There are many ways that the human form can represent ideas and values held by specific cultures. At times, images and 3-dimensional creations of the body have been used to promote individuals, or document moments in history. Another common use of human figure is to depict a deity or god. This can be in the form of explaining their origins, telling important tales about them, or the purpose of worship. Through the course of time different cultures had different solutions for what the human form represents, and how to use it for their artistic, political, and social purposes.
In the Ancient Near East, the society of Susa in Iran used the human form in the Victory Steele of Naram-Sim (Gardner, 2-13). From the 23rd century b.c.e., this piece shows many people of varying sizes in a stacked composition. The figures on top are larger, showing that they have more importance. This is a hierarchy of scale, in which the least important members of the culture and the image are shown as smaller, and lower in the image area. This work is a documentary on a battle, and glorifies the victors of this conflict. Another artifact that references hierarchy of scale is the Palette of King Narmer (Gardner 3-2). This is from Predynastic Egypt dating 3000 b.c.e. This diptych portrays humans interacting with real and mythological beasts, as well as performing various tasks important to the well-being of their culture. Further, the forms in the fore-mentioned pieces depict the form in a simplified and elongated way. The proportions emphasize the heads and the bodies are quite rigid. In later times other cultures of the Mediterranean area use the body in other interesting and innovative ways.
Classical Greece spawned a rush of figurative work that portrayed warriors, gods, and mythological creatures. The art from this period used idealized figures with general features and grand poses. A more realistic approach to the body gives a more life like quality to the creations, and are truly something to admire.
