pyramidal glass entrance to the main galleries of the Louvre Museum gives a
unique structure integrity to the classical space that extends until today and surrounds
the building.
Miho Museum: The name of the museum comes from its founder Mrs. Mihoko
Koyama. In 1989, the famous architect Loeh Ming Pei constructed the museum in the
1-Louvre Museum 2- Miho Museum 3- Luxor Hotel
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Shigaraki Hills. The various sized iron triangles used in the structure create a powerful
and unique aesthetic feeling.
Luxor Hotel: Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas was renovated in 1998. The restoration
works were inspired from the articles and statues found in the Pharaoh Tutankhamun’s
tomb, one of the most famous pharaohs of ancient Egypt. Luxor Hotel, besides being
an identical repetition of Egyptian pyramid architecture, it was completed in the integrity of the eclecticism, and a concept based upon the elevation of aesthetics and terrestrial values.
1.2. Temples
Temple of Hatshepsut: The great mortuary temple of Hatshepsut was built in 1450
BC on the rocky hillside of Deir el Bahari and it is an example of a pylon temple which
was the major construction type of the antique architecture. The great temple with
major divisions around the Temple of Amun-Re and four obelisks of which one is still
stood and the inscriptions were constructed by Hatshepsut. The pylon temples consist
of four divisions: pylon, court, hypostyle and the holy sanctuary. The divisions are surrounded by a single wall. After passing through the open courtyard, the closed divisions
of the temple are reached through shady courts with several columns. This way symbolizes the passage from light to shadow, from known to the unknown and the reflection of Egyptian thinking to the religious ritual.
Ataturk Mausoleum: Architectural structure of the Temple of Hatshepsut in Deir
el Bahari, which is the utmost sample of the harmony with the topography, constitute
as a source of inspiration for the Ataturk Mausoleum. We also see the connected roads
with human headed sphinxes lined up in the order of troops of the Egypt temples in
Ataturk Mausoleum.
1.2.1. The Influence of the Ancient Egypt Temple Form on Today’s Artists
Today the Ancient Egypt temple form is still utilized by artists. Constantin Brancusi’s
The Gate of The Kiss, King Merenptah’s Throne Room, David Robert’s The Temple of
Isis, Colonnaded Hall works and Decorative Arts Trust Organization are inspired from
the Ancient Egypt.
Constantin Brancusi: Brancusi was born in Romania in 1876 and died in Paris in 1957.
When he was 11, he left his home and started to work in a furniture shop. In 1894 he was
enrolled to an art school in the same city. In 1898 he attended the Bucharest School of Fine
Temple of Hatshepsut, Deir el Bahari (above left)
Ataturk Mouseloum, Ankara, 1953
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Arts and studied in the workshop of Wladimir Hegel. After finishing the academy in 1902, he
travelled to Paris in 1904 and participated in the workshop of Antonin Mercié in Academy of
Fine Arts. Brancusi who left school two years later created his first sculptures by the influence
of the naturalistic tradition during that time. From this time his works became increasingly
abstract.
In Tanosa Gassevskaia's tombstone at Montparnasse cemetery (Paris) created by
Costantinn Brancusi which is known as The Gate of the Kiss, Egyptian herbal motifs are
carved at the frontal of the façade which give a dynamic effect to the generally static structure.
In The Gate of the Kiss, passage from ritual to superior reality and reaching to endless place is
depicted.
King Merenptah’s Thorne Room
Model: King Merenptah’s Thorn
Room is located at the museum of
University of Philadelphia. It is a throne
room of Merenptah, son of Ramesses
II. The room contains large columns
and an elevated floor. The halls are dazzlingly colourful. The walls made of
limestone were flattened after being
plastered and decorated with motifs
depicting the divinity of the king in
order to affect his enemies.
David Roberts: He was born in
Edinburg in 1796. Besides watercolour
and oil paint works he also painted books with his numbers. He travelled to north Spain,
Madrid and later to Granada, Cordova, Gibraltar, Morocco and Seville. During 1838-1839 he
stayed in Egypt, Syria and in the holy lands for 11 years. When he returned to England he was
elected as a member of the Royal Academy (1841) and next year the series of his drawings
were published with lithograph Louis Haghe. In 1843 he travelled to several places in Europe
again. After 10 years (1853-1854), he lived in Rome and Naples for about six months. Roberts
had also paintings depicting the daily life although most of his works were related to architectural drawings and monuments. He was influenced by the ruins of the ancient times and
returned to the same location for several times. He drew the subject at different times, from
different perspectives and he took pains to catch the variations of light at different times of
day. His works are like ever lasting documents for ancient Egypt, almost like a photographic
copy.
M›s›r Binas›, Richmond Üniversitesi
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2
1- Kral Merenptah’›n Taht Odas›,
Yeni Hanedanl›k
2- Dekoratif Sanatlar Güven
Organizasyonu Binas›
1
David Robert’s work named “The Temple of Isis, Colonnaded Hall” indicates us that he
surveyed the thorn room of King Merenthap pretty well.
Decorative Arts Safety Organization: In Decorative Arts Safety Organization, a specific reference to the internal architectural decoration of ancient Egypt has been made.
1.2.2. Architectural Studies in the form of Ancient Egypt Temple
Today, Ancient Egypt temple form has still been utilized in the architectural studies.
Richmond University building is one of these.
Medical School Building at Richmond University: Architectural structure of the
temple in Deir el Bahari constituted a source of inspiration for the Medical School building in Richmond University. The building was designed by architect Thomas S. Stewart
in 1843 inspired by the ancient Egypt temples.
Temple of Sobek and Haroeris: The temple of Sobek and Haroeris was constructed during the period of Ptolemy Philometer (2nd century BC), dedicated to two triads of deities the
crocodile headed God Sobek and falcon haded God Horus in Komombo. Relief carvings and
ornate floral decorations and inscriptions were completed during the Roman period.
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1
2
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3
Numerous reliefs give insight into artists' methods during the Greco-Roman Period. The
anatomy of the figures is more realistic and detailed, the column headings and the emblems
in the façade like the lotus are enthusiastic, rich and voluminous. Inlays used in the reliefs have
given a special opulence and liveliness to the figures, and the column shafts are all carved with
relieves. The right part of the main hall with 10 columns belongs to Sobek and the left part to
Haroeris. After that hypostyle hall with 10 columns and the twin sanctuaries were located. At
the south of the temple surrounded by high cut stone walls, was a small Roman chapel dedicated to the God Hathor in where mummified crocodiles were stored.
Temple of Anubis / Hatshepsut: The temple of Anubis is reached through the second
court. The site is known as the symbolic tombs of Anubis and Hator. The colonnades of the
temple of Hatchepsup located within the temple of Anubis in Deir el Bahari constituted a
model for the Temple of Hera in Olympia (590 BC).
Temple of Apollon: The columns of the Hatshepsut temple at the temple of Anubis in Deir
el Bahari inspired the colonnades of the Temple of Apollon (540 BC) in Corinthos. It is proved that
1-Sobek and Haroeris Temple 2-Komombo Anubis Enshrine
3- Apollon Temple (right)
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some of the moulds used for decoration
in the temples at Dor were Egypt originated.
1.3. Obelisks
Obelisks are the stone erections
constructed by the ancient Egyptian
civilization during where the
biggest and the oldest masterpieces
of the world had been created.
Obelisks are tall, slender four sided
shafts carved from single stone,
usually pink granite and topped
with a point known as a pyramidion. It was designed to be wider at
its square or rectangular base than
at its pyramidal top. Obelisk came
from the Greek word meaning
“bar”. It is a column that narrows
towards the top, circle or rectangular in shape erected in order to
remind of a person or an event. It
may be either monolithic or constructed by means of plaiting techniques.
Other elements of the religious
architecture are the obelisks. The
word obelisk came from the ancient
Greek word “obelikos” means “a
long stone”. In Mesopotamia the
obelisks symbolizing the gods had
altars in front and the holy place
where it was located was surrounded by walls. In ancient Egypt, there
were also obelisks dedicated to the
night trip of the sun god Re.
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“In ancient Egypt, during the Ancient Dynasty, the idea of obelisk had come from
the incentive of pointing out the place of a dead person or stone representation of the
sun lights or a commemoration of a memory or a victory. It is erected so that all these
feelings can be seen by the Sun God Re. There were obelisks erected nearby or
between the pylons as dual in the temples of the Ancient Dynasty period. Especially
next to the tombs of the pharaohs of the 5th and 1st Dynasty, either sun temples were
constructed or obelisks were erected” (Ustuner, 1998).
In the Ancient Egypt, Antique Rome and in Europe after the 17th century especially during the Baroque period, obelisks were constructed. Obelisks were the symbols
of sun and their representations were also similar to that of pyramids. These were
related with a stone called “benben” found in Heliopolis. In the Ancient Egypt a conical shape bread loaf was called “benben”. The term “ben-benet” was indicating the
pyramidal top stone of the obelisk or the pyramid. Obelisks which are the most outstanding structural elements of the Ancient Egypt civilization, together with the pyramids, were designed to be a tapering monument wide at the base and end in a pyramidal top, were known to be first erected at the temple of the sun god in Heliopolis in
1950 BC.
The earliest surviving obelisk dates from the reign of Sesostris I and still stands at
the same place. Three of the other obelisks of Ancient Egypt are at Karnak, one is in
Luxor and the other is in Cairo. The longest of all obelisks is 41.75 m. high and today
it is placed as fallen and unfinished at the north quarry of Aswan. After beginning to
ornament several squares in Rome during Renaissance, many European countries
wanted to posses these stones. Upon the request of French King Louis Phillippe,
Governor of the province of Egypt, Kavalal› Mehmet Ali Pasa, presented one of the
two obelisks at the temple of Amun in Luxor as a gift to France. The obelisk which
was erected during the period of Ramesses II, had a 22.83.m of height and now at the
Place de la Concorde in Paris. The one named as Cleopatra’s Needle, which was erected in Heliopolis during 1500’s BC was brought to England in 1878 and is now at the
banks of River Thames in London.
In the square named Sultanahmet which was known as Hippodrome during the
Byzantine period and Horse Square in Ottoman period, stand three obelisks. The
obelisk which is made of monolithic stone and 18.74 m high stands on a base and is
called “Istanbul Obelisk”.
This obelisk which was erected by the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmosis III at the front
of the Karnak temple in Heliopolis to the commemoration of his victories (1504-1450
Obelisk of Queen Hatshepsut at Karnak
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BC) was brought to Istanbul during the period of Byzantine Emperor Aposta. During
the period of Theodosius it was erected on its current base (390 AD). Obelisks, the
greatest and oldest masterpieces of human history are the stone erections created by
ancient Egypt civilization. The earliest obelisks are known to have been erected at the
temple of Karnak in Heliopolis. This holy figure symbolizes a pole which draws the
holy light onto the nation of Egypt and a talisman expelling the evil from the temple
and at the same time emphasizing the immortality and the divinity of the pharaohs.
Six of them still stand in Egypt, 13 of them are in Rome, 1 is in Florence, 1 is in
Istanbul, 1 is in New York City, 1 is in Paris and 2 of them are in England. During the
time of the Roman emperors, they were so influenced by the obelisks that many of
them were transported from Egypt and awarded their victorious commanders by
them. These monumental structures which were decorating the squares of Rome during the prosperous periods were dragged on the floors for hundreds of years when the
Roman fell, only with Renaissance as the extension of mankind’s discovery of itself
and environment were re-erected at the squares and in front of the cathedrals to the
honour of the Papacy.
Brief summary of the obelisks in Rome is as follows.
1) Vatican Obelisk: It was erected at Saint Pietro’s Square during the period of Pope
Sixtus V (1585 - 1590). This obelisk was known to be transported from Alexandria during the period of Emperor Gaius (Caligula) or Neron to ornament the arena.
2) Popol Obelisk: It was erected at Popolo Square during Pope Sixtus V during 1580's.
3) Esquilinus Obelisk: It stands at the front of Sixtus Villa which is located between
Santa Maria and Maggiore. This obelisk was primarily erected at the entrance of the
Augustus’s tomb.
4) Laterno Obelisk: It stands at San Gioranni Square. It is the tallest obelisk.
5) Agonale Obelisk: It stands at Navona Square. It is over the Baroque style four river
fountain constructed by Bernini.
6) Minevra Obelisk: It stands at Santa Maria Novella and is 5 meters high.
7) Macunteo Obelisk: It stands at Rotonda Square over the fountain of Giacomo
Della Porta.
8) Quirilanis Obelisk: The obelisk made of red granite was erected at the front of the
Quirilanis Palace between the statues of Kantor and Polydeukes during the time of
Pope Pius V (1775 - 1799).
9) Obelisk at the Spanish Steps: It stands at the head of the “Spanish Steps”.
10) Campu Martius Obelisk: The obelisk carrying Campus Martius sun time pointer was erected at Montecitioro Square in 1792.
11) Obelisk of Antinous: The obelisk erected at Pincian Hill by Pope Pius VII in 1822.
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12) Termini Obelisk: It was found during an excavation in 1883 and erected in a small
park near Termini train station.
13) Flamino Obelisk: It was dedicated to Holy Mary. (Sahin,2004)
Queen Hatshepsut’s Obelisk at Karnak: Queen Hatshepsut’s obelisk at Amun temple in Karnak.
1.3.1. The influence of the Obelisk Form on Today’s Artists
Obelisks made for concrete beings continued its influence all over the world and
they were also reflected in the canvases of the painters. The obelisk which is contained
as an outstanding element in the works of the most of the artists maintains its characteristic to conduct the man and its creativity. The obelisk form is still used today and
continues to inspire artists. Louis-Français Cassas, Constantin Brancusi, Clouvis
Trouille, Claes Oldenburg, Behcet Safa, Bodyg Isek Kingelez, Yusuf Taktak can be
counted among those artists.
Louis-François Cassas: Cassas was born in France in 1756. He is an Orientalist
painter who is famous with his works of which the subject matter is east. He was educated by artists Joseph Marie Vien (1716-1809), Louis Jean François Lagrenée (17251805) and Jean Baptiste Leprince'in (1734-81). His travel to Italy, Sicily and Dalmatia
during 1770’s lasted for seven years and the artist collected the impressions of this period in 1802 in a book called A Pitoresk and Historical Journey to Istria and Dalmatia.
In 1784, Cassas travelled to Istanbul with French ambassador Compte (Count)
Choiseul Gouffier during the period of Sultan Abdulhamit I (1774-89). He visited
Aegean islands, Egypt, Palestine and Syria and drew about 300 paintings. Some of
these paintings are included in the book called A Pitoresk Journey to Greece. He stayed
in Rome during 1878-1892. After he returned to Paris some his works created in
Istanbul were shown in the official Saloon exhibitions in 1804 and 1814. Cassas’s
work named Gravure of the Obelisk at the temple of Senuworest I, was produced by
the engraving technique by surveying the ancient Egyptian obelisks.
Constantin Brancusi: Brancusi’s work Bird in Space was produced by sampling
the robust simple balance of the ancient Egypt obelisks. All the columns and the pieces
of the work Bird in Space, which is the product of both primitiveness and a certain
complexity and elegance have amazing changing characteristics according to view
point. The column with a height of 37 metres composed of identical fifteen elements.
Square designed elements were lined up as beads and as sharp edged but almost indistinctive curves. A half module is at the top of the sculpture, and a similar piece is functioning as a base with a square shape. The shapes of the modules are balanced with a
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zigzag mobility and perspective dwindles. Monolithic integrity and height of the
sculpture reminds typical Egyptian obelisks.
Clovis Trouille: After he studied at the Fine Arts School in Amiens, he ceased to
paint and started to work on advertising models. In 1930, he painted the work
Remembrance which represents the antagonism to everything. This work was the
same style of the Wonders Palace (1907) which was his only painting up to that time.
In the Exhibition of the Revolutionary Authors and Artists, he applied Surrealist principles to an extreme extent: black humour, antagonism to religion, erotism and a sort
of absolute rebellion. His works such as The Orgy (1930), Voyeuse (1961), A
Compassionate Woman, Dialogue on Carmel (1944), My Funerals (1945), My Grave
(1947) and The Great Amiens Poem where Jesus is depicted as smiling, are combining
surrealism with popular imagination. His erotic paintings were shown at
Paris/Cordiers (behind locked doors) in 1963. One of these works name was similar to
that of the famous Broadway show with a sexual theme, Oh Calcutta (1970).
Clovis Trouille in his work Sleepwalker Mummy depicts obelisk, mummy, inside
view of a temple and similar elements in a theatrical order as if they were on stage. The
work’s mysterious atmosphere is a reference to ancient Egypt.
Claes Oldenburg: He was born in 1929 in Stockholm, Sweden. His father was a
diplomat and he lived in USA during his childhood. In 1953-1954 he attended to the
Art Institute of Chicago. In 1958’s he met several artists including Allan Kaprow. In
1961, he opened “The Store” where he sold the food replications. In short time, he created various objects distorted from daily life and after 1965 he made models and drawings for the colossal art projects. His first solo exhibition was shown at Green Gallery
in New York, in 1962. This was followed by the exhibitions in 1964 at Sydney Janis
gallery at the same city and at Ileana Sonnabend Gallery in Paris. In 1966, he was honoured with a solo exhibition at the Modern Museum in Stockholm. All of his works
were exhibited in Amsterdam, Düsseldorf and in London in 1970.
Claes Oldenburg’s work The Extinguished Match does not only resemble the
ancient Egypt obelisks but also represents a monumental expression. His large-scale
sculptures which are the colossal versions of the ordinary street furniture were
designed and drawn for the Civic Centre in Chicago whereas later produced and
installed as Trowel Scale B.
Behcet Safa: He was born in 1934 in Istanbul. He graduated from the Istanbul State
Fine Arts Academy in 1957. He travelled to Paris in 1959. Until 1966 he worked on
lithographic painting in Patrice and Pons workshops in Paris. During 1966-1968 he
lived in Rome and in 1968 settled in Elba Island (Capoliveri). Up to now, he has been
continuing his works in Elba Island. During 1961-1964 he participated in the exhibi160
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tions at the “New Realities Saloon” in Paris. In his works created by the acrylic technique on canvas and the lithographic paintings, he concentrates on the contemporary
human views with an ironic and observant attitude and develops a style based on the
connotation of the fantasy world within the endless material of human reality without
the necessity of being conditioned to any trend or movement.
Behcet Safa’s arrangement for Sultanahmet Square during the 2nd International
Istanbul Biennial combines the passengers through this square for hundreds of years
in a common heredity. With his kite, although temporarily, he drew the attention of
the audiences to the only free spot of the square that is to the sky and the obelisk at
Sultanahmet Square was pointed out rather than the other elements in the square.
Bodyg Isek Kingelez: He was born in 1948 in Kimbembele Ihunga and lived in
Kinshasa, Congo. In 1991, he divided his works into two groups as the buildings and
the cities in 1996. They are not sculptures. Kingelez was grown up during the dictatorship of Mobutu. He worked as a teacher before his restoration job in the Museum.
Kingelez has turned his critical and searching eyes to his past and the place of Africa
throughout the world’s economy. The giant continent of which the past has been systematically denied and surpassed by the imperialist powers, has also faced with problems to the extent that it tries to find its own identity and to accept the originality of
the local art. Kingelez, created a parallel world apart from the political and social conjecture, between the “Primary” and the “Third” worlds. The most important aspect of
his art is the criticism to the naïve and derogatory point of views of the western people to what they deemed as “primitive”. His major success is the outstanding sculptures created in 1995-96, named as Phantom City. This is a master plan of an imaginative urban heaven equipped with all the symbols of prosperity, luxury and potency.
The skyscrapers used in Bodyg Isek Kingelez’s work Kimembole Ihunga remind the
monumental obelisks of Egypt.
Yusuf Taktak: He was born in 1951 in Bolvadin. He graduated from Istanbul State
Fine Arts Academy in 1974. He attended to the International Salzburg Summer
Academy at the same year. 14 of his total solo exhibitions were held; eight in Istanbul,
three in Ankara and one in Izmir, Adana and Düsseldorf. He also participated in the
group exhibitions and biennials. While he was an academy student he was awarded
with a prize, later he did not participate in any competition. He lives in Istanbul.
In his work My Obelisk and Bicycle Yusuf Taktak used the “obelisk” which the
indicator of the civilizations as the subject. With the obelisk and the inscriptions and
symbols and marks painted on it a diverse expression was exhibited. The artist has
converted a form originating from a triangle into a shape specific to him. He established a relation with time through the obelisk and questioned the time. Through the
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obelisk he both questioned his own past and the cultural and historical identity of
Istanbul where he lives in, and the civilizations that survived in this city throughout the
history. The references to his obelisks are the obelisks at Sultanahmet Square. The
artist wanted to make a connection with previous centuries and ancient cultures. One
of these is the Egyptian culture.
1.3.2. Contemporary Architectural Works with an Obelisk Form
Today obelisk form is still used and inspires the architectural works. Big Ben Clock,
Minaret and the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas are the examples of this inspiration.
Mosque/Minaret: The three main monotheist religions, Judaism, Christianity and
Islamic were originated from the antique Far East. John A. Wilson, who is an expert in
Egyptian culture stated that the belief in the supporting power of a universal God, and
His graciousness and mercy has come from Egypt. The ancient Egyptians had a strong
hope for immortality. This expectation had passed to the other religions which had
relations with ancient Egyptian religion.
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Obelisks which were the prominent symbols of the architecture of the ancient
Egypt influenced many civilizations. The hope for immortality had passed to the
newly propagating Christianity through Judaism and also has taken place in the beliefs
of the Islamic people and affected the cultures of the counties under the sovereinity of
such religions.
Big Ben (The Clock Tower): “Big Ben” is the colloquial name of the largest bell of
the five in the tower of St. Stephen. The fire of 16 October 1834 destroyed nearly all
the old Westminster Palace. Charles Barry won the competition held for the design of
the new palace. Barry’s design included a clock tower as well. In the making of the
clock Edward John Dent, with whom Barry had worked together in the development
of the chronometer, helped. Dent died on 8th of March 1853, before completing his
work. The mechanism of the clock was completed by his son-in-law Frederick Rippon.
The bell weighs 13.8 tones and there is a delay of four seconds between strikes. The
tune comprised of the bell sounds is derived from the famous German composer
Handel’s Messiah. One of the most outstanding icons of the ancient Egyptian civilization is the obelisk which resembles a needle and is a tall tapering monument. The
ancient Egypt obelisks inspired the shape of Big Ben as well as many other architectural structures.
The Washington Monument: An obelisk from Heliopolis was shipped to New
York in 1880 and erected at the Central Park inspired by the French and the English.
Before this, the construction of a monument to honour George Washington was
begun in 1838 by the design of Architect Robert Mills aiming to make the highest
obelisk in the world. Political squabbling and a lack of money brought construction to
a halt and the monument was completed in 1885. The monument is one of the tallest
masonry constructions in the world with a height of 168 metres. The tapered shaft
faced with marbles and top is reached by elevator. Memorial stones from several foreign countries line the interior walls. A marble plate including the signature of the
Ottoman Emperor Sultan Abdulmecit and good wishes for the United States carved
by the famous calligrapher of the period, Kazasker Mustafa Izzet Efendi, was also
installed in the monument.
Bunker Hill Monument: The obelisk at the front of the Bunker Hill monument
was constructed with the inspiration of the ancient Egypt obelisks by the Architect
S.Willard, and thus ancient Egypt atmosphere wanted to be re-animated.
Luxor Hotel: The obelisk erected at the front of the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, was
constructed as a one-to-one copy of the ancient Egypt obelisks.
MinaretBig Ben Clock Tower, London
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2
3
1-Washington Monument
2- Bunker Hill Monument 3-Luxor Hotel, Las Vegas
4- The statue of Pinudjem, the Priest of Amun Temple at Thebes
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1.4. Statues
Pharaoh Statues were sculptured in the same style
during Ancient Dynasty period. The pharaoh was
mounted on a monolithic stone block which represents the throne. Figures were always portrayed in
standing position with left foot slightly forward. It
was desired to express a feeling movement while
sculpturing such statues, however this was not a real
movement since two of the legs were mounted on
the ground with all their bases. Majority of them
were shown from the front and in motionless position. To show from the front was one of the main
and leading characteristics of Egyptian art and it never
changed. Relief was also used during the ancient
Dynasty period. The graves and the walls of grave
temples are also adorned with reliefs depicting fairy
stories. Faces of the statues were likened to a person
with a naturalistic approach. The statue art of the
ancient Dynasty period which had been a reference
source for the subsequent developments constituted
the traditional appearance with its style and rules.
Statue of Amun-Re Temple Priest Pinudjem in
Thebes: In the middle of Karnak Amun Temple one
of the 10 papyrus head columns which each are 25
meters high of the mansion belonging to Tharka who
was Abyssinian originated pharaohs of the 25th
Dynasty and a statue which belongs to 21st Dynasty
pharaoh Pinudjem who was one of the Amun high
priests were located. Priests in the city Thebes
showed 341 giant statues and told that all of them
were erected throughout the Egypt history of 11
thousand years. A statue was erected for each of the
High Priests during their life time. All the priests that
Herodotus met during his stay in Egypt showed him
the statues which they erected in order to prove that
the sons succeed their fathers.
4
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1
2
3
4
Egypt Statue: Egypt statue was sculptured
out of a monolithic stone piece and portrayed
in standing position. This statue is portraying a
figure standing with his left foot forward in a
stepping position. A definite idealization is
seen at the face of the Statue.
Auxerre Statue: Greek sculptors carved
Daidalic figures out of marble in natural
dimensions in the second half of the seventh
century which is called as Daidalic after the
legendary Greek sculptor Daidalos. Auxerre
Goddess which was sculptured in 630 BC was
found in France. However, its origin is most
probably Crete. Jeffrey Hurwit defined this
statue as “the roots of Nikandere kore”. Jeffrey
Hurwit wrote his statements related with this
kore “This kore is quite a mixed one. It owes its
shape to the Greek statue tradition which was
carved out of wood in large dimensions; its
style depends upon easternization fashion and
its dimensions to Egypt. The motivation that
gives the inspiration and encourages sculpturing large scaled wood figures out of marble is
most probably such Egypt experience of the
Greek sculptors. Greeks learned how to give
shape to marble after they saw the granite
work on the rough and hard stones of
Egyptians” (Freeman, 2003).
Kourous Statue: The most widespread
statue form Kourous was developed in Greece
as a result of interaction with Egyptian art. In
the 7th century, small terracotta and bronze
statues with flat sculls became widespread in
Greece. The figures of these statues were
standing in erected position looking forward
with their feet next to each other like the
Egyptian statues. It was perceived as the influ166
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ence of Egyptian statues on Greek statue art. One of the samples of this statue is the bronze statue in Athens which belongs to the 25th Dynasty Period of Egypt (600 BC).
“Kourous was a nude male statue which was sculptured out of marble in natural dimensions
and the most distinctive feature of this statue was the standing figure with left leg forward and
right leg back. Kore which was sculptured in woman form was made rarer and the figures were
always dressed. It was proved that kouri was sculptured by using the horizontal and vertical scaling lines which intersect with each other on the stone blocks as the Egyptians did. But these statues were nude as opposed to Egyptian ones and their poses were more naturalistic and relaxed
than the Egyptian statues. Although Kouros were mostly found in holy places in order to indicate the graves, they were also found at the places where they were presented to Gods as gifts.
The cities which such kouros were mostly sculptured were the cities in which the aristocracy
was intensified. When a distinguished aristocrat was thrown out of power its kouri also disappeared. It can be said that kouros immortalized a hero who was at the peak of his power and
represented the most reliable male aristocrat” (Freeman 2003).
Men statues which are called as “kouros” that belong to
Delos, Samos and Thassos islands are 8 meters high. It can be
seen that archaic symmetry is used when their bodies are carefully observed anatomically.
Boy from Kritious: In Greek statue art the figures had
more common types than specific people. Greek statues influenced by Egypt statues had more ideal faces and bodies. The
statues represented units which were accessible and were created in order to address the spectator.
Statue of Maat: Cubical block appearances were taken into
consideration for the physiognomic expression of the human
in Egyptian art. Relation of the work of art with nature ceases
up to the extent that such work of art has mathematical-cubical forms and shall have a monumental expression at that
extent and shall be more resistant to external impacts.
Arms and legs of Statue of Maat were also sculptured in a
form next to each other and it was designed as a monolithic
block. Face of the statue looks forward. It was sculptured by
religious purpose to symbolize Goddess Maat.
5
1-Egypt Statue 2-Auxerre Statue
3-Kourous Statue 4-Kid from Kritious
5- Goddess Maat (on the right)
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Amun-Re Statue in Karnak: Amun Re was called as lord of Thebes. Classical portrait
concept and pose is perceived at the statue. This statue also constitutes a good sample for
the cubical block expression of Egyptian statue art. It was portrayed as the arms were
crossed and sitting on the knees whereas its feet were apart but in a balanced situation.
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1.4.1. Influences of Egyptian Statue on Today’s Artists
Egyptian Statue still inspires the artists at the present time; monumental structure and
attitude inspires the figures in the paintings of the artists. Paul Gauguin, Marisol Escobar,
Giorgio de Chirico and Memduh Kuzay are some of the artists who are inspired by the
monumentalism of Egyptian statue.
Paul Gauguin: He was born in Paris in 1848. He is one of the three artists of PostImpressionism. He began to make paintings and statues in his spare times after he was
acquainted with the impressionist artist C. Pisarro in 1874. He settled in Britain in 1886. He
stayed as a guest of Van Gogh in Arles in 1888 for a while. He left Europe in 1891 and settled in Tahiti. He was also interested in indigenous cults and engraving art during his life in
Tahiti. He went to Paris in 1893 but turned back to Tahiti two years later. He died in the
Marquise Islands in 1903. Although the paintings that he created in Tahiti island are more
striking in terms of colour, dimension and theme; when compared with the ones that he
made in Britain, there is not a great differentiation between the styles of these two different
periods. Merely, people of the primitive islands took the place of the villagers of Britain in
these last period’s paintings, nature gained an appearance like heaven and the lines were softened by losing their rigid and cornered natures. Influences of folk arts left their places to the
influences of Indian, Egyptian, Polynesian and Pre-Renaissance with the Japanese prints.
Gauguin created his painting We Shall Not Go Market Today in 1892 by being inspired
from ancient Egypt paintings. Here, he used the schematic and visual language of ancient
Egypt. He matched two dimensional painting concept of ancient Egypt with his concept in
his paintings which is close to two dimensional by means of the appearance of five women
sitting side by side. Gauguin in his work Her name is Vairaumati painted the figures that
resembled a lot to the ancient Egypt tomb reliefs with symbols like hieroglyphs with a sense
of strangeness.
Giorgio De Chirico: He was born in Volos, Greece in 1888. He died in Rome in 1978.
He is the one of the originators of the Italian Metaphysics painting movement together with
Carra. Later on he laid his “modern” ideas aside and turned into a style which reminds of the
old masters. De Chirico had taken classical languages, mythology and history courses when
he studied painting in Polytechnic School in Athens. He continued to Florence Fine Arts
Academy between 1905 and 1906. He continued his education between 1906 and 1910 in
Munich Fine Arts Academy in consequence of the interest he felt for the works of Böcklin
and Max Klinger (1857-1930). The artist who was interested in the philosophy of Nietzsche
and Schopenhauer in this city turned back to Florence in 1910 and performed his first puz-
Amun-Re Temple at Karnak
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zle like works in Florence. De Chiricio went to Paris in 1911 and began to improve his “metaphysics insight” concept. He began to portray mannequins of tailors, statues and plastic
heads. According to the artist “Every object has two appearances. The first one is the current
view which we see all the time and which is seen by people in general. The other one is a
spectral or a metaphysical appearance”. The artist needed to create a painting space which
was not ordinary in order to give this second impression. By the outbreak of the 1st World
War he turned back to Italy in 1915 and went to Ferrara by joining army. De Chiricio made
lithographs for the book of Jean Cocteau named Mythology in 1934, lived in USA between
1935 and 1937 and settled in Rome in 1944.
There is extraordinariness in the figures of Giorgio De Chirico’s Disquieting Muses
besides its metaphysics appearance. Such extraordinariness comes from the resemblance of
the figures to the monumental presences of the Egyptian edifices. The artist inspired from
antique statues with the intention of showing today’s opinion with the yearning for antique
world. Chiricio who inserted antique ambiance into his canvas created metaphysics paintings and used cubical and archaic elements. He was influenced from the futurists and he
used the elements of the forgotten Greek statues. With this influence, the monumental sitting style of Egypt entered into Chiricio’s paintings.
Marisol Ecobar: She was born in Paris in 1930. She is an American sculptor of
Venezuelan origin. Marisol who used a realistic and ironic figuration in her works that consist of wooden plug and boards approaches to folk art within the stylization and colourfulness of “Pop Art”. Marisol Escobar moved to New York in 1950 after she continued Paris
Fine Arts Collegiate School in 1949. She worked with Japanese originated painter Yasu
Koniyoshi (1893-1953) in Art Students Association. She quit painting while she was working with Hoffmann between 1951 and 1954 who had great contributions in the origination
of Abstract Expressionism in USA and began to be interested in sculpture. She opened her
first exhibition which composed of small earthenware figure reliefs, terracotta tiles, singlefigure statues and carvings in Lou Castelli Gallery in 1957 and 1958.
Marisol formed and shaped her true personality towards 1960’s and later on painted the
persons and families whom she felt close to herself in figure groups in a realistic style on
wood and created compassionate and humorous portraits by bringing such wood pieces
together.
Marisol Escobar used the static posture of ancient Egypt Statues in her painting Looking
at the Last Supper and she applied this in her auto-portrait.
Memduh Kuzay: He was born in Kayseri in 1957. He graduated from Ozdemir Altan
Workshop of School of Fine Arts of Mimar Sinan University in 1985. He worked as an academician in the university for 16 years and carried out his summer studies in his workshop
in United States of America starting from 1986. The artist who works with various art gal170
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leries in Istanbul also works with Gain Gallery in Chicago. He opened 5 exhibitions in
Chicago and 9 in Istanbul. Some of his works can be found in special collections within the
county and abroad. He has been continuing his studies in his workshops both in Istanbul
and Mersin.
He combined the three dimension illusion with little scatters and rhythmic keys in his
painting with two dimensional concept of Egypt. In his work Respect for Egypt, this combination is clearly seen. He was inspired from Egyptian art in order to find new factors to
renovate today’s art. He set himself away from incremental surfaces and other supporting
factors in order to give a monumental aspect to his compositions without modelling with
light and shadow. We can live ancient Egypt again with his paintings.
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1.5. Deformation
The Egyptian works of arts of three thousand years which have influence on the
western art are especially the statues of Ancient Dynasty, Middle and New
Dynasty. During the period of New Dynasty, Akhenaten or with the other name
Amenhotep IV directs and motivates the artists to realism. He wants the artist to
depict the human beings in their natural states while walking, playing, talking etc.
The Egyptian art which had become stereotyped and been stuck to the traditions,
despite its high aesthetic values detached from reality; in the paintings and sculptures
abstract objects rather than human beings were depicted and human beings were idealized. During the period of Amenhotep realism together with satire and humour was
developed. Pharaoh Akhenaten allows the paintings and statues which did not depict
him as smartened and he did not want his disability to be concealed.
Akhenaten’s Statue: Revolutionary style of the Amarna period was applied with
the command of the rulers. Since the king Amenophis IV who gave the order was
very young, he was highly influenced by his mother Queen Tiye. During the period
which is called Amarna II, the art works depicted the common and humble human
types. Exaggerated and naturalist expression was applied to the statues of kings and
queens of this period as a principle. Dynamic forms were caricaturized by stylizing
with curves.
The king himself had an elongated and slim face with nervous and not beautiful
features.
Amenophis IV created the first real thought and art revolution of Egypt. This
pharaoh who tried to make the monotheistic religion the state religion, changed the
capital for this purpose and changed his name to Akhenaten (Server of the Sun-God)
directed the artists to reality. He is married to Nefertiti, the sister of Akhenaten.
The arms and the head of the statue which was made of sandstone with a height
of 4 m were broken into pieces. Amenophis made the artists to portray the statue in
a realistic style. It was one of the first examples of the Egyptian statues and it has a
revolutionist style. Akhenaten’s long and slim face was like a new innovation
expressing the climatic characteristics of the period. Prominent are elongated faces
with pendant chins, narrow eyes with upper lids projecting sharply outward and
noses and mouths extended into geometric shapes with fake pharaonic beard. The
upper torso features Akhenaten wearing the traditional head scarf of the pharaohs.
The bust of Pharaoh Akhenaten
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1.5.1. The influence of the Deformation in the Egyptian Paintings and
Statues on Today’s Artists
The robust archaic characteristics, namely the sound and monumental expression
of the Egyptian statues serve the European art to find new depiction facilities especially from the beginning of the current century. Famous contemporary sculptors created
primitive archaic works by using the monumental mentality and the portrayal power of
the Egyptian art. Among these artists, El Greco, Amadeo Modigliani, Thodoros
Papayanis, Max Ernest, Alberto Giacometti, Giger and Penck implemented the figure
concept that evokes the feeling as if they belong to earlier ages.
El Grecco: He was born in Candia, Crete in 1541. He died in Toledo in 1614. Greek
originated Spanish painter, sculptor and architect. El Greco is considered to be the
genius of the Spanish art with his unique style inspired from various cultures. He was
named Domenikos Theotokopoulos at birth, but known as “El Greco” meaning
“Greek”. In 1565 he went to Venice; the palaces, churches, and the paintings all around
attracted his attention. Greco was mostly influenced by Tintoretto and Michelangelo
during his education in Venice. He stayed in Italy until 1576. El Greco went to Spain in
1577 and settled in Toledo. Besides King Felipe II’s being a fanatic catholic affected the
artist’s decision. He received his initial painting knowledge in the island of Crete where
Byzantium tradition in the art had been carried out under the rule of Venice. During
1541-1625 Crete was the crossroad of the civilizations. The island which is located at
an equal distance to Europe, Asia and Africa was a frequently visited place for the
Greeks, Egyptians and the inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula and a great center of art.
Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Palestinian colonials, Muslims and Crusaders
influenced the island of Crete with their traditions and civilizations.
His work Opening of the Fifth Seal has similarities with the paintings of Akheneton
period of ancient Egypt. Deformation in the shapes and elongated figures were the consequences of the mentality of painting achieved in Crete. Since ancient Egyptian painting style became established in Crete, out of proportion shapes, elongated bodies and
their deformed versions were dominant in El Greco’s paintings with reference to ancient
Egypt.
Amedeo Modigliani: He was born in Leghorn in 1884. He died in Paris in 1920.
Italian painter and sculptor. He developed a completely personal style considering the
harmonious shape deformations. In 1895 he caught a lung disease, therefore started to
study painting with Guglielmo Micheli who was attached to the tradition of “open air”.
From 1900 to 1902, he went to Rome, Florence and Venice to receive necessary academic education. In 1906, Mondigliani settled in Paris. In 1910, his work Cellist (1909)
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exhibited in the Salon des Indépendants had won him a reputation. The limited colour
scale and tachisme became his original style in time. In those years he met Brancusi and
with his influence he started to make sculptures. In 1910’s African influences also gave
inspiration to Modigliani’s works.
In Amedeo Modigliani’s statue Head and in painting Bride and Groom, the deformation in the statues and paintings of ancient Egypt is clearly seen.
Max Ernst: He was born in Brühl, Rhineland in 1891. He studied philosophy in the
University of Bonn from 1908 to 1914. As a result of his close friendship with Macke,
he involved in the newly established Der Blaue Reiter group. He was influenced by
Orphism and Futurism which he was introduced by Delaunay in 1912. After the First
World War, he made the leadership of the Dada group in Köln. In 1920, he held an exhibition in Paris and settled in this city in 1922. He met Breton there and opened exhibitions with Surrealists. After 1924 he made very few of his arts with brush, and starting
with 1925, he focused on the “frottage” technique and edged towards defining the
“mechanics of the poetic inspiration”. In 1958 he became a French citizen and in 1941
he went to New York. After the Second World War he lived most of his life in California
or Paris. He held several exhibitions such as Paris (1959), New York and London (1961),
Stuttgart (1970), Munich and Berlin (1979). Ernst who is one of the pioneer artists of
Dadaism movement is considered one the pre-eminent artists of the 20th century with
his surrealistic works. He died in Paris in 1976.
Deformation in shapes and elongated necks seen in the statues and paintings of the
Akhaneten period of the ancient Egypt can also be observed in Max Ernst’s painting
Eve, the Only One Left to Us.
Thodoros Papayannis: He studied sculpture at the School of Fine Arts (1960-1965)
under Yannis Papas and studied plaster modelling and copper casting with Nikos Kerlis.
From 1966 to 1968, he studied ancient Greek Art and the Art of the Mediterranean
Basin on a two year domestic Scholarship from the Government. He then continued his
studies with a series of exploratory journeys to Cyprus, Egypt and Turkey. In 1970 he
started to work as an assistant at the atelier of Yannis Papas.
In 1972, he led a working group of students from the School of Fine Arts to the
Zagorochoria region where they researched wood and stone carvings and architectural
features in the popular and traditional styles. Between 1981 and 1982, he went to Paris
to make studies in modern sculpture materials and new techniques in Ecole des Arts
Appliques et des Metriers d’Art. In 1987, he was appointed as Associate Professor of
Sculpture and in 1991, appointed as full Professor at the School of Fine Arts. In 1974 he
founded the Visual Arts Centre and in 1975 he held his first solo exhibition there. He
had several solo and group exhibitions in Greece and abroad. Human figure, alone or
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as dual, always constitute a focal point of his works. He created naturalist depictions by
using both his education and congenital talent. In his works of this period, he combines
the modern sculpture influences with traditional artistic elements. He created his synthesis by the skilfully processed marble, sandstone and bronze.
Thodoros Papayannis, in his works Pivos, Isodis and Ar› Adni Andromani, depicted
pompous and standing religious figures of a typical and impressive group. These outstanding totem figures which are referring to the Gods of the ancient civilizations, are
portrayed by combining expertly iron, wood processed or raw polyester materials and
sometimes painted metals. Briefly, the Egyptian sculptures with divine expressions have
inspired the works of Papayannis.
Alberto Giacometti: He was born in Stampa in 1901 and died in Chur in 1966. He
is one the pre-eminent artists of the 20th century with his sculptures portraying the reality during a period where the Abstract Art or the expressionist characteristics were
standing in the foreground. Giacommetti received his first education from his father
Giovanni Giacometti (1868-1933) who was a famous Post-impressionist painter and
from Cuno Amiet (1868-1961) and he started to make sculptures and painting at an
early age. During 1919-1923 he studied painting in School of Fine Arts in Geneva and
sculpture in the School of Industrial Arts and made surveys on the art works in Italy,
especially Egyptian art. In 1922 he settled in Paris and studied for two years in the
Academy of Grande Chaumiere under Bourdelle. In 1940’s he returned to human figure, he brought distance concept to the sculpture by portraying the figures in small
scales as if visualizing at a distance. Starting from 1947 he thinned and elongated his figures extremely and continued this trend until 1951. In this skeleton like figures which
are called as “transparent constructions” by Giacometti sculpture was designed as an
aesthetic entity, and an aesthetic equivalent of the perceived reality. From 1952 to 1958
Giacometti was focused on figures with exaggerated large shoulders, thin, and elongated limbs and aimed at bringing these figures closer to reality. His objective was to create a metaphysical “entity”, a concrete realism and a feeling of an imaginary location.
Giacometti was awarded the “Grand Prize for Sculpture” at Venice Biennial in 1962 and
“International Guggenheim Prize” in painting in 1964.
In his work Tall Figure, the elongated and straight expression resembles the examples in Egyptian sculptures and there is a similarity in forms between Giacometti’s
sculptures with the ancient Egypt sculptures. As the power and the calm plainness of
the Egyptian sculptures are the property of the dessert and the thought of afterlife, the
rigidity and elongated limbs of Giacometti’s sculptures perfectly express the uneasiness
and loneliness which is the destiny of the contemporary human beings. The thin, tall
figures of Giacometti perfectly express the lack of power and the resistance of the peo176
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ple who can not feel safe about their future. Giacometti carries his own vision to the
appearance of a human’s main organic structure that consists of head and body through
abstractions and deformations.
H.R. Giger: He was born in Switzerland in 1940. He studied interior decoration at
Kunstgewerbeschule in Zurich. HR Giger’s paintings feature satanic imagery to a fantastic scene. His design work on Ridley Scott’s fantastic science fiction film Alien earned
him the 1980 Oscar for the Best Achievement in Visual Effects and demonstrates that
he is a Swiss “Beelzebub”. Giger’s soul paintings are not attractive in terms of appearance but they are realistic.
H.R. Giger’s work Biomechanical Mia was created with Egyptian style representing his art. In this work, a slim woman is depicted as connected to machines and
devices through tubes, wires, pipes and other technical instruments coming out of
her bodily holes. Biological life seems to abandon this body and she is breathing by
artificial means and equipped with all the necessary hardware which supports living. The woman has lost the identity which symbolizes the human being. She technically became a part of a ruling world. The name Mia refers to Giger’s ex wife Mia
Bonzagio, with whom he married in the 1980’s. “Egyptian style” reminds of the
deceptive and at the same time illuminating traces of the quiet past which has been
forgotten for a long time. Metallic bandages surrounding the body are the residues
of an Egyptian mummy. Mia inside is not an individual anymore. She is more like
the elongated and deformed sculptures of the New Dynasty period of ancient
Egypt.
A. R. Penck: He was born in Dresden in 1939, studied painting in Deutsche
Werbeagentur. Since 1965, he has developed the paintings of the “system and the
world” which constituted the main theme of his works. These paints are the kids’
drawings, cave paintings and canvasses covered with modern mixture of logos.
Although he became a popular painter after 1968, he was forced to perform different duties by the East German government. He worked as a postman, night guard
and in margarine packaging. During 1971-1976 he participated in Lücke artists
group. He was invited to west Europe several times and left his country in 1980. He
settled in Rhineland and moved to London in 1983. Later he went to Dublin and
New York. He has been lecturing at Düsseldorf Academy since 1988. He is working in carving wooden sculptures which are plated with bronze since 1982.
In his wok I, in Germany deformed figures with vivid colours are seen. Penck
perceived the pictographic elements beforehand and depicted as a pioneer with the
expression of the paintings of the prehistoric periods. In his painting the figurative
deformations of ancient Egyptian paintings are seen.
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1.6. King and Queen Sculptures
IThe giant sculptures erected at the entrance of the temples, such as, Thutmosis IV
and his wife Tiy, Amenophis III and Tiy, Goddess Hathor Temple and Abu Simbel,
emphasize the dissatisfaction of the greatness. The traditional style is similar in all of
these sculptures. Most of them were portrayed as sitting or standing. The massive
sculptures of Memnon and Sesotris erected at Thebes which is representing ancient
Egypt were studied in the paintings of Jean Leon Gerome. This is the reflection in painting the observations to express Egypt to the audience.
Dwarf Seneb and his Family: The statues of top bureaucrat Dwarf Seneb and his
family, which belong to the period of 6th Dynasty were made of lime stone, and they
were erected at the tomb of Seneb located at the north of Chepren pyramid.
Thutmosis IV and his wife Tiye: This statue is one of the rare examples as the
Egyptian pharaoh was portrayed with a wig. Thutmosis holds Ankh in his hand which
is the ancient Egyptian symbol for life. Sculpting together with his wife presents the
importance given to his wife. Pharaoh portrayed as wearing a kilt skirt with a belt covered with jewellery.
Amenophis III and his wife Tiye: Thutmosis III’s grandfather Amenophis III married to the daughter of royal blooded priest Min Akhimim, Tiye. Their sculptures were
2
1
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carved in order to express their love. Tiye was portrayed next to the King. Although
only Kings’ names were imprinted on the cartridge, Tiye’s name was also placed in the
cartridge.
Temple of Goddess Hathor: The importance given to women in the Egyptian society is the main criterion that shows the great difference of the Egyptian civilization from
all the other eastern civilizations. The cultural level of a society is assessed with the status of women in that society. In
ancient Egypt, woman may perform
the highest functions either material
or spiritual. She may become the
president of the state, or may learn
the mysteries of the temple. She may
leave her legacy to whomever she
wants. Women were at the highest
level in the society. During the reign
of Ramesses II, the traditional casts
had been broken. Small temple which
was built at Abu Simbel by Ramesses
II for his wife Nefertiti was the sym1-Dwarf Seneb and his family
2- Thutmosis IV and his wife
3-Amenophis III and his wife Tiye
4-Queen Hathor Temple dedicated to Queen
Nefertari, wife of Ramesses II
3
4
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bol of the importance given to women. Small temple which was built at the same time
with the big temple in Abu Simbel, was dedicated to Hathor of Ibsek and Queen
Nefertari.
Abu Simbel was one of the glories of the Egyptian art and the peak of the Egyptian
artists. For the first time a pharaoh, Ramesses II, had built six monumental sculptures
with a height of 10 metres, of which two of them represented the queen and four represented the king. Nefertari’s tomb was built at the Queens’ Valley, at a very outstanding location. It was honoured with Nefertari’s big size paintings and sculptures.
Ramesses II and Nefertari were scouting for the temple of goddess Hathor. The statues
of their four children were standing next to their feet. This façade carved out of rock
resembles the sloped wall of the colonial temple at Abu Simbel where the statues of 10
m height were erected. Nefertari who has the “divine love, compassion and joy” was
the daughter of a top level civil servant Bakenhons. She died in 1254 BC after a short
time following the construction of the temple. The previous pharaohs had their wives
and children depicted at the level of their knees. For the first time, a pharaoh had his
wife to be sculpted at the same size with his statues. Hathor, a hall with columns, a passage with a side chamber and the temple; and a statue of the Hathor’s cow stands at
the rear niche which protects the King.
Abu Simbel Temple: The four rock temples about 290 km southwest of Aswan in
the land of Nubia were carved during the reign of Ramesses II. The statues of Amun-Re
and the family of the pharaoh seen above the entrance seem very small next to the symbol of Ramesses II, the symbol of powerful Egypt. The gods observe the outer world forever from inside the temple. The entrance of the temple is between the 22 meters high
four statues of Rameses. Interior of the
temple is inside the cliff in the form of
a man-made cave cut out of rock and it
contains a series of halls and rooms.
With the construction of the Aswan
High Dam, the temples were threatened with submersion under the rising
waters of the reservoir and in 1964,
with a project sponsored by UNESCO,
the temples were dismantled into 2000
blocks each weighing 10 to 40 tons
reassembled in a new location which is
above the original site.
Temple of Abu Simbel
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1.6.1. The Influence of the Egyptian King and Queen
Statues on Today’s Artists
Today, artists still depict the ancient Egyptian King and Queen statues in their
works and are still inspired from these sculptures. Jean Leon Gerome, Max Ernest,
Henry Moore, Lynn Chadwick can be considered as the examples of such artists.
Jean-Léon Gérôme: He was born in Vesoul in 1824 and died in Paris in 1904.
Gérôme is one of the pre-eminent painters of the second half of the 19th century
who was also an academic artist pioneering the painters working in the new-Greek
style. He studied in the School of Fine Arts at Paris during 1842-1845 under Paul
Delaroche (1797-1856) and was influenced from his style of emphasizing the historical realities. He focused on the classical paintings with historical subjects with a
group of artists. The group named Les Néo-Grecs or Les Pompéistes depicted the
Antique Era in an epigrammatic and erotic way rather than a dull historical expression. In 1856 he went to Egypt and in the following years he exhibited his works at
official Saloon Exhibitions depicting the daily life in Egypt as well of his paintings
with New-Greek subjects. Between 1862 and 1874 he visited Near East. In 1864 he
was appointed as a lecturer at a new work shop established in the School of Fine
Arts in Paris. In 1865, he was elected the member of French Institute.
Gérôme visited Mediterranean basin and Near East several times and 250 of his
total of 600 paintings have Orientalist subjects. He was especially interested in Cairo
and Istanbul. He made a journey to Istanbul in 1875 and later he used the photographs of Topkapi Palace’s inner locations and marble courtyard as background in
his paintings. Gérôme's work Coffeehouse at Egypt (1895) is exhibited at
Dolmabahçe palace.
Jean-Léon Gerome, in his painting Memnon and Sesotris Statue at Thebes depicted the statues of Memnon and Sesotris at the temple of ancient Egypt pharaoh
Amenophis III loyal to one-to-one originals. These 20 m high colossal statues are set
at the entrance of pharaoh Amenohotep’s temple across the Luxor Temple on the
west bank of Nile. The statue at the north is the Memnon statue. There are Greek and
Latin inscriptions on the statues stating that the statue was reputed to "sing" every
morning at dawn: a light moaning or whistling.
Max Ernest: The monumental expression and static standing of the ancient
Egyptian king and queen statues can also be seen in Max Ernst’s painting The Couple
or The Couple in Lace. Although the materials used in Max Ernst’s painting differ
from the samples in ancient Egypt, the impression given to the audience is similar.
Henry Moore: He was born in Castleford, Yorkshire in 1898. He studied at the
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Royal College of Art in London and Leeds School of Art during 1919 and 1925. He
participated in RCA group. From 1931 to 1939 he taught at Chelsea School of Art.
During 1940-1942 he drew paintings related to war. After 1923 he made journeys to
Paris several times. In 1925, he went to a long trip to Italy. He held his first solo exhibition at the Warren Gallery in London. Starting from 1931, he exhibited his works
at the Leicester Gallery in London. In 1933 he became a member of Unit I. His first
collective exhibition was held in 1941 at the Temple Newsam in Leeds and his first
solo exhibition abroad was held at Buchholz Gallery in New York in 1943. In 1956
he was commissioned to sculpt a statue for the UNESCO building in Paris. He
received orders for the same style of sculpture from all around the world. In 1963
the artist was awarded the “Order of Merit”. In 1951 and 1968 he exhibited his
works at Tate Gallery in London.
Expression power and monumental expression conception in Egyptian art is perceived in Moore’s King and Queen named statue with a solid archaic structure.
Besides the archaic-primitive expression way of Egypt very hard stones of Egypt and
spanking new approach which was brought in with regard to glazing can be also perceived in this work. He created a brand new monument form, the bigness of mass,
formation of monument which can be caught as moving away from nature form. His
monumental abstract, closed forms records first humans purified from details.
Lynn Chadwick: He was born in London in 1914. He performed abstract work
of arts including also mobile ones. He studied architecture in Merchant Taylors in
London. Chadwick who started his art life as an architect and furniture designer
began to create mobiles by using glass and metal in 1945 by tending towards sculpture after he turned back from the Second World War and settled in Gloucestershire.
After he saw three mobiles of Calder in large dimension in 1951 he focused on this
style in a more attentive manner. He is one of the leading artists who used metal as
a material since 1950. He made bronze casting after he coated the steel skeleton with
plaster which was reinforced with iron filings in his works after 1953. His statues
which he created in this style are in the direction of H. Moore’s approach to human
figure and the figure is barely seen. Moore’s organic approach to statue at a great
extent found expression in Chadwick’s works. Chadwick’s works after 1960 started
to be composed of more monumental and flat massive forms. These are literally
abstract by being organic natures to be suppressed.
Land Chadwick portrayed man and woman figures in a position which they are
sitting side by side in his work named Pair of Sitting made of bronze. Insect-like
organs with faces like gargoyles are seen in his work. He makes reference to statues
of kings and queens in ancient Egypt.
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Luxor Hotel - Las Vegas
1.6.2. Influence of Statues of Kings and Queens on
Architectural Studies
Statues of kings and queens are still used in the architectural studies and works
at the present time.
Luxor Hotel: One to one reproductions of statues of kings and queens of
Tutankhamun were made by being inspired from ancient Egyptian art in Luxor
Hotel in Las Vegas.
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1.7. Sphinx
In ancient Egypt where religion and nature were telescopic, the cats reached the status of god. The cat god culture was more wide spread in the Nile delta. Like Bastet with
cat head and Sakhmet with lion head, gods with cat roots had an important place in
ancient Egypt. The Sun was the source of life in ancient Egypt; the cat gods were associated with the Sun. The lion head of Sakhmet was related both to the cheetah and also
it was associated with the Lion Horoscope whose planet is the Sun. The cat gods were
the eyes of Re, the God of Sun. It was thought that the God Re saw good and bad
through them.
Bast was the daughter of Re, the god of Sun. According to the ancient Egypt legend,
Bastet got angry with her father, secluded herself at the Nubian Desert at the South of
Egypt and turned into a lion. After a while, Re forgives his daughter and calls her to
Egypt. Upon this, Bastet with the appearance of a lion washes at the waters of the Nile
near Assuan and turns into a cat right there, goes to Bubastis with the boat that she
boards on and continues her deity life at this region. Bastet who is angry with her father
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became the beautiful goddess Sakhmet in the form of a lion that a cheerful, meek and
cute cat is symbolized.
The bronze cat-goddesses left their places to marble human-god statues. Temples
for the cat gods were made during the Nile delta; the cats were pictured on the walls of
many temples and pyramids as sacred beings. Bastet and Sakhmet took place as motif
in the areas of celebrations and wall pictures. During the period of Middle Dynasty,
the portrait of the king was added to the statues in the form of sphinx and such statues
were recognized as the symbol for the power and protection of the king. According to
the experts, the figures which are the mixtures of human-lion emerged ten years before
the Sphinx of Giza. In 2528 BC, there are two statues that describe the head of Ragedef
who is among the sons of Cheops. The religious motifs were transferred from
Mesopotamia to ancient Greece and then to Rome. Other Sphinx’ emerged in Egypt,
Greece and Syria.
Today, the experts classify the sphinx’ in three categories:
1. The ones that are crouched like in Giza
2. The ones that are sitting
3. The ones that are shown as moving
For example, in the Temple of Luxor, Alexander the Great was depicted as sitting.
Other human-lion mixtures were also made. As a matter of fact, there are heads that
only have the human face but which have ears and mane of a lion. Besides, there were
those that have human arms that hold a vase instead of front legs with hands that were
carved. The most extraordinary depicted statues were the ones that belong to the
Egyptian god Tutu that has human head and three different animal heads like a snake.
The Sphinx of Pharaoh Chafre: Sphinx is the most famous statue on the earth.
The statue that has a human head and a lion body was associated with Horus, the symbol of the rising sun. The Great Sphinx which is the most magnificent of the hundreds
of statues that were made at the ancient Dynasty period of Chepren was the first giant
product of the ancient Egypt sculpture. The Sphinx statue is located at the southeast of
the Great Pyramid complex and northwest of the Chepren Pyramid valley temple.
Around 1400 BC, Sphinx was the subject of the greatest mass crosses in history. The
Sphinx was carved by the architects of Chepren who is the son of Cheops in 2520 BC
for the reason of a tomb complex. It emerged by coincidence in order to solve an ordinary aesthetic problem.
A little hill was left in the middle of the cook stone that the limestone used in building of the Cheops and Chepren pyramid was taken out of which was too big to be
Sphinx of Pharaoh Chephren
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1
2
1-Cheops Pyramid and Sphinx
2-Delphi Sphinx
3- Sphinx’ with ram head and lion bodies in front of Luxor and Karnak Temples
carved and of too little quality to be used in the pyramids. This little hill was roughly in
the form of a lion. The pharaoh had this hill carved and had them make a lion statue.
However to combine the pharaoh which is the god of the world with the body of a lion
which is the strongest animal on the earth was to symbolize the power of the pharaoh.
The Egyptians believed that the sphinx crushed the darkness and evil because it had the
power of the rising sun. The ancient Egyptians called the sphinx statue “shesep-ankh”
which we can explain as the “living image”. The ancient Greeks gave the name “sphinx”
to it which was derivated from “shiggo” which meant combined together because it
was combined from the human and animal elements.
The statue has been buried under the soil and then emerged again many times during history. After Thutmosis, Ramesses II, Septimus Severius of Rome and French Emile
Barazie in 1926 took it out of soil. It was found again by the Western around 1700’s and
it highly impressed the westerners. The statue was used by the Memluks (the Turks
who administered Egypt from 1250 until 1517) in the 14th century as the training tar186
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get of the gun batteries. Bonaparte organized a big scientific expedition to Egypt 200
years ago. They examined the Sphinx with 168 experts and exposed it partially. Even
then the extraordinary size of the pyramids and Sphinx encouraged the many fantastic
assumption regarding its building in the West. The guardian of the pyramids at Giza
plains always awakened strong feelings and were a source for legends and mysteries.
From the Romans to Napoleon, it had meaning and protection during the whole history.
Delphoi Greek Sphinx: Sphinx first emerged in ancient Greece about 1600 BC. The
sphinx came to Greece from Asia. It is assumed that the sphinx was transferred to
ancient Greece indirectly through Syria. The half human half animal gods in the
mythology of ancient Egypt entered the Greek pantheon with the Hellenistic period.
The Greek sphinx was a statue with a feminine head and wings. It inspired the Oedipus
myth. The sphinx of Pharaoh Chafre was the inspiration for the (6th century, Naxos
Island) Delphoi Greek Sphinx. The sphinx’ that were not seen anywhere in Greece during the four hundred years after 1200 BC continued their existence in Asia in similar
forms and conditions to the ones in Bronze Age.
The Sphinx’ with Ram Head in front of the Temples of Luxor and Karnak:
Amun Temple which is the biggest and the most considerable religious complex that
has ever been built on the world until this day is at Karnak region near the modern
Luxor town. At the entrance of the Amun Temple and at the main axle that passes
between the 1st pylon wall and its middle, sphinx’ with ram heads are lined up. The
yard with the ram headed sphinx’ are called “Habes court” and the ram headed sphinx’
3
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is called “criosphinx”. Ram is the sacred animal of Amun. They are made so that the
two or three dimensioned Egypt statues protect a king or an ordinary person.
The Sphinx’ with Pharaoh Head in front of Luxor and Karnak Temple: An
important part of the road that the sphinx’ with pharaoh head are lined up that connects
the Amun Temple and Luxor Temple is seen across the pylon wall. The fact that its
1
head
is human and the body is lion has two different meanings. It has a message that
belongs to both the past and the future. It tries to tell that the wisdom that was once
symbolized with lion will be lived on the world again that is “the humans would be
lionised”. The sphinx has silently carried the prediction of thousands of years ago as
well as a memory from thousands of years ago. The sphinx whispers the following
words in this prediction: “The wisdom that was lost once will emerge again one day
and the people will be lionised.”
The Door Lion and the Column Bottom with Sphinx found at Zinjirli: Zinjirli
which is connected to Islahiye in Gaziantep is the centre for Samel Kingdom in Late
Hitite period. The sphinx’ that are seen here has protective quality and emerged as the
interaction with Egypt.
Late Hittite Period: The most beautiful example to the interaction among cultures
of the same period is the lion statues, that are sphinx. The lion statues that are very
1- Sphinx’ with pharaoh head and lion bodies in front of Luxor and Karnak Temples
2-Door lion at Zinjirli
3- Column with sphinx at Zinjirli
4-Brazier at Isis Temple at Pompei
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important in Egypt and that protect pharaohs have inspired those that connected with
Egypt. Hittite is one of these.
Charcoal at the Isis Temple in Pompei: The sphinx has an important place in the
Roman world as it had in Greek world. As a result of political and cultural relationship
with ancient Egypt, the wall ornaments and figurative pictures at the houses in the
towns of Pompei and Ephesus emerged with
the effect of Egyptian wall pictures. From this
perspective, the Hellenistic period brought
new works that would influence the later
centuries to the world art. At the charcoal in
the Isis Temple at Pompei (1st century BC),
there are Sphinx descriptions.
Afyon Lion Stone (Phrygians Mountain
Temple): The Phrygian Civilization ruled
between 2000-1750 BC. Phrygians were
among the hordes from Balkan roots who
came to Anatolia after the fall of Troy. The
Phrygians were quickly Anatolised and they
were largely under the influence of Late
Hittite and Hellen. Therefore just like the
simultaneous cultural interactions, there
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1
were also cultural transfers. The sphinx’ that were seen in Syria and Anatolia, Afyon
Lion Stone, Phrygians Rock Temple were inspirations for the sphinx’ with door lions in
6th century BC. The Phrygians art was influenced first from the Hittite art and later on
from the Hellenistic art. Therefore the protective lion figures of Egypt that take place in
the Hittite art and Hellen art was transferred to Phrygians art.
Delos Cult Centre: The merchants who arrive in ancient Egypt were influenced by the pharaoh headed sphinx’ that are in front of the Luxor and Karnak temples and made way with sphinx’ at the Delos cult centre in the 7th century Greece.
Alacahoyuk, The Door with Sphinx: The Hittite architecture and sculpture
can be seen at the Hittite centres like Yazilikaya and Alacahoyuk which are open
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2
air temples at and near Bogazkoy. During the age of Hittite Kingdom (14601150 BC), Alacahoyuk is surrounded by city walls, the remnants of which can
be seen today. The city is entered through a door named the door with sphinx.
The protective lion figures at Alacahoyuk have been formed here as a result of
the interaction between cultures. Therefore, the pharaoh headed and ram headed sphinx of Egypt has been the inspiration for the protective lions at
Alacahoyuk.
3
1- Friggian rock monument at Aslantas, Afyon
2- Delos Cult Centre
3- Alacahoyuk door with sphinx
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Main door of Nemrud
The Main Door of Nemrud: The bull human statues that are placed at the
doors of castles and palaces which is the door guardian and protector, constitutes the example of the human headed sphinx’ in Egypt. They are exhibited
today at British Museum.
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1.7.1. The Influence of the Sphinx Form to Today’s Artists
The sphinx form is still used today and inspires the artists. Karl Friedrich Schinkel
in his Sarastro’s Garden and Sphinx in Moonlight and Luc Oliver Menson in his Rest
in Egypt made exact copies of sphinx in their paintings. Today when the heroes in
Greek mythology has been started to be re-painted with symbolism, the artists started to re-paint sphinx. Oedipus and Sphinx by Gustave Moreau, Art or Sphinx or
Caress by Fernand Knopff, A Week of Bonte by Max Ernst, The Youngest Sacred
Monster of Cinema at His Age by Salvador Dali, At the Cemetery of Mt. Auburn by
Martin Milmore and the Sphinx at the Las Vegas Luxor Hotel has been studied like an
exact copy of their past versions and it is still lived today.
Karl Freidrich Von Schinkel: He was born in 1781 at Neuruppin. He died in 1837
at Berlin. Schinkel started architecture next to Friedrich Gilly. He examined the antiquity during a visit to Italy between 1803 and 1805 and then he visited Paris. When he
returned to Berlin, because the political condition was not favourable for large construction orders, he spared his time for painting works. He later became the chief
architect and made the buildings Neue Wache in Berlin in 1816, Schauspielhaus in
1818, Alte Museum in 1825, Hauptwache at Dresden in 1831, Nikolaikirche at
Postam between the years 1830-1837 and Wedersche Kirsche 1824-1830. Some
buildings followed these that he used non-plastered brick facades between the years
1824-1830.
Schinkel seemed like a defender of a national gothic in his theoretical principles and
some projects of him that have not been carried out, however as a result, in order to
meet the demands of Prussian Dynasty, he had to carry out many of the orders in a
strict neo-classic understanding. Notwithstanding, in the series of prince chateau, he
built the Babelserg (1834) neo-gothic chateau and Kamenz chateau at Lower-Silesia.
His architectural thoughts in 1830 were formed by the impressions of the visit he
made to the industrial towns of France and England in 1826. The non-plastered brick
fronts that Schinkel liked are like creating a mixture between national gothic style and
classical style principles. Schinkel who represented “national gothic” with “neo-classicism” at Prussia was rediscovered at the period of Bauhaus period.
Ancient Egypt was the source of inspiration for Mozart. Mozart transferred the
Magical Flute opera by the libretto writer Schikaneder in 1791 to the mysterious notes
full of sorrow. Karl Freidrich Schinkel made theatre decorations besides the romantic
panoramic paintings, among which the most famous one is the Magical Flute. In
Sarastro’s Garden and Sphinx in Moonlight and the Decoration of Mozart Opera, the
sphinx is shown on a small island full of palm trees in the middle of the Nile. The
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“sphinx” that is reflected as a silhouette under the moonlight presents a charming visual with its giant magnificence and monumental effect.
Gustave Moreau: He was born in 1826 in Paris and died in 1898 in Paris. Moreau
who is among the most important representatives of the symbolist trend, pictured the
imaginary and mythological subjects with an ornamental and elegant style that
reminds of the 15th century Italian masters. In 1848, Moreau started to work with
Theodore Chasseriau (1819-1856) from the masters of Romanticism. The sea goddess
depictions that this artist made played an important part in Moreau’s creation of mysterious images like this.
During a visit he made to Italy in 1857, he examined the works of early
Renaissance masters and was influenced by them.
He brought a different interpretation to the classical arrangements of Ingres and he
followed a different attitude from the monumentary style of academism, similar to the
understanding of Puvis de Chavannes. His work named Heracles and Hydra (1870),
included a different type of telling with the forcing of imagery of a mythological subject. In the painting named The Dance of Salome (1876), this well known story of the
Sacred Book is presented in a nearly imaginary universe. Moreau’s usage of light and
colour in an attentive and symbolist approach provided him a different place in
Symbolism. In 1874, Joris Karl Huysmans used the artists’ pictures where he
processed Salome in some parts of his novel, Reverse. His contemporary writers frequently told the visual imagery he created in their works.
Gustave Moreau’s work named Oedipus and Sphinx has symbolic and allegoric
elements. It took its subject from mythology. The Greek sphinx is a feminine headed
and winged statue. It is the source of inspiration for the Oedipus myth. The Greek
sphinx has emerged due to influence from the sphinx of ancient Egypt. Therefore
Gustave Moreau was inspired from ancient Egypt in his works.
Luc Oliver Merson: He was born in Paris in 1846. He died in 1920. His first emergence was in 1867 at Paris Exhibitions with his painting named Leucothea and
Anaxandra that have historical subject. Menson who studied allegorical issues in his
paintings made the illustrations for the books of Victor Hugo, Musset and Merime. In
his work, Rest in Egypt, he used the Giza Sphinx from the symbols of ancient Egypt
and gave it a mysterious air.
Fernand Knopff: He was born in 1858 at Grembergen-lez-Termonde. He died in
1921 in Brussels. Khnopff who is accepted as the great symbolist artist of Belgium by
the critics of his age is the child of a rich family from Ardenne, from Heidelberg roots.
He spent his childhood in Bruges where he was influenced by a certain melancholy.
He quit the Law School in order to enter Brussels Fine Arts Academy. He became the
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student of Xavier Mellery at the academy. During the period he stayed in Paris, he
admired Delacroix and had a great interest to the imagery power of Gustave Moreau.
The ones who deeply influenced his style were pre-Rafaelists like Burne-Jones, Rosetti
and Watts. He became a founder member of the XX Society in Brussels in 1883 however he exhibited his paintings especially in Paris and presented his works at the first
“Rose Cross” exhibition. In his paintings, he painted the popular themes of symbolist
writers like loneliness, sphinx, imagery and empty towns. Sometimes, as in the
Sleeping Muse of Inspiration, he reminds of Redon or as in Caress he depicted a few
meaningful beauty of a woman with female tiger body.
Fernand Knopff, in his painting named Art, Sphinx or Caress in 1896, examined the
sphinx which is among the most popular themes of the symbolist authors. The depiction of the meaningful beauty of a woman with female tiger body overlaps with
Moreau. The woman in the shape of a panther is laid on the young one. The look of
the young one is as if he lost the distance. There is a reference to the sphinx in the Giza
pyramids which is the symbol of ancient Egypt.
Max Ernest: Paul Elard wrote for Max Ernest as follows: “Nothing is far away from
bird, cloud and human. The dreams are not far away from the opinions of people, the
nature of reality and the dream of reality. Their values are the same. Trouble, movement, need and passion are inseparable. Think of yourself as a flower or fruit or the
heart of a tree. Until you wear the colours on yourself and until they become important signs, until you believe that the identity can turn out to be anything”. As Paul
Elard says everything can mutate. Impossible dreams may come true.
Max Ernst shows this in his work A Week of Bonte. A man with a bird’s head is
sitting at the compartment of a train. The Sphinx which is the famous protector of the
Giza pyramids of ancient Egypt is looking towards the enormously large glass.
Salvador Dali: In 1904, he was born in the Figueras town of Catalonia, he died in
1989 in the Figueras Chateau. He was a student at the Madrid Academy in 1924, however he was thrown out of school in 1925 due to his extreme behaviours. He searched
for new arts that are beyond impressionism; however he showed inclination towards
the naturalism of Vermeer and Pre-Raphaelites and Gaudi’s architecture. In 1928, he
made two visits to Paris. He met Picasso and Miro. When he brought his new work
to Paris for his personal exhibition that he would open at the Geomans Galler, Breton
discovered the Surrealism of Dali. He wrote the introductory text for the catalogue and
printed his works in The Surrealist Revolution. In 1930 Dali came to Paris and worked
as a member of the Surrealist group. The inspiration of Breton improved the “criticparanoid administration” which is a thesis beyond the thesis of sincere, passive calling. He worked with Bunnuel in movies named Un chien Andalou (1929) and L’Age
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1-Sphinx at Aubrn Cemetery
2-Luxor Hotel
d’Or (1931). In 1938, because he supported the Spanish dictator Franco to some
extent, he was thrown out of the group. Between 1940 and 1955 he lived in the USA,
he later returned to Spain and continued to live in Cadaques.
In his work named The Youngest Sacred Monster of Cinema at his Age, Salvador
Dali turns the youth of Shirley Temple into a portrait and combines it with the lion
and therefore making a reference to the pharaoh headed sphinx of ancient Egypt.
The Influence of the Sphinx Form to Architectural Works
Today the sphinx form is still used and inspires the architectural works. Mt.
Auburn Cemetery and Luxor Hotel is among these.
Sphinx at Mt. Auburn Cemetery: Mt. Auburn Cemetery that was built in 1872
at Cambridge by the Architect Martin Milmore is copied from the ancient Egypt
examples without a difference. It is built as a result of the Egypt influence that started in the world with the cemetery of King Tutankhamun.
Luxor Hotel: It is copied from the examples of sphinx at the tomb of
Tutankhamun among the powerful pharaohs of ancient Egypt. The example at that
period has been successfully imitated.
1.8. Cat
The cats were beings that symbolized ancient Egypt. Their domestication has been
carried out 4000 years ago in Egypt. The domestic cat has been spread to the world
from Egypt. The information regarding the cat of ancient Egypt was gathered from the
authors of ancient age like Didorus Siculus (Bibliotheken), Claudius Aelianus (De
Natura Animalium) and especially Herodotus (Historia). The picturing of the cats in
ancient Egypt which is accepted as the motherland of the domestic cats starts from
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about 2000 BC. The earliest example of a cat to be seen in a religious concept is found
in an ivory spell knife. These knives are dated 2000-1500 BC and ornamented with animals and mythological creatures. They had protective functions; they protected the one
who carried it from the daily dangers: illness, accident, being bit by scorpion and snake.
In the ancient Egypt documents, there are cat depictions. In these depictions, the
cats are seen in a symbolic and religious sense. In the literature and mythology of
ancient Egypt, it is rarely observed that the cats are named. Even though the cat depictions in ancient Egypt are seen starting from the Middle Dynasty, the domestic cat
depictions are frequently seen in the art of New Dynasty (1570-1070 BC) and Late
Period (1070-332 BC). The first time that the cat is seen with people is at Beni Hassan
in Middle Egypt. The highest number of cat mummy was found at Beni Hassan. The
popularity of the cat reached the peak in the period of Ptolemy period (332-30 BC). The
cats were called as goddesses in ancient Egypt around 400 BC.
The protection of wheat came as first among the important things for Egypt. The
cultivation of wheat had an important place in Egypt’s becoming a more improved culture compared with other cultures. The same worry lied beneath the observation of the
movements of the sky, recording of the climate changes and observation of the movements of Nile: in order to come over the cropping and harvest period without a problem. The cats were an important weapon against the rodents like mouse and rats as
well as snakes and insects that damaged the grain cellars.
The cat was not only useful for Egyptians by eating mousse and snakes but it was
respected at Egypt for its aesthetic and mystic features as well. The cats that were fed
here had special jewellery like sacred crocodiles, however they were much more ornamented. Golden earrings were put on the bronze cat statues and their eyes were ornamented with crystal stone. They put on head piece, necklace and earrings on cats.
These jewelleries were almost as thinly processed as the ones for humans. Among the
types of cats, especially Siamese cat was accepted as sacred and valued. The mother
goddess Bastet was depicted as cat headed and human bodied. It was believed that the
cats were beings that had duties between the other world and this world and that they
protected the door to the world of spirit and kept the bad spirits away. At the same
time, the female cats, protectors of the house and the cat lovers were associated with
“Bastet” the lion headed Goddess that brought abundance and the beneficial hotness
of the sun. According to the belief when the cat meowed the house would be filled
with joy which is the gift of god to man. For all these reasons, the punishment for one
who killed a cat, even though accidentally was death. The cat headed motifs in the
houses were respected as the religious motifs that protected the house from evil. If a
family lost their cat, they entered a great mourning and they all cut their eyebrows in
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order to express that they are in
mourning. Naturally, their neighbours were informed in short time
about the existence of this special
creature and the value the ancient
Egyptians gave to it. However the
cats belonged to ancient Egypt and
they had to be protected. It was
banned for the cats to be taken out
of ancient Egypt. The cat was
above all for the ancient Egyptians.
The cats were informers of fertility and abundance. If someone
saw a cat in his dream, the priests
would interpret that a great harvest
would be acquired. Ceremonies
were made before harvest for the
cat goddess Bastet and
the ancient Egyptians
who went to Bubastis
town where they
believed that Bastet
lived believed that they
would become pilgrims
with this visit. The pilgrim candidates who
held an instrument named “sistrum” on one hand and a basket full of kittens
on the other hand sang songs for Bastet and played sistrum. The cult of the
cat was especially wide spread in the Bubastis town of low Egypt. Here a
temple was built in the name of goddess Bastet. In the city of Bubastis, the
religious enthusiasm turned into a great festival and the respect to Bast was
expressed in tables that were enriched by wine.
Late Period Bubastis Cat Goddess Bastet’s Bronze Statue: Basta
tumulus from Babastis, the bronze statue of the cat, the sacred animal of
Bastet is placed in the Oxford Ashmolean Museum.
1-Bronze statue of God Bastet (above)
2-The mummy of God Bastet
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The Mummy of the Cat Goddess Bastet: It is one of the cat mummies that is
made for the visitors of cemetery. The dead cat was buried in the city temple with celebration. The ancient Egyptians included their dead cats to the reincarnation culture as
well; they believed that their dead cats would return back to the world. The Egyptians
who made the cat sacred made mummies of the cats as well in order to be together
with them again in the other life. In the excavations made, many cat mummies were
found besides illustrious statues of the cats. Apart from these statues, bronze and marble statues are exhibited in the ancient Greek and Roman rooms of Vatican and mosaic statues are exhibited in Napoli museum.
1.8.1. The Influence of the Cat Goddess to Today’s Artists
Today the cat form still inspires the works and is used. The “Cat Woman” of
Peter Pommerer and the “Cat Woman” on screen are the results of this effect.
Peter Pommerer: He was born in 1968 in Stuttgart. He lives in Berlin in
Germany. His drawings are more enlightening and faster than other tools. The
drawing is traditionally brought across painting and wall picture. In theory, the
drawing lacks a solid base, more special than continuity, mobile and purified
from logic. When most of the drawings are prisoned to walls, the ground of the
uneasy existence constitutes the solid architecture of galleries and inner spaces.
Pommerer makes the perfect and magnificent white spaces, walls, windows,
entrance ways and pillars even more beautiful by using pencil. The traditions
that Pommerer joined with fairy tales, elephants, countless giant chateaus, steam
ships that arise emotions, tropical stages full of palm trees and magic mushrooms has common points with the cave pictures and the simple repetitive
rhythm of the drawing anarchy that the children have rather than European
designs and the success of spiritualism. Pommerer’s art is ironic when it comes
to art history. Instead of himself, he presents self history full of emptiness and
confusion. He is concentrated on wall pictures. He quit production in order to
take the joy of the wisdom of existence for the uniqueness of creation with pencil in hand.
Peter Pommerer in his installation Cat Woman he made in 2001, the artist
again spreads to the space while using the wall. He forms a multi-layered system with the back part that he formed by dividing the triangle and rectangle on
the wall and the organic structure within. With the two x-ray beam and the cat
mummy he placed next to it on the box that is placed at the front, it is as if the
artist would like to reflect the inner vision of the cat with today’s condition.
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Cat Woman: After the cats gained the position of God, they became a part of the daily
life of ancient Egypt. Many families called especially their daughters Mit or Miut which is
the cat calling exclamation. The cat aroused admiration with its warrior personality, beauty and mystery. The Goddess Bastet was associated with motherhood, fertility, beauty
and kindness. The statues of cat headed, woman bodied goddess Batet who is the god of
music, dance, fun, mystery and magic had the power to protect the houses from evil. Cats
were nourished at palaces and temples and the women tried to imitate the graceful and
harmonious walk that they believed to be the walk of goddess Bastet. When the women
were doing their make-up, they tried to resemble their face to cats and imitate the graceful and harmonious walk of the cat. Today, the cat goddess Bastet is reflected on screen
with the movie “Cat Woman”. And it is lived in the movies.
Cat Woman, Catafalque cover of Asetemakbyt
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1.9. Colour
The fact that painting had an important place in the life of ancient Egypt showed
its effect by the addition of a series of new pigments to the bright pigments from the
palette of pre-history. The palette of the painter from ancient Egypt was much wider
compared to the pre-historical times, however the Egyptians improved new methods
in painting the sarcophagus and walls that they wanted to ornament and application
of colour on these.
In the language of Egypt, the colour, skin and nature were associated words. A
form without a colour meant non-completed and not adding any colour intentionally was a very rare situation. Because the image was not the aim, there was no light
and shadow. The entire figure was just one colour. It was pieces of wooden or a
weaving or form by using the skins of some animals. The main colours that were used
were black, white, red, yellow, blue and green. With the 18th Dynasty, the number
of the colours increased. The colours were not mixed to each other and they rarely
passed from one colour to another. Even though the colour was always used, it was
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the line that determined it and it was never the only tool to transfer data. The outer
lines are chosen from contrast colours and generally black was used.
Among the natural pigments the Ancient Egyptians used were malachite, azurite,
read lead, arsenite and lapis lazuli. Malachite and azurite are minerals of deep green
and blue that is found in places close to each other. Both were basic copper carbons
that gave good green and blue pigment when processed and washed. Read lead is a
bright red mineral that provides a bright red, semi-transparent pigment when crushed.
This pigment which is generally found in mercuric sulphite was probably the first
bright red pigment that the first painter could use even though it darkened when
exposed to light. Arsenite which is a golden yellow mineral that is exported from
Syria is a natural poisonous arsenic sulphate that gave away a poisonous smoke and
that spread a bad smell. However, it seems that such features of it did not decrease
its usage as pigment. The reason for this is that it was the only bright yellow material that could have been used then. Lapis lazuli which belonged to the sodalite group
is a blue mineral that is formed in mountainous regions. This mineral has a deep blue
colour and has golden specks that is formed due to iron pyrite and grey silicate which
is a feature that corrupted the purity of its colour. Lapis lazuli was used as a dense
blue pigment by being crushed. However it was widely used by the ancient Egyptians
who found it extremely valuable in the making of jewellery and statue. With this feature, it took its place in the period’s painter’s palettes as the most expensive pigment.
The first blue pigment that is produced by the ancient Egyptians was blue glass or
smalt. This material that started to be used in 2500 BC, was produced by heating the
sand copper metal with copper spring and base, however, in order to gain the blue
colour probably cobalt was used as well. The glass that were attained this way was
used in the ornament of statues and jewellery making and besides as a pigment by
artists. Many of the first madders were discovered by ancient Egyptians like blue dye
(isatis tinctoria), indigo (indigofera) and red madder (rubia tinctorum) which are completely attained from plants and karmin attained from kermes insect. These madders
were turned into pigments to be used in process with the pioneership of ancient
Egyptians. This process included a dye to be subsided upon the pieces of an undissolvable and colourless holder like chalk or white clay. Blue dye and indigo was taken
out of the leaves of the plants that they were attained from with hot water and the
pigments were gained with scraping the bubble that is formed on the scraping bowl.
This bubble was grounded with another holder material that would provide chalk or
blue dust and then it was dried and used as a pigment. The colours that were between
pink and red, brown and purple were attained by taking out of the roots of the plant
with the help of a dilute straining process. In order to separate the substance that gives
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the colour, the ground roots that were dried was passed from sieves after being mixed
with water and a series of process with base. The red dye was turned into red pigment that is nearly purple by subsiding over a binding substance.
A red colouriser karmin which is mentioned in the Old Testament and was
explained by Pliny as well was probably used first at the times of the ancient
Egyptians. It was attained from the kermes insect that is found in various oak trees
and lives in Europe and Asia. The female insect would hold on to the oak tree in order
to leave the eggs and then just before laying the eggs, they were both taken and killed
with vinegar. The colour was attained by poring the boiled water on the insects in
order to take out the kermesic acid that is dissolvable in water and this acid was subsided afterwards with kalinite that does not include iron in order to attain the insoluble varnished pigment.
Catafalque Lid of Asetemakhbyt: At Deir el Bahari, a secret village was discovered that had mummy and shroud inside. The catafalque lid of asetemakhbyt was colored with the dazzling colours of ancient Egypt and decorated. The sky at night and
the wings of goddess was drawn on the motifs on leather. The catafalque lid’s apron
was made on the name of high priest Amun Masharte.
1.9.1. The Influence of the Colours used in Ancient Egypt on
Today’s Artists
Today the colour understanding of ancient Egypt period still influences the artists
and gives their works creative inspiration.
Frank Stella: He was born in Malden in 1936. He is one of the important painters
of abstract art like Ad Reinhardt. He received his art education at Princeton University
between 1954 and 1958. He is living in New York. He opened his first personal exhibition with shaped canvas and aluminium painting strips at Castelli Gallery in New
York in 1960. Starting from 1964, he opened personal exhibitions in London. In minimalism which is the optimum usage of colours and shapes, the artists targeted purification in the usage of colour and form and they focused on using industrial materials
with simple contents and geometric forms. Here, it was not the objects used but it
was the concepts. Minimalism, which literally meant “art where the content is
decreased to minimum” was tried to be defined by some as “simplification” because
it purified everything. Today, it has been adapted to many different art forms like
architecture, art, sculpture, literature and music.
Frank Stella was inspired by the colours of ancient Egypt art in his work Bijoux
Indiscrets in 1974 and he applied warm colours in his work.
Bridget Riley: She was born in 1931 in London. She received art education at
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Goldsmith’s College and London Royal Art College (1949-1955). She opened her first
personal exhibition at Gallery One in 1962. Her first personal exhibition in New York
was opened at Richard Feigen Gallery in 1965. She organized mobile exhibitions
between 1970-1971 at Hannover, Bern, Duesseldorf, Torino, London and Prague.
The same kind of an exhibition was displayed between 1978-1980 at Buffalo, Dallas,
Sydney, Perth and Tokyo. Her first “Op” art was black and white.
During 1967’s, she reached all colours passing from greys and blues. Her efforts
were to give different optical and emotional impressions. An eminent artist and
designer of British Op Art, the artists’ interest towards optical effects partially emerged
during the research she made on the pointillism technique of Seurat. During the beginning of 1960’s, she worked black and white while she was raising Op Art. She
returned to colourful works in 1966. Her work displayed the characteristic effects of
Op Art skilfully and she especially tried graceful variations in size, form or layout. The
female artist who used color groups, freed pale colors by using distracting elements
minimally, like thin strips. She usually works on wide surfaces and receives support
from her assistants. Her paintings generally created awe and even though are fascinating, one of her works dated 1980 where she used blue, yellow, pink and white strips.
In the work named Sea Cloud by Bridget Riley, the vivid colors of ancient Egypt
are seen. When she went to Egypt in 1981, her art was deeply influenced by this.
Jim Lambie: He was born in Glasgow in 1964. He is still working and living there.
Glasgow became one of the most influential and productive cities of the international art locations in 1990’s. The artists from Glasgow who were little known formerly,
kilometres away from London, the capital of art, got together to form the fastest and
the most clamorous society of the period. This had long term effects on Scottish art.
The first personal exhibition of Lambie was named “Voiddoid”. This word came from
Richard Hell, the punk icon of New York. The power of punk came from keeping
objects simple and Lambie, like the rebirth of Malcolm McLaren to the art world, created a distinctive skill from the cheapest material. His work dated 1998, named
Psychedelic Soul Sticks constituted of sticks covered with socks leaned randomly on
the wall. The bright colored threads obliged one to play with them when distressed.
Jim Lambie’s work named Zobop is an installation that is constituted from plastic
tapes of various colours attached on the ground. Zobop (1999) is a symptomatic
work. Around the projections in the exhibition area, he drew switch backs on the corners with cheap strips, magnifying every detail and thus creating a visual rhythm that
shakes all the area by excitement. With his work, he left a nervous and mysterious
effect on the viewer. He gave place to the pure colours of ancient Egypt in his work.
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2
1
1-Godess Maat Queen
2-Godess Maat at the tomb of Queen Nefertari of Rameses II
3-Godess Isis
2. SYMBOLS IN ANCIENT EGYPT
2.1. The Wing
The eagle symbol is the symbol of God Horus, one of
the important gods of Egypt. The Egyptian word for God
Horus is Harou, the icon is falcon. It is the owner of the
sky. During the age of Thinit, Horus was pictured as a
male figure with falcon head. Horus with falcon head
was shown in Pyramid texts as the source of life, rain, first
creation, rebirth and the deity of the pharaoh. It was said
that He “is the being when no other god had become a
being yet and then no name had been cited” (alone being,
first being). Since he continuously flied with the falcon
3
head crowned with the disc of the sun, he was known as
Harakhte which meant “the horizon of the skies”. Next to
him, were the local Horus’ that is composed of the Four Horus of the Eastern sky.
Horus is the son of God Osiris and Goddess Isis. Horus grew up and entered a combat
with his uncle Seth and eventually defeated Seth. In the writings of the Pyramid, Horus
was placed inside the body of his father Osiris as a falcon and revived Osiris. After the
mythological reign of the King Horus, Menes or Narmer Dynasty emerged between
4000 and 7000 BC. Memphis city is founded on an old temple that is dedicated to the
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sacred bird. The pharaoh was represented by Horus while he lived. He was believed to
have been the son of God Re. He turned into Osiris after his death. The course motive
of the sun with an open pair of wings on both sides, that is the first example of Horus
symbol belongs to the period of 1st Dynasty. Horus was a pharaoh and in many pictures the wing figure can be seen in symbols representing Egypt at the entrance of his
temples. He is related to the Horus (Edfu) in Behdet, represents the sun and is especially seen in ceilings, cornices and stelas. He was copied frequently outside of ancient
Egypt as well. Goddess Maat was the daughter of God Re. She provided justice among
Gods. She had feather on her head and wings on her body. Egypt had an important
place in the religious philosophy. Maat protected the order of the world against the
chaos and anarchy in the world.
Goddess Maat: The goddess Maat was described with wings. She was pictured on
the walls of the cemeteries and palaces. Maat is the wife of Thot and the daughter of
Re. She represented laws and justice. She ruled the reason-result law that directed the
life plans of beings in the other world.
Goddess Maat at the Threshold of Nefertari’s Cemetery: At the cemetery of
Nefertari, the wife of Ramesses II, goddesses were pictured. One of them was the
Winged Goddess Maat. The fact that Maat’s picture was placed at the cemetery shows
that Nefertari was a just person while he was living.
Winged Goddess Isis: Isis was known for his wisdom and cunning and was
accepted as “even more clever than a million gods”. With his talent and cunning character, he managed to learn the secret name of God Re an even more he got permission
from Re to share this information with Horus and therefore the pharaohs themselves.
Learning the secret name of a god meant having an indescribable power. With the
Greeks and the Romans, the cult of Isis was spread out of Nile Valley to not only Italy
but to Galia. Here Isis statue was seen as well.
2.1.1. The influence of the Wing Form on Today’s artists
The symbol of the eagle passed to the Greek with the Hellenistic period and then to
Romans and it became the symbol of Rome. The artists that made symbolic paintings
inspired by the heroes of Greek mythology made winged human depictions. We see
this eagle, the symbol of power in the works of Odilion Redon and David Salle.
Odilon Redon: Odilion Redon, in his painting Thought and Mystic Knight brings
out the visions that express his own subconscious from his own interior world. Redon,
interpreted the “dream” in its most purified form, mystery that pours behind the most
trusting appearance and “fantastic” that is always ready to be born from the most daily
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truth. The image turning the real to imaginary is natural in his art. The fantastic theme
is not a myth, it emerges naturally. Redon is really unique as to his unbelievable beings
whom he used to present alive as humans.
David Salle: He was born in the United States in 1952. He went to California Fine
Arts Institution between 1970 and 1975. In 1975, he settled down in New York. In most
of his work, post-modern approaches took place. Salle formed his most characteristic
works combining old techniques he inherited from the previous masters, lucid images
and very original ways of expression. He generally made paintings using mixed figure
and abstracting and collage technique over large canvas papers. Salle is at the same time
sculptor, photographer, stage designer and movie director.
In the painting named Wide Bear that David Salle painted in 1998, there are references about Goddess Isis. Isis who became a cult was spread out of Egypt with Greeks
and Romans until Galia outside of Nile valley. As a winged goddess, Isis had a protective quality. The fact that these features were attributed to Virgin Mary with
Christendom reflects its togetherness with Goddess Isis and takes place in the eclectic
structure of the artist’s painting.
The Cemetery of Pashedu: It is near Sheik Abd El-Gurnah village of the Noble val-
God Horus at the tomb of Pashedu
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ley. The cemeteries and ornaments of the noble were
the same level with the pharaoh. The cemetery of
Pashedu is an example of the cemetery of a noble.
The Cemetery Ornament of Tutankhamun:
The icon of “ankh” on the claws of the eagle of the
cemetery ornament of Tutankhamun is a pictogram and
it means “life”. It is a cemetery ornament placed in order to
protect the pharaoh. The eagle is depicted from profile.
2.1.2. The Influence of the Eagle Wing Form On Today’s Artists:
Today the wing symbol is still being used and inspires the artists. The eagle is a symbol of power and it inspired the works of Robert Rauschenberg, Peter Philips and
Rebecca Newnham.
Robert Rauschenberg: He was born in Texas at Port Arthur in 1925.
Rauschenberg turned his name, which was Milton in his young years, to Robert.
The artist who finished high school in 1942 was enrolled in Kansas Town Art Institute
and went to Paris and entered lessons at the Julian Academy. He enrolled at Black
Mountain College at North Carolina. The works of Rauschengberg in 1960’s that he
named as “Mixed Art” are works built on these experiences. Rauschengberg who made
stages and art backgrounds for the dance shows that John Cage who made avant-garde
music (1912-1992) and dancer Merce Cunningham produced together, worked at
Cunningham society for a while at New York.
The industry dyes he purchased from sale, blueprint paper instead of canvas and
equipments that artists threw away to the trash helped him bring a brand new art
understanding. He made his first print on blueprint paper in 1949 and his experiment
where he brought together soil and grass with coop wire became the first example of
Environmental Art and Earth Art that was developed afterwards. 1954 was the year
when Expressionists’ fame reached international level and between 1954 to 1964 were
the years when people on the verge of Pop Art like Rauschenberg and J.Johns developed
a new avant-garde. Rewarding of Rauschenberg in 1964 at Biennial of Venice settled
academism of Avantgarde in contemporary art.
During 1960’s he formed a group named “Art and Technology Experiences” and he
carried out big art projects with industrial and technological institutions. At the same
time, he worked on protecting the copy rights of the artists. In order to help young
artists he organized sale campaigns among famous artists. The biggest collective exhiTomb ornament of Tutankamun
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bition of Rauschenberg was performed in New York in 1976. The artist who afterwards
focused on the art of the Far East brought novelties with the influences he received from
cultures like Japan and China in the field of printing. He made works bringing together
practices like ceramics, sculpture and architecture that brings together ceramics and
printing art. The artist who in recent years founded a company he named “Overseas Art
Shopping” (R.O.C.I.) makes artistic experiments in countries like Sri Lanka, Australia
and India.
Rauschenberg in his work Coca-Cola Plan and Kanyon increased the association
powers of the contemporary life. His innovation talent formed object statues that are
made with wings with an extraordinary vividness and vitality.
Rauschenberg took the art of collage further than the collages of Picasso and Braque.
In his work Coca-Cola Plan, he made the arrangement where he combined the World
map, 3 Coca-Cola bottle and wings that became the symbol of pop art. Here, there is
the reference to the triple of ancient Egypt and the sun course that represents the wings
of Horus. In his work Kanyon, he again made use of collage and placed bird wings on
the work. Therefore the wing shortly emphasizing the power of the eagle continues.
Peter Phillips: He was born in Birmingham in 1939. The British artist who was under
the influence of the masters of “Pop Art” during his education later on produced works
against the subjectivity with a Photo-Realist understanding. He studied at Birmingham
Art Academy between 1955 and 1959 and Royal Art Academy between 1959 and 1962.
After 1962, he gave lessons for one year at Coventry and Birmingham Art Academies
and then between 1968 and 1969 at Hamburg Plastic Arts Academy.
Phillips who is one of the most important “Pop Art” artists of United Kingdom is the
artist who at this area felt closest to the American culture after Paolozzi. In his works, he
used the figurative symbols he took from automatic entertainment machines and advertisements sometimes as they are and sometimes by rearranging them and from time to
time he placed abstract icons that can be seen as related to the design of these machines.
These elements placed in a geometric grid system were presented with a sharp formalist understanding and their natural features are emphasized by presenting alone or repetition. In 1960’s Philip’s Formalist worry became more obvious, the arrangement of the
elements in such an abstraction started to conflict with the Photo-Realist elements in his
works. Philips was influenced by Johns’ and Rauschenberg’s “Mixed Art” especially during his education.
Peter Philips in his work Against The Lions the mythological eagle elements and manifactural elements have become together. On the top the triangle forms, on the bottom
the commercial stars and in the middle the eagle figure can be seen. In Ancient Egypt the
eagle, icon of Horus takes place in the front of the advertisement posters today.
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Mosaic of Rebecca Newnham: She was born in 1967 at Stourbridge West
Midlands. Rebecca Newnham is a mosaic artist. Her unique work reflecting twothree dimensions light is a result of her works in different parts of the world from
Sandy Lane Hotel at Barbados to Gresham Palace Hotel in Budapest, from special
gardens to passenger ships. Rebecca who is a glass artist got bored with the limited
scale and directed herself to forming mosaics by breaking the glass. The artist who
graduated from Royal Art School at the beginning of 1990’s started creating larger
pieces by silvering valuable mines like gold and silver leaves and created her own
mosaic. She added color, fabric and light to the mosaic that can be adapted to different applications and moved on to avant-garde from formal. The multi-sided surfaces
of her work reflected the light and created glamorous effects. Rebecca’s furniture
combined form and function as well. The glass was finished with bronze, silver or
gray objects. The mirrors completed every location. She created space and illuminations and attractive focus points in the interior of the houses or outside suitable for
balcony, garden and swimming pools.
The mosaic that Rebecca Newnham made, took eagle, the symbol of Horus, the
ancient Egypt God as theme. The artist in this work, wanted to perpetuate a myth
that all pharaohs that are born are God Horus when they lived.
2.1.3.The Influence of Woman Headed Bird Figure to Today’s Artist:
Today the woman headed bird figure is being used and it inspires the artists.
As in the painting of Fernand Knopff, these figures inspire the artists.
The Cemetery of Sennedjem: In the cemetery pictures of Sennedjem, the
Necropolis attendant of 19th Dynasty, starting from the 18th Dynasty, “Ba”
depictions take place which are believed to leave the spirit like a bird when a person, drawn like a human headed bird, is dead. Ba is a word very close to the concept of spirit. The spirit lives after death. Akh rises to the sky and Ba continues
its life after life. The Gods had many Bas and they changed shapes according to
their Bas. In the cemetery pictures, the Ba was seen to fly around the cemetery
or sat on a tree or drank water from a pool.
In the hieroglyphs, the separation of the bird from the human body expressed
the moment of death as well as astral journey. The saying in Anatolia that the
babies are brought by storks actually means that the babies are born into the
world with their Ka’s spiritually. That means, in short that stork took place of the
black bird of ancient Egypt.
Fernand Khnopff: In the painting of Fernand Khnopff named as Sleeping
Medusa, a picture of a bird with a woman’s head is seen. The bird seen with the
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Sennedjem’s tomb – Deir-el Medina
woman head is related to the woman headed birds in Egypt. These birds named
“Ba” symbolize the spirit of the dead and they come first among the cemetery
ornaments. The woman headed bird that is reflected in the picture of Khnopff
stands by a space which is not known where and is looking at the dark.
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Tomb of King Nakht - Saqqara
2.1.4. The Influence of the Compositions of Ancient Egypt on
Today’s Artists
The compositions seen on Egypt wall pictures inspired the artists in later
periods. One of them is de Maurits Cornelis Escher.
The Cemetery of King Nakhti: At the place known as The Valley of the
Kings called Biban El-Muluk that comes after Deir el Bahari, there is the
cemetery of Sethnakht who is one of the pharaoh’s of 20th Dynasty. And
Nakhti is depicted as hunting in the other world as he did in this world.
Maurits Cornelis Escher: He was born in 1898 in Leeuwarden. He died
in 1972 at Laren. The graphic artist from the Netherlands started architecture education at Architecture and Decorative Arts School at Harlem and
later on with the influence of one of his tutors, graphic artist S.J. Mesquita,
he quit architecture and studied graphic art between 1919 and 1922. After
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the journey he made to Italy and Spain in 1922, he settled down in Rome
in 1923. The nature and architecture he observed in his South Italy trips
constituted the main theme of his works between 1922 and 1935. Despite
his realistic style, his emphasize on different dimensions, his passion for
rock, cloud and plants gained a dreamy atmosphere to his works.
In Italy, for the first seven years Escher worked, with the influence of
his tutor Mesquita, cutting in length on “Wood Print”. In 1929 he made his
first lithograph; in 1931 he tried the method of cutting from width. In 1936
in the long examination trip that he made through the shores reaching from
Italy to Spain, he examined the tiles of Elhamra Palace in Granada and
Kurtuba Mosque, the Big Mosque in Cordoba; he was influenced by the
skill of the geometric forms on those tiles repeating themselves for eternity
by combining two different forms of the outer line. Starting off from his
examinations on tiles and information regarding crystal forms that show a
similar structure, he realized symmetric arrangements with stylized animal
figures like bird, fish etc. He used the repeating elements not to embellish
but to express his thoughts visually. After 1937, he emphasized usage of
figure in his works as a tool for expression; he produced works where he
tried to capture eternity in what has an end and where organic forms turn
into abstract forms with metamorphosis.
After 1944, he made impossible structures with realistic figures and
places and tried to express the subjectivity of reality with different perspectives that have the same escape point. Between 1946-1951, he tried “mezzotint” with a search for a new technique, then he continued to use wood
print and lithograph. The number of some of his prints exceeded a thousand. He drew the attention of scientists with the works where he visualized the abstract mathematical principles, he gave speeches in various universities and scientific institutions between 1951 and 1969, his prints and
drawings have been used in many scientific books and articles.
The Tomb of King Nakhti at Saqqara carries a similar plastic order with
the work named Salvation by M.C. Escher of today’s graphic artists. In the
painting named Salvation that Esher painted in 1990, it is observed that the
birds which are reflected from abstract to concrete and get higher and reach
their freedom. It seems as if the curls at the bottom of the work reflect a
text of freedom agreement. In the wall painting at the tomb of King Nakhti,
the birds that stand still somewhere are portrayed when the hunters try to
shoot them and the birds trying to fly away for their freedom opening their
wings. In both works, the birds flying and the freedom theme is the tying
reason.
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2.2. Eye
The human kind has tried various ways in order to protect himself from evil,
hex since the day he started to exist. They have started to carry tens of different
little statues that are believed to expel the evil and call the good and many idols
that are used as ornaments, vows, the cross, stones, enchanted stamps, amulets
and blue beads. An amulet is an object that a certain kind of energy is applied to.
They are generally used for protection and healing. The word “amulet” in English
means “carrying” in Arabic.
According to the Ancient Greeks, the main information source regarding the
resurrection after death and the other world doctrine is the Book of the Dead. It
is a book that includes the magic prescriptions like amulet and charm that is used
for protection from evil and which is inherent from their ancestors. Various
copies have been spread to a period of more than five thousand years and have
come until today. In ancient Egypt also, the amulets like the amulet of Isis were
put between the bandages in order to protect the dead in his journey to the other
world. Isis putting on amulet while Horus is growing up is seen as related to children being protected from various damages. Accordingly, many medical and
magical methods have been dedicated to him in order to protect children from
burning, being bitten by scorpion or snake and to heal them.
The ancient Egyptians used these conceptions when necessary and tried to
protect from evil and heal. According to the story in the ancient Egypt mythology, the eye of Horus who wanted to take revenge from Seth who killed his father
Osiris, the god of the Sun, has been destroyed during the fight by his uncle Seth
who is the god of darkness and evil. Toth, who is the founder of sciences and
medicine collects the pieces of Horus’ eye and brings it back to its former condition. However 1/64 of it is lacking and this piece is completed by the magic and
spell power of Toth. Afterwards, the hieroglyph pictures that represent this eye
of Horus started be drawn over tools that need to be protected from the evil eye
like ships, car mummies and vases as the symbol of long-sight, intouchableness
of the body and the eternal fertility. Figuratively, it represents the human head. It
is the eye of the sky god. According to the monks of Heliopolis, it is the eye of
Ra. The eye of Horus was interpreted as the eye of the Moon god and it is called
“udjat” . Udjat was pictured as the eye with color (named surme) and thought of
as an amulet. Because it was believed that they are protected from evil by Udjat
which is the eye of the God Re, the Picture of Re was drawn to many places. And
its motif was pictured on the tombs.
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Udjat at the tomb of Tutankhhamun
2.2.1. The Influence of the Eye Form on Today’s Artists
The charm with Udjat motif in ancient Egypt was made as the sign of thought just
like the blue beads of today. The aim of the thought was to protect from evil.
Udjat, Breast Belt from the Tomb of Tutankhamun: Tutankhamun carried this
Udjat amulet as long as he lived. It was kept in his tomb so that he could use it after his
death in the other world. The meaning of Udjat was to give health and the power to
heal.
The bracelet of II Shenhong: The bracelet of the High monk of Amun,
Shenhong II was made at the 22nd Dynasty period with a high craftsmanship. The
bracelet of Shenhong II was made to be used in the other world just like the other
goods in his tomb.
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux: He was born in 1736 in Dormans, Marne. He died in 1806
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in Paris. He received architecture education from Jacques
François Blondel in Paris. His
first important buildings are
Hotel Hallwly (1766) and
Hotel Montmorency (17701772) in Paris where circle and
oval planned rooms are lined
up on a crosswise axis. In
1772, he realized Madam Du
Barry Chateau (Louveciennes)
which is among his masterpieces in a Neo-Classic understanding. Ledoux was very
much influenced by the fantasies of Piranesi.
He realized Benouville
Chateau near Caen between
1768 and 1775 and the cubic
theatre building in Besançon
between 1775 and 1984 (it
burnt down in a fire in 1957).
However his designs that
have provided him an important place in the history of architecture started with the
apartment planned industry city (1775-1779) which he prepared the Project of for the
Royal Salt Enterprises at Arc-et-Senans. Ledoux later on improved it theoretically under
the name of “Chaux City”. Another important work of him is the high house apartment
buildings named Propylees (1784-1789) that surrounds Paris. The most interesting of
four of Ledoux’s works that have stayed until today from his 46 buildings is the Barriere
de la Villette on Stalingrad Square with its pure form that is dominated by a cylinder
mass. He was accused as a follower of the king and was arrested in 1793 with the
French Revolution.
He wrote his famous book named Architecture from the Point of View of Laws,
Traditions and Art that analyses his architectural opinions from the point of the society and aesthetics. This first volume of this work was published in 1804 and the second
Udjat on the bracelet of Shenhong
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was between 1846 and 1847 and it is a pioneering work for its period. The work that
reflects the architectural sensitivity of the second half of 18th century from the pen of
an efficient architect has the feature of being an important document. In his unique
dreamy designs that are based on Palladio style, he developed fantastic solutions that
are constituted from pure masses in the shape of a pyramid, cubicle or cylinder. Ledoux
has paved the way for “Modern Architecture” both with these Pioneering works and
with his articles. The dreamy projects of Ledoux where he interpreted by purifying and
exaggerating the geometric objects still keep their challenge today.
Claude-Nicolas Ledoux has forced his imagination and used the neoclassic structures
with a surrealist expression in his work named Architectural Manners and Degislation
as Art. In his way of expression, the eye figure is dominant. Because the eye of Horus
in ancient Egypt has influenced myths, the eye form has been inspiring for the artists.
Odilon Redon: Fancy and imagination has influenced even the radicalist thoughts
of human kind during history. The legends and the monsters in the legends are imaginary. The legends directed the arts as well. The various forms of the “eye” represent
Redon. Redon separated the eye from the body with a contemporary perspective. The
eye gains an aggressive and manic view with the sight of Redon. The myths that are
told as the eye of Re in ancient Egypt left traces in later periods and settled in mythology. Therefore, the eye has become an important aim to tell in time. The picture named
Monster is named otherwise as Cyclop. The Cyclops is known to have three typeskinds. However, their main acquaintance is by the son of Gaia and Uranos. They are
one eyed and circle eyed cosmic Cyclops. The Cyclops, no matter what kind, comes
forth as a material that is used abundantly by the world of tales.
Joan Miró: He was born in Barcelona in 1893. He died in 1983 at Palma, Majrka.
He started his education at the La Lonja Fine Arts School in 1907 in Barcelona and studied between 1912 and 1915 at Francesco Galf Art School. He went to Paris in 1920. He
started to process the primitist features with a Cubist technique. Between 1922 and
1924, the artist started his works towards abstraction. The artists entered close relationships with Surrealists in 1924 and signed their declaration on the same year and joined
them the next year. In 1926, Miro produced clothing and stage design for the Romeo
and Juillet ballet of Sergey Diaghilev (1872-1929) who is the impresario of Russian ballet with Ernst. He made works that tell the Spanish Civil War in his own way that
reflects it with a tragic expression. He started his first ceramic works here in 1944 with
José Llorens Artigas (1892-1980). He made Cincinnati Terrace Plaza Hotel in 1947 and
a wall painting inside Harvard University in 1950. He realized interior ceramic wall panels for the interior of UNESCO Central building in Paris, Harvard University, for Expo
70 in Osaka and for the new Congress Center in Madrid. At the end of 1960’s, he pro217
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duced a series of colored and non-colored bronze statues that have a Surrealist quality.
Miro, at the beginning of 1970 tried different applications that he called Burned Canvas
and Sobreteixims. In his Burned Canvas he burnt the canvas so that the chassis could
be seen from below and painted the upper part with acrylic. In Sobreteixims, he made
wall weavings by using mixed materials on raw weaved ground.
Joan Miro Association – Modern Art Center (1975) who received the “Special
Museum Award” of European Council in 1978 is the product of the Spanish architect,
Sert. Miro who was in an understanding which was both figurative and abstract, created momentary expressions in a higher pictorial reality context apart from the ordinary
pictorial description and arrangements. Miro, with the primitism elements in his works,
the personal mythology he developed and the abstraction created him a unique place
in the arts that is beyond all classification. The unique emotional accumulation in his
works that can be considered as abstract Surrealism turned into a personal mythology
in time. Joan Miro in his work The Codes and the Constellation in Love with a Woman
in 1941 refers to ancient Egypt with the “eye” symbol that he pictured in his own
unique method. The eye given to Horus by the God Re who lived in the sky is sacred
and the left eye of Horus represents the “moon” and the right eye represents the “sun”.
Miro, in his work refers to the nights with the eyes that he positioned in the sky and
enters into interactivity with Egypt in this context.
Hundertwasser: He was born in 1928 in Vienna. He is an Austrian painter. He created a different understanding of painting that is separate from nearly all contemporary
art streams and which can give the meaning of the inner world with both figurative and
abstract expressed works. Hundertwasser, whose real name is Friedrich Stowasser
entered Montessori School in Vienna in 1936. He entered Vienna Academy in 1948. He
went to Italy with the French artist Rene Bro in 1949. He made wall paintings upon his
return to Paris. The artist turned the “sto” syllable that meant “100” in Czech to Hundert
in Germany and got the name “Hundertwasser”. Hundertwasser who was the member
of Vienna Art Club in 1951 inclined towards Expressionism in a radical way at this period. His works that became even more abstract included symbolical and imaginatory
elements as well. The artist started around 1954 to develop the “Trance-Automatism”
theory inspired by the Automatism concept of the Surreal movement. The artist who
settled in Rome in 1957 started give lessons as a tutor in 1959 at Hamburg Art
Academy, and stayed in Venice, Vienna and North France in 1960’s. His work named
Hokkaido Ship dated 1961 was a typical example that included both the hard color conflicts and all kinds of spirals. The artist who co-operated with Peter Schalamoni for the
movie named The Rainy Day of Hundertwasser between 1970 and 1972, created
posters for the Munich Olympic Games in 1971. At this period, he also dealed with city
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planning designs in Vienna and New Zealand and made a Protection Week poster for
New Zealand in 1974.
Hundertwasser has used symbolic and imaginary figurative elements in his work
Irina Island On the Balkans. As the eye symbol that represents the god Horus in the
ancient Egypt myth, the eye is also primary here. The artist has blended the eye with
Jugendstil’s curly decorative rhythm. Hundertwasser used the hard and sour colors
together and preferred the shiny dyes.
Tony Oursler: He was born in 1957 in New York. He still lives and works there.
The figures of Tony Oursler were squeezed under sofas, legs of chairs, cloths, inside or
the body the bags, sometimes they were hanged on the ceiling and even were scattered
around with pain in half dark environments. They were made of cloths but they look
alive with small video projectors. Oursler has cleverly combined the theatre scenes and
video art since 1992. The figures of Oursler have become the lovers of the public.
In the arrangement of Tony Oursler named The Influence of the Sphere, in a series
that are of near date, the beams of the projector is reflected on large fiber glass spheres
and show an eye that look towards each other. Even though the viewer would believe
that the artist is the object of attention, he will notice when he comes close that he is
actually watching a television programme. The monitor seems like a small, vague picture in the circle of the eye and falls equal to the movements of the eye pupil. The viewer falls into fear and excitement without knowing why. The owner of the eye can be
distressed. Oursler exhibited this way the media mechanisms and has illustrated our
belief towards the media. It emphasizes the importance of eye from the past until today
in a different way.
Jozsef Domjan: Jozsef Domjan was born in 1907 in Budapest. He died in 1992 in
New York. Slovian Designer. He was praised for his powerful tradition in the graphic
arts in East Europe. Joze Domjan is an important element of this tradition. The theatre
posters of Domjan is an important piece of the collection at the Theatre Museum in the
capital Ljubljana of the Slovenian government. He has an exhibition here that consists
of 26 stunning images with unusual names like Crna Komedia that translates into the
familiar title Black Comedy. Joze Domjan is especially known for his charcoal drawings
that frequently blend into each other and include deep and sharp signs. The interpretation of Antigone is a good example of his works.
Jozsef Domjan, in the poster of Zagrep Theatre Festival has used the “eye” symbol
that he used instead of head with a body with wings as it is in ancient Egypt God
Horus. As the Horus and Seth myth of ancient Egypt symbolized Horus as eye, here
the world is symbolized with the eye. The Slovenian designer has adapted the past
myths to today.
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1
2
The Mosaic Rebecca Newnhman: The jewellery found in 1922 in the tomb of
Tutakhamon among the pharaohs of Egypt started to be used again in designs. In the
Mosaic of Rebecca Newnhman the divine eye “udjat” that represents the God Horus in
the ancient Egypt myth has been subject to jewellery. Because of the protective feature
of Udjat, the artist used it frequently in tombs, wall pictures and jewellery.
The Eye of Re: With the traversing to the settled agricultural society of ancient
Egypt, the Egyptians who met the unknown like “life, spirit, birth, death, seed, the
growing of plant, giving fruits, the sun, the moon, the seasons” had started to think.
Thus the Egypt legends emerge and therefore, the abstract works start to be made in
Egypt.
Blue Bead: “Nazar” is an Arabic name that means “evil eye” in Turkish. The evil eye
has also been scientifically proved. The fact that the harmful rays that are spread from
the human body influences the alive or lifeless objects negatively as a result of focusing
somewhere has been explained by the specialists of the issue with clinical experiments.
The blue bead is the most important nazar protector that can be found widely in the
Anatolian geography. Because it was believed that the light blue eyed people who have
sharp look are the main source of nazar, the blue bead in the shape of an eye has been
accepted as protector. It has been believed that these beads crack or break upon the
touch of the evil eye. It is thought that the people who have evil eye on them get weak
and ill without a reason. It is believed that the person himself can not understand what
his illness is and in time they have to stay in bed and can not get out of the bed. In order
to protect one from all these situations, the person protects himself by putting on him
and his goods amulets. It was believed that the amulet stones in blue color absorbed
the harmful rays and when carried, they protected from evil. The amulets are in order
to express the sequence of thought and they are made in order to continue the memory of people and objects.
1-Eye of Re 2-Blue bead
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2.3. Ankh
Ankh is an ancient Egypt symbol and hieroglyph that means “life”. It is also thought
that this symbol also represents a sandal band or a cover for penis. The Egyptologists
believed that this was the sandal band because the usage of sandals was very important
in Egypt. In the old times death due to pressing on a scorpion with bare feet was a very
frequent reason for death. According to some researchers, ankh symbolizes the feminine reproductive organs, considering the life giving feature of the feminine reproductive organs, it is a logical claim. The life giving features of Ankh is closely related to the
kings that are represented in the pictures in the temples of ancient Egypt. This was
placed on the noses of the noble and named as “the breath of life”. Because of its nature
and inner power, Ankh has become a magic icon that is widely used as a protective
spell. Ankh, Egypt’s cross with circle is the symbol of eternity. The Ankh was represented by a circled, cross formed ideogram. This ideogram was the sign of life and used for
the verb “to give” in hieroglyph writing.
The fact that the beams of sun were on the “ankh” of the Pharaoh Akhaneton and
his wife Nefertiti towards their nose was especially emphasized in the reliefs of the
Amarna period. This ankh ideogram that is in the form of hooked cross is like the sandal bands that are worn on feet. Ankh was also hanged on the neck as a bracelet. The
cross form emerging from the intersection of two straight lines that are linear and vertical is one of the main motifs that the humans before history used for decoration. The
cross with gamma also emerged in the prehistorical ages and probably the symbol of
resurrection, that is the “second life”. It results from the symmetry of right-left and
below-above. In history the cross that is curved towards the left known as cross with
gamma expresses the power of happiness and the cross that is curved towards the right
expresses unhappiness and evil.
The Osiris Column of Senusret I: The God Amun was the God who gave the life.
At the time of Aten belief, in the stelles of Tell el Amarna, it was seen that small white
ankhs were hanged on the nose of the pharaoh. The white ankh was used in purity or
purifying rituals.
Sensuret had himself pictured like Osiris. It is seen that Abydos gave the same pose
in front of the column like Sensuret I. It is thought that the artists at the same art school
made the statues. Sensuret I blends his hands and holds the ankhs which are the symbol of life. Sensuret I wears the white king crown which is the symbol of Upper Egypt.
The Mirror Box: Ankh is a wooden mirror box from the ancient Egypt period that
is covered by gold and colored glass paste which is shoved with red cornelian in the
form of the sign of life. When color was added to the symbol of Ankh, the protective
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1
2
1-Osiris column of Senusret I 2-Mirror box of Tutankhamun
3- Sarcophauge of Amenehop with the Life Key
power of the symbol was transferred to the one who carried it. The blue akht symbolized fertility.
Sarcophagusing of Amenehop: The green ankh was related to healing. Here it is
seen that the ancient Egyptian was tried to be healed with ankhs surrounded by green
ankhs.
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Wooden Ivory Large Chest with the Design of Ankh, the Key of Life: The real
meaning for the ankh to be put as a carrier and ornament over the large chest of
Tutankhamun as a decorative motif is the wish for “the continuity of life and power”.
Wooden ivory box of Tutankhamun with Ank design
Faiyum mummy (on the right)
Faiyum Mummy from the Roman Period: The red ankh represented life and vitalization. In the mummy of Faiyum made in 4th century AD, it is seen that the mummy
holds the red ankh in its hand.
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2.3.1. The Influence of the Ankh Form to Today’s Artists
In the Roman Faiyum Mummy that belongs to the Hellenistic Age of 3rd century AD, ankh is seen. The subjects that the Coptic Christians pictured were subjects that belong to the ancient Egypt mythology. The art of Copt is the
Christianised version of Egyptian art. Because of the cross symbols named as
“crux ansata” in the Coptic Church in Egypt today, the ankh is still used. Only the
kings, queens and gods were allowed to carry ankh. The cross was used as an element in the pictures of Jesus’ crucification in the paintings of Giotto, Pietro
Perugino and Salvador Dali. Alan Davie, in his painting named The Entrance of
the Red Temple studied ankh in a simple understanding.
Giotto: He was born in 1266 in Colle di Vespignano. He died in 1337 in
Florance. Italian painter. With Cimabue, he is among the founders of modern art
understanding of the Renaissance period. His full name is Giotto di Bondone. In
these paintings in which the artist combined the illumination of Cimabue and the
face expression of Cavalli that is freed from the Byzantine formism, there is a certain depth of space and value of volume. Giotto, around 1304-1306 or between
1309 and 1310 made the wall pictures of the Arena Chapel in Padova. The pictures took place on the wall surfaces of the mono coridorred building which was
covered with gable roof arches. The artist tried to give the three dimensions with
an illusionist understanding and created statue-like effects. Giotto was the painter
of the palace for Roberto Angio in Naples between 1329 and 1333. He made wall
pictures for the private room of the king and his chapel.
He was appointed as the master and manager of the St. Maria del Fiore
Church by the managers from Florence in 1334. At the same time, he took over
the building of the city walls. The same year, the Bell Tower that Giotto drew
was started however the artist audited it until the reliefs at the bottom. Giotto
was among the first artists who aimed at using the pictorial tools in a naturalist
expression. His analytic approach towards both the nature and the human figures
rendered him a master who shall always be considered in the Florence picture.
He destroyed the form inclination of the Byzantine art understanding which was
dominant in Italy at that period and added a high level of volume to the figures
that take place in a certain space and provided a naturalist understanding to
improve. In the work named Crucification of Giotto, the crucification of Jesus,
the ideogram of the cross is pictured. The black ankh that symbolized the resurrection after death in ancient Egypt turned into black cross with Christianity and
became the source of spiritual pictures.
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Pietro Perugino: He was born in Umbria in 1448, he died in 1523. Italian
painter. The artist who was one of the most important representatives of Umbria
School produced religious works that are illuminated with a soft light and which
is colored brightly within the forms of Renaissance. The artist whose real name
is Pietro di Cristoforo di Vannucci worked with Piro Della Francesca towards the
end of 1460’s. He later on left Umbria to go to Florance, probably he entered the
atelier of Verrocchia and learned the new oil paint technique. The artist who was
in Rome in 1479, worked with Botticelli, Ghirlandaio and Casimo Rosselli to
make the Sistina Chapel’s frescos in Vatican in 1481. Among these pictures, the
Handing Over of the Keys from Jesus to Petrus provided a reputation to the artist
with the clear articulation of the arrangement and purity.
He made the Virgin Mary figures in his works with a thin, elegant understanding befitting the ideal beauty understanding of the Renaissance. The artist who
made the frescos of the Viewer’s Salon at the Cambio Theology School at Perugia
between 1500 and 1504 was helped by young Raffaello in these works. The
fresques of S. Severo Church on which Raffaello worked on his own were completed by his master Perugino upon his death. Perugino, after his style became
unfashionable in Florance retreated to Perugia in 1506. Still, The Rising of Virgin
Mary to the Sky and Pieta at Uffizi are works that show the skill of the artist within the confusion of the 15th century.
Pietro Perugino, in his work Jesus Crucified and Virgin Mary with the Saints
takes as subject the saints and the crucification of Jesus. The ankh of Egypt is here
as a cross.
Salvador Dali: Salvador Dali, in his works The Jesus Christ Cross of Saint
John and Crucification, it is understood that he returns to the belief of his ancestors which is the last place he reached in his artistic development. He believed
that in order to reach universal mythology, individual mythology should be
ended. Therefore the cross is primary and its importance in the belief of
Christianity and the crucification is emphasized. Black cross is used in order to
tell the belief of resurrection after death and Christianity as well as the belief of
resurrection of Jesus.
Alan Davie: He was born in Grangemouth town of Scotland in 1920.
Between 1938 and 1940, he studied at the Edinburgh Art College. In 1948, he
won a scholarship of travel. In 1955, he learned Zen Buddhism. In 1956, he
opened his first personal exhibition in New York. He is the artist who first applied
the abstract expressionism in England and reached it to a unique telling. Davie,
whose father was an artist and an engraver studied at the Edinburgh Art College
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between 1937 and 1940. He worked under the influence of the usage of color by
the artists of Edinburgh. After finishing his military duty between the years 1941
and 1946, he went to Venice for a year in 1948 and was influenced by the works
of Pollock and De Kooning here. After returning to England, he gave lessons on
design of jewellery at the London Art and Handscraft Central School and was a
teacher of art at Leeds University between 1957 and 1959.
Besides the works of Pollock, the fact that Davie was a professional jazz musician and that he made designs of jewellery made him see color as similar to
rhythm and accept art as a way of expression of life. He created a unique understanding of art by combining the magical and confusing abstract images of
Abstract Expressionism with a rich usage of color. In his early works, while the
large forms and gestural attitude is dominant that reminds of the New York
School and unique forms and brush strokes that look like intense balls of skein,
in late work of Davie, an understanding of space that is achieved by color was
dominant.
Alan Davie, in his work The Entrance of the Red Temple expressed with the
brush that gives the impression of explosion as if he just found the symbols of
ancient Egypt. Thus, he felt like an alchemist and turned his work in the cycle of
life and made it reach light in the imagery sense.
Andy Warhol: He was born in 1930 at Pittsburgh, Penn. He died in New
York in 1987. Artist from USA. Andy Warhol who has become the symbol of Pop
Art took in his works as subject, the ordinary and corrupted truth about the consumer culture, the objects of consume and its popular people. Both with the
industrial feature of his applications and his explanations on art which are empty
and shallow, he is an artist who weakened the “high culture” myth. Warhol studied between 1945 and 1949 at the Pittsburg Technical Institute and then he settled in New York and worked as an advertisement artist. Warhol who is a successful advertisement and graphic artist received awards in this field. In 1960’s,
without any information from the other Pop Art artists, he made paintings that
are inspired from the pictured novels and posters similar to the other artists
works. Warhol’s first pictures have the brush skill of the Abstract Expressionists,
but in time it gained a more objective and cold telling. He opposed to the alienation of art from the society and tried to approach his art to the popular culture
and industrial production.
Warhol is a person who directed his artistic efforts to the liking of the society
and their opinions with his activities other than paintings like movies. The artist
who named his atelier as “Factory”, took as subject the Hollywood heroes like
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Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and printed Mona Lisa with a repetitive technique
trying to destroy the high art myth that she symbolized.
Andy Warhol’s work named Cross is the one which people were influenced
the most. The large sized cross pictures are like the metaphors of contemporary
icons. He thought that the spiritual satisfaction could be acquired in art as well.
He reached spiritual cleansing with the cross icon.
Jean Michel Basquiat: He was born in Brooklyn in 1960. He died in New
York in 1988. Artist of graphite. His father was a bookseller from Haiti and his
mother was from Porto Rico. He had a difficult childhood. At the age of 17, with
his friend Al Diaz they started to make pictures on the metro stations and the
front of the houses with the nick name Somo. He found a job in a music band
and played guitar and synthesizer. In 1982 he joined “Kassel documenta 7” and
in 1983, he joined New York Whitney Biennial and became a media star. They
worked together with Warhol and made each other’s portraits. Without denying
his roots that goes back to the ghettos of Brooklyn, he made graphite a respective
art. He arranged works that he brought together from garbage. He made pictures
from torn papers to the door of the refrigerators. He died from overdose.
In the work named Gravestone by Jean Michel Basquiat, there is the triptych
understanding. The triptych has come from Egypt. At the right part of the work,
there is the skull and the heart, in the left part there is the flower and cross, in the
middle there is the writing “Easily Broken”. Basquiat states that the death has
three entrances. The thought of the other world in ancient Egypt tombs exists
here as well. The cross icon has taken place in the Christian belief as the changed
version of ankh. Thus, Basquiat has used the cross symbol in his works.
Martin Honert: He was born in 1953 in Bottrop town in Germany. He lives
in Dusseldorf. The art of Martin Honert goes back to the lost period of his childhood. The memories generally make up the center of his work that is constituted from three dimensioned objects and relieves. This effort to remember takes the
objects from the life of the artist’s and put them in the collective memory of the
society. For example, in his work named Photo (1993), he reproduced a photo
from family album as a statue. When five years old, Martin who can not reach his
legs to the ground while sitting at the table in the kitchen looks at the camera with
an obvious astonishment. The artist transferred even the illumination conditions
of the photograph to the statue and gained the object a character of picture.
Honert used the isolation of a photograph to freeze a moment from the life story
and to save this moment from being forgotten. He also revived the childhood
memories. How many of us have not sat on a table that is too high for us? How
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many of us have not looked at the world with wide open questioning eyes
Hogert while he was considering the subjects that is placed in the childhood
strategy in order to reorganize, like an artificially lightened fireplace that is not
personal or beyond “personal” (1992), a green linden tree (1990) or blue-white
swimming signs as the “general symbols”, Hogert put this cold and factual
objects poetism before language. His works generally look like resized children
toys and the delicate witnesses of the spiritual processes.
Martin Honert, in his arrangement named Church School between the years
1985 and 1987, used the Honert cross period with statues and saved this moment
from being forgotten. At the same time, the ankh symbol in ancient Egypt turned
into cross with the Christianity and with the crusades the cross started to take
place in all flags and the clothes of the knights.
Andres Serrano: He was born in New York in 1950. He continues his life there.
Andres Serrano became famous after a cultural-political scandal in 1989. In his
work named Body Liquids (1985-1990), Serrano applied this kind of pure colour
and close shot photographs to the monochrome pictures of the abstract expressionism or his works. The tension between the indirectness of photography and a theatrical, baroque stylization (of provocative themes like religion, body, sex and
death) characterized the methodology of Serrano. Serrano returned to the traditional porter type with Klan in 1990 and Church in 1991. He showed the members of
Klu Klux Klan or the monks and the priests as icons in front of a monochrome background. In similar types, his homeless portraits also were premature and intense
allegories of death. His work Budapest (1994) and the History of Sex (1997) exhibit the human sexuality in different stages and the forms of social taboo. These
works are much more ordinary with their subjects and picture language and they
are close to media aesthetics. The artist was never preconceived in the desire of
opening the normal in the stranger and he played with the viewers’ curiosity of
observation as much as with the popular ideas like beauty and ethics.
Andres Serrano, in his work Jesus in the Fog that he made in 1987, encouraged
a fierce argument on the subject of the freedom of art and the finance of art. His
work that showed the colourful photograph of Jesus Christ on the surface of a
glass full of dirt was seen as a curse to the sacred values in the conservative sections of the society. However the artist actually aimed something beyond the
shock effect. He combined the main sides of his artistic aim (the attractiveness of
the religious symbols that is in an indecisive relationship with the church as an
institution / e.g. Heaven and Hell – 1984) and the metaphoric and emotionally
dense body waste (blood, urine, milk, sperm).
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The Cross: Various symbols in Egypt were used afterwards in Greece with
small alterations. One of them is related to the symbol of Isis. Isis symbol which
was carried to Greece first and then to Rome gained a new look by
Westernization. The ankh which is the symbol for eternity turned into cross with
the Copt Christians. The symbol of the cross was later on used by the Christians.
In ancient Egypt, the black ankh represented resurrection after death. With the
knot of Isis, it was aimed that the energies that belonged to Isis were tied, that is
focused to the sanctuary it was in. This symbol was stylized as the “cross with
handle” and it became one of the most important symbols of Egypt. It has more
than one meaning. The most important meaning of this symbol which is also
interpreted as the keys of secrets expressed that an Egyptian that holds a cross
with handle that we see in various pictures meaning that it is the centre of heavenly influences, that is these influences focused on him. Another meaning that
the “Cross with Handle” expressed is related to the four big energies of the globe.
The cross at the dome of Istanbul Roman Orthodox Church
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The basis of the prayers and the psalms was the power of the word. The
Egyptians named this as “The Words of Power”. The words moved the power of
the spirit and the universal energies are directed to the aim with the spiritual energy and thus the aim of the word is realized.
2.4. Moon - Star
The objects of the sky were a point of interest for people since the oldest ages
and especially the picture of the sun was used. In primitive Egypt where people lived
on small islands in order to be protected from floods, very concrete cosmic symbols
became very abstract with the events of the nature. The moon and the stars on the
sky were used as a symbol on the walls of the caves since the first people until
today. The crescent moon which is the first phase of the moon was very important
among the cultures of the earth. The root of it is on the relationship of the moon
with the water on earth and the human body. The phases of the moon influenced
the human emotions and metabolism just like the tide and natural events like earthquakes. It is natural that the primitive people looked for their gods on the skies and
their defining them and using all their imagination while transferring them to art
works. The Sumer and Akkad civilisations named the moon as “Sin” which means
the ruler of Mesopotamia and described him as “a man with beard” as if confirming
the expression “moon grandfather”. On the other hand, crescent had a big importance in Ancient Greeks because it was accepted as the symbol of Artemis. In short,
the symbols of the sky were used for gods and goddesses in Egypt.
The star of Sirius was one of the few stars that the Egyptians were curious about.
However Sirius was only seen, even from Memphis, towards the dawn, right above
the horizon and at the period when the floods of Nile started. The Egyptians took
this star as the basis of the calendar they made 4221 years ago and calculated the
32,000 years of yearly circle. Goddess Nut was the mother of Osiris, Isis, Nephtys
and Seth. Nut is the eternal mother and was generally seen as bending towards the
earth. The fact that its body was ornamented with the stars shows that the Nut
Goddess was the symbol of celestial – cosmic influences. For the Egyptians the
moon was the symbol of truth and justice. The crescent in ancient Egypt was a
magic that the young woman used in order to protect themselves from magic and
to have healthy children. Crescent, which is the symbol of Main Goddess Isis which
is the symbol and protector of motherhood and the family institution, had the feature of protecting the mothers and the children for this similarisation. The left eye of
Horus represented the moon; this eye was hit and torn apart in his struggle with
Seth, the god of death. For this reason, it was thought that the moon looked like
crescent. A doctor named Thoth gathered these eye pieces and provided the human
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beings protection at nights as well. For this reason, the left eye reflected the emotions, intuition and a more artistic and feminine perspective like aesthetics and
abstract concepts.
The moon was a sacred symbol for humans as well. It was believed that during
the birth and the crufication of Jesus Christ, the moon was crescent. Since 16th century, in the icons that described the birth of Jesus Christ, Virgin Mary was described
as sitting on a crescent moon. The crescent was used at the beginning of the
Christian history in order to be protected from insanity. The crescent moon and the
moon were accepted as a sacred symbol by the Anatolian Civilisations, Byzantine
and the Islamic world.
Cosmetic Palette: The cosmetic palette with an oval shape was used to make
the presentation. It is described as the horns at the top stylized in order to symbolize Hathor. Hathor is known as the goddess of the moon. The depictions had magical meanings. Since the old times, the goddess was seen as related to the moon.
This relationship is related to the physical cycles in the body of a woman and the
cyclic condition of the moon and besides the three phases of the moon – growing,
Cosmetic palette – Early Dynasty Period
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reaching the exact size and getting smaller-. This expresses the three phases of the
goddess – virginity, motherhood and senescence. These three phases that the goddess goes through has a different aim and value. Virgin represents youth, sexuality
and energy, motherhood represents the feminine power, fertility and being the body
of the instinct to feed, senescence represents having experience, compassion and the
most important of all, represents wisdom.
Decorative tile panel - Period of Djoser II
Decorative Tile Board: At Saqqara, in the pyramid with steps, King Djoser
had a decoration with fireproof bricks with a motif of façade at the apartments
made for his family.
2.4.1. The Influence of the Moon and the Star to Today’s Artists:
Today the moon and the star of the sky symbols still inspire the artists. They
are used as elements in the paintings named The Decor of the Mozart Opera and
The Night of the Queen inside the Palace by Kart Friedrich Schinkel, The Bathing
Woman by Joan Miro and Ball Hanging on Air by Alberto Giacometti.
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Karl Freidrich Schinkel: He was born in 1781 in Neuruppin, Brandenburg
and died in 1841 in Berlin. He is accepted among the most important aesthetic
specialists in his period with the Romantic-Classic works he made in other areas
of art. He studied next to Friedrich Gilly and Berlin Architecture Academy. He
started painting in 1805. Schinkel who became the state architect of Prussia in
1825 made many works for the King III Friedrich Wilhelm and royal family. In
1830, he was appointed to the management of Prussia State Office for Public
Works. He formed new streets and squares in Berlin. He made stage decorations
for plays of Goethe.
It is seen that in the decor of Karl Friedrich Schinkel named The Decor of the
Mozart Opera, The Night of the Queen in the Palace, just like Mozart’s Magical
Flute, it is seen that the depiction of the sky was like the Goddess Nut or named
otherwise as Ha-beves that means “a thousand spirited”.
Joan Miro: He was born in 1893 in Barcelona. After his art education that
ended in 1915, he opened his first personal exhibition at the Dalmau Gallery in
Barcelona in 1918. In 1919 he went to Paris for the first time and met Picasso. He
spent a large portion of his life in Paris, between 1920 and 1940. He opened his
first personal exhibition there in 1921 at La Licorne Gallery; he was with
Surrealists, especially poets. In 1926, he prepared the decors for the opera of
Diaghilev, Romeo and Juillet with Ernst. He opened his first personal exhibition
in New York in 1933. In 1947, he went to USA and studied ceramics with Artgias.
His important exhibitions are: Amsterdam, Brussels, Basel (1956); New York and
Los Angeles (1959); Paris (1962); London and Zurich (1964).
Joan Miro in his work The Bathing Woman, used the elements of sun and
moon symbols that are observed in the locals of America, the primitive hordes of
Eskimos and the ancient Egypt civilization.
Alberto Giacometti: There is a symbolical expression in the work named The
Ball Hanging in the Air of Alberto Giacometti. He associated the bird like a skeleton and the spinning column to the woman he used to live together. In ancient
Egypt, the sky was symbolized with the Goddess Nut. This work made use of
symbolic expression as well.
Ross Bleckner: He was born in New York in 1949. He still lives and works
in this city. For Ross Bleckner, the metaphysics of art is extremely important. He
has an emphasizing power of expression and in his mysterious works, he developed both transcendentalism and deep-thinking components. His large formatted paintings are among the abstract and the representative. At the beginning of
the 1980’s, Blecker was inclined to the Neo-Geo movement. However, instead of
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bringing a critical interpretation to Minimal Art and Op Art, he preferred to use
visual techniques in order to reach a spiritual ground. For example, he placed elements like bird, cage, grid, water drop and ocean before an abstract background.
For Bleckner, the canvas is a place where the numberless different meanings intersect and relate to each other. In the series of Atmosphere, he returned to the techniques of 19th century with neo-symbolist paintings that have expressionist elements. Candlesticks, flowered vases, cut hands, knives, bruises and skeletons that
tell the mortality of time and the world took an important place in his works. In
the Nocturne of Melancholy, the holes of motif shadowed the mortality of life
and the loss in the world of the shadows. Beyond these, Bleckner made works
that are directed to the hard geometric formalism.
In his work The Botanical Work, Ross Bleckner placed the star elements representing the sky to an abstract background and with a mystic telling, he went to
a symbolic telling. The sky symbols that were used frequently in ancient Egypt,
just like in all old cultures, is used here in order to express with the sky architecture the transparency or the mortality of the stratosphere. He applied its allegory
as a direct tool to express his pain and anger about AIDS, the threat of atom and
the inevitableness of death.
Crescent Moon in Islam: In the land of Middle Asia and Anatolia, the crescent moon had an important place. The Turks who lived a nomad life in the
steppes of Middle Asia assumed the crescent moon which lightened their eyes
and hearts at night as sacred. Here, there is an obvious share of the fertility that
it represented. In the Middle Asia, the crescent moon that is used at the tip of the
tents and the flags was seen as an important sign of power. It is believed that the
visual of crescent moon and star fell on the blood lake that covered the area during the Mohac War in 1526. The first flag that looked like the Turkish flag was
accepted in 1793. The five angled star in the flag was accepted at the time of
Abdulmecit and the last shape of the Turkish flag was decided with a law on
19th, May, 1936. It is believed that the crescent moon, the symbol of Byzantine
was accepted by the Ottomans after Istanbul was conquered by the Turks. The
fact that the crescent moon has become the symbol of Islam because it was
accepted by the Turks as sacred is among the opinions. It is used in the flags, signal flags and banners of many Islam countries, especially Turkey. Besides, the
Ramadan being directly related to the crescent moon and the moon calendar
always used in the Islamic world are the signs of the importance shown to the
crescent moon in Islam.
The crescent at Istanbul Sultanahmet Mosque dome
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2.5. The Sun
The people have always looked at the sky with a great love and even fear and they
thought that their belief, religion and gods are related to the sky. Since the written history, all texts are related to the sky. The beliefs like the gods came from the sky, that
they dwelled there and controlled the human beings, the sky was the first to be formed
during the creation of the world, the existence of the endless universe, the condition of
the stars have directed people to be interested in the sky. The Egyptians took their subjects from the sky, soil, water, plants, animals and humans. According to the Egyptians,
the sky god was the primary one of all and during all old history, the deities of the Sky
and the Nile always remained as the most important gods. Even though the name of
the sky deity changed, the stars, the sun and the moon are among the oldest and the
most continuous deities. At Egypt, before the first line at Heliopolis, Re was thought of
as the sun in the sky in the circle of the sun. However when put into relationship with
Atum, the head of the Nine Gods, Re combines with the creative activity and the forces
of nature in this composite form. After Egypt’s union, while the cult of the sun became
dominant, the myths and the legends were concentrated around him on the pyramid
texts. In these Pyramid texts that tell these early periods, Re was described as the greatest and the most splendid of all gods. Besides being the source of life and creativity, Re
also became a divine king. He was the creator of himself. He combined with Atum and
became Re-Atum, he combined with Amun and became Amun-Re, however the belief
that there has got to be a greatest divinity was never erased from the mind of the
Egyptians.
The sun is the greatest source of light of the universe and the most important factor
in the change of seasons and the earth. The circle is at the same time the symbol for
eternity. This shape does not have a beginning or an end, it continues without a break
or stop. It is represented with Horus in Egypt. The right eye of Horus represented the
sun. At the same time, it was named as the “Eye of Re”. This right eye reflected the functions of the left sphere of the brain (concrete concepts, the masculine perspective
towards concepts like mechanics and mathematics). The primary line was symbolized
with the Sun (Re) holder and the creative spirit that brought the light. It was believed in
ancient Egypt that the magic of the “sun rising” provided resurrection after death.
The Tomb of Sennedjem: At Deir-el Medina, the tombs that are in the service of
the pharaoh’s that belong to important artists is called the Valley of Artists. The picture
at the tomb of Sennedjem who is the attendant of the necropolis at 19th Dynasty has
extraordinary beauty and wealth.
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Sennedjem’s tomb – Deir-el Medina
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When Akhenaten and his family are praying to Aten, the God of Sun: Reflects
the Amarna period. The royal family is seen while praying to Aten. The sun disc is
placed on the right of the composition. Akhenaten, his wife Nefertiti, their daughters
Meritaton and Meketaton are seen making offerings.
Akhenaten with his family God Aten – New Dynasty
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2.5.1. The Influence of the Sun Form to Today’s Artists
Like most symbol of skies, the sun is used as the element of pictures in today’s
art. David Smith in Bec-Dida Day, Ed Emshiller The Stone of the Sun, Richard Long
The Picture of Lover and Ground, The Society of Yuendumu and Mud and Circle
gives place to the symbol of the sun.
David Smith: He was born in Decatur in 1906 and died in 1965 at Bennington,
Vermont. In short times, he studied drawing and poetry. He studied art between
1926 and 1929 at the Art Students Union. Smith who made his first works with the
wood pieces he sticked on canvas and oil paint mentioned the close relationship
between statue and painting also in his mature years afterwards and always
described himself as a sculptor with a painting background. The major change in the
art of Smith is with his seeing the surrealist statues of Picasso and Gonzales in 1933.
He lived in Europe between 1935 and 1936. He opened his first personal exhibition
in 1935 at the New York East River Gallery. He worked for American Locomotive
Company in 1942. His works were praised by Clemenet Greenberg. In 1947, he
organized mobile exhibition in USA. In 1957, he opened a collective exhibition at the
Modern Art Museum in 1957. His first big exhibition in Europe was opened in 1966
at Tate Gallery (London). Smith, who left his mark on the contemporary statue in
USA and who developed the steel construction tradition is the most important artist
of the Abstract-Expressionist in the area of statue. He also grew the first seeds of a
series of statue in minimalist understanding that he named as “Cubi” and which he
made after 1960’s.
The works of the artist who gave the strongest message of the American art of
sculpture have been a great inspiration to the sculptors of 1970’s and 1980’s. In his
work “The Day of Bec-Dida”, the sun symbol that comes to today from the past is
adapted to the steel construction statue in the form of a circle.
Ed Emshiller: American video artist and movie producer who was born in 1925.
After finishing Michigan University, he went to Paris in order to study graphic arts at
the Fine Arts School in 1949. In 1951, he started to continue the graphic works in New
York. Besides dealing with the illustration of science-fiction, he worked in video films.
In 1971, he opened his first personal exhibition in New York at Whitney Museum of
American Art. In 1973, he became the constant artist of the WNET-TV channel in
New York. Between 1977 and 1987, he joined “documenta 6-8” at Kassel. When he
was working at video tapes, he gained experience on issues like electronical visual
manipulation in subjects such as the division of the visual graphically in frames.
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Ed Emshiller in his work The Stone of the Sun transferred the symbol of the sun
differently to today by experimenting the video visual graphically. The symbol of
the sun was associated with the God Re and the God Aten and shown by the symbol of circle at the head of the gods and goddesses in ancient Egypt.
Richard Long: He was born in 1945 at Bristol. He studied at the Bristol Art
School between 1962 and 1968 and St. Martin Art School. He made his first landscape in 1967: Revolving Statue. He opened his first personal exhibition in 1968 at
the Konrad Fischer Gallery at Dusseldorf; after opening an exhibition at the same
place in 1969 he repeated this same exhibition in Paris and Milan. He opened his
first personal exhibition at Dwan Gallery in 1970.
In Richard Long’s works The Picture of the Lover and the Ground, The Society
of Yuendumu and The Mud and the Circle the sun that is symbolized by circle is
arranged here as the form of circle with the group.
Mariko Mori: He was born in Tokyo in 1967, he lived in New York and died
there. Mariko Mori is an artist who has strong connections with other worlds and
the monk of his own temple of worship. After his meteoric success in 1990’s, this
most important “Tokyo pop” representative of Japan translates the virtual reality and
creations, nature and the high technology, individual and collective dreams to each
other. He continuously associates the supernatural and metaphysical elements with
the traditional and formalist elements of the perceivable world. He stays away from
Kitch and pictures deep-thinking Cosmos. The Body Capsules (1995) that look like
a cocoon includes the energy that carries him to the world of mysticism. It is as if
the time has stopped. Everything is kept in a weightless, bright and spiritual dedication.
In his work The Burning Passion, the Temple of Dream of Mori is taken into
video for the first time and a virtual temple is emerged for the tea ceremonies when
a photograph work is carried out. In this temple, the humanity and the cosmos united ritually and spiritually. After passing through the traditional “stone garden of
purification” today, it was physically possible for the visitors to find themselves surrounded by the traditional architectural elements that take the Yumedona Temple at
Nara as the basis and transandental images and sounds coming from another world.
Mori believes that he is attached to the opinion that all the senses are attached. He
uses high technology in order to move the senses and the spirit. According to him,
spirituality is a wonderful world of illusion about the truth that is born where the
existence of human ends and in the rituals at ancient Egypt, there is the same spiritual dimension. The sun symbolized in ancient Egypt with a circle started to be used
as a halo. Mysticism has been seen in many cultures in the historical process.
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2.6. Scarabe
“Scarabe” is a religious symbol in ancient Egypt. It represents the everyday birth of
the sun and the immortality of the human soul. Scarabe is the symbol of God Khepri
that represents life. Because it was the father of itself, it is thought that it constituted
itself from itself. Kheperi is the oldest primitive god and it is the symbol of the object
that includes the seed of life in order to find an object in it again. It represented the dead
body that the spiritual body would be born from and the exiting of the life from the
dead. Its head was depicted as human in the shape of Scarabe. It is shown like Khepri,
Scarabe or Scarabe headed human. It is the rising sun and is very creative. Khepri that
is expressed as Scarabe is the symbol of serving existence by sacrificing oneself. This
meaning is hidden in the feature of Scarabe. Scarabe is an animal that sacrificed himself
for his children to eat by lying on his back so that they can eat from his soft abdomen
instead of his back which is relatively hard. For this reason, Scarabe bug is chosen as the
“symbol of sacrificing oneself” which has a very important meaning for Egyptian
Mysticism.
Scarabe: Many remains of bugs found in the tombs of ancient Egypt are signs of the
belief of eternity. The pharaohs gave a holy feature to Scarabe. Ramesses II worshipped
scarabe. The Egyptians associated it with creation, the indiscussable power of masculinity, reproduction, wisdom, reincarnation, immortality and renewal. Scarabee, that is,
1- Scarabe at Deir el Bahari 2-The pin of Tutankhamun with scarabe form
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the bug made its excreta a ball and buried it under the soil and then produced something useful for the nature. In ancient Egypt, this ball was perceived as “the world” and
the insect as “the sun”. The holy feature and reputation of Scarabe was spread from
Egypt to Greece, Fenike and Mesopotamia. The holiness addressed to Scarabe comes
from Sisyphus; the most well-known type of Scarabes is called “Sisyphus”. In Greek
mythology of Sisyphus, the cunning King of Corinth is told. He is punished by rolling
a rock to a hill; when the rock is about to reach the peak it falls back and this continues
like that. Scarabe is one of the most valid magic of today’s world. It is still sold to bring
luck in Egypt. The Scarabes that were made of stone or wall tiles were printed on clay
or papyrus as a stamp. Scarabe at the Tomb Goods of Tutankhamun: It is a very valuable pin symbolically among the tomb goods of Tutankhamun. The Scarabe pin, with
elegant stones like lapis lazuli etc. is depicted when it is pushing the sun with the
winged scarabe that represents the Goddess Khepri.
Winged Scarabe embellished Bracelet which is the Symbol of God Khepri: The
insects of Scarabe were used as magical jewellery like the blue bead. It was believed that
when objects in the shape of Scarabe insects were used, they removed illness and distress. It is the bracelet of priest Psusennes I who gained importance at the Ramesses
period at Deir el Bahari.
The Scarabe Shaped Ring at the Tombs of Ancient Egypt: The Scarabe shaped ring
was made as magic jewellery. The ring was used by the pharaohs who believed that it
was protective.
1- Ring with scarabe form 2- Bracelet with scarabe form
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2.6.1. The Influence of the Scarabe Form to Today’s Artists
Today, the Scarabe form still inspires artists. Rebecca Newnham, Ergin Inan and Jan
Fabre are among some of the artists who use it in their works.
The Mosaic of Rebecca Newnhman: The magic of Scarabe has been alive actively
for nearly 4 thousand years and it has the longest history among the magic in the world.
Today, the rings, earrings and the brooches with the symbol of scarabe are still used.
Rebecca Newnhman used the scarabe symbol in her mosaic.
Ergin ‹nan: He was born in 1943 in Malatya. He studied at the Art Department at the
Fine Arts College of State Practice between the years 1964 and 1968. In 1968, he was
appointed as the assistant to this institution. He worked with Prof. Emilio Vedova at the
Salzburg International Summer Academy in 1969. Between 1971 and 1973, he continued
the Prof. Mac Zimmermann at the Munich Fine Arts Academy (DAAD) with the scholarship from the German government. In 1978, he made researches at Munich and Berlin
Fine Arts academies with the same scholarship. In 1983, with the Berlin Artist’s
Scholarship, he continued his works here. He became a guest professor at Berlin Fine Arts
Academy. He opened his first personal exhibition in 1986 at the German Culture Centre
in Istanbul. He worked as a tutor at the Art Department of MSUGSF, Marmara and
Yeditepe University. He retired in 2000. The artist who has been in Germany and Turkey
at different times returned to Berlin again in the recent years and continues his activities
from here. Inan, who uses the figures of insect and nature in his works, also intensely
reflects the influence of Mevlana philosophy in his works.
Ergin Inan, in his collage named Inschrift, combines the miniature art with the art of
graphics. By putting flies, insects, helicopter insects on old writing, he turns them into the
mosaics of harem or mosque. The scarabe form of ancient Egypt is seen as an element at
the works of Ergin Inan. In the art of Ergin Inan, the attitude and interpretation of the
human existence in the intellectual sense before the life and truth becomes dominant.
Ergin Inan, in his work Kuppel Istanbul depicts his passion for the life in green and the
world of insects by associating them with obelisks in the form of dome or cupolas. The
Scarabe of the symbols of ancient Egypt and obelisk form from its shapes is used here and
the importance of the insects in the past gains a different shape.
Jan Fabre: He was born in Antwerp in 1958. Jan Fabre who is a sculptor, painter, play
writer, director of stage, designer of stage and choreographer is a versatile artist who
speaks the languages of different art disciplines. The works of Jan Fabre takes place in the
government and special collections of many countries and are exhibited in the most
important museums in the world.
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The artist participated at the San Paulo Biennial in 1991, Istanbul Biennial in 1992,
Venice Biennial in 1997. The grandfather of the artist is a well-known zoology scientist of
the 19th century. Jan Fabre’s usage of the insects as material is related to the experiences
of his grandfather in this field. He was the guest manager and artist at the Avignon Festival
in 2003. Belgian Jan Fabre asks “Is not the main aim of art, instead of healing the mental
bruises, opening new bruises in the intellectual level”. He is the creator of the contemporary ballet that smells blood, sweat and sperm. Fabre, with the four dance performances
he prepared marked the programme of 59th Avignon Festival. Besides the provocative
content of his choreography, he is an artist who aims to exceed the limits of contemporary with the texts he writes, the stage design he makes, the music he chooses and the
unique figures of his dancers who from time to time dance naked. “The statue of Jan Fabre
named Mur de la Monte des Anges that is exhibited at the Project 4L Elgiz Art Museum
on 3rd, July, 2005 is the statue of a woman’s dress with the size of 196x72x77 cm. The
dress had a long sleeved, stiff collared, its skirt stretched on the ground and got wider at
the tip of the skirt and it was tightly placed on the body. It is a dress that covers the body,
squeezes it like an armour and it makes the feminity more obvious” (Basarir, 2005).
The statue which is both impressive and frightening owes its bright green-black
colours to insects. Fabre, with his statues that he makes from real insects draws attention
to life-death, beauty-terror dilemmas. He says: “In my works, I try to show the body that
is reduced to a shell. We have inner skeletons and the insects have outside skeletons. My
statues are bodies made up of hundreds of insects, that is hundreds of skeletons”.
http://www.radikal. com.tr/haber.php? haberno= 158222
The inner and outer skeleton constitutes a conceptual opposition. The skeleton always
recalls death. The thought of the human to dominate the world, corruption of other living
things and the struggle of mankind despite the nature is starting to threaten the existence
of humans.
2.6.2. The Influence of Scarabe Form to Today’s Architecture
Today, the artists still adapt the Scarabe form to today’s architecture. One of them is the
ground of Commonwealth University, Thomas S. Stewart’s Egypt Building and the other
is the atelier house of the artist and sculptor Mehmet Aksoy in the form of scarabe.
Egypt Building, Commonwealth University, Richmond: Architect Thomas S.
Stewart has pictured the Scarabe, the ancient Egypt symbol at the Egypt building of
Thomas S. Stewart Commonwealth University. Therefore, he made a connection with the
past and present.
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Scarabe Picture at the floor of Richmond University
The House of Mehmet Aksoy in the form of a Scarabe: He was born in HatayYayladag in 1939. He studied between 1961 and 1967 at the Sadi Calik Atelier at the
department of Statue at Istanbul Fine Arts Academy. He studied with the scholarship of
the government at London and Berlin between 1970 and 1977. In 1977 at the Statue
Department of Berlin Art School Department of Statue, he received the title of
“Meisterschule”. The artist who opened his first personal exhibition in Istanbul in 1970,
had nine personal exhibitions in total. Among the awards of the artist, there is the 3rd AsiaEurope Biennial Award that he received at the same year with the Sedat Simavi
Association Visual Arts Award in 1990. At the end of 1980’s, he returned to Turkey and
continued his works in Istanbul and Ankara. The monumental feature dominates his
works most of which are carved from marble material. The aim in his works is to reflect
the music of the place.
Because he was a sculptor, he made relations with place and human. He created the
feeling of space that the architects forgot by building a special atelier-house that he
designed himself a few kilometres from Polonezkoy outside the city. When Aksoy made
the design of the house, he was inspired from the form of scarabe, the fertility symbol of
Egypt pharaohs. This insect is at the same time an insect with metallic, green colour that
Mehmet Aksoy loved a lot and played with in his childhood. When Aksoy was making
the design of his house, he was inspired from the sacred insect scarabee which was the
symbol of fertility of Egypt pharaohs. The artist whose point of exit is a scarabe thought
of his house as pyramids. The height of the ceiling is 7.5 metres and the height of the
house in the second knot is 9 metres. He did not use concrete of bricks in the building.
The house that is made of fringe, stone, marble, wooden and glass does not have any
columns or beams. The back part of the house, that is the back of the insect is the atelier
of Aksoy, the front part is the part he lived. His house is an avangarde work of art.
http://www.radikal.cometretr/veriler/2001/07/31/haber_9556.php
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VII. Bölüm
ARTISTIC
EXPLANATIONS
1. GENERAL EXPLANATIONS
T
hese works with the theme of ancient Egypt started with the movies of
school years, novels and articles read and a journey to this country.
Ancient Egypt and the ironical today’s situation and its nature
inevitably affect the men and women of our days. Impressions on the ancient
Egypt’s daily life, symbols used in the temples would be integrated with a desire
to reinterpret them through a contemporary understanding of colours.
Egyptian influence very spontaneously entered into the works, first with pictures cut off the reviews and pyramidal collages that were painted over. Sticking
materials as papyrus or wickerwork onto the jute and colouring in an expressive
way inspired of ancient Egypt have been the continuous works then.
Compositions on cloth board or canvas again in an expressive approach
showed themselves. I used pyramidal forms and figures and several symbols
appertaining to ancient Egypt. These were both open compositions and closed
ones, designed with various forms referred side by side and where colour was
an element to create lightness or darkness in the painting. Strikes of paintbrush
and the interaction of plain surfaces were expressed in the colours when trying
to differentiate dark and light surfaces from each other. Also sometimes an
A detail from the painting Fallen Falcon (Painting Perihan Sadikoglu)
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understanding of colour that I might call as “colourist” beside methods mentioned here above was used. In most of my works the colour turquoise, symbol
of the river Nile which is the colour of ancient Egypt sticks out. Cold colours
often used and warm ones serve to make emphasises on specific points. The
colours were taken in a simple use to stress a formal sense of rhythm than making colourful variations. Some of the works are very simplistic as to the colours,
so aim to strengthen and deepen the interaction of symbols. The works also set
up a sentimental and expressionist interaction through live colours. Variety in
colours was in fact a way to integrate childhood symbols of us and the symbols
from ancient Egypt and so resulted in symbols coming into our realm of
dreams. At this point symbols are taken out their original meaning in the historical context but turned to be the artist’s own dreams, telling stories around these
symbols and to highlight them strongly.
In the works, the adhesive which is sometimes consciously used makes a
conscious intervention. Lines in the paintings show itself sometimes with precise borders and sometimes with a soft effect. The line is a plastic, visual element through which you can create vibrations. Here rises a link between the
powers of the line and the symbols. My end is to stick out the latter, to strengthen them and actually make the symbols as principal element of the painting.
An object is analyzed in its own continuity by repeating certain motives. I
react to current meanings of the symbols inversing their material power and
hierarchical values and trying new positions. I used the light of the colour, in the
painting. There are no frames as it is aimed to give an emphasis to the social
value by the use of jute which makes a very part of the nature.
Falcon, Sun and (Painting: Perihan Sadikoglu)
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2. PAINTINGS EXPLANATIONS
Falcon, Sun and Udjat, 223 x 105, mixed technique on jute, May 2004
The work onto the jute is designed with the jute making an integrated part of the
whole. In the work, there are used geometrical forms like triangle or square formed of
plain surfaces and tissued areas, and drawing of Udjat and falcon. Departing from
ancient Egyptian pieces of jewellery, the symbols are simplified and the composition is
created. Cold colours onto blue ones refer to the Nile. Composition both including
these colours and lines has as its subject the ancient symbols of Udjat, Falcon and Sun,
that all together in a harmony are placed on the jute through a poetic expression. Lines
are just spontaneous; they are of diverse thicknesses and so contribute to the integrity
of the painting. One can get aware of the rhythm inside that arises through strikes of
brush and the roundness in the composition. Painting is based on closed forms. Falcon
and Udjat are very common symbols in the pieces of jewellery and mural paintings in
Egypt. Horus’s eye in ancient Egypt or Re’s eye, or the eye of the sun was an amulet in
Egypt that was believed to protect men from wickedness, to cure and to get them
power and perfectness.
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Hapi and Scarabe over the Door,
157x 103 cm, mixed technique on jute,
May 2004
This is a piece of work made of materials like papyrus and wickerwork and
intervention through dye. Here tried to
develop a rich language by geometrical
and organic forms placed into a rectangular form. The surface has warm and cold
colours, vertical and horizontal lines
designed harmoniously in a symmetric
concept. Line is the main element of the
composition. The symbols of ancient
Egypt, the Scarabe and the god Hapi, represented with a monkey are used in the
work. According to an old belief the world
was saved by the scarabe after it had sinked, so scarabe is thought as a fortune carrier.
In the work Hapi has a role in the inundation of
the Nile. Symbols are determinant in the meaning of the painting.
Crowned Falcon and Udjat, 154 x 102 cm,
mixed technique on jute, May 2004
Papyrus and wickerwork are sticken on the
jute surface by acrylic dye; the composition has
less forms than other works. Brush strikes give a
movement to the surface which is designed in a
concept of closed form, with the positioning of
the symbols. Re’s eye and falcon are stressed
with a bold border and line is the main element
in the composition. There is a sense of threedimension in the eye, the bird and the crown.
The sorrow in Re’s Eye, the form of the bird and
the joy of rule is told in an expressive way. The
Hapi and scarabe over the door
Udjat with Crowned Falcon
(Painting: Perihan Sadikoglu)
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painting refers in fact to an ancient
Egyptian poem, “your existence that will
endure till eternity”.
Lotus, Ankh and Nude, 170 x 105 cm,
Wickerwork, papyrus and similar materials sticken on the surface motivate diverse
effects and presents interesting tissues in
this work. There rules a symmetric understanding of composition, based on closed
form and enriched with brush strikes.
“Doors” have been used as a symbol of
passing to the other world or worlds in the
ancient Egypt culture. The keyhole is integrated in the composition of the serial to
refer to an eye that observes the world
behind. Again prevails symmetry and closed form here gives an emphasis to the keyhole effect. Starting point is the nude figure
viewed through the hole. It is expressed that
nudity is not at all erotic but is gives a sense
of fertility of women and the soil, and the
desire related to this fertility. This painting
takes side by side the female reproductivity
and the fertility of the soil and so offers the
respect for women.
Ankh, the key, 170 x 105 cm, mixed
technique on jute, May 2004
Surface painted with turquoise colour is
tried to get freshness with tissues, various
colours, brush strikes. Closed composition
is integrated with the key (Ankh) of the Nile
river. This painting may be commented also
as a continuation of previous one, 6.2.4.
Lotus, Ankh and Naked Ankh, the Key of Nile
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Colours warm and cold are used together,
also such opposites like red and green.
“Ankh'' is the symbol of the eternal life that
represents in its turn the union of gods and
goddesses, the love and the resurrection.
The door opens to the other world and the
key and the deviated eight, infinity symbol
in maths, refer to the eternity. Triangular
form also represents the eternity in certain
cultures including ancient Egypt. “Trinity”
is widely used in the course of the history
of art since ancient Egypt till now.
Child and the Moon, 158 x 102 cm,
Again we have in that painting too
papyrus and glue collages over the surface.
Here a smooth expression prevails. Strikes
of brush support the line and the surface
looks like a cosmos in movement. Union
of the organic and geometric forms is an
important element of the composition.
Cold colours support the composition and
carry on the passage from the day into
night. This painting also displays a transition from closed to open composition. As
a result of simplification of the symbols
from analyzing the jewellery of ancient
Egypt, Egyptian mysticism is used. Form
concept of the Egyptian art covers the
whole macro-cosmos with the past and
the future, the time and the space, so
Children and Moon Fallen Moon
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attains to a quite high level of abstraction. This abstraction is expressed with humans.
Stars are deformed, child is abstracted; there appears a joyful point of view full of
human and peace love, all represented through a key hole.
The fallen Falcon, 190 x 103 cm, mixed technique on jute, May 2004
Forms are given in this painting with lines drawn with bold borders. This composition is based on a different approach and application from others. Here there is a refusal
of the material powers and hierarchical values. This opposition is expressed with an
inversed picture of falcon, as Georg Baselitz was inversing the pieces of work. Here may
be observed, with the flowers, the influence of the decorative elements in the Egyptian
art. This is again a closed composition, but the symmetry is deflowered with the stylization of the lotus flower on the foot of the falcon. Colours as usual refer to the Nile
and Egypt. There are cold and warm, black and white colours. Black has a hard effect
that is integrated with the content of the painting, and brush strikes assume an important role too.
Sun Course 100 x 45cm, mixed technique on
jute, May 2004
This painting on jute with a mixed technique
refers to the calligraphy and has a symmetric understanding of composition, and a closed form animated with brush strikes. Both the composition and the
direction of brush are horizontal. Nile River’s waves
are conveyed to the spectator via the movement of
the lines and the parallelism of the horizontal lines.
The sun that is identified with the god Re repeats
the same movement each day, so it is a convenient
symbol for the course of life.
Scarabe in Scarabe, 106 x 104 cm, mixed
technique on jute, May 2004
Again a mixed technique application on jute,
here there is a scarabe, an Egyptian symbol,
abstracted according to the Egyptian stylization.
Canvas is stuck on the jute and Scarabe forms are
repeated on both, so leading to a sense of rhythm.
When scarabe is used twice, the life is saved twice
Sun disc (Painting:
Perihan Sadikoglu)
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too, an Egyptian understanding
that was challenged in this
painting by the symmetric
design. The line is the central
element of the composition
formed of vertical and horizontal forms. The fusion of cold
and warm colours is dominated
by cold ones, and red is used as
an element of emphasis in the
composition.
Scarabe within scarabe
MONA LISA FROM ANCIENT EGYPT TO NOWADAYS
Leonardo is one of the greatest artists of the Italian Renaissance. He influenced his age
in which he lived even when he was alive mainly with his painting art and later with his
deep knowledge on nature and finally with his technician character. Leonardo’s birth
place was the village Anchiano of small town located Vinci between Florence and Empoli.
He was born on 15th April 1452 as the illegitimate son of Ser Piero da Vinci and a peasant woman named Caterina. Document related to the childhood of the artist is an official document prepared by a surveying officer from Florence that indicated Leonardo is a
five year old illegitimate child.
Leonardo placed an explanation related to one of his scientific notes; in this note in
which he addressed flight of a vulture he suddenly interrupts his words and expresses a
memory of that goes back to very old times: “I think it was previously determined that I
will thoroughly engage in vulture; forwhy with respect to what was refreshed in my
memory a vulture came down when I was lying in my cradle and opened my mouth
with its tail, and it touched my mouth with its tail for a few times and then pulled its tail
back” (Freud 2001).
According to the interpretation of Freud, this vulture case is a fantasy by Leonardo
which he later placed in his childhood. His father married in the year in which Leonardo
was born with Done Albiera who came from a noble family. It was determined with an
official document that Leonardo lived with his father or rather with his grandfather when
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he was five years old. Leonardo was only four or six years old
when he started to live with his father and stepmother after
leaving to live with his real mother. According to Freud; first
impressions harbor in the spirit when a child is three or four
years old and give rise to behavior patterns that can never be
erased with any other event whatsoever. However, this
explains the reason of vulture fantasy. Leonardo’s memory
regarding the vulture fantasy is a fantasy which is created
later. He perceived the relationship between his researcher
character and childhood. What lies beneath the fantasy of
Leonardo is a recollection which he tried to express with his
brush in his paints in which he portrayed sucking from mother’s breast or being nursed by mother. Freud interprets the
fantasy to represent Leonardo being sucked by his mother
and considers that Leonardo placed vulture in the painting in
lieu of his mother.
In Antique Egyptians’ writings mother was depicted by
vulture picture. Nevertheless, Antique Egyptians had adored a
mother goddess having a vulture head. One of the heads of
the main goddess was also a vulture head and name of the
goddess was Mut. It is easily seen that there is assonance with
Mutter (mother) word. The reason for Antique Egyptians to
choose vulture and perceive it as a symbol of motherhood
was their belief that there are only females in this species of bird.
Meritamon ve Mona Lisa
Religion and civilization of Egyptians were taken as a research
(Painting: Perihan
subject by the Ancient Greeks and Romans. Articles written by
Sad›ko¤lu)
Strabo, Plutarch and Aminanus Marcellus and Hieroglyphica of
Horapollo Nilus and literature works such as Hermes Trismegistos (The God) in which
wisdom of Eastern Clergymen is explained has reached nowadays from Classical Antique
Era. According to the sources that remained from Antique why also a woman may not
be inseminated herself considering that vultures are inseminated by wind. It was learned
from the scholar and elucidating person who prepared the work of Horapollo that he
knew Leonardo’s vulture fantasy. According to the book compiled by Fr. Richter (1883);
there were old literature works and works by contemporaneous authors containing natural scientific issues among the books read by Leonardo.
In 1502 a person named Francesco Del Giocondo visited Leonardo in Florence and
requested from Leonardo to draw a portrait of his wife Mona Lisa. Leonardo worked on
Mona Lisa for a period of four years from 1503 to 1507. He worked hard in order to place
the “mysterious smile” on Mona Lisa’s portrait. But he avoided handing over the work he
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created to Francesco Del Giocondo by alleging that he has not completed yet. He went
to France and took the painting with him. In 1571, he was vested with title Chief Painter
and Technical Specialist of the King at Cloux Château in France by the French King
François I. Painting of Mona Lisa was bought by François I and later François I gave this
painting to Louvre Museum as a gift.
Western painting focused on depicting religious themes in a symbolic style after
Christ. However, figures are motionless and compositions are normative. Painting desire
in a manner as is and in a detailed form by examining the nature which revived with
Renaissance gave rise to the development of perspective technique. The same conception
on perspective is also perceived in Mona Lisa painting of Leonardo da Vinci. It is seen that
Leonardo put such fascinating and puzzle like smile on the lips of the women figures in
his paintings. This smile is a stagnant smile on thin and curled lips. This smile affects and
embraces the audience mainly on the face of Mona Lisa del Giocondo from Florence that
has an exotic beauty. Expression on Mona Lisa is as beautiful as the divine beauty on statues of Egyptian Goddesses. The same expression can be seen on the statue of
Merytamun who is the daughter of Ramesses II in the New Dynasty period. In Antique
Egypt queens were granted goddess designation, and this was the main reason of the
divine beauty on Merytamun’s statue. Statues in the new Dynasty period have more
relaxed even smiling face expressions compared to serious stance in Medium Dynasty
period.
Vasari explains first art essays of Leonardo as follows: “In his first youth he used some
smiling women heads that he molded from clay as models and reproduced them with
plaster, and additionally he also made some children heads. That children heads were so
beautiful. It might be said that they were created in the hands of a master.” (Freud 2001).
According to Freud children heads are repetition of Leonardo’s childish character whereas smiling faces are the repetition of Caterina who was the own mother of the artist.
Smiling of Mona Lisa evoked the memory of mother in the spirit of Leonardo and
Leonardo tried to reanimate his mother with the smile in Mona Lisa’s painting. Smiling
at the face of Mona Lisa revived the first childish period memories of Leonardo which he
spent with his own mother. During the peak of his life Leonardo tried to recreate the
happy smile which he saw on the lips of his mother who caressed and loved him once
upon a time. Leonardo repeated exotic-happy smile and modest head bowing of the poor
peasant girl Caterina who brought him into the world in his Madonna and Noble
Woman paintings after Mona Lisa. Even today, Mona Lisa with her mysterious smile on
her face attracts millions to Paris as the masterpiece of Louvre Museum. “Series of images
of Mona Lisa with beard and mustache by Duchamp who is one of the contemporaneous artists and interpretations of various artists that identify Mona Lisa with Michael
Jackson and with other persons show that influence of Mona Lisa of Leonardo will continue for a further time.”
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CONCLUSION
The ancient Egypt high culture is an important area of research in art history because the information is extraordinarily rich and it improved nearly without any outer effect for 3000 years. The success of the Egyptian civilization is
closely related with the closed tombs full of treasuries, what is a very stable
proof that it deserves this exceptional interest. Adolf Erman, a famous
Egyptologist, describes this ancient people as follows: “They were vigilant men
and women who had awakened when many other nations were still in deep
sleep...” (Yavi & Yavi, 2002). More than thirty dynasties ruled during 3000
years in this ancient country that was founded on a two strong basis:
“Continuity and Success”. Egyptian art kept on living during 3000 years until
the birth of Jesus Christ without any major change and it was described as continuous and non-changing. As a result we have a unique Egyptian art and it is
easily distinguishable.
Ancient Egypt offered to the earth an advanced technology, a wide system
of beliefs and ethics, and an art and literature still surprising today. G. E. Smith,
a comparative archaeologist who was interested in the whole world, states that
the main ancient cultures are all derived or inspired from the Egyptian civilization. Egyptian culture had deep and widespread influences on eastern
Mediterranean, Northern Africa and Southern European cultures from 2000 BC
on, and also inspired the western art and culture since the antiquity.
Phoenicians, Hebrews, Greeks, Romans have been influenced by the Egyptians
for hundreds of years. This really means that the sources of the contemporary
civilization can be found out in ancient Egypt. The interaction between Greek
and Egyptian civilizations was one-directional, that is, from Egypt to Greece.
Greeks viewed Egypt as the source of an esoteric wisdom and imitated it superficially. The western world set contact with Egyptian culture through Hellenism
and it was Romans who were very interested in Egyptians objects. Thus the latter would be brought to the centre of the Roman Empire, a transfer that continued even until 18th century. Many coloured statues are brought into the
Greece, Rome and so integrated with the Middle Age western art and even
formed it. The objects of Egypt could be seen during all of Middle Ages and
became the only visual source about Roman and Egyptian art that the West
could have. Egyptian forms and thought spread in time and over far countries,
entered directly to the western realm in terms of visual and religious concerns,
along with Coptic population who adopted the Christianity. Alexandria
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Patriarchate assumed a critical role in Christian theology and Coptic tomb and
stele ornaments inherited the ancient Egyptian models. In Europe in the middle
age, Isis an Egyptian god resembling to Virgin Mary would be referred in the
statues of black Mary. This continued to spread in the Mediterranean region
under Christendom too. When Renaissance artists were copying roman sculpture, also were found and remembered classical texts on ancient Egypt. That
discovery enhanced the concern to Egypt in humanist circles. After
Champollion reached the original sources the western knowledge about ancient
Egypt and its culture would get deeper and deeper. In 1922 Tutankamun’s tomb
was found with a new set of information about the old order that would
inevitably inspire modern men and women. So it may be concluded that the
Egyptian art permanently affected the artists of the following generations and
also of today.
Today statues, buildings, symbols from ancient Egypt are still in use and
inspiring artists. Egypt art are in disposition of contemporary European artists
to develop new ways of expression. Many artists are influenced of the schematic and visual language of Egypt (Gauguin), some of the monumental understanding and power of telling a story, some others are inspired of the simple
colours (Frank Stella, Bridget Riley, Jim Lambie) and some like of the composition design in the paintings found in the royal tombs (M.C. Escher), the archaic character and monumental expression (Chirico, Escobar, Memduh Kuzay,
Lynn Chadwick, Ernst or Moore), the unnatural de-formation of Egypt (El
Greco, Modigliani, Thodoros Papayanis, Ernest and Giacometti A.r. Penck, and
H.R. Giger) and the building types (Duchamp, Newman, Tuttle, Anselmo,
Hockney, Chicago, Torres, Serhat Kiraz, Anselm Kiefer).
Peter Pommerer and some others developed their designs from mummies.
The goddess Bastet resurrected on the screen with the movie, Cat Woman.
Gerome, Schinkel, Menson Moreau, Knopff, Ernst, Dali were those artists using
sphinx figure as an element of their creativities. The pyramidal form was served
as a model for Martin Milmore Mt. Auburn cemetery, Miho Museum in Japan,
Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas and Louvre Museum. Egyptian style temple architecture is also visible in Ataturk’s mausoleum and Egypt Building in Richmond
University. Cassas, Trouille, Oldenburg, Behcet Safa, Bodyg Isek Kingelez,
Yusuf Taktak took Egyptian obelisks as a reference in their certain works.
Sky symbols that have been as an element of painting, has been used along
the human history. So the way was opened to artists as Karl Friedrich Schinkel,
Miro, Giacometti, Ross Bleckner, David Smith, Ed Emshiller, Richard Long and
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Mariko Mori who made use of these symbols. In ancient Egypt amulets with
Udjat motives are the origin of today’s blue beads and also the background of
the eye figure in the paintings by Ledoux, Redon, Miró, Hundertwasser, Tony
Oursler, Joze Domjan, Rebecca Newnhman etc. The Egyptian eagle, symbol of
power in ancient Egypt appears in the works of Rauschenberg, Philips and
Newnhman, while Odilion Redon, David Salle and others rather referred to the
wings of the falcon and used all these elements in their works. Ankh was representing the immortality and would be transformed into the Christians’ cross
that would be densely used by artists as Dali, Alan Davie, Andy Warhol,
Basquiat, Martin Honert and Andres Serrano. Another symbol, Scarabeus of fertility inspired Rebecca Newnhman’s mosaics and Thomas S. Stewart’s painting
on the floor of the Egyptian Building, Commonwealth University and also
house design with scrabeus form, by Mehmet Aksoy.
Works in order to comment again on ancient Egypt have been under the
Egyptian influence also. My works for which I used materials like papyrus,
wickerwork and jute, and coloured in an expressive way are a continuation of
the tradition illustrated above.
The mythology is widely known and describes the bird Anka who ended its
five hundred years’ life in the fire, but reborn from its roots to live till eternity.
So the civilization of ancient Egypt dies with Cleopatra, completely thought to
disappear with Byzantium but regenerates from its ashes in the new cultures
and gave birth to artists of all generations.
When recent developments in the western thought is examined, one may
state that modern world and ancient Egypt have met again, with flourishing rich
and creative facilities. There really exist many passages and coincidences
between the arts of the two civilizations, like rings of a chain linking the ages,
and surprising resemblances between neighbouring countries and distant lands.
So Egyptian art has deep and extended influences on various civilizations and
artists. Comments bring with them these influences to the contemporary western artists and western society still keeps rediscovering ancient Egypt.
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LEXICON
A
BACUS : Stone plate placed on the top of the
antique column heads or four cornered stone
blocks to support the architrave over a column.
At the head of Greek Dor it is a thick, straight
plate and at the head of Greek Ion and Toksan,
Roman, Dor and Roman Ion it is in the shape of
a square with the bottom section molding. In the
chronite and composite capitals, the sides are
concave with the corners chamfered. It was used
in Egyptian architecture on columns and pillars
and most of the time, the names of the kings were
inscribed on them.
ABUSIR : The pyramid complex of the kings
Sahure, Neferikare, Neferefre and Niuserre of the
5th Dynasty. The pyramid and mastaba of Queen
Khent-kaus of the same age are important. Also,
the complex of Prince Ptahshepses shall not be
forgotten.
ABYDOS : One of the oldest and the most sacred
cities in Egypt. The remains of tombs, temples
and cities have been transferred from the First
Dynasty to the New Dynasty. Also found were
some king cult complexes from the Dynasties of
13th and 16th centuries. One of the two temples
from the Ramesses age were made by Seti I and
the other was made by Rameses II; they are city
remains from pre-history and some remains from
the Osiris-Khontamenti temple.
ACHAEMENIAN DYNASTY: Persian royal
family. It got its name from the founder
Achaemenes. The Persian king Cambyses
conquered Egypt in 525 BC. The kings after him
formed the 27th Dynasty until 402 BC. In 342 BC
Artaxerxes III declared the so-called second
Persian reign in Egypt. The last Achaemenid ruler,
Darius III, was forced to leave the rule of Egypt to
Alexander the Great in 332 BC.
AEGIS : The semicircular ornamental plates
placed on the bow and stern of barques. During
festivals, the statues of gods and kings were
transported in these barques. The aegis was
usually made of metal and richly decorated with
emblems of the gods.
AILUROS: The cat goddess in Ancient Egypt. It
was also known as Bastet. For a long time
harming the cat in Ancient Egypt was illegal and
death was the penalty of this crime. Bastet was
the daughter of Isis and Re. At the beginning,
while it was the goddess of sexuality and fertility,
in time the qualities of protecting the dead,
deciding whether the dead was successful or not,
making it rain, helping the ill, especially children
to heal were added and she became the goddess
of sun, moon, motherhood and love.
AKER : It is responsible from adjusting the sun
and raising it.
AKERU : The general name given to the group of
gods that assist Aker.
AKH : (Egyptian “Spirit of Light”, “Sublime One”)
The spirit of the dead bestowed with magical
powers. The ones who died - king or citizen wanted to live in heaven in the form of the akh
(see also ba and ka.)
AKHENATEN: The 18th Dynasty king known
with the name “Under the Rule of Sun God”. He
has been described as “guilty” by many of his
contemporaries because he brought the mono
religious belief. He ruled before Christ in 1300’s.
He made great impact on the religious beliefs and
civilisation in Ancient Egypt. The monotheistic
religion ended with the death of Akhenaten.
AKHET : Egyptian word for the flood season of
the Nile. See also calendar.
ALCHEMY: An okült science that aims to find
the secret principles of substance and to rule it.
The root of the word alchemy is the word “El
Kimya” in Arabic. The reason that the Arabic
people used this name is related to Egypt. In
Ancient Age, the Arabs used the word “Khem”
meaning “black land” for Egypt. Thus, the
Egyptians gave the word “El Kimya” to this
work that they saw. The roots of the word
Chemistry that comes until today is related to
these words. The birth of today’s chemistry is
also based on alchemy. In Egypt, Alchemy was
an element within the Thot instructions. Later
on, it started to be called with this name on its
own. This way, it continued its existence at the
School of Alexandria. It spread to Europe and
Arabia from here. However, it lost a lot from
that day and reached there with a lot of
degeneration.
ALEXANDRIA: Founded in 332 BC by Alexander
the Great. Remains of the Sarapis temple
(“Serapeum”). Catacombs from Kom esh-Shuqafa:
a Roman burial complex dating from the 1st and
2nd centuries AD; necropolis of Anfushi: Greek
rock-cut tombs from the 2nd century BC.
ALLEGORY: A description method that indicates
the important emphasis from the perspective of
the thematic variety of art. The thought being
told with art in an enlivened and improved way.
For example, in art the scale is the allegory; that
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is, symbol for justice, the pigeon for peace, the
skeleton for death.
ALTAR : The stone made in cylinder form or
four cornered stone in the first ages where the
submissions to the gods were presented. The
stone in front of which sacrifices were presented
to the gods and thurible is burnt. It is also called
sacrifice stone, sacrifice place. It was used
frequently in Ancient Egypt, Greek and Rome.
Especially in Ancient Egypt and then in
Catholicism, among the Christian sects, the name
given to the stone or wooden table used during
the rite. This sacred element takes place in the
apsis that takes place at the east side of the church
which is the most sacred part. Besides, at the
walls of the apsis, the scenes such as “Madonna
with Baby Jesus”, “The Last Supper” can be
displayed. From the perspective of art, atlar is a
location to place pictures.
AMANUET: Female of Amun in Ancient Egypt
(wife); both of its names mean “hidden people”.
Amaunet and his wife Amun who were first
mentioned in Pyramid Texts were worshipped in
New Dynasty period at Karnak. It emerges with
Amun in Hermopolis creation legend and
Amaunet is one of the oldest gods. It is
symbolised in frog form. It symbolises ignorance
and cliff.
AMATHAUNTA : Sea goddess according to
Ancient Egypt mythology.
AMBULATORY : Roofed corridors of pillars or
columns around three or four external walls of a
temple. Temples built this way are generally
called “ambulatory” temples. Architectural
structures of this kind were very popular in
Middle Dynasty. The corridors were used for
many different purposes in the temples. For
example, an ambulatory chapel used as a way
station for resting a cult barque that would be
used during the festival.
AMDUAT: (“[the book] about Egyptian
underworld”) This term was used for the
guidebooks of the land of the dead. Today it
means one of the books that present the Egyptian
view of the underworld including both word and
image. It tells the journey of the sun-god through
the underworld; every night, the sun-god is
rejuvenated during the twelve hours of darkness
by his encounter with the primal forces of creation
in the depths of the underworld in order to climb
to the horizon again as the circle of the sun.
Amduat, which was first written on papyrus,
became an important part of the wall paintings of
royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings from
Thutmosis I on. With the knowledge of the
Amduat, the dead king aimed to join in the
everlasting journey of the sun in order to return to
life.
AMENEMHAT: (Amenomhat, Amenemhet) The
first king of the 12th Dynasty. He reigned in Egypt
in 14th century before Christ. 3rd Amenemhat
made great public works at Faiyum. He created the
labyrinth that Herodot and Strabo tells.
AMENOPH‹S: (Known also as Amen-hotep.) He
was the ruler in the 14th century before Christ.
The Ancient Egypt civilisation reached its peak
during his age. His advice were later on translated
to Hebrew and Arami language and influenced
the “Sayings” section of the Bible.
AMENTI : The other world. The happiness area
of the West. It was written during the time of
18th Dynasty; found at the graveyards of Thebes.
While the Amdouat book gave the topography of
the other world, showed Amenti as the place
where the sun had set, the dead are sent to, and a
place with the darkness of the night.
AM-HEH : The mixed god in the Ancient Egypt
mythology. The god of the underworld.
AMSET : (Imsety, Mestha, Golden Dawn,
Amseth) One of Horus’ four sons. He is the
protector the livers of the dead and is protected
by Goddess Isis.
AMUN – RE : Amun, became Amun-Re and
enlargened the culture of the pharaohs. He
provides the continuous recreation of the world
and life as Amun-Re. He is the ruler of the Eart
and the heaven as the king of the gods. The basic
cult center was at Karnak. Here, Amun-Re was
worshipped with Mut and Khonsu. His sacred
position at Karnak and his fortune increased.
Amun priests had such a power that at the end of
the 20th Dynasty, they gained the status of the
king. The people who worked at the service of
Amun-Re was limitless. Ramesses III has 81.322
people under his protection. Because the rule of
the great fortune required this. He was the only
known god in Ancient Egypt who owned “The
Sacred Women who were Adored”. However,
when Ancient Egypt changed its capital, AmunRe started to lose its spark and the other gods
were once again favoured.
AMUN : The secret ruler of the gods; the Sky
God of Luxor King. He was accepted as the local
God og Thebes. He was a god accepted in the
whole Dynasty. Amun, accepted as a multifunctional god is the product of New Dynasty
theology thought. He is combined with Min, the
god of fertility and turned into Amun-MinKamutef. He is the first emergence of god that
created himself. A theocracy is born on his behalf
in Thebes during the period of 21st Dynasty. This
cult lived until the conquest of Egypt by
Alexander the Great and it was confirmed that
Amun was the son of the god by the prophecy at
Siwa Valley. The protective God of the herds.
Amun is accepted as the local God of Thebes and
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also the god of air or fertility. It is in the shape of
human, it wears a belt and has hair that is covered
by two feathers. Sometimes it has the head of a
ram. The meaning of his name is “Secret God”. It
represents the unknown and the mysterious
situation of divinity. It is a non-historical god and
therefore, it took the history of the others. It was
declared as the first and the eternal god (“The
King of the Gods”). It is thought that this leader
managed to reunite Egypt under his rule. Besides,
it is accepted as the one who organised and
created the world. Its sacred animal is ram. Fort
his reason, it is described as ram horned and
bearded.
AMUT : “Eater of the dead”. The monster who
ate the heart of the one who does not deserve
eternal life.
ANCHORITES : (Greek “cancelled, withdrawn”)
In researches about Egypt, the term is principally
applied to those who, in the early centuries of
Christianity in Egypt, left their own societies to
live a life of devotion to god in the desert regions
surrounding the Nile Valley. The widespread
religious anchoritism of the men known as the
Holy Fathers (and a smaller number of women)
in Egypt during the 5th and 6th centuries is
closely associated with the rise of monastic life in
the country in the 4th century.
ANIMISM : Believing in the spiritual beings that
are thought to revive the nature. Animism is
mostly the belief that the ones who deal with
collecting or producing foods have. Animism
claims that all the beings in nature have a spirit
and the beings of nature are in a conscious way
of living and requires that animals, plants,
mountains and even Stones to have spirits as
humans. These spirits are closer to humans than
gods and goddesses. They can be mean, helpful,
scary and cute. The people can cause the spirits to
be happy or angry with their attitudes.
ANKH : Ankh which is given by Goddess Isis in
Ancient Egypt is the endless life symbol that
represents love and reincarnation combining
gods and goddesses. Ankh is represented with an
ideogram in the shape of a cross with a circle on
top. In this ideogram, the hieroglyph which is the
sign of life is used fort he verb to give. The
interpretation is that God Amun is the symbol of
god that gives life. It is seen that it touches the
mouth of Sesotris in Memphis, gives it life and
attains continuity. Ankh is sometimes hung on
the neck like a necklace. The real meaning of the
ankh being used as carrier and ornament is the
wish fort he continuity of life and power.
ANNALS : The list of the most important events
during the rule of a king. This document was
prepared in the consecutive years of his reign and
formed a guide.
ANUBIS : The god of graveyards and the dead.
Since Early Period, he was accepted as the
protector of Anubis necropolis and depicted as a
creature with a human body and jackal head or
only a jackal. He was accepted as the mummy
god, protector of secrets and the judge of the
dead. He was the son of beef godess Hesat and
bull god Mnevis; in later texts he was also
interpreted as the son of Osiris. The records show
that he was worshipped in many places of Egypt;
but he was of 17th region of Upper Egypt (nom).
He was worshipped as the God of the Dead. He
was regarded as the son of Nephthys and Seth
(Osiris and ‹sis in some legends). Because jackals
wander around graveyards, Anubis with jackal
head is associated with death. Besides, he is the
god of mummification because he mummified
dying Osiris. His duty was to protect and elevate
all dead people. For this reason, those who are
related to mummifying wear the mask of Anubis.
It is believed that when the dead person is judged
in the other world, he helps.
ANUQET : As can be understood from its crown
full of long reeds, she is the godess of the yearly
floods of the Nile. Anuqet, Khnum and Satet
form the patron gods of the Nile’s cascade region.
Anuqet is also accepted as the owner of the south
border regions. In Upper Egypt, surrounding
Elephantine, she was worshipped as (the
daughter of) Anuqet, Khunum and Sati. Her
sacred animal was gazel. It was believed that she
was the distributor of cold water and she used to
wear a feathered crown on her human head.
APEP : The snake that makes daily trials to
destroy the sun.
APIS : Sacred bull. Entered Egyptian belief at the
first period of the Ancient Egypt polytheism.
Described as a black bull with a blaze on his
forehead. Apis bull worship started at Early
Period at Memphis. Apis bull is accepted as the
god of regality and fertility. The fire on his
forehead and other special signs describe the
animal that is chosen as the god. It comes from
the thought that the divine spirit is carried in the
animal body. The features seen in these black
bulls are a blaze on its forehead like a white
moon, a pig trace under the tongue and white
traces on its back like vulture. It is believed that it
carried the spirit of Ptah or Osiris. The Apis bull
that provided the continuity of fertility and the
generation was worshipped in Memphis. At the
beginning of the New Dynasty, he contacted
God Atum. A bull was fed at the temple at
Memphis, when it dies its corpse was
mummified and buried at Serapeion and another
one resembling the sacred bull was put to its
place. Ceremonies were made for this new Apis
bull and the public came to the temple to see the
new bull and gave presents. Mariette found the
cemetery of sacred bull Apis at Memphis
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necropolis between Aboussir and Saqqara in
1850. This cemetery consisted of some
underground galleries that had been used since
Amenophis III. On every Apis bull, there is a
chapel related to the cult of the dead. However,
at the time of Ramesses II, they buried the dead
of the Apis bulls to the same hole. They put their
written stones at the niche of their outer walls. 24
examples have been found that the coffin that
were made of wood and then understood
afterwards that they were made of stone or
granite. They were found at places where
voluntary nurses had been. Apis bulls were
mummied after death. Since the New Dynasty
period, they started to be buried at Serapeum in
Saqqara. In the period of Ptolemy, Osiris and
Apis combined and Egypt-Hellen god Sarapis
emerged.
APOPHIS : The devilish snake which is the
enemy of God Re. Every night, it attacked the
barque of Re and destroys the order of the
universe. Symbol of chaos.
ARAMAIC : A language of Semitic family of
languages. Widely used in the 1st century BC at
the Near East. In Egypt, many Aramaic texts were
found. Most of them belonged to 6th – 3rd
centuries BC, and were important historical
sources. The archives of the Jewish community of
Elephantine were written in Aramaic in the 6th
and 5th centuries BC.
ARCADE : A series of arch that the columns
carry through one of the long sides of a structure
and other long sides that are adjacent to this
structure. The lengthways place that is bent
outside and covered with a dome, vault or roof.
ARCHAIC : A definition used fort he period of
an art before maturity or classical age.
ARCHAISM: The effort to try to return to archaic
after the maturity phase that is attained in art.
While archaism can be caught by returning to the
cave period or the drawings of a child, sometimes
it can bring forth the “figura serpentinata” (S
Movement) of classical art or manierist art.
ARCHETYPE: Unique model, typical example,
first example, prototype.
ARCHITRAVE : Beam of stone or wood lying
horizontally on the abacus of a column or pillar.
Connects the columns or pillars with one
another, as well as with the walls of the building,
and bears the weight of the roof.
ARMANT : One of the old temple complexes
dated in the 11th Dynasty period; it saw
restoration during 13th Dynasty and Ptolemy
Periods; it was a center for pilgrim culture until
the Roman age; the birh house of Cleopatra
(mammisi); after the period of 19th Dynasty, the
necropolis of “Bucheum” or sacred Montu bull
Buchis.
ART DECO : A movement in France between
1920 and 1930’s effective in architecture, interior
decoration, furniture and decorative arts.
ART NOUVEAU : A movement between 18801910 widely seen in graphical design, illustration,
applied arts and then architecture, interior
decoration and furniture.
ASSUIT:Nomark tombs from the First
Intermediary Period and Early Middle Dynasty.
ATEF: The conical hat at the head of Osiris in
Ancient Egyptian belief.
ATEN: Sun-God. He became the only god in the
age of Akhenaten (14th century BC). It was also
depicted as the sun god and a sun circle that
spread beams with a human hand form of
Amarna theology. Aten Pharaoh is the god that
was described as the most abstract in Egypt. It
represented daylight that gave life to humans and
animals. According to this theological chart,
Akenaten and the king family was a divine family
that protected the sacrifices presented to gods.
For this reason, it emerged again every day. The
figure of Akenaton was depicted as a king with
the power of the creative god. Amarna theology
was banned afterwards, however this interdiction
did not influence Aten himself but the idea that
Akenaten is the representative of him on earth.
ATRIUM : Central courtyard often surrounded
by columns. It is an important part of Roman
local architecture.
ATUM : God of Dynasty. One of the oldest gods
that means “not to be” and “being final” in
Heliopolis theology. This mess was no doubt
created consciously and explained the first
creation concept exhibited in Atum. Atum was
one in the “first waters” that emerged before eath
and derived the elements of creation and many
different forms of existence from itself. Within
the process (air and humidity, sky and earth), he
created the space, put into action the first time
circle and then created this world and the other
world, the linear time. The human kind and the
gods were also made of Atum’s tears and sweat.
In Heliopolis, the center of the cult, Atum is in
the shape of a human, he wears double royal
crown and accepted as the night vision of the
sun-god.
B
A : One of the many Ancient Egypt words to
describe certain aspects of personality; mostly
defined as “spirit”. Ba is related to divine and
power. It also defines the ability to emerge in
different forms; these emergences are “Ba”. The
“Ba” of the dead can wander in the underworld
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comfortably and can enter the earth. An Egyptian
term, difficult to translate, covers different levels
of meaning. In modern literature it is often
mistakenly translated “soul.” Like both ka and
akh, ba denotes a form of being of humans and
gods. Gods and kings have many bas in which
their power is openly seen and through which
their influence becomes perceptible to the outside
world. The ba is the personification of all the vital
forces of the deceased, opposite of the mummy;
it forms the active and unfettered element of the
dead person. It is often represented as a human
head and bird. In the private tombs of the New
Dynasty, this symbol has been used. The ba of
the dead resides in heaven but regularly returns to
“its” tomb on earth in order to receive offerings.
BAAL : The god that the majority believed in
with the spreading of the polytheistic belief of the
Hebrews to Fenike, Babil, Syria, Egypt and
Carthage. A god that comes forth among the
attention the Ancient Egypt had towards foreign
gods. The God of Storm and War. Wears a conic
hat with hair attached and has a short coat on its
back and horns on its head most of the time. In
the period of the New Dynasty, during 18th
Dynasty, it entered the Ancient Egypt pantheon.
BADARIAN : One of the earliest known
Neolithic cultures in Upper Egypt (approximately
4500 BC). It comes before the Naqada Culture
and is named after the city of el-Badari that lies
just south of Asiut. The traces of this were found
here in last century.
BAG WIG : Egyptian men and women wore
wigs, usually made of human hair, as a symbol of
status. The designs of the wigs changed
according to the fashion of the time and natural
hairstyle of the owner. In Middle Dynasty, there
were wigs displaying the faces of males as a
separate statue. In the Late Period, shoulderlength hair was held together in a net, and
seemed like a bag of wig.
BARQUE SANCTUARY : In most of the great
Egyptian temples, an important room was
separated for the portable cult barque of a god
(and, to a certain extent, those of kings). These
barques kept ready for use in these rooms were
constructed from highly prized materials. During
large festival processions, a small-scale statue of a
god or king was placed in a shrine in the middle
of the barque and then carried out of the temple
to be taken to other cult sites. Normally the
barque and other ritual scenes were depicted on
the walls of the temple. As a rule, the sanctuary
lay on the main axis of the temple and the barque
was placed on a stone pedestal in the middle.
BARQUE TEMPLE : In the ceremonies of the
festivals, the depictions of the gods were carried
in model barques; and larger ones were used on
the river. Model barques were kept in the private
temple rooms within the temples. The ones in
Karnak and Luxor were highly large barques.
BASILICA: A type of construction that has
lenghtwaysand carried by column serials.
BASTET : Goddess of war, fun and joy. Bastet
was known as a goddess with cat head. Before, it
might have taken place as a female lion head on a
female figure. As the protector of the city of
Bubastis, the name Bubastis derived from Bastet.
In the sun cult, Bastet was known as the “Godess
of the Afair”. According to the ancient Egypt
mythology, Bastet was the daughter of “Re, God
of the Gods” and Isis. The cats were half-god like
the pharaohs. The cat headed goddess Bastet
(Bast), was the representative of joy and music,
beautiful songs and dances fort he Egyptians.
While it was the goddess of sexuality and fertility
at the beginning, afterwards it becomes the
goddess of protection of the dead, rain, healing
the ill and the children, music and dance, moon,
motherhood and love. The reason that the cat is
deified in Ancient Egypt is the respect towards
the hunting talents of the cat, the love that they
had towards its beauty and the admiration they
had towards its mysterious personality. The cat
goddess Bastet is the symbol of feminity. The
Ancient Egyptians who sanctified the cat also
mummified them in order to be with them in
afterlife. Because all cats belonged to the pharaoh,
killing or hurting the cat was esteemed as a great
crime. The worship center of this royal godess
was Bubastis, in the east of the Delta. The godess
was described first as a lion and then it was
turned to a cat. Bastet existed since Old Dynasty
and was worshipped at Memphis. It was
associated with Sakhmet, the local god here.
According to the records, Bastet also had a
connection with Hathor and Mut. In Heliopolis,
he was accepted as the daughter of Atum. In Late
Period and Greek-Roman age, numerous bronze
cat depictions were made. These depictions
pictured that Bastet had magical powers as the
protective godess.
BENBEN STONE : Sacred stone in Heliopolis in
the form of an irregular, conical pillar. The first
form of this stone which is sanctified since
ancient times by the sun cult was actually a
stylized tumulus and represents the god Atum. It
reached its obelisk form during the Old Dynasty.
BENI HASAN: Nom tombs that are carved in 39
rocks from the First Intermediary Period and
Middle Dynasty Period. It is important due to
architecture and unusual reliefs.
BES:The protective god of love life. This
protective god, first seen in Old Dynasty records
was depicted as small, grotesque, scary face with
a bear. He was shown as short, fat, ugly with an
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angry look, naked man and sometimes wearing a
fur. Depicted in the pictures with a beard and as
a dwarf. His tongue dangling from his mouth
with feathers on his head, with a leopard tail,
ugly and rude. He also protected the cosmetic
materials of women. It has depictions over
ornamental materials. He has a protective
mission against the evil eye. He protects people
from accidents with Thoureis. Bes alone protects
the people from snakes and scorpion bites. He
defeated illness and dangers by using his magical
powers. He was also the god of joy and dance.
His small statues and the amulets with the
pictures of the god was for the purpose of his
granting his protection. In the scenes from bed,
he protects people from bad visions that can enter
dreams and interpretations. Bes is at the same
time protector of dance and fun. In the pictures,
in order to show this feature, he is shown with a
tabor in his hand. He had a close connection with
warrior god Aha. With Hathor, he was the god of
sexuality and birth.
BIRD LEGEND: Traditional myth regarding the
divine origin of the Egyptian king. The god
Amun-Re comes to earth in the form of the king
in order to take to himself a queen. The gods
throne is to be given to the queen as well.
Together they conceive the successor. The child
is raised by gods and nurses and his father AmunRe acknowledged him as his son. This human
and god quality of the Egyptian king is pictured in
many temples of the New Dynasty.
BIRTH NAME: See royal titulary.
BIRTHOUSE : It comes from a word meaning
“birth house” in Egypt Coptic language. It is used
for smaller temples around a great main temple.
Generally, they are made at places where the
roads of ceremony form a straight angle and they
include an “ambulatory”. The god processions on
special days entered mammisi to celebrate the
birth of the god-child (associated with the king)
of divine trinity (father, mother, child) who are
acceptes as saints locally. Mammisi rituals were a
part of the birth legend of the king. The name is
given to the small, private temples (mammisi)
connected to the mother temple in Late Egypt
and Greek-Roman period. These are places where
the god of the temple is born or if the main
temple is dedicated to a goddess, the place where
she gives birth to a child. The source of the birth
scenes here are the pictures that previously
showed the birth of the kings. See mammisi.
BITI: The bee of the city Bouto. Symbol of Delta
reign.
BLUE CROWN: See Khepresh.
BOOK OF CAVES: The name given to the guide
of the world of the dead in the 19th Dynasty. Like
most of the other guidebooks (Amduat/book of
the gates), it deals with the Egyptian idea of the
afterlife in the underworld. However, it contains
various addresses of the sun-god to the beings of
the underworld. They especially emphasize the
close connections of these gods to earthly
matters. The oldest text is found in the cenotaph
of Seti I in Abydos. Such texts were a part of the
standard decoration of kings’ graves in the 19th
and 20th Dynasties.
BOOK OF THE DEAD: A didactic series of
books about the other life. It was desired to
describe systematically what awaited the dead.
Thus it would help to join the life circle, that is
eternity. The life circle is expressed with the
movement of the sun. At the beginning, the
books of the dead were limited with kings. These
books take an important place in the wall decoration of the king tombs in New Dynasty.
Afterwards, the books started to be written on
the tombs of ordinary people and papyrus. They
were generally written on papyrus and buried
with the mummy. A large collection of texts and
pictures regarding Egyptian beliefs on death. It
aimed to continue life in the otherworld. From
the New Dynasty onwards, different Books of
the Dead were buried with the dead. Different
from the Guidebooks of the world of the dead,
the book of the dead were available to non-royal
people from the very start. They were often written on long papyrus rolls and individual expressions or depictions are found on tomb walls, coffins and statues. Similar sources were reached in
the Coffin Texts of the Middle Dynasty or the
Pyramid Texts of the Old Dynasty. They are seen
from the New Dynasty until the Greco-Roman
period. These texts are the continuation of pyramid texts and coffin texts tradition. They consist
of about 200 spells and in every copy, the chosen
ones change. There are three different compilations named as the “Book of the Dead” of Egypt.
Heliopolis Compilation: It is compiled from the
hieroglyph inscriptions on the outer walls, rooms
and some sarcophagus’ of pyramides in Saqqara.
It belongs to the period of 5th and 6th Dynasty.
These compilations were used until the period of
the 13th Dynasty.
Thebes Compilation: It is compiled from hieroglyph inscriptions written on papyrus from the
18th to 22nd dynasty and inscribed on sarcophagus. They took their latest form in the period of
22nd Dynasty.
Saite Compilation: In the period of 26th
Dynasty and afterwards, it is written on papyrus
and sarcophagus by using hieroglyph, hieratic
and demotic characters. It is accepted as the last
form of “the book of the dead”. See. Articles with
the issue of land of the dead such as Amduat,
Book of Gates, Book of Caves. See texts regarding
the world of the dead like Amduat, Book of
Caves and Book of Gates.
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BOOK OF THE DIVINE COW: A term that
probably first appeared in the Amarna Period and
is often depicted in royal tombs of the New
Dynasty. It tells the myth of the sun-god Ra who
destructed the rebellious mankind. After a small
number of mankind had been saved, Re
withdrew from earthly throne to heaven by the
gods on the back of a Cow. The text brings a
mythological explanation for the separation of
heaven and earth and the mortal and immortal
cosmos.
BOOK OF THE GATES: One of the modern
terms in the Egyptian guidebooks regarding the
world of the dead. It was written on the walls of
royal tombs of the New Dynasty from the time of
Horem-heb. It is based on Amduat and similarly
showed the barque journey of the sun-god
through the underworld during the 12 hours of
night. These individual hours, that portray
different regions of afterlife, start behind a locked
gate guarded by underworld creatures. The head
of a dead person in front of the gate represents
the knowledge of the underworld.
BOOK OF TWO YEARS: One of the modern
terms used in Egyptian guidebooks related to the
world of the dead. Seen in the Coffin Texts of the
Middle Dynasty. It was generally written at the
bottom of the coffin and included a map of the
world of the dead. In the map, besides heaven
and hell, there is also magical words. They mean
to be a guide for the dead after life. The texts of
the New Dynasty like the Amduat, the Book of
Gates and the Book of Caves, dealt only with the
otherworld.
BUTO: The cobra goddess of Lower Egypt.
BYBLOS : A city that is within the borders of
Lebanon today.
C
ACHE: (French “cachette”) Hidden places for
mummies in the valley of Deir el-Bahari in West
Thebes. Statues in the temples of Karnak and
Luxor were also put in these. The most famous
“cache” is in tomb DB 320 and about forty coffins
containing many royal mummies of the New
Dynasty were placed here. It was found at the
end of the 19th century. After the plundering of
the Valley of the Kings, they had been placed
there in the period of 21st Dynasty.
CALENDAR OF FEASTS AND OFFERINGS:
Daily, monthly, and yearly sacrifices of temple.
They were inscribed on the walls as a part of the
decoration of the temple. Started during the Old
Dynasty. Regular sacrifices were offered every
day and additional sacrifices were made every
month at the new moon. There were other
special sacrifices on festival days.
CALENDAR: The “official” calendar took the
solar year as its basis. Historic records were dated
according to this and it was used by the state’s
administrative apparatus. The year was divided
into three seasons: Akjiet “inundation”, Peret
“emergence” (of seed) and Shemu “heat”. Each
was four months long, and each month had thirty
days. In addition, five epagomenal days were
added so that the year had 365 days. Its
difference from the solar year was only onequarter of a day. From the beginning there was
also a natural year organized according to the
phases of the moon. It began with the annual rise
of the Nile (see also Nile inundation and Sothis).
CANOPIC JARS: Jars where the mummied body
parts were placed in. They were generally made
from calcite-alabaster or limestone and looked
like a tall vase. They had a slightly vaulted lid,
and were generally grouped in fours in the tomb.
The organs were wrapped in bandages and
guarded by the sons of horns. The lids were in
the shape of human head at the beginning. Later,
heads of baboon, jackal, and falcon were also
used.
CANOPUS DECREE: With this decree of the
Egyptian priesthood, a meeting was held in the
ninth year of the reign of Ptolemy III (238 BC) in
order to reach agreement on issues such as
religion and temple organization. There are many
examples of this decree. The Canopus Decree
took its name from the city near Alexandria
where the meeting was held. Decisions made
here were about cult ceremonies made at the
royal house and they were written in three
languages (hieroglyphs, Demotic, and Hellen)
and declared to public on plates outside of
temples.
CARTOUCHE : (French) The oval frame where
the name and surname of the king is written (see
royal titulary). An ovalised circle that has a linear
line at the bottom. These were used to write the
names of the kings inside starting from the 4th
Dynasty. Some examples show that this
consisted of a knotted rope that goes to eternity.
Therefore, these probably contained the
symbolism of the sun and represented the
circular turn. The kings had two cartridge names.
One of them was a saying about God Re and the
second one is the birth name. At the beginning, it
was not a frame, but a rope whose tied ends
extended slightly beyond the knot and which
were generally represented by a horizontal stroke
at the end of an oval figure. The circular or oval
form symbolize eternity and took the person
whose name is written under the magical
protection of the gods (see also shen ring).
CASSITES : People who migrated from Iran to
Babylon. Information regarding them was
reached in the 18th century. After the collapse of
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the local Dynasty in Babylon in 1595 BC, the
Kassites took control and ruled Babylon until
12th century BC. From 15th century BC, they
formed regular diplomatic contacts with Egypt
and commercial life developed. Amenhotep III
married the sister of the Kassite king.
CATARACTS: Greek term for the fast stream in
the southern, Nubian part of the Nile Valley.
Between Aswan and Khartoum the hard rock
stratum of the eastern desert mixes with the
sandstone of the Nile floor and forms rocky
barriers several kilometres long in the course of
the river. The first cataract at Aswan forms a
natural border between Egypt and Nubia.
CENOTAPH : (Greek “empty grave”) A funeral
monument which is not used for burial. Not only
used for such “false tombs” but also for any
monument dedicated to the memory of a dead
person. Numerous cenotaphs as “false tombs”
were found in Abydos. In the Middle Dynasty,
citizens — especially high officials —had chapels
with stelae built in them. Thus, they would
participate in the Festival of Osiris every year.
(see also Journey to Abydos). Royal cenotaphs
from the Middle and New Dynasties are also
seen in Abydos. The most well-known is the
great complex of Seti I located behind his temple
(often called Osireion or Tomb of Osiris).
CHAMBERLAIN : Translation of an Egyptian title
used to describe persons in the intimate circle around
the king who waited on him at table and tended to
his personal needs in the 18th Dynasty. Soon,
however, chamberlains were raised to influential state
offices. During the 19th and 20th Dynasties, they had
attained the status of special ministers and their
political influence were pretty high.
CHITON : (Greek) Important part of dress in
Hellen culture. Shirtlike garment worn down to
the knee or calf, with or without sleeves and
generally tied at the waist.
CHONS: 3rd member of Thebes’ great triads
(with his family Amun and Mut). Chons was the
god of the moon. The son in the Theban triad or
divine family. This youthful god was usually
shown as a mummy figure. With the sidelock of
youth and the symbol of the moon on his head,
he was accepted as a protective god who is a
bringer of fortune. He was probably in
connection with the changing shape of the moon.
Later he was regarded as the lord of life and an
oracular and healing god. The most well-known
story about him is as follows: While he was
playing an old game named senet with Thoth, he
bets on some of his light. Thoth won and because
he could not show some part of his light for a
month, Khons had to sink and wait for a month
to grow back. The surrounded temple in Karnak
is dedicated to him.
COFFIN TEXTS : Religious texts consisting of
many individual attributions in varying
combinations especially during the first
Intermediate Period and Middle Dynasty. They
emerged from the Pyramid Texts of the Old
Dynasty and started to include non-royal citizens
as well. They also form the basis for the Book of
the Dead and Guidebooks of the world of the
dead in the New Dynasty. It is believed that the
magical incantations in the text could resurrect
the dead they included information regarding
afterlife. (see also Book of Two Ways)
COMMEMORATIVE SCARABES : A series of
large Scarabes (up to 11 cm) with an engraved
hieroglyphic text of several lines on their base.
There are sometimes connections between
historical events and religious connotations.
Many such commemorative Scarabes were made
at the time of Amenhotep III.
COPT: Egyptian Christians were called Copts.
According to a Coptic writing, the Greeks called
the Egyptians who circumcised their children
“Coptos”, that is “cut”.
COPTIC: It is accepted that the word Coptic is
derived from Aeyptos (Egypt).
CORN MUMMY : Mummy figure made from
the earth in which grain was made to germinate
within God Osiris. The sprouting of the grain
represented the fertile power of Osiris. Thus the
plants were renewed periodically.
COSMOGONY : The branch of astronomy that
examined the roots and development of sky
objects and the systems they formed. The theory
that is related to the origin of the universe and
that is expressed as a saying or speculatively or in
a scientific way. Egyptian thoughts about the
creation of the world. The functioning of cosmic
processes and the possible end of the world can
be considered in different forms in different
literary and artistic sources. The common
property of Egyptian creation myths is the
coming into existence of the world out of a state
of chaos as the conscious act of a god. After
increasing refinement, it is decided that the world
is derived from the first unformed primeval
matter. In Ancient Egypt, inspired from the
recession of the waters of the Nile for a year and
overflowing again, the creation of the universe is
fictionalised. The creation philosophy of the
universe told as cosmogony is interpreted as the
lack that forces the existence, that is the evil that
forces the universe. The evil that is told in
cosmogony resurrected the serpent Apophis.
According to this story, while the snake Apophis
who turned the universe forced the universe, the
universe is exposed to a water flood. A hill comes
out of the waters and 4 pairs of sacred animals
come out of the muds of the hill. Among these
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four pairs of sacred animals, the male ones are
snake, the female ones are frog. Snake Huh and
frog Kauqet represent the primitive water chaos
and vagueness. Snake Kuk and frog Kauqet
symbolise darkness. Snake Amun and frog
Amaunet symbolise lack of knowledge and cliff.
An egg is formed over a hill that comes out of
water, a goose comes out of the egg and lightens
the tip of the hill. The goose is the sun, it gives
light and then comes the fog and becomes a
voice. It is seen that the Ancient Egypt monks
interpreted cosmogony in different ways and
changed it according to cities. The most
important ones are interpretations made by the
monks from Heliopolis, Hermopolis and
Memphis. From the combination of Shu and
Tefnut, Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephtys is created.
Thus in the Cosmogony that God Atoum
founded, the Helipolis monks formed the “Nine
Gods” group. The religious speculation called
“Heliopolis Eneiad” occurs. From this system that
is known as the oldest cosmogonia speculation,
the Osiris cult is formed. In order to provide the
continuity of the cosmos, the potentially
destructive forces that were always present had
to be defeated daily. The timing was during the
rituals of the king. The repetitive character of the
Egyptian world is thus explained (See Primeal
Mound).
CUBIT : Egyptian unit of length. This unit that is
used in architecture was 52.5 cm and was divided
into seven hands of four fingers each.
CUBOID STATUE OR BLOCK STATUE :
Egyptian statue where the figure has its legs
drawn up, its arms crossed on its knees and is
shown squatting either on the ground or on a
cushion. The body is often covered by a cloth
and gives an appearance similar to that of a
cube’s. Many were made from the Middle
Dynasty until the Roman period and were used
by people rather than institutions.
CULT: To worship. Religious ceremony,
devotion, ritual. The Ancient Egypt religion is a
cult religion. In the eye of the Egyptians, the
history itself is a ceremonial form of the cult.
Hunting and wars are guided by rituals.
Institutionally and as is understood from the
depictions in temples, the person who carries out
the rituals is always the king, however there has
always been monks and clerks that he transferred
the cult functions. The full text of many Egyptian
rituals have reached until today because they had
started to be written since the Old Dynasty
partially due to the ritual process. Thus how the
monk worshipped the god in the daily cult in the
temple, the burial ceremonies, the royal rituals
and especially the private rituals in ceremonies
were learned from the writings. Other rituals, for
example, the famous “Osiris” in Abydos are only
learned and structured from references. The ritual
in Abydos is a drama ritual, the real “Mysterias”
and the pubescence ceremonies only start at
Hellenistic period. M. Alliot rituals are divided
into groups such as regular daily cults, regular
ceremonial cults and special rituals in great
festivals that take place for a few days. The fact
that rituals come before myths, that the rituals are
mythically processed was first proved by S.
Schott and E. Otto. The difference between
mythologems (elements of mythical thought) and
rituals (elements of the cult) or their formation in
mythos or ritual can be explained as follows: in
order to update the myth itself, ancient rituals
have been used, the rites become a ritual only
when the images at the background of the
mythos turn into action and the people turn into
a person who act. What makes the world order of
mythos stand in both macro and micro levels is
ritual. In Egyptian mythology, the cult of the
dead has an important place: the death is not an
end but in the opposite, it is a change of form that
is expressed as happiness. For this reason, both
the tomb and the body of the dead are able to
continue their functions after death. Mummifying
is the result of this thought. In the book of the
dead, what the dead person will do is indicated in
detail.
CUNEIFORM: Script developed in Mesopotamia.
The individual signs were in the shape of wedges
and it was written by pressing a special pencil on
clay. This alphabet was used for texts in many
languages. The most widespread was Akkadian.
In Ancient Egypt, at Tell-el Amarna and on
objects of the Persian period, cuneiforms were
found.
CYCLE OF OFFERINGS : The offerings (food,
clothing, ointments, flowers, etc.) were first
presented to a god and then to others. At first,
offerings were presented to the king statues. Later
on, they were also given to the individuals in
temples or private graves. This cycle of sacrificial
offerings was governed by individual sets of
rules. Ultimately, it was paying the priest by
sacrifice. (see mortuary cult)
CYCLINDER SEAL : Form of seal used widely in
the Near East and Egypt. It was especially used in
the 3rd millennium BC. Pictures and inscriptions
carved on the seal were printed by turning. The
material was generally clay.
D
AHSHUR : The important necropolis of
King Snefru from the Fourth Dynasty (Red
Pyramid and Bent Pyramid); pyramids from the
period of Sesostris III, Amenemhat II and III (12th
Dynasty); besides mastabas of royal families very
much damaged.
DANCING DWARVES : There is literary and
artistic evidence since the Old Dynasty of dance
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performances by dwarves. These dances were
not an entertainment irrelevant with religion,
they were a part of religious devotions in worship
and burial rites. It is open to debate whether the
dwarf imported for such dances by Pepi II in the
6th Dynasty from central Africa were pygmies.
DEBEN : Egyptian unit of weight in the form of
stones. In the Old Dynasty a deben weighed
around 13.6 g. In the Middle Dynasty, the gold
deben was 13.6 g and copper deben was double
that weight. In the New Dynasty, the deben was
equalled to 91 g and divided into ten smaller units
(see kjte).
DEMOTIC : (From Greek “demotika gram-mata”
or “people’s script”) A writing and language used
from the 7th century BC to the 5th century AD.
Demotic developed from hieratic during the 26th
Dynasty and it was a handwriting used first for
secular purposes. Demotic writing was not used
in literary and religious texts until Ptolemy and
Roman times. Demotic was mainly written on
papyrus and linguistically is a development of
Late Egypt.
DENDARA : The Hathor temple that was made
between Old Dynasty and 13th Dynasty during
the reign of Ptolemay Neos Dionysos (Auletes)
on 54 B.C. On outside walls, there were writings
that went towards the base of the temple; on the
roof of the temple, there was a kiosk and two
Osiris sanctuary. Besides the main temple, within
the monumental outside walls, there were a ka
chapel of Mentuhotep II (now at Egypt Museum
at Cairo); a sacred lake, a mammisi for Nectanebo
I (extended at the period of Augustus); a Roman
mammisi, an August Isis temple, a “sanatorium”
and an early Coptic church. Tentyris city remains.
DESCRIPTION : Describing all the apparent
qualities of a thing or concept that is observed
verbally, in written form or by means of art or
sculpture.
DIVINE COW : See Book of the Divine Cow.
Divine pronouncement. See prophecy.
DIVINE STANDARDS : A figure of an animal or
object generally related to gods; it consists of an
upright pole with a crosspiece. The divine
standards were accepted as sacred objects and
represented the gods. They were carried over the
head during festival processions.
DJED FESTIVAL : The festival that is celebrated
for the column that represents the tree where the
body of Osiris is kept, in the festivals of Busiris; is
based on the Socaris cult which is a cult that
comes from pre-history.
DJED PILLAR : A pole wound around with
bundles of plants and worshipped as an idol in
ancient ages. It became a symbol for continuity
and turned into a very wide-spread amulet. The
ceremony of the “raising of the Djed pillar” used
to be among the most important elements of the
Festivals of Osiris made during the month of
Khoiak.
DJEME : Coptic name for the settlement around
Medina Habu in the southern part of Western
Thebes. It is also an Egyptian name for the
Primeval Mound of Medina Habu, which is wellknown because it is close to the temple of
Ramesses III. The word may also be the origin of
the Greek word Thebai.
DOMAIN : It is used for agricultural institutions
in researches about Egypt that vary in size. As a
rule, such domains or estates were established at
the initiative of the state and administered by the
state. They could belong to the king or various
state institutions and also be transferred to a
temple or an official who deserves it. In such
cases, the income would be left to the owner, but
in response, tax was paid to the state. Fixed taxes
were also placed for the death cult of the kings or
private people. They were drawn from domains
selected especially for this purpose (see presents
for the dead).
DOUAT : Heaven of nature. According to the
Ancient Egyptians, the region that belongs to the
gods between the east and South parts of the sky.
The determining stars of Duat are Orion and
Sirius.
DOUBLE CROWN : Combination of the White
Crown representing Upper Egypt and the Red
Crown symbolizing Lower Egypt. This depiction
started in the Old Dynasty onward. It was
understood that the king and the gods who wore
this crown dominated all parts of the country.
DUAMUTEF : (Tuamutef, Golden Dawn,
Thmoomathpf) One of the 4 sons of Horus.
Duamutef is shown as a mummied man with a
jackal head. He is the protector of the stomach of
the dead and is protected by Goddess Neith.
DUCKS: They represent the offerings to the
gods.
DYAD : (Greek and Latin “duality”) A term often
used for a pair of statues. In Egyptian art, it was
very wide-spread to depict two people in the
same sculpture standing separately from each
other. This style enabled development of
different types of statues. The figures are most
frequently shown standing or seated side by side.
Various kinds of relationships between the
people depicted could be illustrated in this way
like a close personal link in family groups or
between spouses or a particular theological
concept when the king is shown beside a god.
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EDFU : Horus temple begun in 237 BC under
Ptolemy III Euergetes I and finished in 57 BC is
the best-preserved temple in Egypt. Remains of
settlements and tombs from the Old Dynasty. In
the sanctuary, a shrine of Nectanebo II (13th
Dynasty). At right angles to the main temple a
mammisi dedicated to the divine child
Harsomtus.
EDJO : It is the snake goddess of Delta, symbol
and protector of Lower Egypt, and the
supplementary for the goddess of Upper Egypt,
Nekhbet. It was worn as a part of the crown of
the king.
EGYPTOLOGY : Ancient Egypt science.
EL-BERSHEH : 37 rock tombs, especially of
nomarchs of the 12th Dynasty.
ELECTRUM : Combination of gold and silver
that is found naturally in the deserts
neighbouring Egypt but which can also be made
artificially. It is used in jewellery since the Old
Dynasty. Later on, it was used in large quantities
as an embellishment for temple walls and doors.
ELEPHANTINE ISLAND : Settlement from the
Thinite Period until the early Islamic times.
Temple of Khnum and temple of Satet from
Nectanebo II. Its origins are based on an an
ancient sanctuary. It was built on repeatedly
down to the Ptolemy Period (reconstructed
today: building of the Eighteenth Dynasty).
Sanctuary from the Middle Dynasty for the
deified official Heqaib from the Sixth Dynasty.
ELKAB : Main cult site of the goddess Nekhbet.
Within the town’s mudbrick enclosure wall were
the main temple, a birth house, several smaller
temples, a sacred lake and cemeteries from the
Predynastic Period. Outside the walls are rock-cut
tombs from the Middle and New Dynasties
(early 18th Dynasty). Deep in the desert is a small
sanctuary of Thutmosis IV and Amenophis III.
EL-LAHUN/KAHUN : Pyramid and temple of
Sesostris II from the Middle Dynasty (12th
Dynasty). The town of Kahun is built for the
construction of the pyramid and is at the north.
EL-LISHT : Necropolis of the 12th Dynasty with
pyramid complexes of Amenemhat I and
Sesostris I as well as private tombs of the Middle
Dynasty; within the pyramid complex, there are
the tombs of the high officials.
EL-TOD : Remains of a great Montu temple
from the Ptolemy period until the Roman Empire
period. It is on a Middle Dynasty temple’s
remains, the ruins of a city.
EMPIRICAL: Experimental, conceptual, and
based on observation or experiment.
EPAGOMENAL DAYS : Greek term meaning
the last five days of the year. In the Egyptian
calendar, days were added to twelve months of
thirty days and the year with 365 days was
reached. The epagomenal days were considered
as festival days and the birthdays of the Gods
Osiris, Horus, Seth, Isis, and Nephthys.
ESKATALOGIA : The cult of the dead in
Ancient Egyptian belief that has high
speculations.
ESNA : Only the entrance hall could be preserved
from the Khnum temple of Ptolemy and Roman
period. The older buildings are from the 18th
Dynasty.Every morning, Re carries the sun from
the east to the west. Because Apophis (the snake)
bites and kills him, he gets lost at nights and is
born again the next morning and dies again at
night. Thoughts in Anatolia and Mesopotamia
like the nature being born each spring and dying
each autumn (like the stories of Tammuz, AttisAdonis) are thought in Aegypt as the rising and
setting of the sun and is explained with the birth
and the death of Re. God Re is of Heliopolis
origin. When Thebes became the centre for
administration, he is united with Amun the
headgod of Thebes and became Amun-Re. As
early as the Old Dynasty the falcon-headed sungod Re appeared in the form of Re-Harakhty, the
morning aspect of the deity. As the main god of
the Egyptian pantheon, he had many cults and
myths. For instance, the concept of the cyclical
course of the sun as a diurnal and nocturnal
journey of twelve hours each is taken by the god
in the solar barque. This is synonymous with the
eternal repetition of creation and all regenerative
powers. Re’s most important cult centre from the
Old Dynasty onward was in Heliopolis, the city
of the sun. However, the 5th Dynasty rulers had
special buildings known as sun sanctuaries
erected for his cult of Re at Abusir. The most
impressive of the god’s cult symbols are the
obelisks. Their gilded tips were defined as the
seat of the sun-god. Probably the most famous
temple of Re-Harakhty was built under Ramesses
II (19th Dynasty) in Abu Simbel. From the middle
of the 4th Dynasty, every ruler entered a special
relationship with the god and this was regularly
reflected as the “Son of Re” in his titulary
description.
EYE OF HORUS : Udjat. Eye blackened with
kohl. Figuratively, it shows the human head. This
sign means the health is in good shape. It is the
eye of the falcon of God Horus. Horus’ eye is
interpreted as the eye of the Moon God; it
represents fertility and abundance besides the
bodily health. The reason that in many tombs the
motif of Udjat is depicted is the fact that it is
thought of as a type of amulet. Eye of the falcon
god Horus is stolen and damaged according to
myth but it is always brought back and healed.
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Many myths developed about the eye of Horus.
It is also associated with the sun and moon. All
these are called Mythologies of the Osirian
Horus. The damage to the eye caused the
differentiation in the phases of the moon.
Because the Eye of Horus always returned as a
whole, like the sun and moon, it became the
symbol of birth and often depicted or worn as an
amulet (See Udjat).
FLAIL : See royal insignia.
Fpictures
AIYUM PICTURES : The name given to
that are formed with the influence of
FLY: Symbol of endurance. Golden fly
ornaments were given as a present to the brave
people who acted like a hero during war.
Hellenism in Ancient Egypt. They belong to 2nd
century B.C. They are the pictures of the dead.
The tradition of making a picture of the dead over
the coffin has an influence over these pictures.
The aforementioned Faiyum portraits are realistic
pictures over mummy coffins.
FALSE DOOR : Stone, sometimes wooden,
imitation of a door with a closed entrance. The
false doors varied according to the differences in
frame, lintel and centre section. False doors are an
important decorative element in the private
tombs of the Old Dynasty; however, they were
used less in royal buildings, temples, and tombs
of the noble. The false doors mark the division
between this world and the divine other world. In
the Old Dynasty, they formed the focus cult
place where the offerings for the dead were
placed.
FESTIVAL OF THE VALLEY : It is the most
important annual festival of Thebes as well as
Opet festival. It is thought that is dates from the
time of Middle Dynasty. The barque of Amun,
accompanied by gods and statues of the kings,
takes the living king from his temple in Karnak
and takes it to the West Side to visit the royal
funerary temples. The festival very important for
the royal cult. A large proportion of the
population participated in it. The graveyards of
the deceased family members in Western Thebes
are visited and and a feast was given in the
imaginary company of the gods.
FIGURES OF WEALTH: The carriers who bring
sunu to the temple in the pictures at the bottom of
the temple walls. They are generally the symbols
of geographical regions. The male ones have large
pendulous breasts and swollen bellies; their
corpulence represents the wealth that they bring.
FLAG POLES : Flag poles were sometimes over
30 m high and they were erected at the entrances.
The poles that were made of thin trees were
placed at the entrance of large and important
buildings. Over the top, a crown ornamented
with electrum and decorated with bright banners.
The flag poles were probably taken from the
sacred sites that had developed since the
beginning of Egyptian culture.
FLINT : Also known as silex, it is a particularly
hard kind of stone used in the Old Stone Age for
making many kinds of apparatus like weapons or
tools. Flint was plentiful in Egypt, especially, the
banks of the Nile and therefore used widely. In
the later prehistoric and the Early Dynastic
periods, highly sophisticated tools like knives
were made of this stone.
FOLLOWERS OF HORUS : At the beginning of
the Dynasty period, it was assumed that Horus
was living on earth. The duty he carried out at
court was to collect tribute and dispense justice.
A group of gods accompanied the king in festivals
like the Seed Festival.
FOREIGN RULER : See Hylfsos.
FOREIGNERS : The countries outside the Nile
Valley and Delta was considered by the
Egyptians to be “foreign.” These countries were
outside of Egypt, that is the ordered world. These
chaotic forces had to be conquered and included
in the divine world order. For this reason, the
king was often portrayed as an Asiatic, Nubian or
Libyan as typical representatives of foreigners,
their hair and attitude resembled them.
FRIEZE : In ancient architecture, the straight strip
or a strip with relief that takes place between the
cornice and architrave.
FUNERARY REPAST : The portrayals of the
dead that show him seated at the table of
offerings. Generally, the basic motif is showing
the dead with material provision. Such portrayals
are seen since the beginning of Egyptian culture.
In the tombs of the Old Dynasty, the funerary
repast is also related to the false gate. In the
broader sense, the depictions of gods and kings
seated before a meal is also called a funerary
repast.
FUNERARY STELA : Gravestone or place where
offerings to the dead were left. It exists since the
beginning of Egyptian culture. The names and
titles of the dead are written on the funerary and
it indicated the place of burial. They were mostly
a stone and in time, they turned to structures that
have tall rectangular form with a rounded top.
They could be erected on their own or
incorporated into funerary architecture. In Middle
and New Dynasty, they are used for the doors of
a two towered temple in sacred Egypt researches
for the dead and his family. In transition to
Middle Dynasty, there are two wide double
winged doors that are wooden or covered with
metal. The towers had stairs that went towards
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the roof and there were pictures on the outside of
the towers about the destruction of strangers. In
front of the Pylon, there were flag poles, obelisks
and monumental statues. Their plan and finance
was taken over by the government and they were
made by the king pyramids. The first one was
constructed by the Sneferu pyramids at Dahshur.
The residents of these two cities made grants for
the dead of royalty and were occupied in
priesthood, commerce and clerical work. The
clerks administered grants and agricultural
production and organised the sacred rituals at the
pyramid complexes.
FUNERARY TEMPLE : A complex temple that
has two types: 1. Temples attached to the
pyramids of the kings in the Old and Middle
Dynasties. Here, rituals relating to the continuous
renewal of power (see seed festival) and the
mortuary cult were performed. It is also called the
pyramid temple. 2. A royal statue was placed in
the religious cities of the New Dynasty in West
Thebes (different from the first in their
architecture and religion) and it was closely
related to that of Amun in Karnak (see House of
Millions of Years).
G
EB (SEB) : In Ancient Egypt, the earth god
represented as a man who lies flatly. Over his
back, there lie all the plants of the world. The god
of the earth, the son of Shu and Tephnout. He is
the brother and husband of Nut and father of
Osiris, Seth, Isis and Nephthys. Its sacred animal
and symbol was goose. He is generally shown
with green and black skin. Green is the colour of
the living creatures and black is the colour of the
fertile mud of the Nile. Geb arrests the spirit of
the bad and does not let them go to heaven.
Conflicting with the earth being female in other
traditions, he is seen as masculen. The earth god
Geb, created by Atum, was shown in human
form. He was a part of Heliopolis creation myth.
With Nut (the sky), Shu (the air), and Tefnut
(moisture), he created the space in which the sungod could set cyclical time in motion. As first
ruler of the earth he also stood for the divine
legitimacy of the kingship.
GEBELEIN : Remains of a prehistoric settlement.
Traces of a now destroyed Hathor temple date
from the 3rd Dynasty through the Middle Dynasty
and down to Greco-Roman times. The tombs are
mostly from the First Intermediate Period.
GIZA : Necropolis of the Old Dynasty lying west
of Cairo. Well known for the Sphinx and the
three pyramids with their accompanying temples
from the reigns of Cheops, Chephren, and
Mycerinus (4th Dynasty). Mastaba tombs of
family members and dignitaries were arranged in
a regular layout around the pyramids (down to
the 6th Dynasty). A few monuments were
erected in later eras.
GODS OF THE DEAD: All Egyptian gods are
connected one way or another with the mortuary
cult or beliefs regarding death. The god who
represented these beliefs was Osiris. The
resurrection of Osiris forms a model among all
Egyptians within the content of reaching
immortality.
GODS OF THE DYNASTY: In the context of
state and royal ideology some of the gods in the
Egyptian pantheon possessed a much more
different meaning than the other gods. This was
particularly true for the sun-god, Re, since at least
the 5th Dynasty. In the New Dynasty, especially
in the 19th and 20th Dynasties, the gods Amun
of Thebes, Re of Heliopolis and Ptah of Memphis
together formed a triad that formed the entire
Egyptian pantheon.
GOLD OF HONOR : The tradition of the
Egypt’s rewarding deserving officials with gold is
known in Egypt since the Old Dynasty. In the
New Dynasty, the presentation of the award is
pictured in their private tombs. In those pictures,
the king is shown at the “Window of
Appearances” giving the gold of honour to the
official standing below. Usually the gold takes
the form of various kinds of jewelry, such as gold
bracelets and beads. These jewellery were always
shown in depictions and statues of the person.
GOLD STATER : In Ancient Greek numismatics,
the gold stater is the unit money. A gold stater
weighed 11 g at first, and later on it became 8.1 g.
In addition, electrum (combination of gold and
silver) and silver money were used. In the first
Egyptian gold staters, it is written “Nub-nefer”
(“perfect gold”). It is at the time of Thirtieth
Dynasty under Teos and Neltanebos.
GOLDEN HORUS : See royal titulary.
GRAFFITO : (Greek in origin; graffiti) This term
is used for texts in Egyptology that are written
stone walls, statues, potsherds and similar items.
The script (hieratic or Demotic) and the content
of the text (administrative, economic, religious)
may be of many different kinds. Texts relating to
a particular building project are named as
construction graffiti. They are usually related to
issues of transport or the mounting of the stones
and were recorded on the stones themselves.
GUIDEBOOKS TO THE UNDERWORLD : A
series of didactic books about the other world. It
is desired to describe systematically what awaited
the dead. Therefore he would be helped to join
the cycle of life and therefore reach immortality.
The cycle of life is described in terms of the
course of the sun. At the beginning, the Books of
the Dead were restricted to the Kings. These
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books form the most important part of the wall
decorations of the royal tombs of the New
Dynasty. Later, they were used for the coffins of
private citizens and papyrus. For Guidebooks to
the Underworld, see underworld, Amdtiat, Book
of Caves, Book of Gates and Book of Two Ways.
H
ADRA VASE : Type of ceramic vase
produced in Alexandria (4th century BC onward).
It is named after a hand located at Hadra, which
is a modern suburb in the east of Alexandria. This
pot-bellied and painted vase had one vertical and
two horizontal handles and was used in the
funeral rites of Ptolemy Egypt.
HAPI : One of the sons of Horus. The god of the
Nile personified the fertility of the country
through the regular inundation of the arable land.
He was shown as a well-nourished man with
women’s breasts and a crown of papyrus reeds.
Preserved in the lungs of the dead. The god who
organizes the waters of the River Nile. God Hapi,
with an appearance of a monkey lives in a cave in
the first waterfall in the valley, raises and lowers
the waters of the Nile when he wishes. Hapi,
watched what went on and therefore arranged
the waters of the Nile Valley. Thus, sometimes,
he provided fertility and sometimes squandered
the people with drought. The unification of
Upper and Lower Egypt was represented by two
figures of Hapi instead of Horus and Seth and like
many Nile deities, it was believed that these
figures maintained the country rather than the
personifications of the nomes.
HAR-NEDJ-INEF : An appearance of Horus. The
protector of death.
HARPOCRATES: A small child who is breastfeed,
son of Isis and Osiris, “Child Horus” has left the
adult Horus who is the great god of Upper Egypt.
He is depicted as a young boy who sucked his
thumb. Golden Dawn attributed silence to him,
because probably the sucking action reminds one
of the generally known expression “shhh”.
HATHOR : As her name, meaning “house of
Horus,” this goddess was depicted either in
human form or as a cow. With the god of the sky
and of kingship, Horus, he belonged to an early
period. The goddess who is the symbol of love,
beauty, art and sexuality according to the Ancient
Egypt beliefs. She is the great lady of Dendara
which is among the ancient cities of Upper Egypt
and she represents war and power. She is named
as the eye of Re. Described as the cow who created the universe. Various features, duties and
different names are given to Hathor in various
religious concepts. Hathor is the god of love,
revenge, war and death and at the same time,
thought of as “sacred mother” or “sacred young
teenager”. The personality of Goddess Hathor
influences people. With the power of fire, she
provided a bright appearance. She is worshipped
as the goddess of love, pleasure and amusement.
She is perceived as equal to Aphrodite. With this
feature, she is also thought of as goddess
Sakhmet. Hathor carries a horned crown with the
appearance of a teenager or cow head. This
crown represents the sun disk as of shape.
Goddess Hathor is thought of as different from
the stars as a cosmic goddess and is the mother of
the pharaoh.Goddess Hathor is also known as
“sacred mother”, “sacred spouse”. It is seen as the
same value with goddess Isis. She becomes the
lover of God Horus as “the golden cow” and
attained the love of Re. She lived in a tree as the
goddess of fertility. The plane tree has become
her symbol. She is also shown as the musical
instrument (village violin). The reason that the
goddess Hathor was called the “Lady of the
West” is that she is thought of as the owner of the
dead. The fact that the hymns written for goddess
Hathor say that: “…she was known in the islands
in the middle of the sea and the goddess that
comes from there…” makes one think that she
comes from the Aegean islands. In the temples
and chapels made for goddess Hathor with a
shape of a cow and plane tree, column heads
with woman face are seen. In such column heads
that are applied during the period of
MiddleDynasty, the woman head hathoric wig,
the hair split to two comes from the two sides of
her face to fall on her breasts. Her connection
with the sun was indicated by the disk of the sun
borne between her cow’s horns. She was part of
many different mythological systems and the cult
centres on her name were all over Egypt. She was
therefore regarded not only a royal goddess but
as the goddess of love and maternity. She was the
protecting deity of birth and regeneration, and
the eye of the sun or the moon. Because of her
heterogeneous qualities, she could be associated
with almost any other goddess or appear in several guises. At her main cult centre of Dendara
she was associated with the god of the sky, the
Horus of Edfu.
HATHOR COLUMN : In Egyptian architecture,
the column that has the face statue of Hathor (or
Bat) and cow ears on its head which has two or
four sides. It was especially used in the temples of
female divinities in Middle Dynasty.
HAT-MEHIT : Fish goddess. The “first of the
fish” in Egyptian language. Name of the goddess
of Mendes in Lower Egypt. She is generally
pictured as a woman with her sacred animal, a
fish on her hand.
HAUHET: The goddess of non-measurable eternity.
Generally, she was depicted as a frog or a lady with
a frog head.
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HEB-SED : Egypt heb-sed: “jubilee of the king”.
The religious ceremony or festival in Ancient
Egypt to celebrate the re-birth of a king. Heb-Sed
festivals first took place about thirty years after
the death of a king, and then with three or four
years intervals.
HEH : One of the gods who represented eternity.
Pictured as a frog or a man with a frog head.
HEKA : God of magic.
HEKA SCEPTER : (Egyptian “ruler” or “government”
scepter) The sceptre was an important part of the
ceremony clothing of the king. The king generally
held the sceptre which had an ending in a crook in
his right hand as the symbol of his power.
HELIOPOLIS : Originally one of the largest
religious and intellectual centres in Egypt. Only
the ruins and an obelisque are left from the period
of Sesostris I. His father, Amenemhat I, built a
new temple for Re-Harakhty on an older sacred
site. The remains of most of the temples are
known from the New Dynasty. There was also a
sanctuary for the god Atum and a tomb site for
the Mnevis bull.
HELLENISTIC PERIOD : The period that covers
330-30 B.C.
HEMEN : The falcon god.
HEMSUT : The goddess of fate.
HEQET : Frog-headed goddess. Symbolises life
and fertility. She is believed as one of the deities
at Hermopolis among the goddess who existed at
the beginning and seen as the partner of Khnoum
in Antinoe. She is one of the gods that protected
pregnancy and the birth of the child. She was
accepted as the protector of life and creation in
connection with Khnoum and Osiris.
HERAKLEOPOLIS : The kings of the 9th and
10th Dynasties moved to the city of
Herakleopolis in the middle of Egypt after the end
of the Old Dynasty. The names of very few of
these kings are known. The royal residence of 9th
and 10th Dynasties, the tombs of clerical office.
The temple dedicated to the local god Herishef is
from the period of 12th and 18th Dynasty.
HERM : (Greek) A sacred monument of Greek
origin in cultural areas where the head of the god
Hermes is surmounted on its four-sided stone
shaft. Later on, it is seen that the heads of other
deities can be placed. These statues, set up in
temples, tombs and in public places, and
probably connected with ideas of protecting
these places are seen in Egypt’s Ptolemy and
Roman Periods.
HERMES TRISMEGISTE : Formed with Greek
God Hermes and Ancient Egypt God Thot. Deals
with both commerce and wisdom. It means three
times as big. He is an important god, a mixture of
Greek and Egypt. It is called hermeutic belief.
HERMOPOLIS : Main cult centre of Thoth
(Greek: Hermes); remains of a temple for
Amenemhat II; Amun temple of Ramesses II;
Thoth temple from the reign of Nectanebo I;
several baboon figures in granite by Amenophis
III; Christian basilica; remains of a Roman town.
HERU-RA-HA : The mixed god of Crowley’s
Egypt-like mythology; the mixed of Re-HoorKhuit and Hoor-par-kraat. Its name is translated
to Ancient Egypt language and probably means
“praise Horus and Re”. Of course this is another
example of corruption.
HIERAKONPOLIS : Prehistoric capital of Upper
Egypt. Remains of city walls and one of the first
sanctuaries of a Horus falcon; prehistoric
settlement and cemetery with the painted tomb
of a chieftain; tombs from the Middle and New
Dynasties. “Fortress” of mudbrick (2nd Dynasty).
HIERATIC: (From the Greek “grammata hieratica” or “sacred script”) Cursive form of Egyptian
script whose development ran parallel to that of
the monumental hieroglyphic script. Comes from
the word sacred in Greek and mostly represents
the normal writing on papyrus. This writing has
been used all through the Ancient Egypt history. In
later periods, it became exclusive to holy texts and
took its name at that time. The hieratic signs lost
their pictorial feature that the hieroglyphs had and
they were mostly written by concatenating. In
hieratic, the individual signs or hieroglyphs
became so simplified that their pictorial content
was no longer recognizable. Written primarily
with reeds on papyrus and fragments of limestone
or pottery, this writing became the most common
one for administrative and economic purposes as
well as works of literature. From the 7th century
on, this function was taken over by Demotic and
hieratic was then mainly used for religious texts.
Thus developed the Greek term.
HIEROGLIPH : The name given to signs in
Ancient Egypt writing. The writing of the gods,
comes from the Greek word “hieros” meaning
holy and “gluphein” meaning carving. This term
is only used for writings with monumental
quality and in most of them, the signs are clear
pictures and do not concatenate. The hieroglyph
lines are mostly read from right to left. The
direction of this reading is determined according
to the direction of the heads of humans and birds.
HIGH PRIEST : Head of the priesthood of a
temple; corresponds to the title “first servant of
God.” The high priests represented the king and
managed the personnel, administration and
finances of their temples. Thus, they sometimes
owned great wealth and large estates.
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HIGH RELIEF: The kind of relief where the
definitions are placed higher than the surface.
HIKE : The god of supernatural powers.
HIN : Egyptian term for a volume measure: about
0.48 litres. In the New Dynasty; mostly used for
measuring grain, myrrh (a resin) and gold.
HITTITES : Indo-European people who, expanding
from their fortified settlement of (modern
Bogazkay), established what was at first a shortlived empire in the 7th century in Northern
Anatolia. In the 14th century, the Hittite state
became a great power that rules Anatolia and
Syria and took over the control of Mitanni
Empire. Thus, they became the most important
competitors of the Egyptians in the struggle for
domination of Asia Minor in the 14th and 13th
centuries BC. After heavy fighting, a peace treaty
was finally signed at the time of Ramesses II. The
Hittite Empire collapsed in the 12th century.
HOLY WORSHIPPER: In Thebes, the head nun
of God Amun. This duty is seen between New
Dynasty– Late Period. These nuns were virgins.
In the period between 23rd and 26th Dynasty,
this duty was taken over by the princesses.
HOR : Everywhere, the kings received title from
the sky and the sun. Before setting the Ancient
Egypt union, Horus was the idol of the north
Dynasty. These kings took the title Hor for
themselves.
HOREMHEB DECREE : Decree that King
Horemheb made around 1330 BC bringing a
detailed definition of state administration and
courts. Its importance comes from its avoiding
corruption. It is preserved as a duplicate on a stela
erected in front of the 10th pylon of the Amun
temple at Karnak.
HORUS : One of the old gods. The god of sky
and light. The name of Horus (“the distant one”)
was used to designate a number of very different
sky gods and gods of kingship. He was depicted
as a hawk. The first kings themselves were
regarded as the god Horus and accepted as a part
of the cosmic process. In Osirian theology, Horus
was the son of Isis and Osiris. The royal part of
his nature took on an additional mythical
dimension principally concerned with the
opposition of the structured and chaotic elements
of creation. As the rightful successor of Osiris,
Horus stood for world order, while Seth
represented wild and disordered tendencies. In
the Greco-Roman period, Horus assumed all the
mythical and magical aspects of the kingship,
superseding the actual ruler in that capacity. Later
on, he became one of the gods of the “world of
the dead”. At the beginning, the eye of the falcon
Horus was seen as the holy eye. After Horus
died, it surveyed the pharaoh that travelled to the
other world. The eye of Horus is considered by
some experts as “related to the moon” or “passive
eye”. The eye that Sakhmet threw at the enemies
of Re are active or right eye. The falcon god
Horus, is the most sacred ancestor of Ancient
Egyptians. The eye of Horus is a charm that has
the power to heal and perfect and it is the
ancestor of the pharaoh’s. It is still believed that it
is the charm of wisdom and protection.
HORUS OF BEHEDET (HADIT) : One of the
forms of Horus that is worshipped in Behedet
city. His large wings are shown as a form of the
sun disk, and it is generally seen flying on the
important views (in the religious art of Egypt).
Hadit is pictured as Horus with the attitude of
being ready everywhere and every time. As
Crowley said in the book Magic in Theory and
Practice, “Hadit is called the piece that is
extremely small and atomic which are ready
everywhere and every time”.
HOUSE OF MILLIONS OF YEARS : An
Egyptian term that traces its origin to temple
complexes, especially at the period of the New
Dynasty. The veneration of royal statues in close
association with the cult of the gods was
particularly important. The cult aimed to preserve
the reign of the king and attain eternal life to him,
thus making him king of Upper and Lower Egypt
for millions of years. The funerary temples of the
New Dynasty in West Thebes was a special type
of this “house of millions of years.”
HURRIANS : The name of the folk who spread
out from Transcaucasia towards the north and
southeast of Turkey, northern Syria and Iraq
toward the end of the 3rd millennium BC. The
information about this migration is mostly
derived from linguistic data. The great power and
influence of the Hurries was stopped by Mitanni
Empire in 16th and 14th century BC.
HYKSOS : (Greek form of the Egyptian heqa
khasut, “foreign rulers”) Asian kings who reigned
for 100 years in the 15th Dynasty in Egypt (16501542 BC). These Syrian-Palestine tribes ruled
Egypt as vassal states from their centre in Avaris
in the East Nile Delta. After a long struggle the
Theban 7th Dynasty drove the Hyksos out of
Egypt and established the New Dynasty.
HYPOGEE : Tombs that are carved into rocks.
(Greek-Latin) underground tomb; in Egypt, the
term refers to multi-chambered underground
tomb sites used for multiple burials. Several
examples are known from the necropolises of
Alexandria.
HYPOSTYLE ROOM : Comes from the word
“carriage column” in Greek. These parlours
surrounded by columns were the outmost and
the most splendid parts of the main structures of
the temples. Sometimes they were made as an
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annex after the temple was finished. They carry a
mixed symbolism. Most of the temples have two
hypostyle parlours.
I
ALOU FIELD : According to the religion of
Ancient Egypt (Sekhet Ialou) it is a reedy field.
Inspired by the large and rich reedy moor of the
Delta, it is a section that turns into the “Place of
Happiness” (Amenti) of the west. The place
where the privileged people who can enter this
heaven, like the ruler and his loyal subjects, can
stay until eternity. The place where the sun sets,
the place where the dead are sent to, a place with
the darkness of the night.
IHY : The god of music. He was shown with a
sistrum and a menitj (old musical instruments)
and was worshipped in Dendara as the son of
Hathor and Horus. As god of childhood he had
links with the primeval beginning of creation. He
was also accepted as the son of the sun-god.
IKNATON : Another name for Akhenaten in
Ancient Egypt (fourth Amen-hotep).
IMAKHOU : The ruler and his loyal subjects in
Ancient Egypt.
IMHOTEP : An architect who lived at the time of
Djesser I, the first ruler of the 3rd Dynasty. He was
the master builder of the stopped pyramid of
Djesser I in Saqqara. He is a mortal who was
famous for long years for his wisdom and
architecture. However, it is still not certain today
whether Imhotep was the same Imhotep as the
later one. His relationship to god Imhotep is not
known. In the period of Middle Dynasty, a wise
person, an author named Imhotep is mentioned. A
few drops of ink that the clerks poured into the
Nile on his honour so that they want the spirit of
Imhotep to be carried to all the cities of the Ancient
Egypt country is learned from the written
documentaries. At the period of Sais Dynasty
(after 663 B.C.), Imhotep is seen as a medicine
scholar. In the work named Egyptica by
Manethon, it is written that Imhotep is equal to the
Greek god Asclepios and is deified. Divine order is
given to Imhotep. He is the son of God Ptah. His
wife’s name is Khrotionakh. The Greeks named
Imhotep as “Imuthes”. The Imhotep cult is spread
in all of Ancient Egypt. There is a chapel in Philae
Island. There are more chapels in Karnak, Deir el
Bahari and Deir-el Medina and in Saqqara in
Lower Egypt and this chapel is also used as a place
of healing. In the necropolis of Saqqara, in the
excavations that the British carried out between
1964-1965, an Ibeon is found in the middle of the
necropolis. Within this Ibeon that was made at the
time of 3rd Dynasty, there was a stork. According
to the claims of British researchers, the tomb of
Imhotep is around this Ibeon.
IMSETY : One of Horus’ sons. Protected in the
liver of the dead.
INCENSE CONES : Small cones worn on the
head on festivals. These cones were made of
animal fat mixed with aromatic substances
(probably various kinds of myrrh and resin).
Depictions of banqueting scenes in the tombs of
the New Dynasty regularly show them on the
heads of the participants. During the banquet the
cone would melt, anointing the hair and upper
body of the person wearing it.
INLAY WORK : A method of metalwork
ornamenting surfaces in bronze figures and tools.
Depressions left unfilled during the casting
process, or grooves cut with a chisel after casting,
had thin sheets or wires of precious metal —
gold, electrum or silver — hammered into them
and finally the surface was filed smooth.
INSTRUCTIONS : A very popular Egyptian
literary genre. Countless copies made at scribes’
schools can be seen as the evidence of this
popularity. At least 16 works have been
preserved completely or partially. As the new
generation of officials are taught the basic rules
of Egyptian society and the fundamental ethics
of the state, they shall therefore, be considered as
important sources for the Egyptian conception of
mankind and the world. It is also possible to see
from the Bible that their influence extended
beyond Egypt.
INSTRUCTIONS IN WISDOM : See Instructions.
INSU : The fetish in Abydos, cover of the
renewed head of god Osiris.
ISFET : (Egyptian “chaos,” “wrong,” “sin,” “evil”)
The opposite of maat, that is, the rules laid down
by the gods to organize the world, the state, and
the life of man. The one who disobeyed the rules
of this “divine world order” committed “isfet”.
ISHED TREE : The sacred tree around the temple
of the sun-god at Heliopolis. It is probably an
avocado tree. Many depictions in temples tell
that since the 18th Dynasty, the titles of the king
are written on the leaves of this tree with a
religious ceremony. Thus the names of the kings
and their rule is taken under the protection of the
sun god and therefore continues until forever.
ISIS : The wife of Osiris and mother of Horus in
Ancient Egypt mythology. The goddess of
fertility and motherhood. Shown as a cow who
carries a moon at its head. She is the greatest
goddess of Egypt. Her symbol is the star of Sirius.
It is thought that with Osiris, she founded and
ruled Egypt. She is also seen in Greek and Roman
mythology. Because she is the mother of the Sun
(Horus) who gave life to all, she was also
worshipped as “fertility goddess”. The goddess
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Isis was depicted in human form. On her head,
there was an emblem showing the hieroglyph of
her name (the throne) or by cow’s horns and the
solar disk. As the wife of Osiris, she represented
the royal power that she gained which was being
the mother of Horus. Consequently she was
connected to this world and the other and was
both the mother goddess and goddess of the
divine. Even though she did not have a special
cult centre of her own, with the rise of the cult of
Osiris she was worshipped throughout the
country. A significant feature making Isis
increasingly popular from the New Dynasty
onward was her possession of special magic
powers in her capacity as a protecting goddess.
She is a goddess who entered Greek mythology
from the Ancient Egypt mythology. However,
she is very much loved in the Greek myths. Many
temples were built for her name. She was
worshipped in Anatolian cities like Ephesos and
Pergamon. Isis heading is placed also on the
coins. She was the most important of the deities
in the Greco-Roman period, when she was
worshipped throughout the Roman Empire.
There is evidence that her cult survived on the
island of Philae into the 6th century AD.
ISRAEL STELA : Stele showing the fifteenth year
of the reign of King Merenptah (around 1210
BC). It was found in his funerary temple in West
Thebes and today it is in the Egyptian Museum in
Cairo. On the front side of the enormous granite
stele 3.2 m in height, is inscribed a long poem by
Amenhotep III. At the back side, the victories that
Merenptah won against Libyans are told. Also
many places that Merenptah won victories at
Syria and Palestine are mentioned here. This is
the only source that mention the name Israel in
Egyptian texts.
JtripOURNEY
TO ABYDOS : Description of a boat
of the mummy or the deceased in Middle
Dynasty. During the course of the burial ceremony,
a journey to Abydos was performed. Thus, the
dead person could participate in the Festivals of
Osiris held there. Every year in Abydos the death
and resurrection of the god Osiris took place, and
in this event, the dead people attained the
guarantee for his own eternal life. By depicting this
journey to or from Abydos in the tomb, the
participation of the dead in the so-called Osiris
mysteries was documented and thus perpetuated
for all eternity. In the tomb, with the depiction of
this journey from or to Abydos, the joining of the
dead to the mysteries of Osiris is certified and
therefore he joined to eternity.
K
A : A difficult Egyptian concept pertaining to
an aspect of the personality of gods and men. See
also akji and ba. In Ancient Egypt, it is a principle
of spirit that stays in the body of man after death.
Its spiritual meaning is the one that is difficult to
understand. According to ages, the meaning of Ka
is interpreted differently. Maspero says that: “Ka
is a live visual, a spirit colored in the shape of
man, a spirit that is able to give the human body
tiniest details and that can move the man with
these details.” It was accepted that Ka was the
carrier of generating and life-giving forces and a
symbol of an uninterrupted life power that passes
from generation to generation. Ka came to
existence with the birth of a person and
continued to exist after his death. Like the ba, ka
also accepted offerings and guaranteed eternal life
after death.
KA STATUE : Statue representing the ka of a
person. According to the ceremonies of the
mortuary cult, this statue was erected in a tomb.
Ka statues of the kings were worshipped while
the kings are still alive in specially built cult
complexes. These structures called the ka houses
were built as annex buildings of large temples.
KENBET: Egyptian name for a committee
composed of high-ranking officials in the New
Dynasty, responsible for matters of local justice.
There was also a “Great Kenbet” under the vizier.
This commission met in the residence of the
vizier and formed the highest court with sole
responsibility for appeals.
KHEPESH: The curled sword that God Amun
gave to the ruler in Ancient Egypt. At the same
time, it is the sword that the Asiatic rulers carried
on their belts.
KHEPRESH: Egyptian term meaning the Blue
Crown. The king wore the khepresh at the time
of the early New Dynasty that had a long bonnetlike shape with wing-like projections at the sides.
It is generally pictured as blue and covered with
small yellow rings. Probably made of leather with
a metal overlay.
KHEPR‹: The god of cyclical renewal and of the
daily rising and variable aspects of the sun was
depicted in the shape of a Scarabe beetle. During
the course of the sun across the sky, he
represented morning sunrise. According to the
big city science of Ancient Heliopolitan, he is
mixed with the creative god Atum and Re. In its
Egyptian origin, “Khepri” has many meanings, for
some people the most interesting ones are
“creating” or “transforming”, and it also means
Scarabe. Scarabe was accepted as the symbol of
the sun. It left its eggs around its waste and also
accepted as the symbol of sun god. It pushed the
sun towards the sky. On the other hand, Re
personified the hours of the day and Atum the
evening hours.
KHERNU: Flood and the large god of the Nile.
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KHNOUM: The god which is worshipped in all
Ancient Egypt. He was shown as a man with
Ram head. He was worshipped at Antinoe and
Elephantine. He was one of the gods who gave
shape to humans, one of the creator gods in pottery wheel. His friends (partners) were Heqet,
Neith and Sati. This creator god, shown in the
form of a hammer or as a man with a hammer’s
head. He was very closely connected with the
origin of living beings. He was thought to have
made their bodies and their ka forces on a potter’s
wheel. With Satet and Anuqet, he protected the
sources of the Nile at the first cataract and thus
protected the fertility of the land. The personality
of this god who was worshipped in many parts of
Egypt was into several different aspects. His main
cult centres were at Elephantine and Esna. The
protective god of the Nile was worshipped at the
high valley of the Nile at Esnah and Elephantine
with goddess Anukis and goddess Satis (Satet)
with as a common god group. Its origin is North
of Egypt. God Khnoum has a very old cult in
Antione. In the Antione cult, also the name of his
wife goddess Heqet is mentioned. Temples were
built in Philae and Esnah for his name.
God Khnoum is pictured as a male figure with
ram head. In Ancient Egypt language, the equal of
the word Khnoum is goat. Just like the word
Khnoum that comes from a Semitic language, the
god Khnoum is also of semitic origin. It is known
as the god of fertility and sacrifice ceremonies are
made for god Khnoum so that the products are
fertile. In order to praise after the products are
collected, rituals were made in fall after the grains
were collected. In Ancient Egypt cosmogony,
God Khnoum was known as the god who was
the creator and the one who shaped the mud. It
was thought that he made both the man and the
world from the mud of the Nile.At the end of the
Old Dynasty, after the 5th Dynasty, the
Heliopolis monks said the name of the sun with
Khnoum. Khnoum-Ra.
KHOIAK: Name given to the fourth month of
the season of the Nile inundation in Coptic
language in Egypt. During this month great
festivals in honour of Osiris were held
throughout the country. The main focus were the
ritual celebrations of Osiris’ resurrection in
temples dedicated to him.
partition walls of medium height between outer
columns or pillars. The ceiling was wooden or
canvas. Such kiosks were often found at the
entrances of great temple complexes or along
festival routes and used for protection of the cult
images in festivals and and their temporary
resting places (see also way stations).
KITE: Unit of weight corresponding to 9.1 g. Ten
kite was equal to a deben of 91 g.
KNOT : In the hieroglyphs of Ancient Egypt, the
knot is the symbol of the existence of an
individual. The Ancient Egyptians put great effort
to hide the name of a person. Because the widespread belief was that a person could not exist
unless his name is hidden. The rope is also the
general symbol of tying and combining like
chain. The rope also symbolises Ptah.
KOLOSSUS: The name given to the extraordinary
large statues of generally kings, important people
and gods. They were typically placed in front of
the doors of the temples and mostly they are
believed to have some kind of an intermediary
between gods and men.
KOM OMBO: Greco-Roman twin sanctuary for
the divinities Sobek and Haroeris; because of
their proximity to the Nile, entrance gate and
mammisi are partly damaged, the structure is in a
well shaped position.
KOUROS: (Greek pi. kouroi) In ancient Greek
sculpture a term for the figure of a naked youth.
KUMIDI: Kamid el-Loz in Lebanon; a city state
in the Near East that Thutmosis III conquered on
his first Syrian war time, after which it entered the
Egyptian influence.
KUSHITE CAP: Flat, close-fitting headgear that
Nubian kings wore (“Kushites” after the Egyptian
word “Kush” for Nubia, or a part thereof) who
ruled over Egypt and Nubia as the 25th Dynasty.
At the front of the hat were affixed two sacred
serpent figures, while at the rear long ribbons
hung down to the wearer’s back.
KYPHI PASTILLE: From the Egyptian word for
“incense.” Term for the incense that are produced
from up to sixteen ingredients (resins, woods,
grasses, spices, animal parts, and, sometimes,
dung), which were burnt in temples for
purification purposes and as air fresheners. They
were also used a cure for various illnesses and
could be used as a mouthwash, or added to wine.
KING LIST: The chronological inventory of
kings’ names. Also shows the length of the reign
of each king. It is a work made for administration
and historiography. The most famous example is
the Turin Royal law book Canon which has only
survived partially. The Egyptian King Lists form
one of the most important sources for
reconstructing chronology.
L
ABYRINTH : Corridor that is long, dark and
built with traditional structure techniques.
KIOSK: Lightly open-sided pavilion. In Egyptian
architecture, it is often made of stone with
LABYRINTH: The expression used by Greek and
Roman travel writers for the temple precinct of
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Amenemhat III’s pyramid at Hawara, at the edge
of the Faiyum. The complex cannot be
reconstructed today because it was built on a
wide area (158 x 385 m). It was probably
composed of various courtyards and cult rooms
with shrines for statues of the gods and king.
LATE EGYPTIAN: Stage of development of the
Egyptian language from 18th Dynasty into the
Third Intermediate Period. There are a large
number of texts dealing with administrative,
commerce and economic matters as well as
literary works. It was written in the cursive
hieratic script on papyrus and ostracon as well as
in hieroglyphs on stela and temple walls.
LIBU: See Libyan.
LIBYAN: From the ancient Egyptian Rebu/Reby
words describing people who lived just west of
the Nile Delta. In modern usage, the word means
a variety of people who lived in the west and
southwest of the Nile Valley. The Libyans often
appear in depictions of foreigners about Egypt.
They represented an open threat to Egypt in the
19th and 20th Dynasties with their constant
incursions into the Nile Valley. Because a series of
Libyan tribes were settled in the western Nile
Delta, local Libyan princedoms emerged. They
succeeded in seizing power in Egypt in the period
of Third Dynasty and temporarily established the
22nd Dynasty.
LOCULUS: (Latin pi. loculi.) Term for burial site
in Greco-Roman funeral practices. In Egypt it
refers to the location of a sarcophagus in a walled
niche of a tomb. Especially, for the corresponding
niches in the Roman burial grounds of
Alexandria.
LOGOGRAM: The sign in writing indicating a
whole word.
LOTUS: White nymphea. It is a flower that
influenced the Ancient Egypt art from
architecture to ornament and accessories. Lotus
which is a watery plant flower is seen widely as
an ornament element in Ancient Egypt columns
and capitals with its closed and open forms.
M
AAT: The female one among the twins of
the Sun God Re. Goddess of justice. According to
the Ancient Egypt, one of the most important
idols with the moon. Maat means the moon in
Uygur language. In some documents, while the
head of the committee who judges the spirit of
the dead is Osiris, Goddess Maat is still shown as
the head of the judgement committee. She is
described as a young lady with a feather on her
head. The representative of justice, Maat is
important in Egyptian religious belief. Because
she is the protector of order in social life, it is
believed that she also has responsibility in
decisions about administration. She gives
wisdom and morale to people. Maat is not only
related to the justice of men but also the gods and
even the universe and rules them. With the help
of Maat, everything in the universe occurs
without a break and in an order. In Egyptian
religious philosophy, Maat has an important
place. She is the owner of the thought of Platon
that the god is the creator. She is among the
cosmic gods group. In the world created in Maat,
she protects the order of the world against chaos
and anarchy. In the event of creation, justice is
given to each being. In the period of the Old
Dynasty, only the monks of Maat were given the
right to judge. Maat, with the power her father
gave to the sun god Re, prevents Re from falling
into chaos. The concept of maat stood for the
principle of the structured world, that is, for order
and equilibrium, ethical values and justice,
culture and creativity. Maat was thus the
opposite pole to all that was disordered, chaotic,
destructive and unjust but powerful. The duty of
every king was to guarantee Maat order and thus
make it safe for not only Egypt but also the whole
world. The goddess Maat was the personification
of this principle. She was seen as the friend or
daughter of the sun-god. She was shown in
human form with a plume on her head. She does
not seem to have had a cult of her own until the
New Dynasty, when she was worshipped with
the gods of the Dynasty at Karnak and Memphis.
MASTABA: Meaning “a place to sit” or “upper
part of a tomb” in Arabic. A monumentary tomb
that is placed over the tomb hole in the shape of
a rectangular prism, larger than its bottom and
covered with stone and sand. (Arabic “bank”,
“bench”) Royal and private tomb complexes. The
upper structure consisted of a solid, rectangular
area of mud or stones with sloping sides. The
actual burial usually occupied a subterranean
chamber that could be surrounded by
storerooms. Common in the predynastic era and
in the Old Dynasty.The Arabic word meaning
sedir. The name given to the tombs that are left in
the open in Early Dynasty period and Old
Dynasty (sometimes the later periods), the
Ancient Egypt tomb structure. The main form of
mastaba consists of mud brick stone walls that
have a straight ceiling with four corners.
MEDAMUD: Remains of a temple to the war
god Montu and his sacred bull Buchis from the
Greco-Roman Period. With this temple of 11th,
12th Dynasty, (which replaced a plain twin
sanctuary dating from the Old Dynasty) a few
blocks remain from a temple from the 18th
Dynasty.
MEDIUM: Necropolis of the late 3rd and 4th
Dynasties; only the core of the pyramid of Snefru
remains.
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MEIR: Numerous rock-cut tombs of nomarchs of
the Old and Middle Dynasties.
gained the feature of giving by God Amun in
Karnak afterwards.
MEMPHIS: One of the most important cities of
Ancient Egypt. First capital of historical Egypt
around 3000 BC. The administrative centre and
garrison. Administrative centre and garrison
town. Statue temples and Hathor temple from
the reign of Ramesses II. Only remnants of the
palaces of Merenptah and Apries and of the main
temple of Ptah
MIN FESTIVAL: One of the most important
religious festivals. It was a festival that is
celebrated in all of Egypt and one that is
dedicated to Min. It is recorded in inscriptions
from the Archaic Period onward. It is portrayed
on many temple walls, particularly in the New
Dynasty. The festival, associated with the making
of offerings and many ritual acts, took the form of
a solemn procession in which the cult image of
the god was carried from his temple. The statue,
accompanied by other gods and the statues of
former kings, was carried by priests to cult
buildings where it would reside temporarily.
“Procession of Min” was closely connected with
rites of thanksgiving for harvest and it
impregnated nature, which was wounded by the
harvest. The festival that is organised in the name
of God Min since the age of Thinit is made in the
first month every summer. This festival
continued until Roman ages. This festival which
is made so that the crop of the year is fertile and
abundant is for the purpose of the wish for the
Egyptian nation that the crop brings fertility and
happiness. In the period of the New Dynasty, it is
seen in the depictions at Medinet Habou that
these festivals at Ramasseum are held brilliantly.
Pharaoh climbs over a pile of straw in front of
Min temple and addresses the statue of God Min
who is taken out of the temple and the bull that
is brought with ceremony is passed in front of the
crowd and is given to the pharaoh. Pharaoh holds
the head of the white bull and is brought until the
base of the statue of God Min and leaves it there.
He folds a wheat to two and leaves it to the base
of the statue. After this, according to the
ceremony, 4 pigeons are let free towards 4
different ways and the 4 pigeons that fly towards
different directions of the country take the news
of this holy event. During all these ceremonies,
young ladies sing hymns and dance.
MENAT: A necklace consisting of several rows
of beads. The ends are joined at the end and
clasped with a metal plate. The menat could also
be carried in the hand, and the beads would make
a sound when shaken. This way, it is thought that
it was used as a musical instrument particularly in
the cult of the goddess Hathor.
MERETSEGER: Known as the “goddess who
loves silence”. The local god of the necropolis of
the city Thebes. The owner of the west desert
with goddess Hathor. It is on a hill that overlooks
the west of Thebes necropolis and is in the shape
of a snake. The snake-headed or serpent shaped
goddess. She was the goddess of the western
mountains of Thebes and the protector of the
dead and the patroness of necropolis workers in
Deir el-Medina. She is connected to Renentutct
and was also seen as a nurturing goddess.
MERIT : The goddess of music and entertainment.
MERNEPTAM: A pharaoh who lived before
Christ in 13th century.
MERTU: (Mentu) God of war.
MIN : One of the earliest of Egyptian deities that
have been recorded. In the old religious
speculation, it is the god of fertility and
reproduction. It is shown in the pictures as male
figure. Huge statues of Min were seen in Coptos
at the end of the 4th century BC. In pharaonic
times he was shown as a mummiform body with
an erect phallus, one arm raised and holding a
flail, and with a plumed crown on his head. As
Kamutef, “bull of his mother,” he was regarded as
a creator god. It is compared to the ancient Greek
God Pan. Afterwards, its figurative shape
changed and it is shown as a male figure. God
Amun also carries the same long feathered cap.
Sometimes, he holds a whip on his hand. God
Min is seen in the shape of a bull as the producing
god. As a protective god, she is shown as
“Waiting for the East” like her mother or spouse
in some texts, and is confused with goddess Isis.
In a religious hymn written in 12th Dynasty, God
Min is shown like combined with God Horus.
God Min is worshipped with God Horus since
ancient ages. God Min has the feature to “protect
the state” in ancient depictions. God Min is
together with God Re and God Amun. God Min
MITANNI: Dynasty established in the 6th
century BC in western Mesopotamia between the
upper Tigris and the Euphrates. One of the most
important states. In the 15th century BC Mitanni
and Egypt were against each other for the control
of Syria. The war ended with a peace treaty
signed at the period of Amenhotep II. Thutmosis
IV as well as Amenhotep III married daughters of
the Mitanni kings. The power of Mitanni
gradually declined in the 14th century BC due to
the constant expansion of the Hittite Empire.
MNEVIS: The name in Greek given to the “holy
bull” in Heliopolis. In Ancient Egypt language,
Mnevis is called Merour. Mnevis is a black bull
that has wheat shaped spots on its body and tail.
At the head of Mnevis, there is Uraeus wrapped
in sun disk. Mnevis has calves from barren cows
that did not give birth. Mnevis has influential
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power like Apis. It is also known as the god of
open air. He carries the alive spirit of God Re. In
Ancient Egypt hymns, he is mentioned as “the
one who carries the spirit of God Re”. His name
is first mentioned in the palace archives in Tell-el
Amarna. Since the name Mnevis is seen in
Akhenaten stelas, there may be a tomb that
belongs to Mnevis. The Mnevis cult is started by
the II. Ruler of the 2nd Dynasty Kakaou
(Kekhoos) in Memphis. In Heliopolis, Mnevis
cult is spread from Bouc to Mendes. The sun bull
of Heliopolis; he was portrayed as a black bull
with the solar disk between his horns. His
strikingly large genitals refer to his great
reproductive power. When he is thought of from
the perspective of the sun cult, we can say that he
had particularly strong links with Re and Atum.
MO’ALLA: Two rock-cut tombs from the First
Intermediate Period with murals in the
“provincial” style (tomb of Ankhtify).
MOLDING: An architectural ornament element
in the shape of a line over the surface of a wall
with a slight nosing.
MONOLITH: A large block carved from one
piece of a large stone in detail or roughly and
which can stand independently.
MONTU: Cosmic god. He is of Delta and he
became the god of war while he used to be the
god of sun. When the people of the Delta
conquered the valley country, he made the city
Hermonthis (Iouni) the centre and became the
god of this city. As a falcon headed male figure,
he has a sun disk on his head that is wrapped by
two cobra snakes. At the time of the 11th
Dynasty rulers, he gained the title of high
president of Egyptian pantheon and reached the
peak. When Amun is chosen as the head god at
the time of Amenemes, the 12th Dynasty rulers
returned back to the local features of Montou. He
stays as the head god of Medamoud and Tod
cities near Thebes. The depiction of two cobra
snakes wrapped to the sun disk shows that he is
related to God Re. With the features of cosmic
god, he unites with God Re and is known as
Montou-Re. In the period of Middle Dynasty,
Montou is seen as warrior god. In the depictions,
his signature feature is his carrying war axe and
arrow. In the period of the New Dynasty, he kept
his feature of war god. In Hermontis, Montou is
known as the holy bull. In Recession period, the
Greeks called this bull “Boukhis”. Montou figures
are shown as bull head in the age of Recession. In
Hermontis, in animal graveyards, as the visual of
the god, the bull is sacrificed and buried. The
ancient Greeks called this animal graveyard
“Boukheon”, and the Ancient Egyptians called it
“The Chateaou of Atum”. This usage of animal
graveyard, the sacrifice of the bulls started at the
period of pharaoh Amenophis III (1405-1370
B.C.) at the time of 18th Dynasty and continued
until the period of Nektanebo II (359-341 B.C.),
the last ruler of 30th Dynasty. In Karnak, a
monumental temple is made for God Montou.
The name of this god is mentioned in the Old
Dynasty. He was depicted with the head of a
falcon, a plumed crown and the solar disk and
two uraeus serpents over his forehead. He was
originally a royal god, and had his major cult
centres at Armant, Tod, Medamud, and Thebes.
As god of war he fought against the enemies of
the gods at the king’s side. In the Middle Dynasty
a bull cult was devoted to him. This cult provided
more emphasis on his warrior qualities.
MORTUARY CULT: The name given to the
ceremonies regarding the dead, aiming to secure
their continued existence after death, starting
from the prehistoric period. The mortuary cult of
the king was different from that of private
individuals because the king was accepted as
both human and divine. Preserving the body
(through mummification and biographical texts
in the tomb) and offerings (equipment and
offerings placed in the tomb) were central to the
mortuary cult. The condition for the mortuary
cult is having one’s own tomb built. When the
rites had been completed after embalming and
interring, the mortuary cult was set in motion by
daily offerings performed by the eldest son or a
priest (see endowments to the dead). During
certain festivals, contributions were taken (see
Festival of the Valley) from the temples and
mortuary establishments.
MOSAIC: Picture or adornments that is formed
by bringing together marble, smalt or terracotta
pieces in various colours and small cubes.
Making of the mosaic started in Greece. In the
Hellenistic period the most beautiful mosaics
were made at the palace of Alexander in Pella.
They are brought to Rome by artists from
Alexandria. Towards 200 B.C., Stone cubes
(tessella) took place of the raw pebble.
MOUT: This goddess in human form is depicted
wearing a vulture headdress and the Double
Crown; she was directly connected to the Amun
belief. Starting from the New Dynasty, she,
Amun, and their son Khonsu formed the Theban
divine triad. Her maternal role is referred by her
name, written with the vulture hieroglyph and
meaning “mother.” Amun and Mut were also
regarded as the king’s parents from the 18th
Dynasty onward. As lady or Asheru she had a
cult centre of her own at Karnak with a crescentshaped sacred lake, and was depicted there in the
form of a lion. She was closely associated with
other vulture or lion goddesses such as Nekhbet,
Uto, Sakhmet, and Bastet. Mother goddess. The
protective goddess of Acherou near Karnak. She
has a temple in Acherou. Mout means “mother”
in Ancient Egyptian. She is the wife of God Amun
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and the mother of god Khonsou. She is described
in the shape of an eagle. In cosmogonia, her
equivalent is Amaunet and has the shape of a
frog. In the Great Opet Festivals celebrated at
Luxor and other cities, she accepts the sacrifices
and presents brought in the “holy barque” with
her husband God Amun and son God Khonsou.
In some religious speculations, she is combined
with Goddess Sakhmet and shown as a covered,
female lion head. She has warrior features.
MUMMY: Derived from the Arabic, meaning
“asphalt,” and indicating a corpse protected from
decay by artificial means or natural desiccation. It
first took place in Egypt from the very beginnings
of its culture. The embalming process lasted
seventy days, after which the mummified corpse
was buried. According to Egyptian beliefs, the
preservation of the corpse was absolutely
necessary for ensuring life after death.
MYSTIC: The basis of the word is secret. The
roots of this word means to close lips or eyes in
ancient Greek. The mystic person is the one who
knows the secrets and who comprehends
mysteries.
MYSTICISM: It is the philosophy and doctrine
that accepts one may reach god and the truth not
with wisdom and research but with heart,
emotions and intuition.
MYTH: It means what is believed to be true even
though it is not used this way in life.
MYTHOLOGY: In most wide sense, mythology is
a discipline regarding the emergence, existence and
social function of mythos. This discipline has close
relationships with the contemporary life. There are
update and contemporary mythos’ as well.
N
AOPHORUS: (Greek “naos bearer”/temple
or the house of the gods, one that carries naos) A
kneeling man holding a naos with a figure or
emblem of the gods. It is seen in temples from the
time of the 18th Dynasty. In later periods,
standing or seated naophori are also seen.
NAOS: Especially in temple structures, the place
where the holy statues are located. Sometimes
they are in the shape of a box and in a big naos
carved from a piece of Stone, there is a smaller
one made from wood. The term naos is also used
fort he holy secret regions in temples. (Greek
“temple,” “house of the gods”) Lockable shrine for
storing religious images. It is generally made of
wood or hard stone and placed in temples or
tombs. Also used for the sanctum of the inner
temple in which the statue of the god was stored
and serviced.
NATRON: Used for drying the corpse during
mummification and for purification and
incensing in cult ceremonies. Occurs naturally as
the compounds sodium carbonate and sodium
bicarbonate in nature and was mined in Lower
Egypt in Wadi Natrun.
NATURALISM: The art method in aesthetics that
is based on “inspiration from nature”, a section
given “according to nature”, the visualization of a
general thought with a series of details that copies
the reality. In the last quarter of the 19th century, a
late bourgeois movement that emerged with visual
arts, music, literature, theatre in many European
countries. Naturalism is a method that does not
comply with reality. Natualism is an escape from
deepening life from the point of art and mind and
tries to hide the tendency to escape reality within
the copy of the truth.
NEBTY NAME: See royal titulary.
NECROPOLIS: The word meaning graveyard
(city of the dead) in Greek generally qualifies
large and important burial areas that had been
used for a long time. The place of collective
graveyards for Ancient Egyptians, the eternal city.
NEFERTEM: Son of lotus god Ta and Sakhmet.
The Memphis Goddess of lotus flower.
Nefertem, worshipped in the form of a lotus
blossom and he was associated closely with the
sun-god. He was described as “the lotus flower
before the nose of Re” or the “great lotus flower
appearing from the primeval ocean”. He was also
the youthful child of the sun. Nefertem was
generally depicted in human form with a
headdress consisting of the lotus flower symbol
crowned with plumes. In Memphis he was
venerated as part of a divine triad with Ptah and
Sakhmet. The information about him is pretty
complicated. Nefertem and architecture Imhotep
is confused with each other. The fact that
Nefertoum is shown with the amblem of a flower
indicates that he is related to nature. An ancient
goddess of hunting and war, Neith was
worshipped in the Memphis region during the
Old Dynasty as a protector of the kings.
However, her main cult centre was at Sais in the
Delta. Here, Sais was particularly popular during
the 26th Dynasty, since the kings of that period
came from Sais. Later on, she was even depicted
in the statue of a creator goddess in Esna. Neith
wore the crown of Lower Egypt. Her emblem
was a shield with crossed arrows.
NEFERTETE: Goddess, wife of Amen-hotep.
NEITH: The powerful war goddess of the city
Sais in Nile Delta. She has a warrior character.
Her characteristics are arc and arrow. Goddess
Neith has been known as the goddess of the
Delta since the Stone Age. She carries the red cap
of the North on her head. Red cap is her
signature. Another feature of goddess Neith is
that she thought people to weave. Even though
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she was a goddess of Delta origin, her cult is
spread to the valley as well. She forms a triad
with God Khnoum, Goddess Neith and Goddess
Saits at Esneh. These goddesses are the guards of
the organs taken out of the dead person’s chest.
NEKHBET: A goddess who appeared in the
shape of a vulture or as a woman wearing a
vulture headdress. As goddess of the crown of
Upper Egypt she usually wore the White Crown
of that part of the country. The origin is El Kab.
The protector god of the pharaohs. It is believed
that she protects Egypt with her wide wings,.
Because the rulers are under the protection of
Nekhbet, she is always thought as over the head
of the ruler and symbolised the valley country. In
the protocol of the pharaoh, she received the
name Nepthys and presided the births. She was
closely associated with the snake goddess Uto,
her Lower Egyptian counterpart, and with the
goddesses Mut and Tephnout. In addition, she
was the protector of the son of the king and his
wet nurse. Her main cult centre was at Elkab in
the third region of Upper Egypt.
NEMES HEADCLOTH: Headgear of the king
from the time of the early Old Dynasty. It
consisted of a rectangular piece of cloth folded
and laid over the head leaving the ears uncovered.
The two ends were draped as lappets over the
shoulders and chest and the back was arranged
into a type of plait.
NEPHTYS: The youngest child of Geb and Nut,
sister and wife of Seth. Sister of Isis and Osiris.
Mother of Anubis (son of Seth or Osiris). In
Ancient Egypt, she is described as Nebet Het
“owner of the chateau”. In the famous Ennead gods
of Heliopolis, Ncphthys was the daughter of Geb
and Nut and thus sister to the deities Osiris, Seth,
and Isis. She protected, mourned, and revived the
dead with Isis. She also had another important
function as one of the four “canopic” goddesses.
She was depicted with the hieroglyph of her name
above her head, and often with wings on her arms.
The city of Dipspolis Parva (Behedet, today’s
Damanhour) is the city that Nephtys came from.
This city is at Delta. At the city of Behedeti there is
the holy area of Nephtys next to the holy area.The
monks of Heliopolis include Nephtys to the Enniad
group. She is the wife of Seth in this group, however when Seth killed Osiris, she left him and helped
Isis for the care of Horus and the resurrection of
Osiris. She is shown as a figure that carries a basket
on her head.
NETHER: In the Ancient Egypt written
documents, the semi-god beings that are said to
rule the country. Shown with letters NTR and
spelled as Neter, the plural of which is Neteru.
NILE INUNDATION: The summer monsoon
rains caused the upper reaches of the Nile in
Ethiopia and southern Sudan to rise. Until it was
dammed, the Egyptian Nile rose by several
meters every year in late summer. Through an
improved system of canals and dams, flood water
was channelled to fields. This seeped into the soil
for several weeks, leaving behind fresh soil
enriched with nutrients.
NILE LEVEL: See Nile inundation.
NILOMETER: Steps that are marked from the
bottom water level towards the upper part. They
were used to measure the level of the water
during the inundation. The most well-known
ones are the ones at Elephantine Island and Roda
Island in Cairo. A narrow canal or well shaft
connected to the Nile. With the scale marked on
the walls, the height of the Nile could be read.
The systematic observation of the water level of
the Nile was carried out from the beginnings of
Egyptian culture. It was important for monitoring
the Nile inundation, for distributing water for
irrigation correctly and for determining the
annual taxes on agricultural production.
NIMMURA: Cuneiform version of the thronename “Nebmaatra” of Amenhotep III (see also
cuneiform).
NOME: Usual term for the administrative unit
into which Egypt had been divided since the 3rd
Dynasty. Comes from the Greek word nomos. It
refers to the administrative units in Ancient Egypt
that is formed by the union of villages and towns.
Their Egyptian name was sepat. The nome
system is developed at the Early Dynasty period,
however, it reached its latest form during the
period of Ptolemy. There were 22 Upper Egyptian
and 20 Lower Egyptian nomes. Each was headed
by a nomarch and there was a hierarchy that is
understood from the gods and goddesses that are
attributed to them. In the course of time the
religious character of the nomes started to cover
their secular function to such an extent that
separate administrative entities began to emerge.
In some periods when the administration is
extremely central, the noms had lost their
political importance.
NOMARCH: (Greek) 1. Ruler of a nome, or
province. 2. In the Ptolemy era, at first the nomarch
was the title of a civil administrative official. He
was responsible for agricultural production of a
specific region. Later on, it became the title of a
low-level financial official in a nome.
NOME HIEROGLYPHS: In order to identify the
nomes, symbols were allocated to that was
directly related to the local divinity worshipped
there. As a rule this symbol — such as a
crocodile, a scepter, a harpoon and rope — had
an amblem and it represented the divinity. This
combination of symbol and amblem is named as
the nome hieroglyph.
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NOUT: In Ancient Egyptian, the word sky is
female. It is considered as the sky goddess or
Hathor. Nout is generally pictured as blue
skinned, her body covered with stars, and
standing over 4 legs, bent over her husband. As a
sky, she is bent over the world like a belt. Her
belly ornamented with the starts is seen. She is
the sister and the wife of the soil god Geb. She
gave birth to the sun-god Re. The female body of
the sky goddess Nout is known to be curled like
a belt, her arms on the west, and her legs on the
east. Among the major concepts of the sky
goddess Nout was the image of a naked woman
with her body arching over the earth, feet and
fingertips touching the ground and this was how
she was depicted in many tombs and temples.
The heavenly bodies, especially the sun was
thought to live in the body of the goddess. She
bore the sun goddess body every morning and
swallowed it in the evening. The texts
accompanying these depictions make such
comments as: “Her backward part is in the east,
her head is in the west,” or: “The sun appears
between the thighs of Nout.” Every evening, she
swallows the Sun God Re and gives birth to it
every morning. The sky goddess is the daughter
of Shu and Tefnut, sister of Geb and his wife,
mother of Osiris, Seth, Isis and Nephthys.
Crowley, in his book Magic in Theory and
Practice said “the eternal space was called
goddess Nuit”.
NUBIANS: Generally used for the inhabitants of
the Nile Valley south of the first cataract who
were ethnically and linguistically distinct from
the Egyptians. The Nubians were foreigners from
the point of Egyptians and they form a potential
threat. Therefore, they had to be subdued
politically and militarily. Relations with Nubians
starts at the earliest times. It was partly military,
partly peaceful (commerce). Many Nubians were
present in Egypt for many reasons, including
economic reasons. Nubians are usually depicted
as dark-skinned with curly hair.
NUB-NEFER: See gold money.
NUBT: The small town which is a present for
God Seth.
NUN: The god of the first waters. It is the
personification of the primeval water from which
the first land, the Primeval Mound, arose when
the world was created. Nun was rarely depicted
in art. He and Naunet were the first pair of
primeval creation gods in the “Ogdoad” of
Hermopolis, and were depicted in that context
with frogs’ heads.
O
ASIS ROAD: The most commonly used
caravan route until the modern times. It
continues from Coptos in Upper Egypt through
several oases of the western desert and into
Sudan. This road is described as a trade route in
Egyptian texts since the Old Dynasty.
OBELISK: A word meaning bar and a stone made
of one block, and generally from pink granite that
narrows towards the top and has the shape of a
small pyramid at the top. It may be one piece but
it can also be made by techniques of plaiting.
Obelisks were made in Ancient Egypt, Ancient
Rome and Europe after the 17th century,
especially during Baroque times. The obelisks
were symbols of the sun and their meanings were
probably close to the meaning of the pyramids.
They are related to a Stone named benben in
Heliopolis. They were erected in pairs in front of
the doors of some Old Dynasty tombs and
temples; the only obelisk in Karnak is an object of
worship. Tall stone pillar tapering toward the top,
whose end often formed a pyramid-ion coated
with electrum. Probably developed in the Old
Dynasty from the Benben Stone, a stylized
recreation of the Primeval Mound (the first soil to
be created). Obelisks sometimes attained a height
of over 30 m and were generally hewn from a
single piece of hard stone (often red granite) and
erected in pairs at the entrance to a temple. They
were accepted to symbolise the sun-god.
OBLIQUE PYRAMID: The pyramide where the
projection of a straight line does not fall at the
centre of the bottom.
OFFERING TABLE: A stone slab where
offerings for the dead are placed. It is associated
with the false door as the main area of the tomb
and the mortuary cult. In a narrow sense, it is
called to the things given to the gods as an
offering. However, in Egypt researches, this term
was used for all kinds of things that were
presented to the temple. These offerings were
small god figures, symbols related to gods or
stone monuments. It usually had hollows to
hold food and drink. Typical offerings as
different kinds of loaves were placed on the
upper surface of the offering table. The offerings
(clothes, food, balm, flower etc.) were presented
to one god at first and then to others. At the
beginning, the offerings were presented to king
statues. Afterwards, they started to be given to
individuals at temples or tombs. There were
some rules that determined the turning of the
offering goods. The latest system was to pay the
priest by means of a sacrifice (see cult of death)
OFFICIAL: A person who officially worked for
the Egyptian state apparatus in an administrative
position. However, the term does not include any
information regarding the actual tasks he or she
carried out. Officials had to be literate and
generally had a high social station even though
not always. The highest official was the vizier.
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ONOURIS: The God of This and Sebenythos.
The Ancient Egyptian equivalent of Onouris is
“Inher” meaning “the one who brings the goddess
from a far”. Even though God Onouris is
confused with God Shou, the husband of
Goddess Tephnout, he has different behaviours
than him. He is also confused with Hathor. God
Onouris is a warrior god, he carries two upright
feathers on his head and a rope that comes from
the sky pulls the goddess. Horus and Onouris are
prototypes of these two warrior Egyptian.
Onouris, with his warrior character, has the
personality of a wild animal hunter.
OPENING OF THE MOUTH RITUAL: This
ceremony that we know of since the Old
Dynasty, was seen as giving life to cult objects
that were lifeless in themselves. The ceremony
that is recorded in texts and depictions on
papyrus and on the walls of temples and tombs
until the Roman Period, involved many very
complex actions. It was most frequently
performed on statues and it was believed to give
life to the statue. The statues would participate in
the ritual acts and would accept the offerings
made to them. This way the mummies of the
dead and sacred animals were “awakened” for the
other world. A crucial part of the rite was the
opening of the mouth with a tool shaped rather
like the body of an adze or chisel.
OPET FESTIVAL: “God Amun gets out of the
barque and goes to Karnak temple with a
ceremony to the ‘South Harem’ in Luxor”. Opet
Festival celebrates this. Opet festival was one of
the most important festivals and it was celebrated
for 27 days a year in Thebes. Its high point was
the procession, attended by great pomp and
circumstance, of the barque of Amun of Karnak
to the temple of Luxor 2.5 km away. The statue
of the god was kept waiting there for days before
the procession returned. Detailed depictions of
this festival procession are inscribed on the walls
of the Temple of Luxor (“Great Colonnade”). The
rituals carried out during the visit to Luxor were
thought to renew the royal claim to rule,
vouchsafed by Amun.
OPET: A goddess accepted as a womb belonging
to the other world. With this function, she
revitalises Osiris who is accepted as a new sun.
ORACLE: Since the New Dynasty, the gods
were applied for advice, information or a
decision. Requests were given by priests to the
gods (that is their statues) in either written or oral
form. The gods would then make their decision
known by certain movements (for example made
by the statue during a public procession) or by
manifesting their divine will in the priest. The
requests could be about state, legal judgments,
official appointments or personal affairs.
ORIENTALISM: Even though it’s definition is
made in the 19th century, its emergence is in the
period of the Renaissance. Orientalism which is
an intellectual movement that is developed in the
19th century comes from the French word
“Orientalisme”. This term started to be used for
western painters in the middle of the century
who made paintings regarding the eastern world
through the writings of Theophile Gautier. Since
then, Orientalism has been accepted as the
general term indicating the attitude of the West
about eastern and the Islamic world. “Orient”
covered the countries in the eastern shores of the
Mediterranean. Then Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and
North Africa countries were added to these. Due
to its Arabic background, Spain and due to its
powerful historical ties with Istanbul, Venice was
also seen as an important gate to the East.
Orientalism was influential in architecture and
applied arts and in the area of painting it is at first
limited with exotic themes fort he European
painter. As a matter of fact, the common
characteristics of Orientalist painters is not their
style but the issues.
ORIENTALIST: A person who researches the
religion, language, history and tradition of eastern
people and who has knowledge about them.
OSIRIDE PILLAR: The pillar that is generally
found in open courtyards and the front of which
is formed by the colossus statue of a king. They
were similar to the caryatides in classical
architecture but they are not architectural
elements that carry weight like them. Most of
them are in the shape of mummies. A statue of
the king resting with his back engaged to a wall
or pillar. These statues, often in the shape of a
bandaged mummy were similar to depictions of
the god Osiris. This is the source of the term
Osiride pillar. Osiride pillars date from the early
Middle Dynasty and are found above all in the
facades and courtyards of the great royal temples
of the New Dynasty.
OSIRIS: The mummy god with the “atef” crown
of plant stems and ostrich feathers; he probably
was originally a god of harvest and fertility.
Osiris, who is one of the most important gods in
the Egypt cult is the god of underworld and the
dead. Both the husband and brother of goddess
Isis. The truth of this god who is an important
cult in Egypt is carefully hidden secret by the
monks. It is thought that Osiris, who is also the
father of Horus is symbolised by the Orion in the
sky. Osiris, who is more senior than Horus is a
hero, a clever and beneficial ruler who formed the
Egyptian unity, taught civilisation and invented
writing. In his pictures, he has the stick of a
herdsman in one hand and the whip of an ox on
his other hand. Like Hor, he is the ruler of the
Lower Egypt. He is in continuous competition
with Seth who is the idol of cruelty and damage.
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Contrary to the wild, desert god Seth he stood for
cultivated land and a well-ordered world. The
constant battle between these two adversaries
was the basis for the Egyptian creation myth.
Osiris had to die before the world beyond the
tomb could come into being. Osiris died,
however, he was revived in the other world by
Isis and Nephthys, and created Horus, who
continued the battle against Seth in this world. As
the principal god of the underworld and judge of
the dead, he represented justice and order in the
other world. As the ruler of the other world, he
bore the insignia of royalty, the crook and the
flail. One of his most important cult centres was
at Abydos. According to the myth, this was his
burial place. Plays in honour of the god were
performed there.
OSTRACON: (Greek “potsherd”) Sherd of
pottery or flake of limestone that bore an
inscription. Thousands of ostracons have been
found from the New Dynasty. They were used in
daily life (letters, bills, notes, school exercises)
since they were much cheaper than papyrus.
They were also used by artists for trial sketches.
OUADJ: The papyrus root which is the magic
stick of the goddesses in Ancient Egypt. It
represents youth. It resembles Papiform column.
OUAS: The sceptre of gods in Ancient Egypt. At
the upper part of Ouas, there is the composition
of the head of a hound and the lower part is
cracked. Hound is the animal of God Seth.
OUSHEPTI: It comes from the word “Shaouatis”
meaning the one who answers. In the belief of
Ancient Egypt, the spirits of the dead ruler and his
close relatives had to work in the field of Ialou and
crop and give the products to the owner of the
other world, Osiris. Osiris asks them the deeds
they accomplished on earth and gives them the
Works that they are familiar to in the field of Ialou.
P
ALERMO STONE:
This black Stone
inscription of 7 feet height where the name of the
pharaoh is determined by Egyptian monk and
historian Manethon (3rd century B.C.) gives
various information about kings, events and
Egypt history until the middle of 5th Dynasty.
The largest piece of this inscription is at Palermo
and the second piece is at Cairo Egypt Museum
and the third peace is at (University College of
London). The main fragment of an inscribed
stone slab, today in the Palermo Museum. It lists
the names and years of the earliest kings up to the
5th Dynasty as well as details on endowments
made to the gods. The Palermo Stone is the most
important source for annuals of the Old Dynasty
and is used for the reconstruction of Egyptian
chronology.
PALM COLUMN: Popular type of column in
Egyptian architecture. In this style, the palm
fronds were tied to the column shaft to imitate a
palm tree. From the 5th Dynasty they were made
in stone and had capitals that curved gently
outward in imitation of palm leaves.
PANTHEON: Shows all the gods that are
worshipped in a country.
PAOPI: Coptic name for the second month of the
Nile inundation (see Calendar). The roots of the
word can be traced back to an Egyptian term, “the
month of the Opet festival” in the New Dynasty.
From the Early Dynasty and 18th Dynasty
onward, the Theban Opet festival began to be
celebrated this month.
PAPYRUS COLUMN: Type of column, widely
used in Egyptian architecture. It is based on
imitating papyrus plants. It has different variants.
The shaft of the column could imitate a bundle of
papyrus plants or just one stem. The capital
might have an open or closed flower spray. Made
of stone during the Old Dynasty.
PAPYRUS: A dark green grassy plant with a thick
trunk and fringe at the top in the shape of a triangle
with a long lug. It’s height is 2,5-3 metres. The
original papyrus that is made from the inner layers
of the plant by taking out the green cover in its stem
is called holy and the rough ones are called leneotic.
The oldest of the papers prepared by use of the
papyrus plant was used frequently in 1800 B.C. at
the period of the 18th Dynasty. The fame for
papyrus comes from its usage as a writing paper.
Ancient Egyptians made use of papyrus to obtain
fuel, make barques and beds, make sandals with
the ropes and fabric. Making of papyrus: First of
all the white stem under its shell is cut with a
thickness of 1 cm. It is sided with thin strips and
hanged over a cloth perpendicularly; the excess of
the core of the plant is transferred and then
dampened and kept in water for six days. It is
pressed in vertical and linear forms. The water is
squeezed with hands and then it is placed between
two cotton cloths according to height and width
and kept under the press for six days. The pressed
plate is dried. Thus the pressed papyrus becomes a
paper ready for writing and print. The hot and dry
climate of Egypt enabled a very favourable
atmosphere for papyrus. (From the Greek papyrus,
probably from an Egyptian word meaning “that of
the pharaoh”). The great numbers of papyrus plants
that once grew in the swamps of the Nile Delta
were used for a variety of practical purposes like
mats, baskets, architecture, boots, sandals and the
like as well as religious offerings. Their great
symbolic value (freshness, fertility, regeneration)
meant they became the pattern for architectural
forms and religious objects. The pith of their stems
provided the writing material “papyrus.” Its use
started during the 1st Dynasty.
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PEOPLE OF THE SEA : Modern term for a
number of different peoples, most of whom
probably lived on the west coast of Asia Minor
and in the Aegean. These people migrated in
several waves through Asia Minor and as far as
Egypt in the 12th and 13th centuries BC.
Searching for land in which to settle, they caused
enormous political and ethnic upheavals,
especially in Syria and Palestine. Egyptian kings
led war time against them in order to prevent
them from settling on the Egyptian coast. The
tribes that invaded Ancient Egypt in late 19th and
early 20th Dynasty. It is thought that they are
related to the collapse of the Near East city states
or the collapse of Mycenae, Grek and Hittite
Empire. Their exact identity is a debate among
scientists. Battles against the Sea Peoples can be
seen in the decoration of various Theban temples
of Ramesses II, Merenptah, and Ramesses III.
PER-AA: See pharaoh.
PERET: Egyptian term for the season when the
new plant grows. See calendar.
PERISTYLE: (Greek and Latin) The inner garden of
a court surrounded by columns; see also atrium.
PHARAOH : It means “great house” in Ancient
Egypt language. In Egyptian language, Per-aa, from
the word “Great House” was used to describe the
king’s palace and what is inside. In 18th Dynasty, it
turned into a word that specifically defined the king
and then got the meaning ruler. Starting from the
New Dynasty (18th Dynasty 1539-1292 B.C.),
until 22nd Dynasty (945-730 B.C.), it is used as a
title for respect. Afterwards it develops to be the
title of the King. The Egyptians believed that the
pharaoh’s is a god and that their nation,
relationships are guided by the gods of the
universe. The pharaoh who reigns is the
reincarnated Horus who is the son of “sun god Re”.
The pharaoh came among the gods to rule the
humans with divine laws. All his words were law
and he was the owner of everything. When he
died, he turned to Osiris and became the master of
the underworld. The snake in his crown shot his
enemies. He managed to overcome thousands of
enemies in was area. He is seen as a divine ruler.
PHAROAH GODS : Since ancient times, the
pharaohs are worshipped as gods: Re’s son,
Horus’ son, Amun’s son. It was named at this
period and according to the city. It was very rare
to sacrifice offerings and prayers for the
pharaohs. There is little or no evidence to support
the real cult of the pharaoh. The pharaohs are
chosen by their god fathers and resembled them.
Since the oldest ages, pharaohs were worshipped
like gods in Egypt. The pharaohs were chosen by
their god fathers and resembled them.
PHONOGRAM : The sign in writing that
indicates sound. Only the consonants are written
distinctly, a phonogram includes 1 to 4
consonants.
PHYLE: Greek. The most important unit in the
Egyptian workforce. Workers and temple priests
in construction and transport were strictly
organized into phyles with a specific number of
staff and a rotating work schedule. An island at
the south of Aswan. It was the most important
place of Isis worship in Late Period; there are
sanctuaries that are devoted to various gods.
After the construction of the Aswan Damme, the
city was torn down from its place and rebuilt at
Agilkia which is the neighbouring island. It is the
last temple of Ancient Egypt. It was closed by
emperor Justinian in 535-537 A.D.
PORTICO: (Latin “porch”) A hall of columns,
similar to the pronaos, positioned on the entrance
side of a building. The entrance barn that is
carried with small columns. In antiquity, the
archaide that has the feature of a pedestrian walk
way that is formed by limiting a columned street
from both sides and where there is shops in
behind. The term “portico” is however, used
more extensively meaning a single or multiple
groups of columns or pillars before the entrance
to temples, graves or secular buildings. Stone
slabs lowered into position from above and used
to block the entrance to tombs after burial. Often,
several slabs were placed tightly behind one
another. Seen in royal and private tombs from the
1st Dynasty onward. Sometimes used for the
rows of columns on the sides of large courtyards
(“colonnades”).
PRIEST: Term in Egyptian meaning “servant of
the God”. It was used to describe one of the most
common temples in the earliest times. Used also
for a religious region where a god, king or priest
was employed (for example “servant of the god
Amun”). The position of prophet could either be
held as an office in itself or occupied by officials
who performed their priestly duties in addition to
their main functions. From the New Dynasty on,
a more diverse hierarchy developed. While the
high priest was called the “first servant of god”, he
was followed by the second, third, and fourth
servants of a temple.
PRIMEVAL MOUND: The Primeval Mound had
an important place in Egyptian cosmogony (the
science that researches the birth and development
of the universe). From the Primeval Waters,
which represented chaotic forces, arose the first
piece of land, the Primeval Mound, on which the
primeval god created the world. In Egyptian
architecture, literature, and art the Primeval
Mound is an important motif and a symbol for
the eternally recurring process of creation (see
also Cosmogony and Benben Stone).
PRIMEVAL WATERS: See Primeval Mound.
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PRONAOS: The room in front of the holy
preservation sections (naos) in the temple. Their
exact position changes according to the
architectural features of the temple. Sometimes
hypostyle rooms are also called pronaos. (Greek)
A hall of columns situated in front of a temple. Its
front is either open, or more frequently closed by
medium-high walls between the columns in the
foremost row. The architectural form of the
pronaos was developed during the 18th and early
19th dynasties and become a magnificently
designed element of Egyptian temples in Ptolemy
and Roman times.
Memphis is a place that is associated with various
other deities (as Ptah-Sokar-Osiris or as PtahTatenen). During the period of the Rameseses
(19th and 20th Dynasty), Ptah, Amun and Re
formed the great “Royal Triad”. Ptah’s importance
is reflected in many associated cults. For example,
he had a separate building to himself in the
temple precincts of Karnak. Ptah was recognized
as the patron of artists and craftsmen. For this
reason, the Greeks equated him with Hephaistos.
The canonical depiction of the god shows him in
mummified form with a close-fitting cap, holding
a composite sceptre.
PROSOPOGRAPHY (NAME OF PEOPLE): The
known people of the Ptolemy period of Ancient
Egypt is divided according to the administration
branches and profession groups.
PTOLEMY: The Dynasty founded in Egypt
between 306-30 B.C. after the death of Alexander
the Great.
PTAH: (Ta) The local god of creative god
Memphis. The god of artists. The oldest and
greatest god of Egypt pantheon. Associated with
architecture, engineering and construction
science. He is in the shape of a male figure with a
small cap on his head and his body wrapped in
his coat. He has some of the qualities of Greek
Hephaistos.According to the religious scholars of
Memphis, Ptah is the creative god. After Ptah
became the president, he gave some qualities to
other gods. Ptah gave God Ttoh good speech,
courage to Horus and thought to Atum. The ox
of Apis carries the spirit of Ptah.At first, he was
the god of art, craft and master. He is the symbol
of truth and justice. When Ptah is told, he is
described as the heart and tongue of nine hymn
verse. Ptah is said in Atun language and
afterwards all the formations, the hymns, cities
and whatever it is in the universe that is good or
bad are created. Ptah means both image and blue
(sky) in Turkish. In Egyptian Pt = Sky.With the
wife of Ptah, Goddess Sakhmet and his son God
Nefertoum, they form the triple god group in
Memphis: Father-Mother-Son. At Memphis, next
to the temple of Nefertoum, there is the
monumental size temple of God Ptah. In
Memphis, the most sacred area of Ptah is known
to be Hat-ka Ptah. The medicine library that
belongs to Nefertoum, the son of Ptah is the most
famous library of ancient ages. At Saqqara, near
Memphis, Ptah is United with the Funeral God
Sokaris to form the funeral cult. At the cemetery
of Saqqara, there is a temple made for the name
of Ptah Sokaris. After 2780 B.C., it was the
beginning of the Old Dynasty age and the monks
from Memphis told that God Ptah was involved
during the foundation of the 3rd Dynasty. As the
founder of Egyptian monarchy, it was believed
that God Ptah was ready at Sed festivals. In the
cosmogonia of monks from Memphis, God Ptah
was shown as the creator of Oktoad. The Ptah
cult was the most powerful cult of Ancient Egypt.
The god’s main cult centre was at Memphis.
PUNT: A region, country at the shore of Red Sea
in North Africa. A region farther to the southeast
in Africa with which Egypt traded since the days
of the Old Dynasty. Egyptian trade expeditions
to Punt sailed down the Red Sea and then turned
inland from about the latitude of northern
Ethiopia and northern Eritrea. The best-known of
these expeditions was carried out by Hatshepsut
and was written in the funerary temple in
Western Thebes as well. The most important
products from Punt were myrrh, incense, ebony,
ivory, and animal skins.
PYLON: (Greek “large portal,” gatehouse) The
columned entrances that unite the human world
with that of divine world and separates them. It is
one of the parts of the sub-world. It is described
as the parts that belong to the different regions
that Osiris ruled; the thought here made it easy
for the spirit to pass from one region to another.
In Egyptological usage, a monumental gateway
to a temple with two towers. In the middle
passage, there are two large double-winged
wooden doors, often with a metal covering. The
towers had steps that led up to the roof and were
usually decorated on the outside with scenes of
the destruction of an enemy (see foreigners). In
front of the pylon, there are flagpoles, obelisks
and colossal statues. The state overtook the
planning and financing and they were situated in
the vicinity of the royal pyramids. The first was
constructed next to Sneferou’s pyramids in
Meidum and Dahshur. Inhabitants of these
towns belonged to the royal endowment to the
dead and were therefore priests, tradesmen and
officials. The latter administered the endowment,
together with its agricultural production, and
were responsible for organizing the sacred rites in
the pyramid complex.
PYRAMID TEXTS: Magical and mythological
texts that are mostly religious, depicted on the
walls of the corridors and rooms in the pyramides
regarding the period between the end of 5th
Dynasty and 6th – 8th Dynasty. These texts were
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later on used by private people all throughout the
Egyptian history. Some of them tell the burial
ceremony of the king, some of them tell the
ceremonial rules of the temples and other things.
Religious texts found in the pyramids of the kings
and queens of the Old Dynasty. The oldest
known example is in the burial chambers of the
Unas pyramids at Saqqara. The Pyramid Texts are
not a unified body of work. They consist of a
collection of individual texts consisting of hymns,
litanies, incantations which had as their theme
the eternal life of the king in the hereafter.
PYRAMID: In Ancient Egyptian language, it is
known as “Mer”. The word pyramid means
“darkness” in ancient Greek. Another meaning of
it is the “cake with sesame” named as
“pyramous”. Besides, in the Greek text written on
a papyrus, the word “pri-emous” mentions a side
of a pyramide.
PYRAMIDION: Term derived from the Greek
for the apex of pyramids and obelisks. When the
pyramids are concerned, it was made separately,
usually from stone, and decorated with pictures
and texts related to the course of the sun. On
obelisks it formed the pyramid-like peak on top
of the monolithic shaft and was often coated with
electrum.
Q
ANTIR : Royal residential town of the
Ramesside pharaohs; several palaces; houses of
dignitaries; main temple for Amun-Re-Harakhty,
additional temples to the gods Seth, Astarte, and
Wadjet. Due to archeological excavations, many
buildings, a war vehicle garrison, multifunctioned workshop and stables. It was
abandoned at the beginning of the 22nd Dynasty.
The stone blocks carried away and reused in the
construction of temples at Tanis. Tanis was the
Egyptian capital during the 22nd Dynasty.
QEBSENEUEF: One of the four sons of Horus,
Qebsenuef is depicted as a mummied falcon
headed man. He is the protector of the intestine
of the dead and was protected by goddess Selket.
QETESH: It is believed that she is a Syrian
goddess. Qetesh is the goddess of love and
beauty. Qetesh, as a beautiful naked lady, is
depicted over a lion standing up or riding it, with
a flower on her hand with mirrors and snakes.
Generally, she is shown with a rounded face (an
extraordinary situation in Egypt art and
traditions). At the same time, it is thought of as
the partner of Min who is the god of masculinity.
QUBBET: el-Hawa. Tombs of nomarchs and
officials from the Old and Middle Dynasties.
R
AMESSES: The son of the sun. There are 11
pharaohs that carry this name. The second
famous one is Ramesses. He ruled around 1200
B.C. He drastically expanded Egyptian land. His
passion for public works strengthened the Egypt
civilisation and architecture.
RAMSESSEUM: The name that the French gave
to the monumental tomb of Rameses II in the
previous century.
RANK: The carrier feet in a structure. The vertical
carrier that is square, rectangular, circular or
polygon that is built with methods of wall
construction.
RE: Egyptian sun god. The real owner of nature
in Ancient Egypt belief. Depictions were
considered about the Sun God Re, the
appearance of the sun in different times brought
different divine concepts and these concepts were
evaluated with the non-changing existence of the
sun and the changing appearances in different
times and deified with different names.
According to this belief, Kephri (morning sun),
Horus (noon sun) and Atum (night sun) are
determined. It is accepted that all gods take
power from the sun. In Egyptian cosmogony, the
formation of Re is attached with the emergence
of a goose from the egg that is formed over the
island that comes out of the waters and the
creation of the living beings in nature.
RED CROWN: Royal crown dating from
prehistoric times. Consisted of a conical base
surmounted at the back by a high rectangular
piece from the bottom of which a long strip
protruded, spiralling inwards at the end. The red
crown symbolized Lower Egypt (see also Double
Crown).
REGIONS OF THE WORLD: According to
Egyptian state and royal ideology, the pharaoh
was not only king of Egypt but ruler of the entire
world. He was subordinated to the divine, that is
Egyptian, world order. When the throne is
defined in such terms, during the regularly
executed rituals of its renewal (see Sed festival),
symbolic claim was laid to all four regions of the
world. For example, birds flying off to the four
cardinal points represented the world.
RE-HORATHKY: The god of the rising sun. He
is the Re which is the Horus of the Horizon.
Another description keeps him the same with
Horus. These two gods are thought of as the
indicator of the solar power. The writing of “ReHoor-Khuit” is carried out by Aleister Crowley
and is made popular at the Book of Law.
RELIEF : Writings, decoration or pictures that are
formed over a surface by means of moulding,
chiselling or stamping. It is a type of sculpture
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that does not stand on its own, that is carved into
its heightened surface and that looks like
depiction. The height of the ledges from the base
determines the name of the relief. Generally it is
made over bronze or with materials such as
plaster, clay or similar materials. It is divided into
two types: high and low relief.
REMAIN: The embalming tables date from the
Late Period. The settlement areas are not
thoroughly examined.
RENENUTET: Names such as “lady of granaries”
and “lady of the fertile land, she who nurtures
with good things and brings plentiful food”
indicate the nature of this serpent-shaped
goddess of harvest and fertility. The cult
developed for his name comes forth at Thebes in
the New Dynasty at Faiyum in 12th Dynasty.
RENMONT: The god of plantation.
RHOMBOID WRAPPING: Particular method of
wrapping the mummified corpse. Fine linen
bandages several meters long were wrapped
around the mummy in such a way that an
elaborately graduated geometric pattern resulted.
It is unique to the late dynastic era.
RITUAL: Rite, religious ceremony, worship.
ROSETTA STONE: Fripierre de Rosetta, British,
Rosatta Stone. Town in the Nile Delta made
famous by the discovery of the “Rosetta Stone” in
1799. A stele discovered in 1799 by a French
officer in Rosette, near Alexandria with the size of
114x72cm that helped to decipher the
hieroglyphs. It was found at Rosetta, the shores
of Egypt on Mediterrenean coast by a French
officer. The stone found by French military
engineering officer Bouchard. This stone is
important from the perspective of deciphering the
hieroglyphs in 1822 by French J.F.Champollion.
The trilingual text of this decree — in
hieroglyphic, Demotic and Greek — was the
basis
for
Jean-Frangois
Champollion’s
deciphering of hieroglyphs in 1822. The trilingual
text (hieroglyphic -mostly destroyed- Demotic
and Greek) is a decree of the synod of the
Egyptian priesthood that met in Memphis to
honour King Ptolemy V Ephiphanes, on 27
March, AD 196. The decree recounts the
decisions of a meeting of Egyptian priests
regarding honors for Ptolemy V and Cleopatra I
in 196 BC. It is placed at british Museum in
London today (see also Canopus Decree).
ROYAL BEARD: Part of the royal ceremonial
costume. It was an artificial beard, slightly
splayed at the bottom and held in place with
straps hooking around the ears. It could be seen
in many representations of the king.
ROYAL IDEOLOGY: All the concepts and
beliefs associated with the Egyptian kings.
According to the Egyptians the king represented
the gods on earth and in his person he embodied
the Egyptian state. He was the representative of
the people of Egypt in the world of the gods and
was responsible for maintaining the divine world
order (Egyptian: maat). Historical records confirm
the ideology and the rituals repeated the
depictions on the walls of the temples many
times. By virtue of his office, granted him by the
gods, he was also attributed with godly qualities.
For this reason he was not only the highest priest
of the land but was himself worshipped during
his lifetime.
ROYAL INSIGNIA: Those parts of the king’s
ceremonial costume that were bestowed on him
by the gods at his coronation as symbols of his
power. These included, besides various scepters
and staffs (see was scepter), the so-called flail,
which he held in his left hand, and the crook,
held in his right. The crook was said to originate
from a shepherd’s crook. Osiris also carried all
these goods.
ROYAL NOVEL: Popular literary form. It
emerged at the beginning of Middle Dynasty.
The focus was an historically important
undertaking of the king for example the decision
to go to war, or to build a new temple. This sort
of literary history served to glorify the king
whose wisdom was shown by the successful
outcome to his decisions.
ROYAL TITULARY: The official titles of the
Egyptian king consisted of five names. The fifth
name was given at birth and the others were
conferred on him at his coronation. They were
composed of a Horus name, a Nebty name, a
Golden Horus name, a prenomen (birth name)
and a nomen (throne name). The last two were
written in cartouches. The choice of names
showed clearly the relationship of the king with
the most important gods of the country and
constituted a sort of religious and political
program for a particular ruler.
RUBRIC: (Latin) Sections of text or single
characters written in red ink and thus standing
out from a black text. It was used in order to
divide long texts or emphasize certain passages.
For instance, the titles of separate sections in large
papyrus collections of texts are generally written
in rubric form.
S
ABBAKIN: Arabic, the soil that is taken out of
old settlement areas and used as a fertilizer.
Sabbak can be mud brick or excess organic
material. Sabbak is the most important factor in
the damage of the old settlement areas.
SAFF TOMB: (Arabic “row”) Type of cliff tomb
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that became popular in the early 11th Dynasty in
the northern part of the Theban necropolis. The
grave facade looked over to a courtyard and
generally one or two rows of pillars hewn from
the rock face. Behind the pillars, there was an
entrance to the actual rooms of the grave within
the cliff
SAFF FLOWER: Plant, Carthamus tinctorius. A
water-soluble yellow dye and an alkaline-soluble
red dye could be obtained from the dried petals
that were used for colouring textiles. Cooking oil
was obtained from the seeds and the petals
woven into sacrificial garlands.
SAKHMET: Wife of God Ptah. The name of the
goddess means “power”. Goddess of Rehesou
city in Lower Egypt. The goddess of illness,
plague and disaster. They form the triad god
group in Memphis with God Ptah and son
Nefertoum. As is understood from her name, she
was worshipped also as the war goddess as she
gave power to the soldiers during war. She
protected the Egyptians from drought and
epidemic disease during peace. Sakhmet is shown
in the pictures as a female lion headed woman
figure with a sun disk on her head. Sakhmet is the
eye of Re like Goddess Hathor. She is known as
a goddess who, when angry, ruins people, brings
out epidemic diseases, destroys the crop and
settlement areas with the flood. In order to avoid
those disasters and calm down the angry
Goddess Sakhmet, a rite is written. This rite is
read with hymns, heal is asked and help is
wanted. The healing helpers of Goddess Sakhmet
returns this invitation and saves people from the
disaster that they are in. The special cult centre of
the lion headed goddess Sakhmet was in
Memphis. Here, she formed a divine family with
Ptah and their son Nefertem. She was also closely
connected with the goddess Mut in Thebes.
Amen-ophis III alone had several hundred granite
statues of Sakhmet set up in Karnak. In the
goddess myths, her name is mentioned as “the
strong person”, sun-god Re or the person who
destroys the enemies of Osiris and supports the
king during the struggle against the enemies of
the country: “his arrow went like Sakhmet’s
arrow after the enemy”. Besides her warlike
character, however, the goddess was also seen as
patroness of the art of healing and of doctors
(who were often also her priests).
SANCTUARY: (Latin “holy place”) The term can
be used for a whole cult that is devoted to the
god, however generally only the room where the
worship is made or the god statue of the temple
is placed is meant. As a rule this room is named
as the cult image chamber and is located at the
very back of the temple, on the central axis of the
building. Its walls are ornamented with scenes
from the daily ritual, in which the statue
deputizing for the god (see opening of the mouth
ritual) was dressed in its robes every morning,
anointed, decked with its insignia, and
worshipped with offerings and the singing of
hymns (see also barque sanctuary).
SAQIYA: The apparatus to raise water first
during Greco-Roman times. By means of two
intermeshed wheels, water was lifted in a chain
of buckets to a height of several meters. It
allowed for a more efficient irrigation of larger
fields. Today the saqiya is powered by cattle.
Before this, donkey or bull were used.
SAQQARA: Necropolis of the capital of the Old
Dynasty, Memphis; necropolis dates from the
Archaic Period; burial complex of King Djoser
with Step Pyramid and ancillary structures;
tombs of high officials of the Old and New
Dynasties; pyramids of Unas, Userkaf, and Teti;
monastery of St. Jeremiah from the end of the
fourth century; Persian tombs; unfinished
pyramid of Sekhemkhet; “Serapeum:” burial site
of the sacred Apis bulls (18th Dynasty - Ptolemy
Period). In the south, additional pyramids of the
Old Dynasty (5th and 6th Dynasties).
SARAPIS: The god who was first depicted by
Ptolemy I as Greek-Egyptian in order to provide
unity of Greeks and Egyptians. He is the god who
is formed by God Osiris, God Zeus and sacred
bull Apis religious speculations. The Sarapis
concept that emerged at the time of Ptolemy I and
Soter I (306-285 B.C.) “Monotheism tendency”
was claimed by pharaoh Amenophis IV after the
ruler Cheops (after 2500 B.C.). According to the
thought of the Sarapis cult: “There is one Zeus,
one Osiris and that is Sarapis”. Zeus, the owner of
this world and Osiris, the owner of the other
world combine to form the Sarapis cult. The
Romans introduced the Sarapis cult as a mixture
cult of Isis-Anubis, Zeus-Osiris.
SARCOPHAGUS: A tomb made of stone.
SATET: The goddess who is the wife of God
Khnoum. The goddess of cataracts. Wit Goddess
Khnoum and God Anubis at Elephantine; with
Goddess Satis, God Khnoum and God Neith at
Esneh, they form a trial. He has two gazelle horns
at his head and a white crown. Satet was
probably worshipped on the island of
Elephantine from the early Old Dynasty. She
formed a divine triad with Khnoum and Anuqet.
The temple dedicated to her was extended again
and again over the millennia up to the GrecoRoman Period. As goddess of the cataracts Satet
guarded the southern border of Egypt for this
reason, she was called “the cool water that comes
from Elephantine.” The goddess is portrayed
wearing the crown of Upper Egypt, with gazelle
horns rising erect at the sides.
SATIRE ON THE TRADES: Modern term for
the teachings of the sage Khety. This literary
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work from the Middle Dynasty was widely read
and copied in scribal schools. A father describes
to his son a tradesmen’s occupations in a rather
mocking way and emphasizes their negative
aspects. An apprenticeship as a scribe and
subsequent career as an official was accepted as
the only valuable profession.
SATRAP: (Old Persian “country-protector”)
Starting at the time of Cyrus, the Persian Empire
was divided into administrative units called
satrapies. Satrap represented civil and military
authority. When Egypt was taken over by the
Persians, this place became a satrapy of the
Persian Empire (see also Achaemenides). After the
death of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian
general Ptolemy ruled Egypt as a satrap from 323
BC until he declared himself the king in 306 BC.
SCARABE: The black insect, the symbol of the
rising sun and God Khepri. It was believed that
life started with the eggs that were taken out of a
ball it threw away. Jewellery was designed
inspired by the Scarabe’s making a ball out of the
dirt with its legs. From its eggs, the Dynasty of
the Egyptian rule was formed. Starting from the
Old Dynasty, Scarabes were made out of many
materials like steatit, wall tile, stone stamp, ring
stamp and amulet. According to the writings on
the book of the dead, the Scarabe was placed on
the chest of the dead. The beetle Scarabe was
considered by the Egyptians to symbolize the
young sun-god and to embody the life that
continually arose anew from the depths of the
underworld. The Egyptians believed that the
young beetles were hatched from the dung balls
that the Scarabes rolled with their hind legs.
According to this analogy the dung balls
represented the earth and the event explained the
path of the sun, which was born again each
morning. The Scarabe image was the most
popular amulet seal and was made in huge
numbers from the most diverse materials.
SCEPTRE: The sceptre of the ruler in Ancient
Egypt; the sign of crown and divine power.
SCRIBE: Learning the Egyptian script was the
pre-requisite in order to rise to the clerical work
or higher state duties. The profession of scribe
was therefore well-regarded (see Satire on the
Trades). Scribes formed the backbone of the
bureaucratically organized Egyptian state.
Writing, along with other specialized knowledge,
was taught in state schools that are usually
connected with temples.
SECHAT: It is in the shape of a goddess of God
Thot, it has a kind of star on its head, a multiarmed star. It is placed between a pair of cow
horn and has the fur of a leopard. It administered
writing and silence.
SEKER: The goddess of light, protector of the
spirit of the dead starting from the underground
and going to the other world. Seker was
worshipped in Memphis as a form of Ptah or a
part of the united gods Ptah-seker or Ptah-sekerausar. Seker was often pictured with a falcon
head and mummied similar as Ptah.
SELKIS: Selket in Egyptian. The scorpion
goddess in the old Greek pantheon. The
protective god of the dead. She is depicted as a
woman headed scorpion or a woman with a
scorpion on her head. She is the wife of Horus or
the mother of Herakthes. Like Goddess Isis,
Nephtys and Neith, the scorpion goddess Selkis
is also the protector of the human spirit. She is a
goddess in the form of a scorpion and usually
depicted with a human body and a scorpion
above her head. She was an important figure in
the cult of the dead. Together with Isis,
Nephthys, and Neith she guarded their entrails
and mummified bodies.
SEM PRIESTS: In the Archaic Period, it was
thought that the word “sem” was the title of the
king’s eldest son. He could deputize for his
father, particularly in worshipping the gods. The
sem played a leading part in the opening of the
mouth ritual and at funeral ceremonies. In time,
the word became a title only used by the priests.
The office of the sem priest was particularly
significant in the cults of Ptah, Sokar, and Osiris,
and is also represented in the royal funerary
temples of the New Dynasty. In depictions on
the walls of temples and tombs, the sem priest
can be recognized by his leopard-skin cloak.
SEMOGRAM: The sign in writing that transfers
not sound but meaning. The sub-categories of
this is logogramme and taksogram. They are also
called ideogram.
SENET GAME: An ancient board game for two
people. It is known that it was very wide-spread
in Egyptian history. The game could also be
interpreted religiously: moving the pieces over
the board was considered the equivalent of the
journey of the dead through the afterlife and
winning a game guaranteed one’s re-birth.
SENIOR PRIEST: The ordinary translation of the
name given to the head of the priests of a region.
The Egyptian forms of the most important ones
are as follows: Amun (Thebes), “First Prophets of
Amun”, Ptah (Memphis): “The Greatest of all
Agricultural Officers, Re” (Heliopolis): “The
Greatest of the Ones Who See” Toth (elAsmuneyn): “The Greatest of the Five”.
SENOTAF: Symbolic tombs and worship places
apart from the real burial place of its owner. The
south tomb of Zoser’s stepped pyramid is a
senotaf and likewise, the second pyramids of the
4th – 6th Dynasty pyramids are also senotaf.
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SERAPEUM: By combining the Hellenistic
thought and the Egyptian thought of regression
period, temples were made in memory of Sarapis
all over Egypt. These temples made for the name
of Sarapis are called Serapeum. The most
important ones among them that remained until
today are the ones made in Alexandria and
Memphis. After the Aktium war in 31B.C., by the
conquest of Anatolia and Egypt to Rome, temples
for the honour of Sarapis were made in countries
that the Roman Empire had.
SERDAB: (Arabic “cellar”) The serdab was first
found in the funerary precincts of King Djoser of
the Third Dynasty. It was a completely enclosed
chamber containing one or several statues of the
same person. In the private tombs of high officials
of the later Old Dynasty, statues of the dead man
and his family were placed in one or sometimes
more serdabs under the ground. After the statues
had been placed in these rooms no one could
enter them. There were only slits at eye level
through which offerings laid in the offering
chamber of the tomb, directly in front of the
serdab. It was believed that the offerings would
be taken by the people represented by their
statues. Architecturally, the false door of the tomb
often had close connections with the serdab (see
also mortuary cult).
SESHAT: Godess of measurement and writing.
Names given to this goddess such as “lady of
ground plans and writing” indicate her character.
Seshat, who presided over the arts of writing and
calculation, is depicted in coronation scenes
listing the king’s years of rule and his jubilees. She
was also involved in the ritual of the foundation
of temples from very early times. She was
specifically associated with establishing a
temple’s ground plan.
SETH: The god of dessert. He is the brother of
Isis and Osiris. Seth who is the god of Lower
Egypt is known as the god of storm and dessert.
By killing his brother Osiris, he gains the hatred of
Osiris’ son Horus, Isis and Nephthys. The wars
he made with Horus also become the war of
Lower and Upper Egypt. At the end of this war,
he is beaten by Horus and is sentenced to living
in the dessert. He is believed to protect Egypt
from strangers coming from desserts. By the
people of the north, Seth is the god of the
scorching dessert and other similar disasters.
When the northern people are successful and
Horus becomes the idol of Egypt and kings that
have the title of Hor become the rulers of Egypt,
Seth gradually changed from the idea of desert
idol to a stranger idea and became similar to the
Syrian idols Sobek and Baal. Later on, Horus
became the idol for the light of life and Seth
became the idol of damage and cruelty. The god
of storms and bad weather, Seth is frequently
named as “lord of deserts and of foreign lands.”
The zoological nature of the Seth animal is vague.
At an early period it must have undergone a
stylization; however, there is no certainty about
it. In the myth of Osiris, Seth represented the
wild, chaotic element and was the murderer of his
brother Osiris. He then fought Horus, the
successor of Osiris, for dominion. On the other
hand, he and Horus also functioned together on
an equal tooting as divine protectors of the king,
who is shown receiving the crowns of the country
from the hands of both gods. In the emblematic
plants of Upper and Lower Egypt, the crowns
symbolize the “Unification of the Two Lands”.
SETH FESTIVAL: It is also called Hebsed. The
religious ceremony or festival in Ancient Egypt to
celebrate the re-birth of the king. The ceremony in
Egypt that celebrates the re-birth of the king first
30 years after his death and then with three to
four year intervals. It has an important place in the
buried temples of the kings and reflects the king’s
wish to rule for a long time in the other world.
Royal festival that is documented from the
beginnings of Egyptian culture up to the GrecoRoman epoch through depictions on temple walls
and frequent textual references. By means of
complex rituals lasting several days the physical
and magical powers of the king were renewed in
order to effect a continuation of his reign. It was
believed that the influence of these celebrations
would last and that the rule of the king would
continue forever.
SHADUF: Simple device for obtaining water used
since the 18th Dynasty. At one end of a long
levered pole was a bucket and, at the other, a
lump of clay as a counterpoise. Water raised in
this manner from wells or canals was used for
irrigating small gardens.
SHAMAN: The religious man in shamanism who
has duties of informing about the future, doing
spells and who heals the sick by contacting the
spirits. Kam.
SHAMANISM: The religion that is based on
worshipping nature, believing in supernatural
spirits that continues until today among the Turks
in North and Middle Asia and other societies in
other continents.
SHEKEL: The Ancient Egypt silver of 8,34 grams.
The coin and weight unit used in North Africa
and Near East. It is mentioned before the
discovery of coins and is used to describe silver of
a certain weight.
SHEMSOU HOR: The servants of Horus.
According to Manethon, the servants of Horus
entered into struggle with the followers of Seth.
This struggle lasted until the unity of Egypt is
provided. The rulers of the Dynasty are Horus’
servants and they are the ancestors of the
historical family.
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SHEMU: Egyptian term for hot season, see also
calendar.
SHEN RING: Ring formed from a tied rope
whose ends extend slightly past each other. Its
magical meaning was “permanence, regeneration,
protection”. For this reason, it is depicted on
stelae and grave and temple walls.
SHENATI: (Egyptian) Measure of value in the
New Dynasty corresponding to one-twelfth
deben of silver.
SHOINOS: (Greek) According to Herodotus,
measure of length that derived from an Egyptian
unit. Probably corresponded to a distance of
about 10.5 km.
SHU: God of air. She has cosmic features. She is
the head god of Menset (Leontopolis). She
represents atmosphere and wind. Her hands are
rised holding Nout in the pictures. Her feet step
on Geb on earth. He is the male one of the twins
of the Sun God Re. He is the son of Re and
husband of Tephnout. According to the myth, the
god of air, Shu and his sister Tephnout were born
from the first God Atum and the divided
according to the sky and the earth. Like the gods,
humans also need the air as well. The places of
the temples’ attic that gets air are generally called
“Shu windows”.
SILLPHION: A plant that is found in Ancient
Egypt and Libya but that does not exist anymore
today. The seeds and fruits of this plant which is
used in Kyrene coins were used in medicine and
the stem was used for eating.
SINCRETISM: Compromise, mixture of
religions. The situation where different styles and
movements about an art work exist as a whole.
Besides, it is also known as reflection in a country
the influences of different focuses of art creation.
SIRIUS: See Sothis.
SISTRUM: A kind of small bell, the musical
instrument which is sacred for God Hathor. The
instrument, the head of which is made more like
the head of Hathor gives the rustling sound
similar to the water plants. A musical instrument
resembling a rattle, especially important in the
worship of goddesses. It consisted of a handle
with a metal hoop containing holes through
which metal rods were passed. The ends of the
rods were bent. By shaking the instrument, a
rattling sound was produced used to mark the
rhythm of liturgical ceremonies in temples.
SMITING OF THE ENEMIES: See foreigners.
SOBEK: The crocodile god. The Greeks called it
Sukhos. He is the god of the city Sedit. Because
the people who lived in Sedit believed in the
divine powers of the crocodile, they feeded
crocodile. In the pictures, it is depicted as a
crocodile headed male figure. It is of Faiyum
origin. In Upper Egypt, at Kom-ombo, he is
known as the husband of Goddess Hathor. He is
worshipped all over Egypt and is also in the sun
disk. At Sais, he is known as the son of Neith.
Sobek also represented the 4 elements (The fire of
Re, the air of Shu, the soil of Geb, the water of
Osiris). This deity is depicted either in purely
animal shape or in the classic hybrid form as a
man with a crocodile’s head. Among the basic
cult centres, there is the ancient Shedyet city at
Faiyum which was later on named as
Crocodilopolis and the Kom Ombo in Upper
Egypt during the Greco-Roman period. In
accordance with the place where his sacred
animal lived, Sobek was regarded as a fertility god
and could even assume the nature of a primeval
creator god.
SOKAR FESTIVAL: The festival of Sokar, god of
the dead and the underworld. It is recorded since
the early Old Dynasty. Later on, this god was
associated with Osiris and Ptah. In the New
Dynasty the Sokar festival is very often shown on
temple walls, for instance in the temple of
Ramesses III in Habu, Medina. The procession of
the Sokar barque to the sacred temple is the most
important ritual. It’s bows are high, ornamented
with antelope and cattle heads and it is
differentiated by a series of transverse braces and
by the long steering oars at the stern.
SOKAR: The god Sokar is depicted as a hawk or
with the head of a hawk. At the beginning, he was
the death god of the Memphis necropolis. He was
closely connected with Osiris and Ptah, he was
worshipped until the Late Period as Ptah-SokarOsiris. Even though he was an earthbound deity,
he was also regarded as lord of the Dynasty of the
dead. The climax of the festival of Sokar was the
carrying in procession of a divine cult barque,
known as the henu barque. It means mummied
falcon in Ancient Egyptian. The Apis ox, the
sacred animal of Memphis area is the sacred
animal of Sokar. At the graveyard of Saqqara,
there is the tomb of Apis. For this reason, Sokar
cult is developed at Saqqara.
SOLEB: Amun temple south of the third cataract
built by Amenophis III. It was made for the
coronation; necropolis dating from the New
Dynasty.
SON OF RE: The birth name of the king. See
royal tituaries.
SOTHIS: A feminine Egyptian name for the star
of Sirius, that locked with Isis (The Orion one was
the partner of Sahu-Osiris). It is also associated
with Hathor. Name of the star Sirius, from the
Egyptian Sopdet. Often personified as a goddess.
Because Sirius reappears in northern Egypt in mid
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July, and the level of the Nile waters rose at the
same time, Sothis was believed to cause the Nile
inundation. These events were accepted as the
beginning of the New Year and Sothis was
considered the embodiment (see calendar).
SPHINXS: (Greek) The lion bodied, woman
headed winged creature. The one with a male
head is called Androsphinx. It is an ancient Greek
word. Its equivalent in Ancient Egyptian language
is “sespaukht” meaning live statue. The human
headed, lion bodied sculpture is lying as resting
with its front legs bent forward. The lion
represents the power of the ruler. They are the
guardians of the East and West doors
underground world. The Heliopolis monks
placed human head to the lion figure. This man is
the visual of God Atum. The oldest and the
largest Sphinx sculpture is at Giza. It is said that
the face of the sphinx is the face of Chephren. It
is made at the place where the sun sets as the
guardian of the west. Sphinxes were frequently
depicted in a variety of forms, and were sculpted,
painted, and or made in relief form. They are
made since the Old Dynasty. In most instances
they represent the king for which reason the
Greek word “sphinx” is often used in masculine
form in Egyptology. The best known example is
the great sphinx at Giza that remains since the
time of 4th Dynasty. The New Dynasty sphinxes
were erected in large numbers on both sides of
processional routes (“sphinx alleys”). In Thebes,
sphinxes of the god Amun can be seen with a
ram’s head on a lion’s body.
SPOMEHER: He is the creator god, there are
many spirits and life signs around him, he carries
a red and white crown, he has a sceptre in his
hand and weird signs. In the funeral hymns, parts
are sung about God Spomeher. The triad god
group named Thebes Triad consisted of God
Amun who rules the valley and his wife Goddess
Mout who is shown as a graceful queen and their
son the moon god Khnoum who is shown as a
young boy. He has a moon disk on his head.
STAFF OF FLOWERS: An elaborate flower
arrangement in which many kinds of flowers and
leaves were tied to papyrus stems. When fully
assembled it could be very high. In the worship of
god and the mortuary cult, the staff of flowers are
explained as productivity and the offering of life.
In New Dynasty tombs, it is seen that specimens
could be buried with the dead as grave goods.
STATUES GUERISSEUSES: (French “healing
statues”) Statues of the gods from which people
expected a magical cure for a variety of illnesses.
They were covered with magical writings. They
actually belonged to Ptolemy period. These
statues that were erected in temples and
constantly doused with water were believed to
have a healing effect.
STELA : It is the name given to the thick and flat
or wooden plate “stele” that has texts, reliefs or
depictions on it. The stelas that are prepared in
memory of people were placed in the temples and
the stelas in the tombs have an important place in
the ornamentation of the graveyards. Upright
slabs of stone (and later often of wood), generally
in the shape of a tall rectangle and often rounded
at the top. They were full of texts and pictures
about a wide range of subjects. For example, they
could be erected in memory of the dead in or near
a tomb (see funerary stelae). They could include
the public record of various events or political
messages. These stelae are often of great size.
Most of them stood at the gates or in the
courtyards of temple complexes.
STELOPHORUS: (Greek “stele bearer”) Statue of
a kneeling person whose hands, raised in prayer,
were laid on a stele-like slab. The slab was
ornamented with a hymn dedicated to the
ihstsun-god and depictions about it. It is seen
since the 18th Dynasty. It is likely that stelophori
were usually erected in small, private funerary
pyramids of the New Dynasty.
STRATEGISTS: (Greek) From the beginning of
the Ptolemy period, military authority was in the
hands of strategists in the “nomes” which are the
individual districts of Egypt. In the reign of
Ptolemy III, the strategists took over civil
administration and therefore formed the highest
ranking officials of a nome. Later on, their military
authority was gradually lost.
SUN BARQUE: The tour of the sun around the
world everyday was interpreted as the sun god’s
journey with his barque in Egyptian mythology
and religion. The sun god, with his escort, passes
the underground world at night without being
seen by anyone and passes from the Night Barque
to Morning Barque and travelled through the sky
in opposite direction.
SUN DISC : In Egyptian art, depictions of the sun
disk is widespread due to the role the sun plays in
Egyptian state and religion. The sun disk is the
combination of earthly and Divine life. It is seen
frequently for example, on the lunettes of stelae
or on architraves. Especially the combination of
the sun disk with a pair of falcon wings and two
uraeus serpents are widespread. This “winged
disk” is often depicted over the head of the king
and symbolizes the dominance of the king over
Upper and Lower Egypt sanctioned by divine
authority. The sun disk with opened wings on
two sides. The first example of this motif is from
the 1st Dynasty. It is related to Horus in Behdet
(Edfu), symbolises the sun and it is especially seen
in ceilings, cornice and stelas. It is frequently
copied outside of Ancient Egypt as well.
SUN TEMPLE : The temples made by the rulers
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of 5th Dynasty were for the honour of “Sun God
Re”. According to the historical order at Palermo
Stone, the temple made by Ouserkof is called “Re
Temple”, the one made by Sahoure is Re Village,
the temple made by Neferkare is called “The
Center of the Heart of Re” and “Rest of Re”, the
temple at Niouserre is called “The Victory of the
Heart of Re” and the temple of Menkaouhor is
called “The Victory of Re’s Horizon”. These
temples are located at the south of Giza at Abusir
region. They have a different kind of structure
than the other temples. Ra is at the sky and looks
at the earth. Its rays come towards an obelisk over
a ruined pyramid and the golden coating over the
obelisk. This obelisk is the heart of the temple.
The golden statue which is the combination of
the sun disk at the temple reflects the sun rays.
SUN-GOD : As the most important divine body
and the power that determined the life of man,
the sun was considered as the expression of
divine power by the Egyptians and personified
with Re since the beginning of the Old Dynasty.
The path of the sun was subject to a complex
theological interpretation. The course of an
individual’s life and his rebirth, that is
immortality, as well as the existence and wellbeing of Egypt were depending on the sun. The
king, as “son of Re” and embodiment of the sungod on earth, were the equivalent of this wealth.
Special types of sun-god were worshipped with
their own names. A series of gods like Amun-Re
were defined according to god Re.
SYSAMORE FIG: (Ficus sycomorus) The
sycamore fig has been cultivated in Egypt since
prehistoric times for special purposes (nutritition,
wood for furniture, etc.) and it also had a deep
great religious meaning. Several sycamore cults
are known. The most important one being that of
Hathor who was Lady of the Southern Sycamore
in Memphis.
T
ANIS: Royal residence and burial place for
kings of the 21st and 22nd Dynasties; most
temples have mudbrick enclosure, the temple of
Amun; also, royal tombs (“temple tombs”).
TAVARET: The hippopotamus god who took
care of pregnant woman.
TAXOGRAM: The sign in writing that is placed
after the phonograms indicating the meaning
category or region of the word.
TELL ED-DAB’A: The former capital “Avaris”
during the Hyksos era (1650-1540 BC); archaic
settlement remains; city settlement remains from
the Middle Dynasty to the Second Intermediate
Period; from the early 18th Dynasty on, site of a
new settlement and a temple or Seth; additional
remains of construction from the Ramesside
Period to the time of Psusennes I (21st Dynasty).
Again the tombs and settlements are dated at this
period and Second Intermediate Period.
TELL EL-AMARNA: Capital during Akhenaten’s
reign; palaces, living and working quarters, and
several sanctuaries; tombs of the royal family in a
wadi in the eastern desert; numerous tombs of
officials.
TEMPLE ARCHIVE: As temples were frequently
large institutions in terms of space, personnel and
property, they possessed archives as storage and
collection points for written matter significant to
their operation. Temple archives had documents
related not only to rituals and religion, but also
law, economy, the ownership of temples and
their administration. The funerary temple of
Neferirkare from the 5th Dynasty at Abusir
provided information on priestly organization
and daily temple matters (Abusir Papyri).
TEMPLE SYNOD: (Greek/Latin) Meeting of
priests of a temple to discuss and decide on
matters about their cult. During the Ptolemy time,
the senior priests made country-wide meetings
annually at the court and considered all issues
regarding the religious issues in the country and
the organization of the temple. (see also Canopus
Decree and Rosetta Stone).
TENT POLE COLUMN: Column in Egyptian
architecture that imitates the wooden supports
used in light tent or mat constructions. This type
of column was depicted in illustrations. It is
known to be made since the Old Dynasty. Only
one stone example is known, from a building in
the Amun temple of Thutmosis III in Karnak
(Akh-menu).
TEPHNOUT: The goddess of the clouds,
daughter of Re and wife of Shu. She is depicted as
a lion headed woman who has a lion as her sacred
animal. The lion-shaped goddess Tephnout and
the air god Shu were the first divine couple in the
Heliopolitan creation myth. Atum created them
either by masturbation or by spitting. Tephnout
gained a cosmic character unique to itself in
various mythological cycles.
TERENUTHIS STELA: A large group of grave
stela in the necropolis of Terenuthis in the
western Nile Delta dating from the Roman
occupation of Egypt. They belong to the Greek
population of Terenuthis. They are the evidence
for the acceptance of some Egyptian mortuary
beliefs by the Greek inhabitants of Egypt.
THE BOAT OF OFFERINGS : An important
room of most great Egypt temples were separated
for a cult boat of a god (and kings to some extent).
The boats that are kept in this room ready for use
were made of valuable materials. During the
festival rituals, the statue of a small god or king
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was placed in the middle of the boat and taken
out of the temple to be taken to other cult places.
Normally, the scenes of the boat and other rituals
are depicted on the walls of the temple. As a rule,
the place of the ritual was at the main axis of the
temple and the boat was placed on a stone base.
THE ELABORATION OF THE DEAD : First
royal foundation and then citizen foundations
were formed and the graveyards were provided to
be elaborated within the basis of domain
offerings. Thus, the person could provide the
offerings that the cult of the dead required during
his life. The presents were organized as an
offering circulation.
THE ENNEAD: The gods grouped around the
main divinity of a particular area. The number
nine represented a multiplying of the number
three and Egyptians believed that three was a
vague quantity. Therefore, it therefore stood for a
higher number. The groups of gods described did
not necessarily have to be at number nine. The
composition of the groups could also change. The
best known enneads are Heliopolis, Memphis,
Abydos, and Thebes. The latter generally had
fifteen members (“Great Ennead”).
THE FATHER OF THE GOD: The office name
given to the priests in the New Dynasty period.
Later on, the name of the god was added to this
name, for example, the God Father of Amun. The
God Fathers were generally higher than ordinary
priests but lower than “prophets”.
THE FOUR SONS OF HORUS : Amset, Hapi,
Duamutef, and Qebehsenuf, whose respective
heads were those of a man, a baboon, a jackal,
and a falcon. They were the protectors of the
internal organs of the dead. They are the
protectors of the wrecked body of Osiris and then
they became the protectors of the bodies of the
dead. Amset, Hapi, Duamutef and Qebsenuef.
The goddesses were protected by Isis, Nephthys,
Neith and Selket in order. The four protective
gods Hapi, Amset, Duamutef, and Qebehsenuf
were considered as the children of Horus. These
four gods participated in the resurrection
ceremony of Osiris and for this reason, all
deceased people transformed into Osiris. They
especially protected the inner organs of the dead
as lords of the canopic jars in which the
embalmed innards were stored. From the New
Dynasty, the lids of canopic jars were made in
this shape and as youthful gods they ensured the
regeneration of the dead and protected them from
danger. In their capacity as defenders they also
joined the sun-god in battle against the enemy of
creation, Apophis. They are the protectors of the
destroyed body of Osiris and then the bodies of
the dead.
THE GOD OF TREE: A goddess in relation with
the sacred tree. It was generally displayed as a tree
with arms or a woman coming out of a tree.
Hathor, Isis and Mut emerge as the “Tree Gods”
within the content of worship of dead.
THE SCENE OF ESCAPING TO EGYPT: In
pictures depicting this event, generally Virgin
Mary is seen over a donkey. On her lap, there is
the child Jesus. Yusuf rides the donkey. The holy
family is sometimes seen resting on the way and
sometimes, there are servants around. These
scenes are called “Resting on the way to Egypt”.
THEBES: Residence of the Egyptian kings during
the 18th Dynasty. Luxor Temple on the east bank
and temple precinct or Karnak comprising several
districts; on the west bank several thousand
private tombs, over fifty royal tombs (some in the
Valley of the Kings) from the 11th Dynasty to the
end of the New Dynasty (though no evidence of
continuous use); additionally, tombs of queens
and royal children; mortuary temples belonging
to royal tombs at the edge of the arable land.
Many remains of settlements are found in the
excavations (Deir- el Medina; court of Amenophis
III at Malqata).
THEOPHORUS: (Greek “god bearer”) Statue in
which a standing, sitting or kneeling person holds
a small figurine of a god. It is known since the
New Dynasty. It was spread especially during the
period of Late Dynasty. Such statues were erected
within temples.
THINITES: Belonging to the Thinite era, that is
the first two dynasties. The kings of the 1st
Dynasty were said to have come from the city of
Thinis near Abydos in Upper Egypt.
THOERIS: The goddess Thoeris was usually
depicted as a pregnant hippopotamus. The
standing animal had drooping breasts and the
paws of a lion. Her character of mother goddess
associated her closely with Hathor and Isis. She
was the protector of women in childbirth and
mothers suckling babies. Most of the time, she is
shown as female, and fat hippopotamus.
Hippopotam goddess is the goddess related to the
birth of a child. She is the universal grandmother.
She is the symbol of fertility. She helps the birth
of children. Her spouse is Bes.
THOT: The owner of the moon, moon and
science god. It is of the cosmic god category. He
is a god who is known to rule wisdom, writing
and science and who increased its power in Egypt
after the 4th Dynasty. He is the god of the moon,
time and writing. He is believed to invent
hieroglyphs. He is the adviser and clerk of the
idols. He was an arbiter with Geb in the conflict
between Horus and Seth. The Ancient Egyptians
also called him Cebuti. He looks like a stork.
Because of the monkey which is the symbol of
Hermopolis, and that God Thoth had the same
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symbol makes one think that he is of Hermopolis
origin. He is the god of wisdom. He taught people
writing and is the founder of medicine. He healed
Seth and Horus. He weighs the sins of the spirits
in the other world with the scale he has before
him. The city that God Thot came from is not
known. In very old times, he was the god of
Hermopolis at Delta. He has an important place
at Oktoad. At Hermopolis, God Thoth became
the husband of writing goddess Shesat. God
Thoth takes place in the Osiris story. He placed
back the eye of Horus and healed the wounds of
Seth. He heals the injured during the war.
According to the Pyramid writings, during the
struggle of the two gods at Hermopolis, the gods
met under the leadership of God Thoth. Two
gods shared the land of the country among
themselves. He was the clerk during the events
between the gods. In the other world, he wrote
the sins and the good deeds of the spirits. He is
the clerk of Osiris. Besides being the god of
writing, he is also the owner of word and
thought. He asks the gods for giving each person
the heart of Re and the expression talents of Ptah.
He is also the owner of religious speculation. The
magicians wanted to benefit from the
supernatural talents of God Thoth. However,
because God Thoth taught people what he knew,
he tried to tell people that there was no mystery
left. He is the equivalent of the Ancient Greek
God Hermes. Because it was believed that
Hermes also had the talents of God Thoth,
Hermes became the starter of the Alexandria
thought idol at Trigemestri. However, Thot has
more successful deeds in the Egyptian pantheon.
Different from Hermes, he succeeded seriously
and honestly, did not interfere with commerce,
gave wisdom like Athena and taught writing.
Thoth was one of the outstanding divine figures
in the Egyptian pantheon. The worship to this
God was spread throughout the country since the
Old Dynasty. His main cult centre was at
Hermopolis Magna in Central Egypt. He is
portrayed as a man with the head of an ibis, or in
purely animal form as an ibis or a baboon. As
moon god, he was responsible for calendar,
measurement of time and mathematics. Thus, he
is depicted while listing the years of the king’s
rule during coronation scenes and writing royal
names on the leaves of the sacred tree of
Heliopolis. Thoth was the inventor of writing and
language, guardian of divine order, of all rituals
and of secret knowledge, and was therefore the
patron of scribes. At the judgement of the dead,
Thoth recorded the verdict of Osiris.
THRONE NAME: See royal titulary.
TOMB OF OSIRIS: According to the myth of
Osiris, the tombs of the god’s limbs were spread
throughout the country. Osiris tombs were built
at many places according to texts or
archaeological references. The great cenotaph of
Seti I in Abydos was also accepted as an Osiris
grave. This monument had the shape typical of
such structures: a tree-covered Primeval Mound,
underneath which the sarcophagus rested in a hall
of pillars (sarcophagus).
TOREUTIC: Art of metal-working seen in Egypt.
It is also seen in pre-historic depictions. Besides
base metals such as copper, bronze, and iron,
precious metals like gold, silver, and electrum
were also worked.
TOTEMISM: The assumption of gods as animals
or plants in primitive societies. The group
members carry the name of the plant or thing that
they belonged to.
TREASURY: 1. Rooms found in archaeological
excavations, particularly of temple buildings, and
used to store implements used for cult purposes
(vessels and jewellery) and made of valuable
materials such as precious metals. 2. The
institution that administered the goods produced
by the state, such as a large temple. The treasuries
of the country administration were of particular
importance because it constituted an important
part of the economy and financial administration
of Egypt. They were collecting points for all
products levied as tax, with the exception of grain
and controlled raw materials, as well as
supervising the further processing and
distribution.
TRIALS OF TOMB ROBBERS: Several
documents in hieratic written on papyrus have
been found dealing with large-scale thefts from
tombs. Robberies were made at the end of New
Dynasty at the period of Ramesses IX and XI at
the private tombs at West Theban necropolis. The
documents found are included the interrogation
of the accused before the court as well as reports
on the associated investigations like the
examinations of the tombs.
TRIGLYPH: (Greek) In Doric architecture the
ornamentation lying between the architrave
resting on top of the columns and the beams
supporting the roof. In the Dorian order frieze,
the stone block between the metop. It constitutes
of two vertical deep chase as well as half chases
that are on both sides of this. It is also called
triplet chamfer in Turkish.
TUMULUS: (Latin) A burial mound or earth
heaped over the actual burial site. This type of
tomb is seen at the pre-historic period when the
structure above gained an architectural shape.
TUNA EL GEBEL: It consisted of a system of
animal cemetery, underground galleries and cult
rooms from Ptolemy period. Tombs of temple
personnel from the 18th Dynasty; in the 26th
Dynasty development of new burial zones; most
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important tomb is that of the deified high priest
Petosiris (320 BC); from the Ptolemy era, tombs in
a Greco-Egyptian composite style; temple of the
Late Period. It is the section that is built at the
Roman period from the building named as the
“Great Temple”.
TUNIC: (Latin) Type of shirt from the Roman era
of linen or wool. This cloth which was with or
without sleeves, was usually worn as an
undergarment with a belt. The male version
usually reached to the knee while that of the
female was somewhat longer.
TYSKIEWICZ STATUE: A magical statue with
healing properties from the Ptolemy era (see
statues guerisseuses). Today, it is at the Louvre
museum. It is taken from the collection of the
Polish Count Tyskiewicz who conducted
excavations in Egypt in the mid-nineteenth
century.
UDJAT: The eye of Horus.
UNDERGROUND BOOKS: The compositions
that were put in the tombs of the kings in the
New Dynasty period that consisted of both
picture and text. These explained the journey of
the sun god both in the underworld and the sky.
They were placed at the tombs of private people
in later periods.
UNET: The agriculture god of Ancient Egyptians.
UNIFICATION OF THE TWO LANDS: Refers
to the presumably long historical process during
which the various areas of Egypt came to form a
political whole. A united state was formed in the
Upper and Lower Egypt in fourth thousand years
B.C. by the unification of different regions and
ethnic groups. Later historical records attributed
this to the deeds of one man, Menes, the first king
of Egypt. The mentioned historical events can be
found in the ritual of “the unification of the two
lands”. This ritual was performed at the
coronation of kings and was often referred to in
art and literature.
UNUT: She is mentioned as the goddess with a
bird’s brain.
URAEUS: It is the snake which is placed instead
of the eye of Horus in some sources and Re in
others that came off. The equivalent of this word
which is “Ouaret” in Ancient Egyptian, “Ouraion”
in ancient Greek and “Uraeus” in Latin means
viper. (Greek) Term for the cobra depicted rearing
up and worn on the brow of the king or gods. An
important part of royal ornamentation from the
Old Dynasty on, its threat of poison was said to
ward off danger from the king or the god and
served also as a symbol of royal power.
UTO: The serpent-shaped Uto was patron
goddess of Lower Egypt. Her home was at Buto.
The vulture goddess of Elkab, She and Nekhbet
were the “two ladies” who were to protect the
king and they were embodied in the crowns of
Upper and Lower Egypt that Uto accepted
V
ICEROY OF KUSH: Title of the highest
royally appointed official in Nubia in the New
Dynasty. He acted as a representative of the Naip
King in Nubia at the period between 18th
Dynasty and late 20th Dynasty. At this period,
Egypt ruled its southern neighbour from the first
cataract in the north by Aswan to well beyond the
fourth cataract in the south. The capital was the
fortified city of Aniba in Lower Nubia.
VIZIER: The highest ranking officer of the
administration. This office is seen starting from
the early Dynasty period. There are two more
viziers in New Dynasty period, one of them
worked at Memphis and the other in Thebes.
Starting from this period, the most influential
people were not vizier anymore and this office
lost it’s importance in the Late Period of Egypt.
(Arabic) Usual word for an Egyptian title for the
highest official of the land. The vizier was the
head of the Egyptian bureaucracy. He was
appointed by the king and administered all areas
of administration, justice, public works, etc. were
accountable to him. The office existed from the
early days of the Old Dynasty. In the 18th
Dynasty, when the country was divided into an
Upper Egyptian and a Lower Egyptian, two
vizier’s council emerged. Their headquarters were
in Memphis and Thebes.
VOTIVE OFFERING: In the narrower sense, an
offering dedicated to a deity in its sanctuary as the
result of a vow. However, in Egyptology, this
name was used for everything that was offered to
a temple. Usually these offerings were rather
small figures of gods, symbols connected with the
deity, or stela.
W
AB PRIESTS: (Egyptian “the pure”)
Numerically the largest group in a temple. It’s
origin goes back to Old Dynasty. They are later
on organized as “phyle”s. In the temple hierarchy
they were ranked below the servants of god. They
performed a large part of the daily sacrifices in the
temple. Besides the office of priest they were
generally also clerks or held another position.
WADI: Arabic “desert valley.”
WALLS OF THE RULER: Refers to the military
defences along the north-eastern border in
Egyptian literature of the Middle Dynasty. In the
Eastern delta, these defences at the borders of
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Syria and Palestine were thought of as
observation towers and castle and they formed
the pieces of a defence chain against the Asian
invaders.
WAS SCEPTER: Staff with a forked lower end
and a stylized animal’s head at the upper end.
This sceptre known since the early Dynasty
period was accepted as a symbol of power by the
gods who bestowed it on the king (see royal
insignia).
WASET: Egyptian term for the nome of Thebes.
It was also used for the city of Thebes.
WAY STATIONS: Refers to small cult structures
along a processional route in which the statue of
a god or king carried in his barque could be
temporarily placed. There were many such
structures at Theban region. They could be in
various architectural forms, such as three
adjoining rooms, as a kiosk or as an ambulatory.
WEPWAWET: The jackal headed war and
funeral god in Ancient Egypt. He was worshipped
as funeral god in Asyut (Siut) region. The Greeks
called him Ophois.
WERETHEKAU: Goddess of the crowns and of
snakes, “the lady rich in magic”, Werethekau is
usually depicted as a woman with a lion’s head,.
Since the New Dynasty, she was depicted during
the coronation ceremony. During the ceremony,
she offers her protection to the king. She feeds the
child of the king.
WINDOW OF APPEARANCES: Balcony with a
low balustrade in the royal palace. It was
overhung by a baldachin, where the king
appeared to the public, usually in order to
commend deserving officials. This scene was
generally depicted in the tombs of the people
who were honoured in such way. A smaller kind
of the Window of Appearances was found in the
temples of the New Dynasty in Western Thebes
and it had a religious function.
WIVES OF AMUN: The name given to the senior
priests of Amun temples in Thebes. In the New
Dynasty period, these priests were born from the
wives or daughters of the kings. It was accepted
that the person with office is the bride of Amun
and will live the eternal creation with the life that
god gave with the power of creation. In the Third
Middle Period, the head of the Theban
democracy was “owner” and the priesthood office
was carried out by the non-married daughters of
the palace. The heirs were adopted. The
importance of this practice receeded in the period
of the 16th Dynasty and then was lost in time.
Generally used as the title of the high priestess of
the temple of Amun in Thebes. During the New
Dynasty period, these priests were born from the
wives or daughters of the kings. The office-holder
was considered the bride of the god Amun and
her person guaranteed the eternally recurring
creation of the world through the life-giving
primeval powers of the god. In the Third Middle
Period, the head of the Theban democracy was
“the titleholder” and the office of the priest was
carried out by the unmarried daughters of the
palace. Heirs to the office were adopted. In the
26th Dynasty it declined in importance and
ultimately ceased to be occupied.
WOAD: The plant Isatis tinctoria. A blue dye can
be extracted from the crushed and fermented
plant. In Egypt its cultivation can be traced back
only to the Hellenistic era.
WOSYER: The goddess known as the protector
of the young people in Ancient Egypt.
ZENENET: The Goddess of Hermonthis.
ZEP TEPI: This word that means “first time” in
Ancient Egyptian mythology is used to refer to
the oldest period when the country was ruled by
gods.
ZODIAC: Signs about the sky, the signs of Babel
or Greek origin, in the Greco-Roman period at
Ancient Egypt they were used as astrological
elements to ornament the ceilings of tombs,
temples and coffins.
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CHRONOLOGY
Since new evidences are found, corrections are made in Ancient Egypt chronology and thus these
dates shall not be taken as final!
EGYPT
(FROM 4000 B.C. UNTIL 305 B.C. WHEN PTLOLEMY I ASCENDED THE
THRONE)
B.C. 1060-664
By this day, main nutrition materials such as low quality wheat, barley and linen start
ed to be grown at the Nile Valley.
The fact that Nagada town is surrounded by walls shows that there were well operat
ed Egyptian commerce roads.
The first time it is recorded that Egypt is United by King Narmer. The union starts the
period of the First Dynasties (3100-2600 B.C.). The capital of Egypt was Memphis.
Establishing hieroglyph writing at Egypt.
The pyramid tomb of Pharaoh Zoser built with steps, the first known big Stone struc
ture that is known.
Old Dynasty. Age of Pyramids.
The construction of the Great Pyramid at Giza (for Pharaoh Hufu).
The first Intermediary Period. Collapse of the central authority.
Middle Dynasty. Establishing stability again.
Second Intermediary Period. The reign of Hiksos.
The New Dynasty. Egypt as a power unique to Dynasty. The basic colonisation of
Nubia and rule over Southwest Asia cities.
The reign of Thutmosis I. Thutmosis reaches F›rat and becomes the first king to be
buried to the Dynasty Valley around Thebes. The foundation of the worker village at
Deir-el Medina.
The reign of Queen Hatshepsut.
The reign of Amenophis III, the peak of the New Kingdom. The building program of
the great temple at Thebes.
The attempt of Akhenaten Dynasty to create a new religion based on worship to the
sun. The foundation of the new capital at Tell el-Amarna. The new religion can not
manage to be rooted.
The death of Pharaoh Tutankhamun and burial to the Valley of the Kings. The reign of
the last Great Egyptian Pharaohs, Pharaoh Ramesses II.
The reign of the last Great Egyptian Pharaohs, Pharaoh Ramses II.
The Kadesch War between Egypt and Hittites that ends with forming borders at Syria.
The construction of Abu Simbel Temple. The first signs of weakness of the New
Kingdom.
Egypt is among the East Mediterranean countries that are subject to the attacks of Sea
Hordes.
The collapse of the inside administration that caused the first strike recorded on the
earth at Deir-el Medina. The gold reserves at Nubia are finished, the Asian Empire is
lost and Egypt is recedes to the borders of the first valley.
The Third Intermediary Period. Egypt is torn apart.
B.C. 727
The Bird King Piankhi, provides temporary unity at Egypt.
B.C. 671
Memphis is sacked by the Assyrians.
B.C. 664-663
The Assyrians sack Thebes and form a loose reign over Egypt.
B.C. 4000
B.C. 3600
B.C. 3100
B.C. 3000
B.C. 2650
B.C.
B.C.
B.C.
B.C.
B.C.
B.C.
2600-2130
2550-2528
2130-2040
2040-1640
1640-1532
1550-1070
B.C. 1540-1492
B.C. 1473-1458
B.C. 1390-1352
B.C. 1352-1336
B.C. 1323
B.C. 1279-1213
B.C. 1275
B.C. 1260
B.C. 1200
B.C. 1060
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B.C. 664-610
B.C. 620
B.C. 525
The reign of Pharaoh Psamtik I. (Psammetikos in Greek). Psamtik, ascends the throne
by the Assyrians as a puppet ruler, however, he manages to protect the independence
of Egypt against his so-called masters and founds the Saite Dynasty that takes its
name from the capital Sais at Delta region.
The Greek merchants found a trade centre at Nakratik at the Nile Valley.
Egypt is conquered by the Persians.
B.C. 462-454
An Egyptian revolt against the Persian rule is supported by Athenians; however
Persians capture the control again.
B.C. 332
The siege of Egypt by Alexander the Great causes the collapse of the Persian rule. The
city Alexandria is founded. After the death of Alexander (323), Egypt enters the rule of
Ptolemy and then onward Egypt becomes a part of the Mediterranean World.
B.C. 270
A list of Egyptian Dynasties, compiled by a monk named Manetho presents all the his
torians afterwards a frame.
Rosetta stone, is written in three languages. This epigraph plays a key role afterwards
at the deciphering of the hieroglyphs.
B.C. 196
SUMERIANS
B.C. 3300
The carving of logograms (symbols representing a word) over clay tablets with a pin
that has the end in the shape of a dagger.
ASSYRIANS
B.C. 671
B.C. 664/3
B.C. 1275
B.C. 1500
B.C. 1300-1000
Assyrians sack Memphis, the capital of Ancient Egypt.
The Assyrians reach Thebes and form hegemony over Egypt.
HITTITES
Kadesch War between Hittits and Egyptians. The borders between the two states are
strengthened.
The first alphabet of the world is developed around Canaan (basically showing each
of twenty consonants with a symbol). In the following years, various alphabets are
developed at this region.
Phoenicians develop their own alphabets. This alphabet is passed to the Greeks on the
ninth or eight century.
JUDEANS
B.C. 1200
B.C. 1000
B.C. 924
B.C. 745-722
B.C. 627-605
B.C. 605-562
Judeans are mentioned for the first time on an Egypt document. There is no other ref
erence that is left to us from before ninth century B.C. Judeans settle around the Land
of Canaan probably after the disorder that the Sea Hordes caused.
The probable date of death of King David.
Reconstruction of cities at the Land of Canaan can be among the activi
ties of King Suleiman who is mentioned as the great constructor on the Hebrew
Sacred Texts.
‹srael are divided into two kingdoms, Israel and Judas.
Israel is crushed by the Assyrians. Judas enters the rule of Assyria; however, continues
to live as a state.
Judas enters the rule of Egypt.
During the rule of the Babylon King Nabukadnezar II, Jerusalem is sacked by the
Babylions and the Babylon exile that many local residents of Babylon are forced to go
to Babylon. The religious texts of Israel and the Sacred texts of Hebrew (the Old
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Page 305
B.C. 197
B.C. 167
B.C. 63
A.C. 5
A.C. 30
A.C. 66-74
Testament afterwards) are united fort he first time at this period.
The fall of the Babylonian State by the Persian King Kyros I. The Jewish return from
the exile.
Alexander destroys the Ahamenis Empire and finally, Phalestine becomes a part of the
Ptolemy Dynasty.
Phalestine, passes from the Ptolemy to Selevkos.
Makabi revolt starts.
Pompeius enters Jerusalem, Phalestine is now under the Roman rule.
The birth of Christ.
Jesus is crucified at Jerusalem.
The great Jewish revolt against the Roman rule
B.C. 1550
MINOS
Evidence about merchants from Mynos at Avaris at the Nile Delta.
B.C. 539
B.C. 332
MYCEAN
B.C. 2200-2000
B.C. 1400
B.C. 1400
B.C. 1000-750
B.C. 814
B.C. 850
B.C. 753
B.C. 750
B.C. 730-630
B.C. 660
B.C. 620-480
B.C. 600
B.C. 585
B.C. 582-573
B.C. 575-560
B.C. 525
B.C. 509
B.C. 508-507
B.C. 490
B.C. 487
Those who speak Greek arrive at Greece.
Crete is conquered by probably Myceneans. Mycenean existence is recorded from
Italy to Asia, in all Mediterranean until the shores of Egypt.
Myceneans adopting Lineer B as a syllable writing.(The language used in the tablets
written with Lineer B is deciphered in 1952 by Micheal Ventris as Greek.)
Phoenicians enjoy wide-spread wealth with the trade they make all over the
Mediterranean.
The traditional foundation date of Carthage by the Phoenicians.
The Greeks of Euboia enter a comprehensive trade relationship with the Phoenicians
and other near east people.
The traditional foundation date of Rome.
The Greeks get the Phoenician alphabet and adopt it for their own usage. The alphabet
is spread to all the Greek World.
The period known as the Orientalisation Period witnesses the wide scale eastern effect
to the Greek culture.
The first Greek merchants enter Egypt. By 600, the Egyptian effects are seen in Greek
sculpture. (for example marble kouroi)
Archaic Age that brings a great order and formality to the Greek culture.
The first coin of the world emerges at Lydia; by 595 it is spread to the trade island
Aigina and by 575, it is spread to Athens.
Thales from Milethos assumpting the solar eclipse before is accepted as the beginning
of the traditional Greek philosophy. The friends of Thales from Miletos,
Anaksimandros and Anaksimenes, develop his thoughts in the coming decades.
Spreading of the Pan-Hellenic games (Pythia Games at Delphoi (582), Isthmos Games
(581), Nemea Games (573))
Hera Temple at Samos, one of the first monumentary Greek temples is influenced by
similar Egypt structures.
The vase with the red figure takes place of the vases with the black figure as the main
product of Athenian potters. Finding in Athens the oldest bronze statue (kouros) that
is alive. Bronze becomes one of the most favourite materials for statues that stand
independently.
Roman Republic is founded.
The reforms that Kleisthennes carried out in Athens form the basis of Athenian
democracy.
The statue known as kid from Kritios, Athens, determines the transformation from tra
ditional Archaic art to Classic art.
The comedies win their first triumph at Dionysia that is organised for the first time in Athens.
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B.C. 336-31
B.C. 332-331
B.C. 323
B.C. 323-276
B.C. 300
B.C. 270
B.C. 196
B.C.
B.C.
B.C.
B.C.
48-47
41
36
34
B.C. 31
B.C. 30
Hellenistic Age. The period when the Greek world was divided into many kingdoms
and when a more typical Greek culture emerged. An age that ended the speculations
that the Greek world would unite with the Roman Empire and the worries that result
ed from this.
Alexander proceeds through Syria (Tyros siege, 332) to Egypt where he is announced
as the pharaoh instead of Dareios. The visit he made to Amon prophecy centre at Siva
(Libia) confirms the belief that Alexander came from a divine descendance. At 331, the
city Alexandria is founded. The triumph that Alexander gained against Dareios at
Gaugamela Valley opens him the doors of Babylon, Susa and Persepolis. The year
afterwards, the great royal palace at Persepolis is burnt down. Dareios is killed by his
own people and Ahamenis Empire ends.
Alexander dies at Babylon.
A fight for power starts between those who come from the line of Alexander and his
officers. The senior commander of the horse, Perdikkas and One Eyed Antigonos can
not manage to hold the empire in one hand. Antigonos is killed in Ipus war (301).
Eventually, three great states are born from the empire of Alexandria: Egypt under the
rule of Ptolemy, Macedonia that is managed by the descendants of Antigonos and
Seleukos Empire in the east.
Zenon founds the stoic school. (the name of the school comes from the fact that they
chose a stoa in Athens as the meeting place). Eukleides who is the author of Elements
which is accepted as the founding text of modern mathematics is effective at this date.
A museum and library is founded at Alexandria by Ptoleamy I. The first world map is
drawn by Dikaiarkhos of Messina.
Poet Kallimakhos and (the father of pastoral poem) Theokritos are effective at
Alexandria.
Resid Stone is prepared as a token of gratitude of Memphis monks to Ptolemy V. The
Stone is used afterwards in deciphering the Egyptian hieroglyphs.
Caesar ascends Cleopatra, the daughter of Ptolemy XII to the Egyptian throne.
Cleopatra meets Marcus Antonius and becomes his mistress.
The Parthia expedition of Marcus Antonius ends with a collapse.
Antonius and Cleopatra, openly challenge Octavius with a ceremony they organise at
Alexandria.
In Actium War, the powers of Antonius and Cleopatra are defeated by Octavius.
Antonius and Cleopatra commit suicide. Roma takes Egypt to its lands.
ETRUSCS
B.C. 760
The jewellery and intense usage of iron shows that there was an increasing relation
ship with the East. It is thought that there is a mutual relationship between the tomb
evidences and the foundation of Pithekusai settlement ( y. 775-750)
B.C. 700
The Etruscan settlements are lodged fort he first time with walls made of tufa. The
Greek alphabet is adopted.
B.C. 700-550
The evidences brings to mind the wide spread trade with the Greeks and other
Easterners. The Etruscan age of wealth.
Etruscan Tarquinius I becomes the Roman king. Rome is left under the Etruscan influ
ence for more than a century and adopts many elements of Etruscan culture.
B.C. 616
A.C. 527-565
A.C. 536
EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE 395-600
Age of Iustinianos, the nephew of Iustinos.
The closing of the Isis Temple at Philae (Southern Egypt) indicates the end of tradition
al Egyptian religion.
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INDEX
Abu Mina
Abu Simbel Temple
Abusir
Abydos
Adolf Erman
Afyon Lion Stone
Akhenaten
Alacahoyuk
Alan Davie
Alberto Giacometti
Alexander
Alexandre Moret
Alexandria
Altamira
Amadeo Modigliani
Amarna
Amenophis
Ament
Amun
Ankh
Anselm Kiefer
Anubis
Aphrodite
Apis
Art Deco
Art Noveau
Aten
Atlantis
Atum
Auguste Mariette
Babylon
Barlach
Barnett Newman
Basilica
Bastet
117
180, 303
262, 272, 298
25, 221, 262, 267,
269, 270, 278, 279,
288, 299, 300
25, 259
189, 190
45, 61, 62, 87, 88,
173, 240, 262, 265,
278, 283, 298, 303
190, 191
226, 227, 228, 261
174, 176, 234, 235
17, 25, 29, 74, 104,
109, 110, 111, 112, 116, 185,
262, 263, 283, 290, 294, 304,
305, 306
27
111, 158, 259, 262, 268, 275,
277, 281, 283, 292, 295, 300,
304, 306
94
137, 174
66, 71, 78, 79, 88, 89, 100, 173,
221, 240, 265, 268, 270, 283,
298, 303
74, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 173, 178,
179, 181, 265, 272, 276,
283, 293, 296, 299, 303
54
40, 42, 44, 47, 68, 87, 88, 89,
116, 151, 157, 159, 164, 165,
167, 169, 180, 187, 188, 203,
215, 221, 238, 263, 264, 267,
269, 272, 273, 274, 276, 277,
279, 282, 283, 284, 287, 289,
290, 291, 294, 296, 297, 298,
299, 302, 309
117, 178, 186, 208, 221, 222,
224, 226, 227, 229, 230, 231,
253, 254, 261, 264
144, 147, 260
19, 49, 51, 52, 53, 54, 60, 94,
155, 264, 285, 293
275
43, 122, 124, 264, 265, 283,
290, 293
134, 135, 136, 265, 308
131, 132
87, 88, 221, 240, 242, 265
18
44, 47, 238, 264, 265, 266, 274,
276,279, 283, 290, 291, 296,
297, 298
23
101, 268, 269, 304, 306
137
144
117, 123, 266, 276
184, 185, 197, 198,
199, 200, 260, 262, 266, 283
137
159, 160, 161, 260
266
266, 267
162
52, 73, 159, 195, 206, 209, 210,
211, 213, 235, 237, 252, 257,
261, 266, 267, 301, 303
Bridget Riley
203, 204, 260
Bubastis
184, 198, 266
Bunker Hill Monument
163, 164
Busiris
46, 271
Buto City
51
Byblos
50, 103, 105, 106, 268
C.W. Ceram
29
Cairo
22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, 80, 84,
88, 91, 157, 181, 271, 274, 279,
285, 288, 307, 308
Cheops
23, 33, 83, 140, 142, 143, 144,
185, 186, 274, 293
Claes Oldenburg
159, 160
Commonwealth University 246, 261
Constantin Brancusi
151, 159
Coptic
21, 22, 24, 116, 117, 118, 226,
259, 260, 267, 269, 271, 280,
288
Corinthos
109
Cosmogony
17, 269, 280, 289, 291
Crete
100, 103, 105, 106, 107, 108,
166, 174, 305
David Hockney
144, 145, 146
David Robert
151, 153
David Salle
206, 207, 261
David Smith
241, 260
Deir el Bahari
15, 65, 66, 68, 109, 151, 203,
212, 243, 244, 278
Delos
109, 167, 190, 191
Delta
19, 21, 34, 51, 62, 106, 184,
185, 266, 267, 272, 273, 277,
278, 281, 283, 284, 285, 288,
292, 298,300, 301, 304, 305
Dendera
66, 126
Deshret
34
Despieau
137
Durkheim
95
Dwarf Seneb
178, 179
Ed Emshiller
241, 242, 260
Edfu
66, 206, 272, 275
Eduard Meyer
25
Egyptology
10, 19, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, 129,
136, 272, 274, 297, 301, 307
El Greco
174, 260
Ennead
285, 299
Ergin Inan
245, 307
Erman Junker
27
Esna
22, 272, 280
Faiyum
31, 97, 112, 114, 224, 226, 263,
273,281, 292, 296
Frank Stella
146, 147, 203, 260
G. Posener
27
Baum
Behcet Safa
Beni Hasan
Bes
Big Ben Clock
Bird
310
ing
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Gaston Maspero
Geb
Giorgio de Chirico
Giotto
Giovanni Anselmo
Giza
Greek
Gustave Moreau
Hapi
Hathor
Hatshepsut
Havara
Hebsed
Hekate
Heliopolis
Henry Moore
Herakleopolis
Hierogliph
Hittites
Horus
Hundertwasser
Hypoge
Imhotep
Isis
Jan Fabre
Jean Leon Gerome
Jean Michel Basquiat
Joan Miro
Jozsef Domjan
25
47, 49, 274, 285, 286, 296, 299
169, 170
226
144, 145
25, 59, 142, 144, 185, 187, 194,
195, 274, 297, 298, 303
10, 19, 21, 24, 34, 46, 69, 74,
75, 88, 99, 100, 103, 104, 106,
108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 114,
116, 117, 121, 122, 123, 125,
126, 129, 130, 131, 137, 141,
156, 166, 167, 170, 174, 175,
181, 187, 189, 193, 194, 199,
206, 244, 259, 262, 263, 264,
266, 267, 269, 271, 272, 274,
276, 277, 278, 279, 280,282,
284, 285, 288, 289, 290, 291,
292, 293, 294, 296, 297, 298,
299, 300, 301, 302, 304, 305,
306, 307, 308, 309
193, 194, 195
46, 114, 252, 275, 299
15, 44, 46, 49, 69, 178, 179,
180, 233, 266, 267, 271, 274,
275, 278, 282, 286, 287, 293,
296, 298, 299
15, 40, 68, 73, 79, 85, 86, 109,
145, 151, 157, 159, 290, 303
85
295
29
40, 46, 47, 65, 67, 157, 158,
163, 214, 238, 265, 266, 267,
272, 274, 276, 278, 280, 282,
283, 285, 286, 294, 297, 299,
300
181
276
276
17, 102, 277, 303, 304
42, 44, 45, 46, 47, 51, 54, 60,
73, 76, 116, 117, 185, 205, 206,
207, 209, 210, 214, 217, 218,
219, 220, 232, 238, 251, 263,
271, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276,
277, 278, 279, 282, 285,287,
288, 289, 290, 291, 292, 294,
295, 299, 300, 301
218, 219, 261, 308
277
39, 64, 141, 278
19, 33, 44, 49, 50, 51, 94, 95,
114, 116, 117, 121, 122, 123,
124, 147, 151, 153, 188, 189,
205, 206, 207, 214, 231, 232,
260, 262, 263, 264, 266, 271,
272, 274, 275, 277, 278, 279,
282, 285, 286, 287, 288, 289,
293, 294, 295, 296, 299, 306,
307
245, 246, 307
178, 181
229
218, 234, 235
219
Judy Chicago
Ka
Kadesch
Karnak
Kingdom
Knossos
Kom-ombo
Labyrinth
Lascaux
Louvre
Luc Oliver Menson
Luxor
Maat
Mammisi
Mariette
Mariko Mori
Marisol Escobar
Mastaba
Max Ernest
Memnon
Memphis
Menes
Merenptah
Mesopotamia
Miho Museum
Mut
Nagada
Nakhti
Naos
Napoleon
Narmer
Nefertari
Nefertiti
Nephthys
Nile
311
144, 146
44, 52, 210, 262, 266, 271, 279,
280, 290
102, 303, 304
22, 26, 33, 40, 44, 58, 63, 66,
74, 87, 157, 158, 159, 165,
167, 169, 186, 187, 188, 190,
263, 266, 268, 269, 273, 274,
277, 278, 281, 282, 283, 286,
287, 290, 293, 298, 299
107, 110, 111, 188, 191, 209,
303
100, 107
66, 74, 296
66, 263, 280
94
80, 84, 88, 100, 118, 149, 258,
260, 301
193
22, 33, 58, 63, 66, 149, 151,
157, 162, 163, 164, 181, 183,
185, 186, 187, 188, 190, 193,
196, 260, 263, 266, 268, 284,
287, 299
36, 167, 205, 206, 278, 281,
292
116, 265, 267, 271, 272, 280
23, 24, 25, 264
242, 261
169, 170
63, 64, 141, 262, 274, 281
174, 181, 195
84, 178, 181
40, 46, 64, 88, 205, 232, 264,
266, 274, 281, 282, 283, 284,
290, 292, 293, 294, 295, 296,
298, 299, 301, 303, 304, 306
34, 64, 98, 205, 301
89, 151, 152, 153, 279, 282,
289
11, 18, 99, 100, 106, 111, 156,
185, 232, 244, 270, 272, 282,
307
149, 260
42, 44, 257, 263, 266, 269, 283,
285, 293, 299
303
212, 213
66, 284, 290
22, 128, 129, 130, 131, 142,
187
34, 101, 112, 205, 303
78, 179, 180, 205, 206, 308
173, 179, 221, 240
49, 264, 272, 274, 286, 288,
295, 299
19, 21, 23, 26, 29, 31, 37, 49,
51, 59, 62, 65, 68, 97, 98, 99,
105, 106, 114, 122, 126, 127,
140, 142,181, 184, 185, 193,
197, 206, 207, 232, 238, 250,
251, 252, 253, 255, 262, 264,
268, 269, 273, 274, 275, 277,
278, 279, 280, 281, 284, 285,
286, 288, 292, 297, 298, 303,
304, 305
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Page 312
Nome
Nubia
Nut
Obelisk
Old Testament
Opet
Orientalist
Osiris
Ounas
Pashedu
Palermo Stone
Paul Gauguin
Peter Philips
Pharaoh
Philae
Pietro Perugino
Plutarkhos
Portic
Ptah
Ptolemy
Punt
Pyramide
Ramesses
Re
94, 98, 285, 297, 302
26, 59, 66, 67, 90, 100,
126, 142, 180, 269, 280,
301, 303
44, 46, 47, 49, 232, 235,
274, 285
65, 66, 67, 123, 124,
125, 128, 144, 156, 157,
158, 159, 160, 161, 162,
163, 245, 266, 286, 298,
308
19, 203
273, 284, 287, 288
128, 159, 181, 287
19, 33, 44, 46, 49, 50, 51, 52,
55, 69, 85, 94, 95, 96, 122, 126,
147, 205, 206, 214, 221, 222,
232, 262, 264, 265, 269, 270,
271, 272, 274, 275, 276, 277,
278, 279, 280, 285, 286, 287,
288, 289, 290, 292, 293, 294,
295, 296, 299, 300, 309
65
207, 208
288, 298
169
208, 209
24, 34, 36, 37, 39, 40, 42, 45,
57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 64, 65,
66, 76, 79, 82, 83, 85, 87, 88,
91, 96, 101, 102, 109, 116, 124,
136, 142, 143, 144, 151, 157,
165, 173, 178, 180, 181, 185,
186, 187, 188, 190, 191, 196,
205, 206, 208, 212, 221, 238,
265, 266, 275, 277, 282, 283,
285, 288, 289, 291, 293, 303,
304, 306, 307
33, 66, 116, 121, 278, 279, 280,
306
226, 227
10
67, 68, 69
46, 264, 274, 278, 280, 282,
284, 290, 293, 294, 296, 300
10, 24, 25, 26, 39, 66, 110, 116,
122, 197, 265, 268, 271, 272,
275, 276, 285, 290, 292, 293,
294, 297, 298, 300, 301, 304,
305, 306
100, 106, 290
149, 286, 291
24, 37, 39, 41, 58, 59, 74, 78,
87, 88, 89, 102, 105, 118, 152,
157, 179, 180, 186, 206, 243,
244, 258, 262, 263, 265, 271,
272, 276, 277, 282, 289, 291,
296, 300, 303
10, 11, 17, 21, 37, 42, 43, 44,
46, 47, 51, 54, 55, 67, 68, 97,
123, 136, 151, 157, 158, 163,
165, 167, 169, 180, 184, 193,
206, 214, 217, 218, 220, 238,
242, 251, 252, 255, 262, 263,
265, 266, 267, 268, 272, 274,
275, 276, 277, 279, 282, 283,
Rebecca Newnham
Richard Long
Robert Rauschenberg
Ross Bleckner
Rossetta Stone
Salvador Dali
Saqqara
Sarapis
Scarabe
Scorpion King
Sennedjem
Senusret
Serhat Kiraz
Seth
Shu
Snefru
Sobek
Strabo
Tanis
Tell el Amarna
Tephnout
Thebes
Thinit
Thot
Tiye
Tony Oursler
Tutankhamun
Udjat
Ushebti
Washington Monument
Wilkinson
Yusuf Taktak
Zoser
312
284, 286, 289, 290, 291, 293,
294, 295, 296, 298, 300, 301,
309
208, 210, 245
241, 242, 260
208
235, 237, 260
128
193, 195, 196, 226, 227
26, 64, 69, 82, 83, 97, 140, 141,
212, 213, 234, 265, 267, 278,
290, 291, 293
114, 262, 265, 293, 295
44, 91, 243, 244, 245, 246, 247,
252, 255, 256, 279, 294
34
210, 211, 238, 239
221, 222
144, 147, 260
33, 45, 47, 49, 50, 51, 95, 96,
117, 205, 214, 219, 232, 264,
272, 274, 275, 277, 285, 286,
287, 288, 291, 295, 298, 299,
300
47, 274, 286, 296, 298
142, 144, 270, 281
155, 280, 295, 296
19, 122, 257, 263
25, 26, 291, 298
221
47, 274, 285, 287, 296, 298
23, 26, 40, 44, 47, 65, 66, 69,
73, 79, 84, 85, 96, 98, 116, 126,
164, 165, 168, 178, 181, 263,
267, 268, 269, 271, 272, 273,
274, 277, 279, 282, 283, 287,
290, 292, 293, 294, 297, 299,
301, 302, 303, 304, 308
64, 67, 205, 282
49, 51, 55, 206, 262, 276, 294,
299, 300
89, 173, 178, 179
219, 261
79, 88, 89, 130, 136, 151, 183,
196, 208, 215, 222, 224, 243,
244, 303
214, 215, 216, 220, 251, 252,
261, 272, 273, 301
54
163, 164
23
159, 161, 260
64, 141, 294, 303

per‹han sadiko⁄lu ancient egyptian art

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