Art History - Chapter 2 - Terms

Front 1

Mesopotamia

Back 1

means "between the two rivers" (Euphrates and Tigris)
present day Iraq

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Tigris

Back 2

one of the rivers after which Mesopotamia (between two rivers) was named. Present day Iraq
The other was Euphrates

Front 3

Euphrates

Back 3

one of the rivers after which Mesopotamia (between two rivers) was named. Present day Iraq
The other was Tigris

Front 4

Mesopotamia means "between two rivers" which are the two rivers?

Back 4

Euphrates and Tigris

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Cuneiform

Back 5

Latin, wedge-shaped. A system of writing used in ancient Mesopotamia, in which wedge-shaped characters were produced by pressing a stylus into a soft clay tablet, which was then baked or otherwise allowed to harden.

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Ziggurat

Back 6

In ancient Mesopotamian architecture, a monumental platform for a temple;
base for the temple

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Hierarchy of Scale

Back 7

An artistic convention in which greater size indicates greater importance.
The biggest is the most important

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Sumerians

Back 8

Present day Iraq
Invented cuneiform writing (first writing);
built Ziggurat (White Temple)
Innana: Sumerian godess of love and war
Epic of Gilgamesh
Worshippers Statuettes of Eshnunna
Standard of Ur

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Ur

Back 9

present day Iraq
Sumerians
Akkadians

Front 10

What is a Stele?

Back 10

A carved stone slab used to mark graves or to commemorate historical events.
e.g. Victory Stele of Naram-Sin or
Stele with law code of Hammurabi

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What is a Relief?

Back 11

In sculpture, figures projecting from a background of which they are part. The degree of relief is designated high, low (bas), or sunken. In the last, the artist cuts the design into the surface so that the highest projecting parts of the image are no higher than the surface itself. See also repoussé.

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Citadel

Back 12

A citadel is a fortress for protecting a town, sometimes incorporating a castle.
The term derives from the same Latin root as the word "city", civis, meaning citizen.

In a fortification with bastions, the citadel is the strongest part of the system, sometimes well inside the outer walls and bastions, but often forming part of the outer wall for the sake of economy. It is positioned to be the last line of defence should the enemy breach the other components of the fortification system. A citadel is also a term of the third part of a medieval castle, with higher walls than the rest. It was to be the last line of defence before the keep itself.

Front 13

Hammurabi

Back 13

King Hammurabi of Babylon
Stele with Law Code
The god Samash is handing over the authority to Hammurabi

Front 14

Lamassu

Back 14

Assyrian guardian in the form of a man-headed winged bull.
4 legs from the front
5 legs from the side
makes it look like walking
is intended to instill fear