Comparison: Constantine and Hatshepsut

 

I found the Egyptian statue very interesting finding out that the Pharaoh at that time was female.  At first glance at looking at the statue of Hatshepsut I would not have been able to tell you this was of a female king.  What I found interesting about the Egyptian king Hatshepsut was the amount of dedication in leaving her mark in the afterlife.  In the video from smart history is it said that she had commissioned many temples and sculptures in her image and is unknown to why it is seen that there was an effort to destroy everything with her image.  From my perspective the Egyptian people, or really Hatshepsut, is humble as a king.  I think this because if she really wanted to display power, she could have had monuments built about war like the ones built by Romans.  I think a display of her being humbled as a king comes with the statues made of granite holding pots, almost like an offering.  Again, in smart history they say that it is very uncommon for a Pharaoh to kneel and if so, not for long at all.  The display of this statue holds so much meaning to the Pharaoh ruling and just how much she must have felt that her power was given from the god Amun-Ray.  I think that Hatshepsut used her power to create and leave a mark, much like the Roman’s, but to also show there is weakness within leadership.  The Arch of Constantine is said to have been made to celebrate the victory over war on other Romans.  This arch displays the full battle in art, along with sculpture interpretations from other periods of time.  This Is seen as a, “decline in artistic capabilities.”  The arches are filled with so much it is almost too overwhelming, but also impressive that there is so much attention to detail within the arches itself.  This is confusing to me to explain its meaning of power when the pieces of art are altered to have Constantine’s face.  The amount of boast and out right cocky behavior in comparison to someone like the Hatshepsut is vastly different.  This could be wrong entirely, but this is my view of the two based on what I have read and listened too.

 




Dr. Andrew Findley, "Arch of Constantine, Rome," in Smarthistory, November 25, 2015, accessed September 17, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/arch-of-constantine-rome/.

 

Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker, "Mortuary Temple and Large Kneeling Statue of Hatshepsut," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, accessed September 17, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/hatshepsut/.

Comments

  1. EmeraldSeptember 20, 2020 at 9:11 PM

    Hi Brenden! Great job comparing Constantine and Hatshepsut. I think one of this biggest comparisons is that they both wanted to make their mark insuring that they were remember. Hence, the commissioning the art pieces in their images. You are right Constantine's behavior does seem kind of cocky, having all the art pieces altered to his face.

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  2. Kirstyn CraigSeptember 21, 2020 at 12:57 AM

    Hey Brenden! I did my piece on the same ones and we had similar points. Both pieces were commissioned by rulers to help commemorate their memory after they’re gone. It’s a shame so many of Hatshepsuts were defaced, but the ones that still remain like the one being discussed here is powerful just like the Arch of Constantine!

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