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It is quite interesting to note that unlike its counterpart within Greek mythology who mercilessly killed travelers who could not answer its riddle the Egyptian Sphinx was actually thought of as a benevolent guardian with a special relationship with the Sun (World Wonders, 2009).
This startling contrast between two cultures that existed at almost the same time throughout antiquity yet were separated by thousands of miles is indicative of a form of cultural “sharing” that is actually quite common throughout history and is indicative of some form of contact between Egypt and Greece, possibly through maritime trade (World Wonders, 2009).
Purpose
An examination of the burial customs of ancient Egypt reveals a prominent usage of the Sphinx (for royalty and important officials at least).
It was often the case that the body of the Sphinx had the head of the person who was actually within the tomb (World Wonders, 2009). It can be hypothesized that by including an image of an individual on top of the guardian “beast” this was to indicate a special relationship between that person and the deity of the sun.
In fact Sphinx statues were also thought of as immobile guardians of tombs who were to protect the sanctity of a pharaoh’s resting place (World Wonders, 2009).
Thus the size of the Great Sphinx at Giza can be thought of as a greater display of an already accepted burial tradition within the ancient Egyptian world.
Creation of the Sphinx
While the specifics regarding the precise history of the construction of the Sphinx is to this day generally unknown it is assumed by various local residents that the Great Sphinx at Giza was commissioned by Pharaoh Khafra in 2500 BC and was possibly created along the same time as the second pyramid of Giza.
As for how the giant statue itself was made various accounts by local residents have indicated that the mystery of its construction can actually be solved by looking at the very pyramids behind it.
Due to the interlocking nature of the limestone blocks found in the pyramids and the fact that the Sphinx itself is almost similarly made of limestone it can assumed that several of the limestone blocks from the same quarry as the pyramids were used in the statues construction with the same method of erecting different blocks utilized as a means do creating the height of the piece with the more intricate details added in later by stone carvers (Hadingham, 2010).
Aspects of Civilization and Cultural Development
Just by viewing the Sphinx itself it becomes obvious that the Sphinx represents not only the advanced nature of the fields of architecture and engineering during this particular time period within ancient Egyptian civilization but it also represents how important religious iconography was to the ancient Egyptian people and how the concept of death was thought of more highly than it is today (World Wonders, 2009).
Influence of Previous Civilizations
It must be noted that the Great Sphinx at Giza is not unique in the sense that it is the only example of its kind, such an assumption is fallacious given that it has already been mentioned within this paper that the iconography of the Sphinx was featured prominently in the burial customs of ancient Egyptian Pharaohs hundreds of years before the creation of the Great Sphinx.
Rather, a far more accurate statement would be that the Sphinx at Giza is the largest and most well known example of its kind and is a representation of hundreds of years of ancient Egyptian tradition in which it was known as a guardian of tombs and a representation of an aspect of their Sun deity.
Related to Artwork within the Same Civilization
It is quite interesting to note that the Great Sphinx at Giza has several stylistic elements which were quite prominent within this particular period of ancient Egyptian civilization.
For instance, the same headdress theme often utilized on a variety of pharaoh statues is utilized in the case of the Sphinx as well as the overall shape of the body is consistent with the way in which Sphinx statues at the time were created (Hadingham, 2010).
In fact it can even be said that the Great Sphinx at Giza is nothing more than a larger version of its smaller counterparts seen in a variety of ancient Egyptian tombs.
Value for Modern day Civilization
The value the Sphinx holds for modern day civilization is how it has come to represent the lack of knowledge we at the present still have on how ancient civilizations actually worked and functioned.
There are still numerous areas underneath the Sphinx that have yet to be explored, facets of how it was created that are still to be uncovered as well as mysteries regarding ancient Egypt that are still buried beneath the sands waiting to be found.
The Art form: Algebra
The art form in this particular case is Algebra which is well known method of calculating various concepts related to equations, variables and other similar mathematical concepts.
The purpose of the piece
When looking around at the present it is quite interesting to note that one of the greatest traditions of the Islamic civilization is mercantile behavior with various local merchants stating that the tradition of entrepreneurship and taking over businesses within Islamic civilization goes back hundreds if not thousands of years (Oliver, 2007).
As such, the original purpose of algebra in this particular case is one related to assisting merchants in their calculations for business.
Where did it originate from?
It is interesting to note that while basic calculations of algebra as we know it today originated from the Islamic civilization its roots actually stretch as far back as the ancient Babylonians who utilized it to great effect for accountancy, mercantile practices, and even calculations involving crop cycles and other such beneficial practices (Healey, 2006).
How the piece was made
Algebra was actually made as direct result of the combination of ancient mercantile practices involving calculation until it was further improved by Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī in 780 to 850 in the book “The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing” (Healey, 2006).
The meaning of the work
The work itself represents the importance numerical calculation within the Islamic culture and is actually indicative of the fact that mercantilism and accountancy were important facets of their cultural traditions.
Aspects of the civilization and the cultural development
This piece represents great advancements in analytical thought and mathematical understanding within the Islamic civilization at the time.
Influences from Previous Civilizations
The ancient Babylonian civilization greatly influenced the various precepts and rules utilized in algebra by the Islamic civilization.
Related to artwork within the same civilization
Unfortunately, aside from its use in business there is little similarity between algebra and what can be defined as the Islamic art form
Meaning and value in modern-day cultures
Algebra is widely utilized in a variety of everyday circumstances and is considered one of the fundamental building blocks of knowledge in modern day society.
The Art form: The Migrant Mother
The Migrant Mother is a black and white photograph taken in the midst of the Great Depression in 1936 (Hayes et al., 2012). The principal subject of the photo is a mother surrounded by two of her kids who are shielding their eyes from what is apparently the harsh glare of the afternoon sun.
When the photo was published it became symbolic of the hardships encountered by the families all across America and can even be considered a rallying point from which the wealthy and well to do within society became more inclined towards helping those in need (Hayes et al., 2012).
Overall, this photo became a symbol of the great depression and is one of the lasting and most poignant legacies of this dark period in America’s history.
Purpose of the Piece
The purpose of this piece was to encapsulate the economic hardship experienced by people during this particular period of time.
It is a representation of the suffering of the American people who have lost their jobs, their savings and even their hope for a better tomorrow (Hayes et al., 2012).
When looking at the mother who is the main subject of the picture one cannot help but feel the depression that is coming off of her in waves and how it reflects the way in which people at the time viewed their lives as a direct result of a collapsed economy.
It must be noted though that the subject of the photo Florence Owens Thompson was quoted by the photographer as stating that the she had little if nothing to eat and actually had to sell the tires of her car in order to support her family (Hayes et al., 2012).
In reality this did not actually occur with the photographer obviously embellishing some aspects of the photo in order to create a greater degree of hype. As such, in the end the main purpose of the photo in eyes of the photographer was nothing more than a way to gain a bit of fame through the misrepresentation of facts.
The individual Responsible for Creating the Piece
It is interesting to note that this particular photo was created almost by accident and was not intentional in the least.
Dorothea Lange, the photographer, was working for the Resettlement Administration at the time and by happenstance encountered the subject, Florence Owens Thompson by chance on Highway 101.
Aspects of the civilization and the cultural development
It must be noted that when it comes to aspects of civilization and cultural development this photo is actually a representation of a step back from the development of a society.
It was taken during a time of economic hardship for the U.S. and as such can be considered a way of seeing one of the lowest points a modern day industrialized civilization can fall.
Influence of Previous Civilizations
When examining “the Migrant Mother” it becomes immediately obvious that it is neither a painting nor a sculpture but rather is a black and white photo of a family in a desperate period of time during their life.
The influence of previous civilizations in this particular case comes from the way in which photographs increasingly were acknowledged as a way of capturing both the poignant and depressing aspects of the world that we live in today (Hayes et al., 2012).
Earliest known examples of this can be seen in the heliographic process popularized in 1825 which was used to capture images that seemed that more like they were stenciled rather than photographed.
Overall, previous civilizations helped to popularize the concept of photography and how an ordinary photo can be considered a window into how the world is like during a particular period of time.
Related to artwork within the same civilization
When examining the artwork at the time of the Great Depression it can be seen that an ongoing theme is one of capturing the despair and helplessness that pervaded society at the time.
What you have to understand is that the Great Depression is not just a period of low economic performance but it is also a time when a vast percentage of American society could barely feed itself.
People here on the streets have a hollowed, depressed and hopeless look in their eyes and this reflects on the various pictures, paintings and news articles which describe such an adverse situation (Hayes et al., 2012).
As such, the Migrant Mother can be considered an apt way of encapsulating the suffering, despair and utter helplessness that people during this particular time feel.
Value of the Piece in Modern Day Society
At the present the U.S. economy is far from sound, emerging from a period that can be considered just as bad as the great depression, millions of Americans at the present are still feeling the aftermath of the foolish financial decisions that resulted in proliferation of toxic subprime debt that devastated the savings of millions and made just as many lose their jobs.
The value of the Migrant Mother at the present is one that helps to remind us that people in times such as these are more than mere numbers on a statistic sheet; there are people all across the country that are suffering with little money, almost no food and eke out a living day by day.
As such, all of us should do our part in helping such individuals live decent lives, to give them dignity, honor and above all hope for the future rather than the black emptiness of despair that surrounds their lives on a daily basis.
Reference List
Hadingham, E. (2010). Uncovering secrets of the sphinx. (cover story). Smithsonian, 40(11), 32.
Hayes, D., Hertsgaard, M., Ryan, F., Walen Jr, R. C., Holton, T., & Grace, T. M. (2012). Letters. Nation, 294(24), 2-26.
Healey, C. (2006). Al-Khwarizmi. Al-Khwarizmi, 1.
Oliver, J. (2007). How our methods of writing algebra have evolved: A thread through history. Australian Senior Mathematics Journal, 21(2), 12.
World Wonders. (2009). Weekly Reader – Edition 2, 781.
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