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Narmer's Palette Compared with the Mosaic of Emperor Justinian
We may never know what king Narmer really looked like and even whether his name was really Narmer. All his images, as images of any all-powerful pharaoh (or any ruler) would have been idealized. They were not meant to convey his true likeness, but the power of the pharaoh of Egypt. The rulers of Egypt were considered and portrayed as semi-divine.
Narmer was not just any king. He united the Lower and the Upper Egypt - created a great new kingdom. He was thought to be Menes, the first pharaoh1. His other recognized name is Aha2. Ancient Greek historian Herodotus calls the first king Men34.
Palette of Narmer, recording his conquest over the Lower Egypt, dates ca. 3100 BC, from the beginning of the pharaonic rule5. Janson states that the palette can claim to be the oldest historic work of art we know, for it not only is the earliest surviving image of a historic personage whose name we know, but its style is no longer "primitive" - it shows most of the features of late Egyptian art. The fact that we are able to "read" information from the palette, moving from one register to another, indicates that we have left prehistoric art behind6.
Narmer is the most eye-catching figure on the palette, which conveys his importance. He is not only in the largest figure in the centre of the palette, but he is painted with the most detail: his clothes, legs have that other figures lack. The front side of the palette (Fig. 1) is divided in two parts. In the top and main register, Narmer is shown wearing the tall, white conical crown of Upper Egypt called hedjet7. He is threatening a kneeling enemy with a mace8. Narmer's enemy is shown to be almost the same size as the pharaoh, which suggests if not their equality then the likeness of their power before the victory of Narmer. The enemy is very unlikely to be an ordinary soldier from the conquered Lower Egypt, he must be a ruler of that land. This adds to our perception of the power of Narmer - conquering a strong and respectable enemy proves his own power. The fact that he is on his knees puts him below Narmer, shows his downfall and the supremacy of Narmer. Holding him by the hair, as Adams points out, symbolizes conquest and domination. Janson identifies the long rectangular shape next to the man on the left as a fortified town or citadel9. The long pharaonic beards of the subdued enemies may indicate their royal status10.
In the lower register (Fig. 1.5), two more enemies are shown either fleeing or already dead. Adams mentions that in Egypt artists used a system of hierarchical proportions. Therefore, their low position and a smaller size are meant to put them into a position inferior to the pharaoh.
Notice that there are no soldiers on Upper Egypt side of the palette - the victory belongs to Narmer alone. He is accompanied only by a sandal-bearer, who, though a servant, would not have been a man of the lowest position either. Performing such an intimate service demanded closeness to the king and would have been considered a certain privilege. Bearers of sandals, being close to the pharaoh, in fact, often received promotion11. The very fact that a sandal-bearer was able to write his autobiography, shows us that he was very highly educated. Moreover, any position putting one close to the pharaoh was considered a privilege. The Bible, too, identifies the cup-bearer and the baker of the pharaoh, as his close officials12.
In the upper right of the "Upper Egypt" side (Fig. 1.4) we see a falcon standing over a human head "growing" alongside a bunch of plantlike rods, identified by Janson as papyrus13. Janson also points out that this fragment repeats the main scene on a symbolic level: the head and papyrus plant stand for Lower Egypt, while falcon is Horus, the local god of Upper Egypt. There is an obvious parallel here between Narmer and Horus. Narmer is dominating his enemy (who is most likely the conquered ruler of the Lower Egypt), while Horus is dominating the symbols of the Lower Egypt. It is also worth noticing that their heads are on the same level - just beneath the top register containing the two bull heads. By this Narmer equates himself with the god Hathor whom we see on the both sides of the palette14. Narmer surrounds himself with gods Horus and Hathor whose appearance on the palette is meant to demonstrate their approval of the pharaoh's conduct.
On the Lower Egypt side of the palette (Fig. 2) Narmer, followed by (possibly the same) sandal-carrier, again appears barefoot, which identifies him as being on the holy ground15.
In the lowest compartment of the Lower Egypt side (Fig. 2.4) the victory is enacted again on a symbolic level, with the pharaoh represented as a strong bull subduing an enemy and knocking down a citadel16. "A bull's tail hanging down from his belt is shown in both images of Narmer; it was to remain a part of pharaonic ceremonial garb for the next 3,000 years"17.
The center section (Fig. 2.3), according to Janson, "fails to convey explicit meaning"18. "The two long-necked bests and their attendants have no identifying attributes and may well be a carry-over from earlier, purely ornamental palettes". They do not reappear in Egyptian art19.
We have to point out that the idea of a victory over enemy portrayed on a palette was quite popular at that time20.
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Laurie Schneider Adams, Art Across Time, 2nd ed. (New York: McGraw Hill, 2001) 82.
Aha is known for millions of people as King Menes of Memphis. He was the founding king of the 1st Dynasty, and was the first king to unify Upper and Lower Egypt into one kingdom. Ancient Egypt's most predominant form of civilization began with his crowning, and did not end permanently until the beginning of the Roman era, which started with Augustus Caeser. Menes founded the city of Memphis, and chose as its location an island in the Nile, so that it would be easy to defend. He was also the founder of Crocodopolis. During his time, the Egyptian army performed raids against the Nubians in the south and expanded his sphere of influence as far as the First Cataract. His chief wife was Queen Berenib, though she was not the mother of his heir, King Djer, and his mother was Neithotepe. His death is a mystery, for, according to legend he was attacked by wild dogs and Nile crocodiles in Faiyum. Menes' tomb resides at Saqqara, the famed necropolis of Memphis. He died at the age of Sixty Three. (http://killeenroos.com/1/egypharo.htm)
Herodotus, The Histories (Herfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Limited, 1996) 2:99
Yuri Perepelkin tells us that the two hieroglyphs in the name of the first pharaoh are NR, (catfish) and MR (blade), we pronounce his name literally Narmer. However, the names of the Egyptian rulers up to the middle of the First Dynasty consisted only of one word and never of two. After going into more significant detail describing the characters of the name, he documents that the name of the king had to be simply Catfish. (Yuri Perepelkin, Istoria Yegipta (Moscow: Letniy Sad, 2000) 63-4.
Adams, 82.
H.W Janson, History of Art (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1991) 98-99.
Adams, 82.
Adams, 82.
Janson, 99.
Andre Dollinger, The Narmer Palette, An introduction to the history and culture of
Pharaonic Egypt, Jan. 2000, http://nefertiti.iwebland.com/index.html.
A sandal-bearer of pharaoh Merenre, Weni the Elder, is a good example of such an advancement. His remarkably long career spanned the 6th Dynasty reigns of Teti, Pepi I, and Merenre.
While I was (still only) Chamberlain of the Palace and Sandal-bearer The King of Upper & Lower Egypt (Merenre) my lord, who lives forever placed me as Mayor, and Overseer of Upper Egypt, south from Yebu, north to Medenit, because I was excellent in his majesty's heart, because I was rooted in his majesty's heart.
From the autobiography of Weni the Elder
The actual inscribed stone is at the Cairo Museum, No. 1435, and dated to the Sixth Dynasty (c.2345-2181 BCE).
Genesis 40:2.
Janson, 99
Hathor Egyptian cow-goddess. A daughter of Nut and Re. In early Egyptian mythology she was the mother of the sky god Horus, but was later replaced in this capacity by Isis. Hathor then became a protectress of Horus. She was depicted either as a cow or in human form wearing a crown consisting of a sun disk held between the horns of a cow. Later, the Greeks associated Hathor with Aphrodite (Egyptian Gods Theme: Hathor, 2001 http://socsci.colorado.edu/LAB/GODS/.
Exodus 3:5 "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground."
Janson, 99.
Janson, 99.
Janson, 99.
Janson, 100.
(Possibly) another southern victory over the inhabitants of the Delta is depicted on the Bull Palette (Fig. 3).
Janson, 267.
Janson, 267.
Janson, 268.
Janson, 268.
Adams, 292.
According to the original design, Maximian was not supposed to be part of the mosaic. He arranged to replace the head of Bishop Victor with his own after his death.
Hail Caesar [VI], Justinian: the Last of the Romans. Videocassette, (New York: N & E Home Video, 1998)
L. Michael Whitby, Justinian, Oxford Classical Dictionary (New York: Oxford University Press, 1996) 802.
Hail Caesar.
However, after the amazing military success in Italy, Justinian became threatened of Belisarius and made all the effort possible to lessen his power by limiting the amount of troops available to the general. Belisarius was even suspected of plotting against the emperors life in autumn of 562 AD, but nothing was proved against him and the emperor restored him to favour six months later (Browning 164). However, out of this short-lived disgrace there grew a story that his principal general had been blinded by Justinian and reduced to begging in the streets of Constantinople. Jacque-Louis David illustrated the legend in his painting (Fig. 11)
It is notable that Justinian himself started out his political career under his uncle Justin as candidatus, an imperial bodyguard (Whitby, Justinian, 802).
A contemporary of the First Christian Emperor, Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea, in his Life of Constantine tells us of the vision seen by the emperor before the decisive battle for power on Mulvian Bridge. Constantine was supposed to have seen the Chi-Rho sign and the Latin words in hoc signo vinces, meaning, In this sign you will conquer. The emperor ordered his troops to inscribe the sign on their shield before going into the battle. The victory was Constantines.
Adams, 292
Adams, 294.
Janson, 270.
Whitby, 803.
Take note of Jeremiah 46:25 The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "I am about to bring punishment on Amon god of Thebes, on Pharaoh, on Egypt and her gods and her kings, and on those who rely on Pharaoh.
Acts 1:20-26 "For," said Peter, "it is written in the book of Psalms, "`May his [Judas] place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it,' and, "`May another take his place of leadership.' Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection." So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias.
Then they prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.
John, nephew of Vitalian (Irina Andreescu-Treadgold. Procopius and the Imperial Panels of S. Vitale. Art Bulletin. 79.4 (December 1997).
Andreescu
Adams, 292.
Adams, 294.
I personally was not able to find any.
Procopius had definitely been disillusioned on regards of Justinian. The Secret History had for its purpose to reveal the depravity of Justinian and Theodora (Procopius, The Secret History, (Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 1961) 4.