Art in the Ancient Civilization, by Janay Lea

Ancient Civilization can be described as what the world is based on and the habits we have picked up and continued hundreds of years later through tradition. Our world is founded upon thousands of years of culture from such groups as the Egyptians, Amarnas, Mesopotamians, Sumerian/Akkadians, Assyrian/Neo-Babylonians, Persians, Aegean, Minoans, Mycenaean, and even the Greeks (Art History Guide). We are aware of the different cultures with the help of the work of archaeologists. Not only did they leave behind their unique cultures, they also left behind some of the most beautiful art ever discovered.
Egyptian art was around from about 3200 B.C. until about 1070 B.C. When we think of Egypt, we automatically think of Pyramids. Kings would have numerous slaves work night and day to build a pyramid solely for themselves. But the pyramids weren’t just for recognition of the King; they were built to house the King’s body after he died. The Egyptians felt it necessary to preserve the body to protect it from decaying; for if the body decayed, its soul wouldn’t be protected and would not live on in afterlife. Not only were pyramids ordered to be created, sculptors were ordered to create a statue replica of the King’s head to ensure that he would be in existence forever.

This photo shows the Great Sphinx and the Fourth Dynasty Pyramids of Giza, which were built during the Old Kingdom

After the Eighteenth Dynasty passed, a new style of art came about; the Amarna Art. It was around from about 1370 B.C. until about 1340 B.C. It derived from the Ancient Egyptian art, but is distinctly different. The images in Amarna art are captured in movement, thus explaining the body language and the busy scenes. The men in Amarna art are also depicted differently from Egyptian art. In Egyptian art, the men are very fit, chiseled having perfect bodies. In Amarna art, men have sort of feminine features. They have hips, thighs, and outstanding breasts just as women do. Amarna art is also different in that people are painted having a left and a right foot, instead of the traditional Egyptian way of having two left feet or two right feet. The body color of both men and women were a dark brown, representing “life’s blood”. Their sculptures displayed long necks, low foreheads and noses, big ears, big lips, and noticeable chins; very different from the emphasized features of Egyptian sculptures (Wikipedia).

This is a photo of Akhenaten, the Pharaoh of Egypt. It is located in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

The Mesopotamian art era occurred around 3500 B.C. to 331 B.C. Much of its art was created to exalt powerful empires and to show the close relationship between being a king and holiness. Mesopotamian art discloses a tradition that is uniform in style and in iconography.

This is a picture of a Babylonian relief sculpture of a bull, made of brightly glazed tiles on a restored Ishtar Gate. The original sculpture dates from around 575 B.C. and stood on the gate of the Temple of Bel, which was the biblical Tower of Babel in Babylon.
Of the Mesopotamian civilization, the Sumer civilization was known as the first, centered on the cities of Ur, Eridu, and Uruk in southern Mesopotamia. It was around from about 3500 B.C. until about 1750 B.C. Sumerian sculptures had a discrete style of tall marble figures that were always recognized by their clenched hands and their big eyes. They also created tiny, elongated carved seals. These seals were made with marble, alabaster, carnelian, lapis lazuli, and of stone (Research Machines). Along with the seals and the tall marble figures, Sumerians also were known for building temples on the tops of fortresses, as well as on the tops of gigantic ziggurats. Like the Egyptians, the Sumerians also felt there was “life after death”, so they furnished all burial sites with material things they felt were needed in the afterlife.

These statues are “Statuettes from Tell Asmar”. These statues are representations of the unending prayer for the people who actually donated the statues to a temple. Notice the large eyes, a characteristic of Sumerian art.

Akkadian art derived from the Akkadian invaders from around 3500 B.C. until about 1750 B.C. The Akkadians incorporated the style of the Sumerians into a style of their own. The Akkadians were a warlike group, as shown in the “Victory of Naram-Sin” which portrays a military crusade carved in relief printing (Research Machines).

This is a picture of the actual “Victory of Naram-Sin” from the Akkadian art.

The next style of art was labeled as the Assyrian art, which was present around 1000 B.C. until about 539 B.C. Assyrian art can be recognized through relief sculpture. Many of the Assyrians’ sculptures were made in stone due to its widespread availability. Since their sculptures were made from stone, many of them have survived through the weather, and are still around. Many of the Assyrian relief sculptures were used to decorate local fortresses in the area (Research Machines).

This is a picture of “Griffin and Sacred Tree”, an Assyrian art relief sculpture. It is located in Mumbai, India.

Neo-Babylonian art, like Assyrian art, was also around from around 1000 B.C. until about 539 B.C. Neo-Babylonian art came about around the same time as the ruling of King Nebuchadnezzar II. Babylon art was focused around bright tiles and relief sculptures. They centered on the ideas and styles of all the Mesopotamian arts. King Nebuchadnezzar built a number of gardens with patios, which were named the “Hanging Gardens of Babylon”. (Research Machines).


This is an image of what the actual “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” actually looked like. It is a magnificent patio with well manicured flowers all around it.


Persian art, which came about from around 539 B.C. until about 331 B.C., was pivoted around pottery. One form of Persian pottery was known as miniature, or visual pottery. Miniature was one of the most well known types of Persian pottery. The pictures painted on the pottery showed the images as a Fruitopia, filled with lots of love and happiness. The paintings revealed a sense of the artist’s feelings and emotions that went into the artwork. The Persian pottery not only captured images in the paintings, but also used words combined in with the images, to create actual “visual pottery”. Persian art conveyed a feeling of comfort and peace to those who viewed it (Persian Painting).


This painting is called “A Mystical River”. The artist is unknown, but the actual artwork is from the anthology of 1398 in Bihbahan, which is near Shiraz. This painting not only asserts a sense of peace, but also has the feeling of a sense of harmony.

The next era of art was called the Aegean Art period, which around from around 3000 B.C. until about 1100 B.C. Aegean art was formed in the Grecian lands, near the Aegean Sea. Actual Aegean art consists of lots of different cultures from the surrounding areas that occurred during the same time period. Both Minoan and Mycenaean art forms are part of the Aegean art style. Aegean art consisted of many zigzags, swirls, and ship themes to represent the marine activity that occurred in the area. Since the surrounding area had more than enough marble, their sculptures were mostly made of just that, marble. The facial features of Aegean sculptures were defined down to the nose, eyes, and the mouth (Ancient Aegean Art).

This is a photograph of the “Snake Goddess”. It is a Faience statuette from Knossos, around 1600 B.C. It is located in the Archaeological Museum in Heraklion, Crete. The goddess in the sculpture has either a panther or a leopard on her headband.

Their statues consisted of the Aegean idols, highly honored women, women with babies held in their arms (called kouratrophoi), soldiers, hunters, and even pipe and lyre player musicians. In the time of the Aegean art period came the Bronze Age, which lasted from about 2800 B.C. until about 1100 B.C. During this time, the Aegean culture did trade with the Egyptians and the Mesopotamians. Although trade was in effect, the Aegean art form was neither altered nor changed. Their artwork was still of their own discrete style. Some of the statues from the Aegean art form were recently used in the Summer Olympics located in Athens in 2004. They were representing the idea behind the mascots Athina and Fivos (Wikipedia).

This is a figure from the Cyclades which appeared in the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece.

From the Aegean art form derived the Minoan art form. It was around from about 3000 B.C. until about 1475 B.C. Minoan art can be documented for its use of animal paintings and images, being that the Minoans were closely tied with the surrounding environment. It can also be recognized by its calming images, even in its architectural work. During the Protopalatial Period, from 1900 B.C. until 1700 B.C., the invention of the pottery wheel came about. The pottery style of the Minoans can be described as the Kamares ware, meaning they had thin walls, large curves, and appeared to be very elegant. Their paintings were seemed wet due to the wet plaster used. They used the true wet method to enhance the environmental scenes they were known for creating (Ancient-Greece.org).

This is an example of the Minoan frescoe style of pottery. It appears very beautiful in style, and has an elegant feel to it.

Mycenaean art is just the exact opposite of Minoan art. It was around from about 1650 B.C. until about 1100 B.C. Mycenaean art is documented for warlike images and for its famous gold masks. They Mycenaean civilization went through a phase of wealth and success and showed it in their artwork. Their architecture was also very amazing. Cyclopean masonry was used to create beautiful bridges, defense walls, along with beehive-shaped tombs. The architectural style of Mycenean art is very well-built with its walls being up to twenty feet thick. They used jewelry, gems, made vases out of expensive metals, and even made glass ornaments (The Metropolitan Museum of Art).

The top picture is a replica of the Mycenaean Acropolis known as “Lion Gates”. The bottom is a photograph of the ruins of the actual “Lion Gates”.

The final art form of the ancient civilizations was known as Greek Art, which was around from about 800 B.C. until just 323 Before Christ was born. Greek art is generally categorized into four main groupings. The first being architecture, the second sculpture, the third pottery, and the last painted pottery. Coin design was also a form of Greek art. The Archaic style, the Classical style, and the Hellenistic style were very important to Greek culture and art. First, there was the Archaic style, separated from the Classical style by the Persian wars around 480 B.C. and 448 B.C. Then, there was the Hellenistic style, separated from the Classical by the death of Alexander the Great around 323 B.C.
Archaic art is said to be the spectator of the great things that were near for the Western Society. The statues appear to be tense and seem to have diminutive smirks as if they knew of the great things that were about to occur for the Western civilization, that being the Classical era (Greek Landscapes).

This is a picture of the statue “Korous”, found in the temple of Poseidon at Sounio. It divided the body with each area being proportional with one another.
The Classical era of the ancient times produced some of the most wonderful sculptures of all times. The statues evoked a sense of movement and freedom of expression. Instead of being the same stiff statues, the statues of the Classical era were 3-Dimensional statues of movement.

This is a photo of the statue of “Zeus of Artemision”, which was found in the sea near Cape Artemisio.
With the Hellenistic art era, artists took the Classical era to another level. They captured all angles of movement with poses that were more remarkable than the statues of the Classical era. The Hellenistic era statues evoke lots of energy in their statues.

This is a photo of the “Boy Jockey and Horse”, which was recovered from a shipwreck near Artemesium, and later had to go through restoration to replace the horse that was completely destroyed in the shipwreck.

The ancient civilization time period covered nearly 3,000 years. Several different pieces of artwork, as well as different monuments, were produced, each with its own personal beauty.
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