In ancient Egypt, art and literature conveyed the world view of its ruling-class: it was highly idealized but, being the élite mainly composed by men, it reflected a male point of view. The ideal physical beauty in this male perspective is, since its beginning, that of an eternal youth perfection, at the same time strongly gendered: the idealized female beauty is sensual, erotic, related to a biological model of fertility, and apt to rouse man desire; conversely, men are more interested in a self-presentation irradiating magnetic power and ability to subdue. Texts perfectly echo this aesthetic ideal. Only with the reign of Queen Hatshepsut (1479–1458 /57 BC), usurper of the royal office that Pharaonic mythology and ideology assigned only to men, a new ideal of beauty appears in Egyptian art, inspired by a model of adolescent youth, where gender features are minimized. An analysis of the ancient Egyptian terms expressing the different nuances of beauty completes the essay.

«Bello come il cielo»: il senso del bello nell’antico Egitto

Betrò Maria Carmela
2017-01-01

Abstract

In ancient Egypt, art and literature conveyed the world view of its ruling-class: it was highly idealized but, being the élite mainly composed by men, it reflected a male point of view. The ideal physical beauty in this male perspective is, since its beginning, that of an eternal youth perfection, at the same time strongly gendered: the idealized female beauty is sensual, erotic, related to a biological model of fertility, and apt to rouse man desire; conversely, men are more interested in a self-presentation irradiating magnetic power and ability to subdue. Texts perfectly echo this aesthetic ideal. Only with the reign of Queen Hatshepsut (1479–1458 /57 BC), usurper of the royal office that Pharaonic mythology and ideology assigned only to men, a new ideal of beauty appears in Egyptian art, inspired by a model of adolescent youth, where gender features are minimized. An analysis of the ancient Egyptian terms expressing the different nuances of beauty completes the essay.
2017
Betro', MARIA CARMELA
File in questo prodotto:
File Dimensione Formato  
Betrò Storia delle Donne 20987-45751-1-PB.pdf

accesso aperto

Tipologia: Versione finale editoriale
Licenza: Creative commons
Dimensione 237.71 kB
Formato Adobe PDF
237.71 kB Adobe PDF Visualizza/Apri

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/11568/878606
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus ND
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? ND
social impact