Exam 1: Mesopotamia Flashcards
1
Q
Key Connections to European Development
A
- trade links: Greece and Rome
- Oral epic tradition: Gilgamesh
- legal traditions: Stele of Hammurabi
- Art and Architecture: style, technique, canon of proportions
2
Q
Common Threads
A
- cuneiform writing
- art and architecture styles
- cultural norms
- religious beliefs
3
Q
River Valleys (why?)
A
- water: irrigation, travel
- beer: drink b/c kills bacteria (didn’t know that)
4
Q
Art from Lagash City on Euphrates River
A
- Eannatum of Lagash
- Gudea of Lagash
- Both: votive statues, cuneiform (labeled)
- Head of the Goddess Inanna (cult statue)
5
Q
Votive Statue
A
- ruler of city praying to deity
- pias: bare foot w/ elaborate clothes
- smaller than life
- clasped hands: prayer
- unibrow (wide), enhanced eyes
6
Q
Cult Statue
A
- marble ($)
- big eyebrows/ eyes
- cult statue: deity
- chink in head = headdress
- bigger in context to votive statue
7
Q
Votive vs. Cult Statues
A
- praying to deity vs. deity
- small vs. big (in context)
- not different style
8
Q
Art from Royal Tombs of Ur
A
- Bull Headed Lyre
- The “Royal Standard” of Ur
- Stele
9
Q
Bull Headed Lyre
A
- reconstructed
- long/ elaborate beard (common)
10
Q
The “Royal Standard” of Ur
A
- peace and war side
- most important/ ruler = biggest - hierarchal scale (bigger = more important)
11
Q
Hierarchal Scale
A
in artwork bigger means more important
12
Q
Stele
A
- mountains = holy place
- hierarchy of scale (Narin Sin)
- going to Mountains
13
Q
Ziggurats
A
- artificial mountains in Tigris/ Euphrates
- from Mesopotamian word for “mountain”
- huge
- Top: temple to gods
14
Q
Elite
A
- made most of the art
- expensive
15
Q
Head of Akkadian Man
A
- lost wax casting
- eyes missing: valuable filling, defacing
- intricate
- bronze casting: very expensive
