Portrayal of Men and Women in Ancient Art



A photo of a man standing in an opening of a large and dark underground cavern, holding a torch and looking upwards.

Portrayal of Men and Women in Ancient Art
Art History Editorial

Written by DJ Hadoken


My name is DJ Hadoken. Come with me. Let’s take an artistic journey together through early human history, where the significance of men and women within these diverse societies can be observed through historical portrayals in art.

The portrayal of men and women in ancient art changes depending upon the specific culture and era. The earliest prehistoric art has shown us that society at that time focused on the importance of women over men. Women ensured the survival of the species, so their placement and expression in art was more important.

An example of this can be found in a piece at Laussel, France, that dates to 25,000 - 20,000 B.C. Titled “Venus of Laussel”, this artwork depicts a woman holding a bison horn. Her genitals are exaggerated to show fertility and her belly is large to represent childbirth. The bison horn is speculated to be symbolic of a male, representing strength.

The early prehistoric views seem to change at the dawn of early civilization in the near east. The importance of men became primary and the role of women became secondary. Kings ruled over the people and were depicted as powerful and godlike.

During this time, the concern of women ensuring the survival of the species vanished, replaced by heroic and epic portrayals of warrior men vanquishing enemies. An example can be observed in the “Stele of Vultures” artwork from Syria, which depicts the victory of the city of Lagash over Uma. Only men are shown, and the king stands bravely at the front of his army.

One method of portraying the role of men (and more importantly, the king) that is found throughout both the ancient near east and ancient Egypt is the method of “hierarchy of scale”. This method demonstrates the importance of the king through his physical size relative to all other figures shown- the king is depicted as much larger.

In ancient Egypt, the massive pyramids built in honor of the pharaohs, such as that of Djoser and Khafre, along with the riches buried in these (as well as in tombs), further emphasize their importance and godlike status.

However, the only man in society was not just the king or pharaoh (of course). The importance of other men within these individual societies also varies, because some were slaves, others were warriors, and yet others were priests. Each was portrayed at a scale that communicated their importance relative to the other figures depicted in the same artwork.

It should be noted that the position of women in ancient Egyptian society appeared to rise as well, as statues have been found that portray wives as nearly equal to the pharaohs. Examples of this can be found in the statue of Menkaure and Khamerernebty in Gizeh and in a statue of Akhenaton and his wife Nefertiti holdings hands.

Moving ahead in time, in Cycladic art we again see the woman regarded as the one who ensures survival. As demonstrated through a figurine of a woman from Syros, Greece which dates to 2500 - 2300 B.C.

Through Minoan art we see a radical departure from the portrayal of men and women, as one is not depicted as more outwardly important than the other. The portrayal of marine life appears to take much more importance, as is seen in an octopus jar found in Palaikastro, Greece in 1500 B.C.

The position of men in society once again rises in Mycenaean art, as men are once again depicted as warriors triumphing over their enemies. The “Warrior Vase”, dating to 1200 B.C. and found in Mycenae, shows a depiction of the men as warriors. Kings were regarded highly in the Mycenaean society- buried with various riches, such as funerary masks made of gold.

Well, that’s the end of our journey.

Thanks for stopping by.

Don’t trip over any exaggerated genitals on your way out.


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