The Victory Stele of Naram-Sin is a major work of art that tells us a story. It portrays the triumph of King Naram-Sin over the Lullubi people who were ruled by King Satuni. Naram-Sin conquered the people of the Zagros Mountains in modern day Iran and this ancient artifact gives us a glimpse of what it would have looked like to see King Naram-Sin lead his troops to the top of the wooded mountains while annihilating all intransigence. (1) The stele, which is a six foot and seven inch tall (2) monument carved into pink limestone (1), was created somewhere around 2200 BC (2). Although the artist is unknown, we can see that he deserted the conventional methods of carving into layered registers, and elected instead for a consolidated and dynamic
The relief demonstrates a trading expedition to the far land of punt. The voyage was made in Hatshepsut’s 9th year of her reign and took five ships filled to the brim with tradable goods such as wine, beer barley, cloth, daggers, axes, swords and etc. This was Hatshepsut’s most recognisable expedition that have been clearly depicted on many temples (karnake) in order to demonstrate to the people her success that can be seen doing Amuns will and being profitable to Egypt. Most of these reliefs seem one sided by the Egyptians seem to be the only ones with tradable goods while the natives are in conical house. This could suggest possible propaganda to broadly demonstrates Egypt’s prosperity due to Hatshepsut.
Both the Lion Hunt Relief and the Stele of Naram-Sin have similarities and also differences no matter the different cultures. Around 2350 BCE, Sumerian city-states began to fight for water and fertile land. By 2254 and 2218 the Akkadian empire stretched from Sumner in the south to Elam in the east and from Syria in the west to Nineveh in the north (Janson, H., & Davies, P. (2010)). The Akkadians conquered and unified Sumer with the Akkad people from the North, founded by Sargon, a charismatic figure of mythological dimensions.
Emphatically, this transpires as an important Egyptian archeological find, dating approximately from the thirty-first century B.C. and contains a quantity of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions ever found. Unambiguously, Egyptologist, Bob Brier, refers to the Narmer Palette as “the first historical document in the world;” dating well before the construction of the pyramids. In fact, the stone text indisputably reveals the name of a Phoenician god, Baal-Hermon, meaning Baal of the North that presided on Mount Hermon, where the fallen angels descended.
Around the world people memorialize great hero’s, express great sorrow for those lost in battle, and celebrate the triumphs that had built the ground and infrastructure from one nation to the next; monuments are constructed to remember our past. Yet, monuments cannot be constructed out of nothing ,great goes into planning, paying, and research that goes into making sure correct homage is paid those who are due. If one wishes to build a memorial a few things must be taken into consideration,making sure the monument honors or recognizes an important person or event, the design of the building including shape and size,and lastly the monument is placed in an acceptable location based on the subject matter. The most important factor in building a monument is making something that people will recognize and feel an attachment to.
Throughout history, the conquering of lands has held a large contribution in the development of various civilizations. The remnants of these conquests have celebrated the feats of rulers and their achievements. When military campaigns occurred frequently in the ancient Middle East, the victories of rulers have been recorded through inscriptions, artwork, and stone monuments. Rulers often recorded their conquests as a way to glorify their victory which helped for multiple purposes such as establishing power for both the ruler and his people.
The carving was made from sandstone and took mostly likely a stone or rock was used to chisel the details of the
Constructors of the temple not only made a practical choice that the ceremonial behavior could be illustrated through architectural choices on a general picture of the whole temple, but also used a detailed art piece at the temple to clarify a particular story of human sacrifice to god. On the bottom of the Huizilopotchli’s side of the temple lies a volcanic stone monolith named the Coyolxauhqui Stone that demonstrates the story how the death of Huizilopotchli’s sister, Coyolxauhqui offered peace the god himself. The scalloping shaped details at the joint of her neck, shoulders and hips, along with the bones and skull that filled up the whole composition showed that she has been decapitated to death. The artists used high-relief carving to portray the dismantled body of
Monuments that are constructed in order to give commendation to people, places, or events are located all over the globe. It is very possible for someone to find a few in their very own town. Although there may be negative controversy on certain monuments, many throughout the world have changed individual’s lives tremendously in a beneficial way. One monument in particular has stood tall through it all and has had so much positive effect on millions of people from the beginning of time. One hundred and thirty years later this monument continues to impact people’s lives from all over the world.
505) A memorial or monument is a symbolic way of focusing on elements of history infused with the narratives of people who experienced them, a live visualization of “new cultural history”. Monuments represent what the public values or rather what the public is meant to value, according to Marschall (90). Although this is true, memorials also represent the transitional journey from the moment in context to today, the peace achieved in our communities from a chaotic moment in time, and the ultimate sense of truth when acknowledging the names of those we
The need to memorialize events or people is complex; in some cases, monuments honor moments of great achievement, while in other cases, monuments pay homage to deep sacrifice. A monument 's size, location, and materials are all considerations in planning and creating a memorial to the past. In any case, the need to honor or pay homage to a specific person or event is prevalent within society. A monument has to mean something to the society it is place in. The location of a monument is perhaps the most important aspect of creating a successful monument to honor and show respect to a person or event.
After losing the plant of eternal life, Gilgamesh returns to his kingdom of Uruk. There, Gilgamesh looks over his empire, and is astonished at what he sees. He, “looked at the walls, awed at the heights his people had achieved” (92). Gilgamesh, once believing he was almighty, becomes a greater man and leader through
In the Akkadian culture, art was held in high regard, particularly imperial art depicting the Akkadian Dynasty. A stele is a vertical stone monument or marker often inscribed with text or relief carving. Steles help to understand better the values, attitudes, and beliefs of the people living during the time of its creation.
Significance of the Victory Stele of Naram-Sin to the Akkadians The Victory stele of Naram-Sin was an essential part of the Akkadian culture as it helped to promote the ideologies that were meant to be widely accepted by the Akkadians and aided to consolidate the power of the king. The Victory Stele of Naram-Sin perpetuated the idea of continuity and the ability to do so with such a strong dynasty. The ways in which the Victory stele of Naram-Sin proved to be significant in its time was through altering the understandings of art, religion and politics. These three components helped to make imperative statements about the stele that reformed the means by which the people of Akkad thought and performed.
The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest story known to mankind, being written on Sumerian clay almost five thousand years ago (Garone). Since the story was originally known orally, the culture and themes from The Epic of Gilgamesh must have existed long before it was finally inscribed (Mark 4). Having known this, the cultures and themes can be compared to today’s society, discovering about how they have shifted and evolved, and also observe how they are similar. The ancient days of Gilgamesh has brought culture that has greatly influenced today’s society. Because Gilgamesh was set around the time of late Babylonian or early Sumerian society, the Babylonian and Sumerian cultures also play a role in shaping the world into what is is today (Mark).
The stele is made out of pink sandstone, Hatshepsut’s statue was made with red granite, and Khafre’s statue was made with diorite. The material with what these pieces were made was chosen by the ruler for reasons like durability and expression of his or her wealth. The purpose of the piece ‘Victory Stele of Naram-Sin’ was made do illustrate Kind Naram-Sin’s victory and conquer of the mountain, ‘Hatshepsut with Offering Jars’ was made to honor the gods, and finally, ‘Khafre Enthroned’ which was made to just simply depict him as an enthroned divine ruler. Thanks to the many portraitures found from the ancient times, such as these three, we are allowed in this point of time to familiarize with what our ancestors believed and how it all evolved over