Egyptian & Greek Art

Zeus/Poseidon from Cape Artemision

Maat and Hathor

        Egyptian and Greek art have different ways of expressing their views on gods and goddesses ranging from the structure of their body to the way they pose. Both choose to see gods in a human-like form, but overall tend to give them features from their perspective only a god could have.

The Egyptian painting of Maat and Hathor tells of the goddess of justice Maat kneeling before Hathor, the goddess of love and motherhood. The art was created in a two-dimensional structure that lets your eyes move from one side to the other to help display an event or story. The art was a way of portraying certain beliefs and helping one to envision their ideals. Hieroglyphics helped to describe the visual image and give meaning behind certain aspects of the art. A goddess kneeling before another tells that there was a profound respect for one another and with how the Egyptians saw them. The structure and posture of both goddesses helps portray them as powerful beings that have a strong influence over the people.

 The Greeks chose a different approach to expressing their own ideals and representing the beauty of humans. The sculpture is composed of bronze steel that displays either Zeus or Poseidon in a pose that looks to have held a staff. The Greeks had an appreciation for the human anatomy which the sculpture helps define such mastery in sculpting with such an exquisite body. In the Greek culture, a god is worthy of being given such a beautiful physique and a pose that defines the divine status. This is an appeasement for the gods crafted by that of worshippers who believed that it could be presented as a gift. Within the face of the sculpture shows such an intense expression meant to show that authority holds true to that god.