Reply To: Egypt and Mesopotamia

[Allie Eby]

In most of the pieces of Egyptian art we have seen, there are nods to religious symbolism in a large number of ways, with color and animal symbolism being the most obvious examples. Many carvings and sculptures feature animals that represent a specific Egyptian god, such as Horus appearing as a falcon in the statue of Khafre and the makeup palette of king Narmer. Some sculptures such as the statue of Khafre are even made of specific materials in order to evoke the colors of the gods under specific conditions, such as when being struck by sunlight. Even their written language is heavily influenced by religion, with the hieroglyphics featuring shapes of religiously significant animals and the symbols of various gods. In addition to this, there is abundant evidence as to the cultural fixation on the afterlife and how much it influenced the lives of Egyptian citizens. More Egyptian art was dedicated to immortalizing the dead than was made of the living.