Egyptian Art and Religious Influences
Egyptian Art and Religious Influences
Samantha L. Burgos
Edison College
Abstract
Religious beliefs were a fundamental basis in Ancient Egyptian culture. This thesis reviews the Egyptian polytheistic way of religion and its famous aspect of afterlife. Two art forms are included to demonstrate that religion influenced Egyptian art. The two art forms that will be analyzed in this excerpt are The Tomb of Seti I, and pyramid texts such as The Cannibal Hymn.
Egyptian Art and Religious Influences “The art of Egypt is heavily influenced by spiritual and religious ideas and culture that extends back thousands of years” (Dagan, 2008). The Egyptians wrote their history and painted images on their palace walls. They painted pictures that were symbolic to their belief systems from the gods that they worshiped to their belief of the “afterlife”. Even their column designs took a symbolic form to represent the vegetation of Egypt. This thesis states that Ancients Egyptians were a religious peoples and their art serves as hardcore proof of that. Polytheism is the belief of more than one god. Ancient Egyptians were polytheistic. Egyptian gods influenced the lives of those who lived in Ancient Egypt in all aspects of life especially in the aspect of harvesting. Egyptian gods took both human and animal form and sometimes a combination of the two. Some gods were local gods only, and some were national. Different gods played different roles in Egyptian society, for example, the god Bes was a helper of women when they were in labor, and the goddess Hathor was the protector of the royal palace. Over time foreign gods were also accepted into Egyptian religion. They incorporated other deities in combination of their own gods or as a single god. There are various art forms that characterize royal high priests and royals paying tribute to many different gods as well as being presented unto them (Adams, 2011). The afterlife was one of the most
Samantha L. Burgos
Edison College
Abstract
Religious beliefs were a fundamental basis in Ancient Egyptian culture. This thesis reviews the Egyptian polytheistic way of religion and its famous aspect of afterlife. Two art forms are included to demonstrate that religion influenced Egyptian art. The two art forms that will be analyzed in this excerpt are The Tomb of Seti I, and pyramid texts such as The Cannibal Hymn.
Egyptian Art and Religious Influences “The art of Egypt is heavily influenced by spiritual and religious ideas and culture that extends back thousands of years” (Dagan, 2008). The Egyptians wrote their history and painted images on their palace walls. They painted pictures that were symbolic to their belief systems from the gods that they worshiped to their belief of the “afterlife”. Even their column designs took a symbolic form to represent the vegetation of Egypt. This thesis states that Ancients Egyptians were a religious peoples and their art serves as hardcore proof of that. Polytheism is the belief of more than one god. Ancient Egyptians were polytheistic. Egyptian gods influenced the lives of those who lived in Ancient Egypt in all aspects of life especially in the aspect of harvesting. Egyptian gods took both human and animal form and sometimes a combination of the two. Some gods were local gods only, and some were national. Different gods played different roles in Egyptian society, for example, the god Bes was a helper of women when they were in labor, and the goddess Hathor was the protector of the royal palace. Over time foreign gods were also accepted into Egyptian religion. They incorporated other deities in combination of their own gods or as a single god. There are various art forms that characterize royal high priests and royals paying tribute to many different gods as well as being presented unto them (Adams, 2011). The afterlife was one of the most
References: Adams, L. (2011). Ancient Egypt. Art across time (4th ed., p. 79). New York: McGraw-Hill. Alchin, L. (2009, January 16). Egyptian Afterlife. King Tut. Retrieved September 18, 2012, from http://www.king-tut.org.uk/egyptian-mummies/egyptian-afterlife.htm Egyptian Afterlife Dunn, J. The Litany of Re. Egypt Travel Guide - Tour Egypt. Retrieved September 18, 2012, from http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/litany [pic]