Can ancient art be political?

Today we tend to assume that ancient art is a ‘photographic’ representation of either how people looked in reality or a depiction of events and facts in an accurate, historical way. However, artistic forms are neither objective history nor transparent representations of ancient people or circumstances. How subjects were chosen and depicted was mediated through the perspectives, needs and aesthetic preferences of artists and their sponsoring patrons. In ancient societies, art held a role similar to today’s media. Ancient art represents the interests of the patron, namely the Egyptian royal and religious elite who controlled and funded artistic production. When it comes to representing ‘foreigners’, phenotypic traits, hairstyle, and costume details were accentuated to construct a sense of their otherness relative to Egypt. Such programmatic iconography served a political purpose: to simplify Egypt’s neighbors as monolithic enemies and legitimize Egyptian hegemony.