The following works of ancient art can all be considered to function in part as propaganda: The Victory Stele of Naram-Sin (Mesopotamia, 2254-2218 BC) , the Lapita and centaur metope in the Parthenon (Classical Greece, 447-438 BC) and Athena fighting Alcyoneus at the altar of Zeus (Hellenistic Greece, 175 BC). These pieces function as propaganda in various ways, each using literal or symbolic interpretations tied to concepts including political power and struggle. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayPropaganda in art can be defined as art intended to promote or spread a certain claim, often based on politics. The Mesopotamian Victory Stele of Naram-Sin certainly serves to make a statement. This ancient stele is intended to represent a war victory: Naram-Sin, Sargon's great-grandson, defeated a population of mountaineers from Mesopotamia. Interestingly, this artwork does not use the traditional registers common to art of the time. Instead, we see Naram-Sin's soldiers lined up on the mountains, creating a sense of log-like "levels", as well as some depth. All these soldiers look up towards Naram-Sin, who is at the top of the mountains. He's bigger than everyone else (pecking order in the works) and a bit more detailed in his body and weapons. He too is idealized, along with his warriors: would all these men realistically be so stoic and well-groomed during battle? The answer is certainly no. Naram-Sin is at the top in every sense, represented through these symbolisms and literally being at the top. He wears horns, a symbol of divinity. The suns, divine representations, are above and guide Naram-Sin: he is victorious and thanks to this he is ascending to the divine kingdom. We can also see that the fallen mountain men are all beneath the soldiers (again, in every sense). They are defeated, falling with all sorts of painful and distorted movements, still cowering and begging Naram-Sin. Meanwhile, Naram-Sin's army remains perfectly intact. The combination of images and small-scale details leads us to one conclusion: King Naram-Sin is to be feared and followed. This art sends a bold message. On the exterior of the Parthenon in classical Greece, marble metopes had high-relief depictions of lapiths and centaurs in battle. We learned about Greek history during our course work: the Lapita people generously invite beastly centaurs, half-horse, half-human, to a huge wedding celebration that they are thrilled to celebrate. The centaurs obviously end up trying to escape with the Lapith women, and the Lapith men fight the centaurs, depicted in the metopes. The detail of the centaurs and the Lapith men, particularly in their frames and positions, is incredible and gives us a sense of the tension between the two sides. In the metope we focused on in class, the centaur appears victorious against his fallen Lapita. In other metopes we see both the Lapiths and the centaurs fighting. We believe these metopes ultimately project Greek strength and superiority. Centaurs are the "monsters", said to be similar to the enemies of the Greeks, the Persians, who also saw them as barbarians and associated with chaos. These metopes represent scenes from Greek historical myths (which were important to everyday life) and, more importantly, highlight the struggles of the Greeks but the supreme control they possess in battle, i.e. their supreme power of reason defeating the barbaric animals. Limited democracy had just begun, and the Greeks continually enacted their triumphs of logic and order against the.