AP Art History

AP Art History

Chapter 2 * Art of the Ancient Near East

Study Guide

Terms People
votive figures
ground line
monumental
passage grave
menhirs
cromlechs
alignments
bases
capitals
citadel
column
crenellation
palace complex
pictographs
registers
shafts
stela
ziggurat
cuneiform
fluting
stylus		 Sargon I
Gudea
Hammurabi
Assurnasirpal II
Sargon II
Assurbanipal
Nebuchadnezzar II
Achaemenes
Cyrus II
Cambyses II
Darius I
Xeres
Artaxerxes I

Interpretation and Meaning
  • Explain the organization of the temple complexes.
  • What was the purpose of the ziggurat? What did it look like and how was it decorated?
  • Where are the large statues kept? What was their significance?
  • How does the Stela of Naramsin convey the concept of imperial authority?
  • Why is the Stela of Hammurabi so significant?

    Style
  • Describe the citadel of Sargaon II at Dur Sharrukin. What makes its appearance so unique?
  • Describe the imperial complex at Persepolis, Iran. What stylistic influences are evident at the imperial palace as evident in the column sculptures?

    Compare and Discuss
  • How do the sculptural themes in the Akkadian and Assyrian Empires differ from those in the Persian Empire?
  • Compare the Assyrian palace complex of Sargon II with the imperial palace complex at Persepolis.