Near Eastern and Egyptian Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Near Eastern and Egyptian Art - Essay Example The focus of the essay "Near Eastern and Egyptian Art" is on Eastern and Egyptian art and culture. It can be observed that in most of the world’s civilizations, there is a certain kind of interaction involving a deity, a holy person and the people of a nation. Such interactions are exemplified by passages from the Revised Standard Version of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible like in Numbers 21:4-9 and 27:1-11, and Leviticus 8:1-9 as given from the readings. In all three readings, it is written that God speaks to His people, the Israelites through his prophet, Moses. He does not speak directly to the people, and He does not show Himself to them, but only to Moses. The people, on the other hand speak to God only through Moses, as they are not allowed to even set foot on holy ground. Moses is seen as an intermediary between God and His people, and he can speak to God directly and tell Him the pleas of the people, and he can tell the people the words of God. Based on this situation, there is a certain distance between the deity and the people through a mediator chosen by the deity as his representative to the people. Such similarities in religious customs can also be seen in the polytheism of ancient Egyptians. Much like in the early Israelites, the deities of ancient Egypt also do not speak to the people directly, but through medium such as the high priests in their holy temples, or through pharaohs that were given the same status as the gods. Such division can be seen in the layout of the temple of Amun-Re.