Ancient Near East Art at the Met
The Cyrus Cylinder is a fragmented clay cylinder (9 in. x 4 in.) from ancient times (roughly 530 BC), which contains the dictates of the Persian king Cyrus, known as Cyrus the Great. The cylinder is made of baked clay, like a pot or an ancient tablet, and inscribed in the clay are the orders of the king, concerning the people of Babylon, whom he had recently conquered.
The purpose of the cylinder was to give praise to the king Cyrus, to show how his virtues marked him as an exemplary king, how he did much to improve the lives of the Babylonians, and how he allowed non-Babylonians (such as Jews) to return to their native lands.
The Cyrus Cylinder is important first of all as an historical artifact which has captured a time and place and allows us today to witness what life was like in ancient Babylon. It allows for a better understanding of the cuneiform script and tells us something about the values held dear to Cyrus and the way in which those values were communicated to others. It is also important in a historical sense because it corroborates another historical document -- the Bible -- concerning the exodus of the Jews from Babylon, back to their native land, whereat they set about rebuilding the Temple.
The Cyrus Cylinder is positive proof of a historical narrative set down by another people at another time. It is an artifact which acts as a piece of narrative evidence, by confirming the Biblical account of history, and which also confirms the imposition of Persian rule on the Near East in the 6th century BC.
Lagash Gudea Statue
The Statue of Gudea is a...
At the same time, the presentation of his work, the lives of the community in which he lived and the way in which he succeeded in forming a family must be relevant for the actual depiction of the historical background, the environment, and the customs of the time. For instance, the fact that he was given to marry the elder daughter of the ruler of the land he had
civilization in the ancient Near East (3500-1000 B.C.E.) and the Mediterranean (1000 B.C.E. - 500 C.E.) shared a great number of similarities as well as numerous differences. These points of comparison covered the political, economic, and social realms, cultural and intellectual ideas, as well as values and institutions. Further, each civilization differed in their specific impact on the creation of Western civilization, and the degree of that impact. Civilization in
The use of physical suffering as a symbol for emotional and spiritual suffering is also well-known in the Western tradition. Centuries later, men and women would disappear into the desert in search of God. They would live apart from all human companionship, and deprive themselves of all physical comfort. Gilgamesh does the same. Gilgamesh is also like the lover who pines away for his beloved and wastes away in
Likewise, the dead were honored with elaborate preparation rituals to send them off into the next, permanent world of death. They were incased in enormous preservative monuments as well as several layers of coffins. Because of this elaborate nature of death ritual, and their focus on religious rituals, Egyptians were often credited by the Greeks for originating their religion, as "the Egyptians, they went on to affirm, first brought
Ancient Religion The first few millennia BCE were transformative times throughout the Near East. Ugaritic (Caanite), Biblical (Israelite), Hittite, Mesopotamian and Egyptian literature reveal common themes, shared motifs, and similar cultural norms and values in spite of the differences that distinguish each region from the other. Core themes that ancient Near Eastern sacred and allegorical literature reveals include the role of monarch as either divine or semi-divine; the strict gender roles
According to Bachhuber, the Myceaen Agean presence on the Uluburun ship pointed out an important connection between the Semetic and Aegean civilizations (Bachhuber). In addition to the Agean-Semetic connection, materials on the ship also came from Africa, including African woods like Ebony, Elephant tusks, and hippopotamus teeth, which were counted among the rarer items in the findings. Finally, tests of the raw copper found on the ship suggested that
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now