Arsinoe (4) (fl. first century b.c.e.) To THE MIDDLE KINGDOM (2040-1640 b.c.e.)

Royal woman of the Ptolemaic Period

She was the daughter of ptolemy xii Neos Dionysius (80-58, 55-51 b.c.e.) and sister of the famed cleopatra vii (51-30 b.c.e.). Arsinoe attempted to rouse the Egyptians against Cleopatra VII and Julius caesar. When caesar rounded up the Egyptians aligned against him, Arsinoe escaped. Her patron, Ganymedes, aided her in her flight and she joined the army led by Achillas, intent on destroying the Romans and her sister. When Achillas argued with her, Arsinoe ordered him executed.
In a treaty with Caesar, Ganymedes exchanged Arsinoe for the captive ptolemy xiii. When the Romans conquered the Egyptian forces, Arsinoe was taken to Rome, where she was led through the streets as part of caesar’s triumph. After this humiliation, Arsinoe went to Ephesus in Asia Minor and took refuge in the temple of Artemis there. In 41 b.c.e., however, she was hunted down by Marc Antony’s agents and slain because she posed a threat to Cleopatra VII. Her death caused a scandal in
Egypt and in Rome because it involved the violation of religious sanctuary.

Arsinoe (5) (fl. fourth century b.c.e.)

Mother of Ptolemy I Soter

She was the wife of lagus, a general of the army of Alexander iii the great (332-323 b.c.e.). Arsinoe bore ptolemy i soter (304-284 b.c.e.), who became the satrap of Egypt under Alexander the Great and the founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty
Arsinoe (6) A site erected by ptolemy ii philadelphus (285-246 b.c.e.) near Crocodilopolis in his efforts to restore the faiyum region of Egypt, many papyri were discovered in the ruins of Arsinoe.
Arsinoe (7) A site erected by ptolemy ii philadelphus (285-246 b.c.e.) near modern Ardscherud, beside Suez at the northern end of the gulf, the city was the terminal point for a canal that dated back centuries. in time Arsi-noe became a port for Red sea trade wares.
Artabanus (Ardahan) (fl. fifth century b.c.e.) Commander of the palace guard and the slayer of Xerxes I (486-466 b.c.e.)
Also called Ardahan, he is also credited with killing Xerxes I’s son Darius, either before or after killing xerxes i. Artabanus was in control of Persia for seven months and was recognized by Egypt as king. He was slain by artaxerxes i (465-424 b.c.e.), Xerxes’ son, after the Persian general megabyzus turned on him in 464/465 b.c.e.


art and architecture

The stunning expressions of Egyptian ideals and aspirations that have made the nation the focus of study and examination for centuries, the art and architecture of the ancient people of the Nile exemplify spiritual concepts that gave testimony to the various eras, illuminating the national concern with the worship of the gods and the cultic beliefs in eternal life. such images arose early in the Nile valley and assumed new dimensions as the national culture developed.

LATE PREDYNASTIC PERIOD (4000-3000 b.c.e.)

Art

The people of the Nile valley began producing art as early as the seventh millennium b.c.e. Decorative patterns consisted of geometric designs of varying shapes and sizes and obscure symbols representing totems or cultic priorities. Direct representational drawings, mainly of animals and hunters, came at a slightly later date. Evidence of these sorts of artistic advances among the Neolithic cultures in Upper Egypt and nubia (modern Sudan) is provided by the drawings of boats and domesticated animals, most notably at hierakonpolis, where some elements of the Mesopotamian and saharan styles are evident.
pottery of the predynastic period, as well as figures fashioned out of bone and ivory, initiated the artistic motifs that would be influential for many centuries. vessels and palettes accompanied fine black-topped pottery, leading to red polished ware decorated with cream-colored paint. The light on dark painting technique made pottery of this period distinctive. While geometric designs were developed first, artisans began to experiment with the human, plant, and animal forms as well. An excellent example is the bottom of a bowl with entwining hippopotami. such bowls can be dated to the nagada I Period (4000-3500 b.c.e.), also called Amratian (from el-’Amra). The ultimate achievement of this period was the mastering of Egypt’s most famous artistic medium: stone.
In the nagada II Period (3500-3000 b.c.e.), also called the Gerzean (from Girza), stone pieces were being fashioned with regularity. some of the most notable examples of these were discovered in a cemetery in the Girza district, the Thinite Nome of upper Egypt. ivory and stone figures were carved in cylindrical form, crude in detail but remarkable for their size. Reliefs in stone and statuary were also used by the cult of the god Min. Technical advances were evident in the pieces recovered in Hierakonpolis (both in stone and faience), and in aby-dos and halwan.
Stone palettes and maceheads appeared at the end of the predynastic period but with a clarified sense of composition. The oxford palette from Hierakonpolis is probably the earliest example of this form, along with the Louvre fragment and the macehead of the scorpion King. of primary importance in the development of composition, of course, was the narmer palette, a green slate slab from Hierakonpolis intended to serve as a tablet on which cosmetics were blended. The palette, utilitarian in purpose, was crucial nevertheless from an artistic standpoint. The style of later Egyptian art is also remarkably visible in the depiction of the military campaigns in the Delta on these pieces. Vitality, power, and a certain sense of drama are incorporated into the carvings. The palette thus was a model for later generations of artists. increased regulation of human representation came later with the canon of Egyptian art.

Architecture

Architecture in the predynastic period evolved at the same pace as reliefs, painting, and sculpture. Writing and the construction of tombs and temples were the almost immediate result of the ultimate rise of political centralization in the late Nagada II (or Gerzean Period). The few remaining examples of architecture in this era point to the use of mud brick, demonstrated in the painted chamber “Decorated Tomb 100″ at Hierakonpolis. Cities were being erected with walls, projecting towers, and gates, the designs of which were preserved on the palettes of this time and thus survived to influence later historical periods.
of particular interest architecturally are the average dwellings of the Egyptians. The earliest abodes were probably versions of tents or roofless areas protected from the wind and rain by walls or thickets. Eventually mud was utilized to make walls, thus providing the models for the first actual residences. The mud, daubed at first on thatched walls, was later turned into bricks, sun dried and considerably more durable. Buildings were circular or oval in design, but innovations in wall constructions, such as battering (the process of sloping walls to provide sturdier bases), provided artistic flair and balance. Windows and doors were employed at the same time. The windows were set into walls at high levels, and both portals were trimmed with wood, a material that became scarce in later periods.
in upper Egypt there were definite advances, but generally speaking, one of three basic plans was followed in construction. The first was a rectangular structure with paneled sides and a hooped roof. The second was a rectangular pavilion with a vaulted roof. The third was the serekh (2) design. This was a large system of elaborately paneled facings and niches. Flax chalk lines (lines drawn in chalk after being measured with taut ropes) were used early for construction measurements.

THE EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD (2920-2575 b.c.e.) AND THE OLD KINGDOM (2575-2134 b.c.e.)

Art

Although the Early Dynastic Period and the Old Kingdom are noted for the rapid and impressive development of architecture, as evidenced in tombs, temples, and the evolving mastaba, alongside the pyramid, the decorative arts flourished as well. Craftsmen produced exceptional pieces of statuary, painting, furniture, jewelry, and household instruments, which all benefited from experimentation.
Sculpture in the round (freestanding statues) fulfilled a ceremonial need for display in religious matters and provided representation of the royal lines. Most statues were made of limestone or granite. sometimes wood, clay, and even bronze were used, but such materials were rare. sculpture followed the same convention as painting and relief, displaying a stylistic similarity. Statues were compact and solid, notable for the air of serenity and idealized features that they imparted to their subjects. such idealization was a key element in the art of the time, formalized into powerful conventions. portraiture was not practiced on the elite, but realism emerged in the statues of the commoners or lesser known individuals. The eyes of the statues were sometimes brought to life by the insertion of stones into the eye sockets. paintings and reliefs displayed a religious orientation. As part of the decoration of mortuary complexes they depicted architectural and hunting scenes, paradise scenes, and depictions of everyday life, with references to the Nile River and its marshlands. One remarkable tomb at meidum depicts uniquely beautiful paintings of geese, portrayed with engaging naturalism.
A statue of the Old Kingdom Period pyramid builder Khafre that displays the flowering of art in the early eras of Egypt. (Hulton Archive.)
A statue of the Old Kingdom Period pyramid builder Khafre that displays the flowering of art in the early eras of Egypt. (Hulton Archive.)
At the close of the Fourth Dynasty (2465 b.c.e.) the art of depicting figures and scenes in shrunken reliefs was started. The outline of the form was cut sharply into the surfaces of the walls, leaving enough space to emphasize the figure. shadows thus emerged, accentuating line and movement while protecting the forms from wear. in this era the solar temples (designed to honor re, the sun god, and to catch the sun’s rays at dawn) were being erected along the Nile, and artists began to depict the natural loveliness of the landscape and the changing seasons, as well as the heavenly bodies.
Wall surfaces were marked by red and black lines in the first stage of painting, allowing the artists to develop scope and perspective. once the carvings were completed, the walls were given a light coat of stucco, and some were touched by paints of various hues. The figures were outlined one last time so that they would come to life against the neutral backgrounds.

THE CANON OF THE HUMAN FIGURE

The set of artistic regulations called the canon of the human figure evolved in the Early Dynastic Period and was used by the ancient Egyptians as a model for representing the human figure in reliefs and paintings. This evolved within the parameters of cultic traditions. The predynastic period Egyptians, already deeply concerned with spiritual matters, had a need to communicate ideas and ideals through the representation of divine beings, human personages, and events. From the beginning, the Egyptians understood the propagandistic aspects of art and formulated ways in which artistic representations could serve a didactic purpose. Art was meant to convey information.
The canon of the human figure was the result of such concerns, and it was a convention by which representations could convey metaphysical concepts while at the same time bringing a vision of the material world to the viewer. The canon dealt mainly with paintings and reliefs as they were used in mortuary structures and cultic shrines, and it governed the representation of three-dimensional elements on a two-dimensional surface, which demanded anatomical knowledge, perspective, and idealized composition.
Early examples demonstrate an increasing sophistication in such compositions, represented by the NARMER palette of the Predynastic Period. The Narmer palette integrated all of the earlier artistic elements while displaying a unique energy and vitality. With the start of the Old Kingdom (2575 b.c.e.), artistic conventions were being codified to provide generations of artists with formal guidelines on the proper positioning of the human figures within a scene or a pictorial narrative, or a framework of hieroglyphs and cultic symbols. According to the canon, the human figure was to be composed in a prescribed manner. To facilitate execution in reliefs and paintings, a surface was divided into 18 rows of squares (the 19th reserved for the hair). In later historical periods more rows were added.
The human figure, when sketched or traced onto a surface, was depicted from a dual perspective. The head was always shown in profile, but the human eye and eyebrow were depicted in full view. The shoulders and upper torso were also shown in full view, so that the arms, hands, and fingers were visible. The abdomen from armpit to the waist was shown in profile and the navel was normally placed on the side of the figure, directly on the edge. The legs and feet were also shown in profile, balancing the head, and until the mid-Eighteenth Dynasty (c. 1400 b.c.e.) the inside of the feet was preferred over the outside in human representations.
The canon was strictly observed when artists portrayed the ruling class of Egypt. The formality allowed by the canon and its idealized conception lent grace and authority, deemed critical to royal portraits. While one might expect rigidity and a certain staleness to result from this type of regimentation, the canon provided a framework for continual elaboration, and the teams of artists who worked together to adorn the private and public shrines found a common ground for individual expression.
The canon of the human figure, the artistic standard introduced in the Old Kingdom Period and demonstrated in this mortuary relief of the official Hesire. (Hulton Archive.)
The canon of the human figure, the artistic standard introduced in the Old Kingdom Period and demonstrated in this mortuary relief of the official Hesire. (Hulton Archive.)
Artistic quality was maintained, and the needs of each generation were incorporated into the standards regulating fine art.
Furniture from this period shows the same remarkable craftsmanship and fine details, as evidenced by the funerary objects of Queen hetepheres (1), the mother of khufu (Cheops, r. 2551-2528 b.c.e.). Wooden furniture inlaid with semiprecious stones graced the palaces of that era and Hetepheres was buried with chairs, beds, a canopy, and gold-covered boxes. she had silver bracelets and other jewelry pieces of turquoise, lapis lazuli, and carnelian. crowns and necklaces, all of great beauty, adorned the royal mother while she lived and were placed in her tomb to adorn her throughout eternity.

Architecture

By the time the Early Dynastic Period was established in Memphis, experimentation and the demands of the mortuary rituals challenged the architects of Egypt to provide suitable places for the dead. The mastaba, the rectangular building erected with battered walls and subterranean chambers and shafts, became more and more elaborate. small temples were fashioned out of stone, and one such place of worship, constructed at the end of the second Dynasty (2649 b.c.e.) was composed of granite. Stelae began to appear. They were round-topped stone slabs designed to hold inscriptions commemorating great events and personages, religious and secular. saqqara became an elaborate necropolis for Memphis, and other mortuary complexes were erected in abydos, the city dedicated to the god osiris.
The turning point in such complexes came in the reign of djoser (2630-2611 b.c.e.) when imhotep, his vizier, fashioned the step pyramid, on the Saqqara plain. This structure, composed of mastabas placed one on top of the other, became the link between the original tomb designs and the true pyramids of the next dynasty. The pyramid complexes that emerged in the Fifth Dynasty (2465-2323 b.c.e.) consisted of valley temples, causeways, mortuary temples, and accompanying subsidiary buildings. in time, they became the eternal symbol of Egypt itself and were included in the Seven Wonders of the World.
These pyramids reflected not only mathematical and construction skills but other aspects of Egyptian civilization. Rising from the plain of giza and at other locations, the structures were no longer simple tombs but stages for elaborate ceremonies where priests offered continual prayers and gifts as part of an ongoing mortuary cult. Later pharaohs were forced to reduce the size of their pyramids, eventually abandoning the form entirely because of a lack of resources, but the Giza monuments remained vivid examples of Egypt’s architectural glories.

THE MIDDLE KINGDOM (2040-1640 b.c.e.)

Art

At the close of the old Kingdom, the authority of Egypt’s rulers had eroded, bringing about severe civil unrest. one of the consequences was a decline in both art and architecture. The Eleventh Dynasty (2040-1991 b.c.e.) reunited upper and Lower Egypt and resumed patronage of the arts and the building of monuments. The art of this new age was marked by realism and by a new degree of classical motifs that were revived from the old Kingdom. An elegant and elaborate style was popular and detail became paramount, as evidenced in the head of senwos-ret iii (r. 1878-1841 b.c.e.) of the Twelfth Dynasty, in which a portrait of his age and weariness are frankly depicted.
The jewelry of this period is famous in modern times because of a cache of necklaces, bracelets, and pectorals discovered in dashur, the mortuary site of the Twelfth Dynasty. Beautifully crafted of enameled gold and semiprecious stones, it attests to the artistic skill of the era. Another treasure found at el-lahun yielded golden wire diadems with jeweled flowers, as well as a dazzling variety of bracelets, collars, and pectorals of semiprecious stones set in gold.

Architecture

under the nomarchs, the rulers of the nomes or provinces in outlying districts who were able to maintain their authority amid general unrest, architecture survived the fall of the old Kingdom, resulting in such sites as beni hasan, with its rock-carved tombs and large chapels, complete with porticoes and painted walls. The Eleventh Dynasty, however, resumed royal sponsorship of architectural projects, symbolized by the mortuary complex of montuhotep ii (r. 2061-2010 b.c.e.), at deir el-bahri on the western shore of thebes. The temple there influenced later architects and was the first complex set on terraces of varying height with a columned portico at the rear, forming a facade of the tomb. The tomb area was recessed into a cliff.
During the Middle Kingdom most of the temples were built with columned courts, halls, and chambers for rituals. The sanctuaries of these shrines were elaborate, and most had small lakes within the precincts. karnak was begun in this era, and in time the temple would become the largest religious complex in the history of the world. The famed temple of luxor would be linked to Karnak with an avenue of ram-headed sphinxes.
Residences of the upper classes and some of the common abodes began to assume architectural distinction as well. Made of sun-dried brick and wood, most villas or mansions had two or three floors, connected by staircases. storehouses, a separate kitchen area, high ceilings, and vast gardens were parts of the residential designs. some had air vents for circulation, and all of these houses, whether owned by aristocrats or commoners, had gently sloping roofs on which Egyptian families slept in warm weather. Made of vulnerable materials, no physical examples of domestic architecture from this era survive.
Little is known of the palaces or royal residences of this period because they too were fashioned out of brick and wood. It is clear that the palaces (pero or per-a’a) always contained two gateways, two main halls, and two administrative sections to reflect the upper and lower regions of the nation. flagstaffs were used at the gates, as they were placed before temples. The remains of the Seventeenth Dynasty (1640-1550 b.c.e.) palace at deir el-ballas, on the western shore north of Thebes, indicate somewhat luxurious surroundings and innovative decoration, following the “double” scheme. in some instances the walls and floors were designed to portray pools of fish and vast tracts of flowering shrubs.
The Second Intermediate Period (1640-1532 b.c.e.) and the domination of the north by the hyksos curtailed artistic endeavors along the Nile, although the arts did not vanish. A renaissance took place, however, with the arrival of the New Kingdom after the Hyksos were driven from the land.

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