HISTORY & THEORY 2: Reading Comprehension 2

 1. I believe that there is a good deal of validity in the argument that Hersey creates in his essay on the grammar for Greek architectural elements being based on the idea of sacrifice. In previous studies, I have learned that Greek art normally depicts the everyday activities that took place in Grecian society or told the stories of the exploits of the gods. This being said, the visual evidence that Hersey gives in his essay makes his point valid. On page 17, he includes the photo of the Lenaia vase, in which two women are depicted offering and taking from what appear to be gifts from cauldrons. At the center of these cauldrons is a statue like figure, which may depict the form of a particular god. They are bringing him/her food and beverages as a sacrifice and sign of their devotion. In previous studies, I have also learned that the Greeks took the act of sacrificing for their gods very seriously. Hersey enforces this fact with the excerpt he included of Walter Burkert's description of a typical sacrifice to an Olympic god, which describes a lengthy process during which Greek people sacrifice an animal by slitting its throat as an offering to the gods. Another picture that Hersey chooses to include also validates his argument. The Tree aedicule of Artemis, depicts a temple whose "columns are bound with a garland or banderole and litui or sacred staves; the skull of a sacrificed ox, a bucranium, decorates its entablature; and a garland, probably used in sacrifice, hangs above the statue's head." If Greek art depicted daily rituals and Grecian activities, it is reasonable to speculate that sacrifice was extremely important through its frequent appearance in many examples of Grecian art.

2. The lesson that Macaulay intended to pass to readers is how easy it is to mis-interpret evidence, especially if your information has been retrieved from an unreliable source. A person who is trying to interpret any kind of artifact, structure, or remains can easily take information they have received and mold it to fit a particular thing, even if the information is incorrect just as the characters did in the Motel of Mysteries. The internet is one of the best places to access and attain incorrect information. Unlike books, which are edited and scoured over many times before publication, the internet is free domain and open to anyone with internet access. The information that people post on the internet does not necessarily have to be correct. Anyone can claim to be an expert on any subject with the simple access to a keyboard and internet connection. A person might avoid the blunder of mis-reading evidence when they use the internet by double checking their sources. Cross reference information found online with the information found in books and only use reputable internet sites to attain information.

3. As most Pharaohs, Queen Hatshepsut intended on making a place for herself to pass into the afterlife. Different in many ways from the Pharaohs before her, namely because she was a woman, it is likely that Hatshepsut did not want to follow in the footsteps of her male counterparts. The previous Pharaohs had erected large structures, most commonly recognized, the Pyramids, to house their remains after death. In class we discussed that she intended to leave her mark by creating a structure that was apparently and obviously different from structures like the Pyramids. She had architects create her tomb built into the side of a mountain, large in scale horizontally as opposed to vertically. Hatshepsut's tomb is also more inviting than those built by male Pharaohs. There are openings, made through the use of columns, along the front and a large ramp which serves as the obvious entrance into the tomb. Hatshepsut most likely wanted to make her mark in this life and the afterlife by being different from her male predecessors but without sparing any grandeur.

4. A building from Egyptian culture that has some similarities but also many differences from architecture in Greek civilization would be the Temple of Amon, or Hypostyle Hall. Built around 1300 B.C.E, this hall served as a passageway into an extremely holy place. This is not so different from the Parthenon of Greece, a temple dedicated to Athena, constructed in Athens around 5th century B.C.E. One of the main similarities between these two buildings are their uses of columns to create a religious and reverent experience. In the Temple of Amon, the lighting of the space is controlled by the dense clusters of columns. The lighting within the Parthenon came through the doorway at the front of the structure, bouncing off of the gold statue of Athena. Both sets of columns in each structure were of the doric order, very simple, wider at the base than the top. In the Temple of Amon, carvings around the columns told stories of the exploits of the Pharaoh. In the Parthenon, the carvings existed around the ceiling and on the structure itself. Both structures have axial progression, the Temple of Amon having the religious space as the focal point and the Parthenon having Athena as the focal point and each have direct and linear navigation of space. Both structures were constructed out of heavy stone material. The main difference in the structures are the positioning of the columns. The Parthenon had an inner and outer ring of columns surrounding the statue of Athena whereas the Temple of Amon used many rows of closely clustered columns to direct those who passed through towards the religious space. Although these two civilizations existed during different times in history, they are very similar in building forms and details but each have specific differences which make each time period distinct. 

Left: Parthenon, Greece. Right: Temple of Amon, Egypt

5. In my opinion, the Egyptians might have chosen to make their furniture of lightweight nature because they use the majority of their heavier materials in their architecture. It would also be extremely difficult to move large amounts of heavy stone furniture into tombs for the pharaoh or other royalty for them to take into the afterlife. They use their stone materials for architecture, therefore use another available resource for the production of furniture. According to Hardwood, "Acacia or sycamore were the local woods; cedar, cypress, and ebony are imported. Poor quality woods were often veneered or painted to imitate better woods." Hardwood also points out that the, "Egyptians developed a type of plywood composed of small wood pieces glued together." Hypothetically, they used what was available and what was easy to transport to and from tombs and other locations and this was the reasoning behind furniture of lightweight nature.

 

 

6. These two images are very similar in the design and gender roles that they are depicting. Urns in Grecian culture were often decorated with stories of the day to day life in Greek society. These two particular urns are similar in the scenes that they depict. Each urn consists of both male and female figures. The right urn has two females as opposed to just one. In each scene, the male figure is pictured seated while the female figures gesture to him in what appears to be a subservient manner. However, upon closer inspection, there could be another explanation of two of the female figures. The one in the left picture appears to have a halo like circle surrounding her lower body, this could be a shield. She also appears to be reaching for the sword the male figure has extended in his hand. This woman could potentially be Athena, the goddess of war, bearing a sword and shield before this important male figure. In the right hand picture, the female on the right is most likely a queen, determined from the headpiece and gown she wears, the female on the left however, appears to be nude except for a lion skin wrap. She wears the lions head on her own head, perhaps signifying that she is more powerful than the female to the right, potentially a goddess herself.
     Although reading urns and other artwork is one of the main ways we know about Grecian culture, it is not always the most reliable of manners. Through careful piecing together of clues, archaeologists and historians can fairly correctly speculate the meanings and stories that pieces such as these depict. However, there is no guarantee, unless found in written text, that the speculated meaning is the actual meaning that the artist intended.