Ancient Religious Statues

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This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.

This exhibit features statues created and used by ancient cultures for religious purposes. It will explore the techniques used to create the statues, why the statue looks the way it does, and the various functions these pieces of art served during the time they were made. It is fascinating that cultures that existed hundreds of years and miles apart still had similar uses for religious statues. We will be exploring pieces from ancient Sumer, Egypt, Greece and Rome. The pieces have been organized by date, from earliest to latest. The first piece, Praying Sumerian Man, is a small statue from Sumer that would be placed in temples to perpetually pray for the person who donated it. The second piece, Mantiklos “Apollo”, was a statue made as an offer to the God Apollo in hopes of good fortune. The third sculpture, Statuette of Isis as a mother, was used as an offering in the cult of Isis and to show that she is a caring God. The last statue, the Statue of Jupiter, sat inside Jupiter’s temple, which was the most important temple in Rome.

Praying Sumerian Man, From the collection of: Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

This is a Sumerian prayer statue from around 2500 BC. During this time period, almost all sculptures were around for religious reasons. Each city often had a large temple on top of a ziggurat devoted to their patron deity. Figurines such as this one were placed in temples to pray perpetually for the person who it represented. The intense, enormous eyes are likely to represent the eternal vigilance of their prayer and adoration for the gods. Their heads tilt upwards, looking towards the heavens.

Mantiklos "Apollo", Unknown, about 700 B.C. - 675 B.C., From the collection of: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

There is an inscription on the statuette that reads, “Mantiklos offers me as a tithe to Apollo of the silver bow; do you, Phoibos, give some pleasing favor in return.” Apollo is the Greek God of the Moon, and his preferred weapon is the silver bow. Mantiklos hopes that by giving this gift to Apollo, the god will remember his efforts and reward him with a gift in return. Many statues like this one have been found in Greece, all to a variety of Gods and Goddesses, such as Athena.

Statuette of Isis as mother and protector of Horus the child, the legitimate heir to the throne, Unknown, Ptolemaic Period, 2nd century BCE, From the collection of: The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

In the Ptolemaic Period in 2nd century BCE, this statuette of Iris and Horus was made. They're made of black steatite. The statuette is about 14 centimeters tall and 5.5 centimeters wide. Currently, they are held for display in the Collection of Ancient Egyptian Art in Jerusalem. This type of depiction of a God or Goddess usually isn't seen or shown. Isis is feeding, suckling, her son Horus. This is a powerful symbol of rebirth, showing that she is a mother.

Statue of Jupiter, Unknown, Ancient Rome. End of 1st century, From the collection of: The State Hermitage Museum

This sculpture of Jupiter was created in the late 1st century in Ancient Rome by an unknown person. Made as a replica of the Statue at Olympia. The Jupiter of Olympia is 13 meters tall. The statue of Jupiter that is the replica, at The State Hermitage Museum, is made of marble and bronzed plaster, at 347 centimeters high. The real King Neptune is made and covered in gold and ivory. A Patriarch of Constantinople once said, “ He who stands before this will forget everything that torments and disturbs human life. He is holding a staff in his left and and holding a a royal scepter and winged Nike with an golden eagle by his left side.

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This user gallery has been created by an independent third party and may not represent the views of the institutions whose collections include the featured works or of Google Arts & Culture.

The State Hermitage Museum

Rijksmuseum van Oudheden

The Israel Museum, Jerusalem

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston