Narrative has been defined as many things. Perhaps most commonly, it is seen as a genre of writing. Simply stated, "for writing to be narrative, no more and no less than a teller and a tale are required." Narrative then, solves the problem of "how to translate knowing into telling" But the importance of narrative, the issue that we as Art Historians should keep in mind, is that "narrative cannot be equated with the story alone; it is the story content structured by telling; the organization of the story is what turns it into narrative. So narrative is story telling – we can talk about different kinds of narrative based on the way the telling is organized.

Art is one way of telling. Painting and pictorial relief are two modes through which this telling is represented; in such representations we see content ordered in a certain way. This ordering is one which we refer to as composition. But it is also important to remember that not all of these compositions can be ‘read’. Images and image groups take on different compositions; some compositions are cinematic, in that they have different frames representing distinct moments in space and time, or episodes. These are called episodic narratives. These visual representations could be read as a story. Other compositions might consist of a single scene only, representing in one instance the climax of the whole story – these ‘symbolic’ images are called culminating narrative. These visual representations stand for a story. And a third type of narrative composition depicts a group of figures together in an activity; details might suggest a certain location, and certain key players in the activity. But we lack texts to describe the specific event portrayed; in such cases we have what I would call a situational narrative; one that tells the story of a non-specific event.

In this lecture I would like to present you all with some examples of these kinds of narrative. We will see how these narratives function on smaller, portable objects first. Then we will look some narrative tools within architectural contexts, and examine how they function as guides that aid in the architectural experience. Map (L)- We will look at objects and architecture from ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Minoan Crete

• (L & R) Egypt - Narmer macehead – early dynastic period (3200-2700 BC) – limestone – This macehead was found together with the palette you have already seen in the Hierakonpolis main deposit.
• heiroglyphic for the early pharoah’s name with the horus symbol is on top.
• He is shown in the ritual setting of the heb-sed festival. Festival - every 30 years - perishable architectural constructions of reed and straw. Renewal of power and divine authority Also perpetually in the afterlife, to insure his divine existence; ie-Djoser’s complex. The pharoah ran around…
• On the macehead here we see pharoah Narmer sitting on the throne structure with fan bearers below, perhaps preparing to do the run.
• There are numerical value at lower right, maybe representing the # of defeated.
• On the other side are his attendant and scribe; characters who we saw on the palette as well.

Conclusion - No specific text that describes this specific scene, but we know it tells the story of the ritual activity being performed. We can translate the image into a situational narrative.

• (L&R)Miniature box – wood, gold, and paint – Tomb of Tut-anh-amon, Thebes – Late 18^th dynasty (1570-1314 BC). Luxury art in Egypt was a common occurance in Pharoahs’ tombs. We are lucky to have objects from Tut’s tomb left to us in such complete fashion.
• This wooden box carries a number of different narrative scenes; On one side we see hunt; The pharoah is racing in his chariot – a relatively new invention in Egypt – after flocks of caprids. The tangled mass of bodies adds a naturalistic sense of confusion and abundance to this ceremonial hunt.
• In another scene he hunts a lion. This theme, as we will later, becomes very important in other cultures as well.
• A further scene on the box depicts a battle, where we see the Pharoah conquer tribes from Nubia and Syria. Here again there is a tangled mass of bodies, which produces an intense impression of disaster for the enemies.

Conclusion – Once again, we have scenes here that are not referenced by a specific text. However, we have more than one distinct scene, each of which we see rendered in specific frames. And we have details that tell us the scenes cannot be going on simultaneously, such as the Pharoah’s presence – even though he was all powerful, he could not in two places at once. So this type of narrative could be seen as episodic.

• (L&R) – Standard of Ur – Early Dynastic IIIa period, 2450 BC. Southern Mesopotamia – Lapis and shell set in bitumen. These two plaques were found in the Royal cemetery at Ur along with many other rich objects accompanying the noble class of this leading city. The two ‘standards’, as they have been called, are probably the two sides of the sounding box from a harp.
• On one side we have the ‘war’ scene. Figures progress along the bottom in chariots, running over enemy victims. On the second register there are infantry soldiers. The procession follows to the top level in a boustrophadon manner – files of figures move up from pone side to another. Here we see the top level we see the procession comes together from two sides. The direction changes, but only because the figures are all headed toward one central figure.
• On the ‘peace’ side we see what we think is the banquet taking place after the battle. On the bottom register is a procession of animals, perhaps to be offered as sacrifices or to be used as food, or perhaps they are booty scored from the enemy. On the second level, we have a continuation of the offeratory animals. The top register again uses the boustrophadon organization – and we see figures facing different directions as they focus their attention on the important seated figures at the top.
• One additional organizational motif employed here in the standard is the use of icephaly – Almost all figures’ heads are pointing in the same direction. This device is helpful to us as ‘readers’ because it focuses our attention toward the most important figures.

Conclusion – The battle and banquet scenes here do not have a corresponding text. SO we are not able to read into the event specific characters, location, of time. But it is apparent that we have two moments in time from the repetition of certain characters. SO here again we have an example of episodic narrative.

• (L & R) Mesopotamia – Stele of Naram Sin – found at Susa - 2300 BC Akkadian period – limestone – 9 ft. high. The stability and predictability of kingship in Egypt is starkly contrasted by the shifting dynamism of kingships and city-state power in Mesopotamia. The Stele of Naram Sin is one example of monumental art from the world’s first empire. Naram Sin was fourth in a line of kings that conquered much of Mesopotamia and created colonial sites from outlying territories. Naram Sin was the most militant of the dynasty, conquering lands as far east as Iran. In addition to various military conquests and political restructuring projects, Naram Sin though so much of his accomplishments that he had himself deified.
• In his victory stele here we see the depiction of the (R)king on a mountain; he wears the horned headdress of a deity, and stands in a victorious posture.
• His defeated enemies crouch beneath him, falling down the mountainside.
• He is larger than all other figures on the stele, and his musculature is well formed and pulsating with life.

Conclusion - From an inscription we know that this is a depiction of the king’s victory over the Lullubi tribe of Iran. Texts tell us of the various battles Naram Sin fought and won – and were see as the battle is over, the king stands on the mountaintop at equal level with the gods and claims his victory. The scene encompasses the final climax of the story – The stele of Naram Sin is an example of culminating narrative.

• Aegean Harvester’s vase (L & R slides)– from palace at Ayia Triadha, Crete

MMII-LMI (1650-1500BC) – serpentine/steatite @1m. high– In the Bronze Age Aegean narrative art is a difficult issue because we do not have the texts to go along with the images – the writing system of Linear A has not yet been deciphered. The way in which narrative scenes are usually approached is though ritual or religious systems. Such systems and theories have been worked out through archaeological finds at sanctuaries and palaces. Ritual acts usually celebrated a renewal of the harmony between human society and the natural world. Priests and priestesses led ritual processions and sacrifices, either out in sanctuaries or in the closed courts of palaces.

Whether festivities took place outside or in, they required use of ritual objects. One such object is the harvester’s vase.

• On this object we see a banded relief image of a precession of celebratory figures. There are 26 men following another man dressed in a scaly cloak with long hair. The men are carrying long sticks, which could be for harvesting grain or sowing the soil.
• On the other side are four figures singing, one is also carrying a rattle. These figures are dressed in a kilt – a costume interpreted by some as that of the warrior class. Because there is no text explicitly telling us what we see depicted here, the scene has been interpreted as a sowing festival, and harvesting celebration, and a military victory parade. Regardless of what the scene depicts, it is clear that we have an event in a certain space, in which a variety of players took part. As we saw with the Narmer macehead, we have an situational narrative.
• (L&R)Vapheio cups – Mycenean - @ 1450 BC, Vapheio tomb on mainland Greece near Sparta. This cup is one of a pair. Part of a rich tradition of metal work on mainland greece during the Helladic perioc, this cup is an example of the goldsmith’s expertise in relief work – the high level of relief here would have been very difficult to achieve.
• The capturing of the bull depicted here appears to be rendered in three particular scenes. First, from the left of the handle, the bulls senses a cow by an olive tree.
• In the second scene the bull has succumbed to the cow’s wiles, and he is affectionately nuzzling her.
• In the third scene he has been captured by a young hunter. The youth ties him up at the ankles with a rope.

Conclusion – Here we have another example of episodic narrative even in the lack of textual evidence. We see the same characters shown more than once, and therefore we understand the scenes to be different episodes in time.

Narrative is also an important tool in the creation of architectural programs. By ‘program’ we mean the preconceived ‘thesis’ of the decorative aspects of a building or complex. Such programs were intricately planned and designed by both patron and artist. Often this was done to support propagandistic constructs. As you have already seen at Abu Simbel one way narrative works on architectural programs is to act as guide for individuals who enter the structure. It is this phenomenon of narrative as program guide that we will examine in our next three monuments. (L & R -Another map and blank) Again, we will be looking at New Kingdom Egypt and the site of Dier el-Bahari in the western Theban mountains, Minoan Crete and the site of Knossos, and Northern Mesopotamia at the site of Nimrud.

Hatshepsut’s Funerary complex (slides L map & R airview)- Deir-el-Bahari. New Kingdom 18^th dynasty (mid 15^th c. BC) Hatshepsut and Senmut. Hatshpesut had the responsibility of presenting Egypt to its people as a world Empire. During her reign, Egyptian military control was maintained in Nubia and the Levant, and regular contacts were continued with the Aegean and the Ancient Near East. In addition to maintaining the empire, Hatshepsut also had the problem of legitimizing her existence as the first female pharoah. Her solution to this problem was to present herself as male in public situations, and as female only in private settings. So these two themes; Egypt as international empire, and the ambivalence of Hatshepsut’s sexual identity are emphases in the narrative program in the building.

• (L & R – two exterior views). The tomb was built into the rock cliffs at Dier el Bahari, with a large, 3-tiered open courtyards. Each colonnaded tier, or terrace, had a different group of thematic reliefs on the walls. The first theme is that which identified Hatshepsut as the god Osiris.
• Here, in (R) a sculpture on the top terrace, she is shown in the guise of a male god: her skin is dark, and she would have worn the double crown of upper and lower egypt.
• The (L) reliefs depict her running the race in the Egyptian Heb-Sed ritual; the mystical run made by all male pharoahs before her – as we saw on Narmer’s macehead.
• The middle terrace has scenes of the pharoah’s (R)divine birth as the daughter of Amon. She is seen at the breast of the goddess Hathor, in the same divine light as male pharoahs before her. Her divinity portrayed here thus associates her with the long line of male pharoahs.
• Also on this middle terrace on the south side, are historical scenes of (L & R – donkey and tree scenes) Hatshepsut’s expedition to the land of Punt, a region identified as Somaliland. Here we see boats being loaded, commodities piled on, and even hints at specificity in the regional topography and landscape.
• (R – queen of punt)The expedition is rendered in episodic scenes, each vignette showing different moments of interaction between Hatshepsut’s emissaries and Punt’s queen and king.)
• On the lowest collonnade are scenes of (L)the transport by river boat from Aswan of Hatshepsut’s Karnak obelisks. This was a historically attested event, one that is depicted to the viewer in a way that looks ‘accurate’. It is a visual documentation of a historical event.
• In the back of the burial complex are chapels devoted to the gods Anubis and Hathor. Harshepsut was portrayed in (L & R) personal sculptures more feminine than those in the upper terrace. It is only here in the inner sanctum of the temple, the area that had the most restricted access, that the pharoah was shown as her true female sex.

Conclusion - So here at Deir el-bahari we see the presentation of Egypt through narrative programs in the entrance court. We see Egypt with its a strong, able, male ruler and with its many accomplishments. On the inside we see a different aspect of this personal shrine. The program as a whole mixes the use of free standing sculpture with series of episodic narratives in a very successful decorative theme. The visual stories have led us through the complex to discover different aspects of the pharoah and her propagandistic presentation.

Knossos Palace – Crete (slides – L-plan & R-airview)– two construction phases Mid (17-1500 BC) and Late (1500-1300BC)As we move from New Kingdom Egypt to Minoan Crete, we see similar use of narrative art in architectural program. From various archaeological contexts in the Aegean we are lucky to have numerous remains of Fresco painting left to us. As we have seen with the portable narrative scene on the Harvester’s vase, religious ritual and celebration was an integral part of the Minoan culture (R-palace recon) In the palace of Knossos the Procession fresco series furthers this theory. The palace at Knossos is known from ancient sources as ‘the labrynth’. As we look at the plan it becomes clear how this is so. The various shapes and types of rooms, all placed in this single building complex seem initially confusing. But there is logic to the complex; the groups of rooms all functioned as complete units within the larger palatial setting; suites were individually used for commodity production and storage, religious purposes, domestic living, and public appearance of the rulers. All suites were organized around the central court. In order to gain access to any of these areas, one would enter the palace through the main entrance on the west side.

• Once through the entrance portico, one stepped into the (R)Corridor of the Procession. It is here that we encounter the procession fresco.
• The fresco (R-cupbearer) was found along the east wall of the corridor. It continues south, into of the palace, following the path of the hallway, turning left and running along the south wall until it seems to stop at the entrance to the south propylaeum (r – slide of prop. And point to stairs on map).
• What we have here is a continuous procession that appears to be comprised of over 600 figures (l & r– line of processors). They were organized in two registers, together about 5 meters high. The male figures had a red skin tone and were shown in profile. They were dressed in kilts and adorned with jewelry. One distinguished female figure in the group carries an item her hands; we are not sure what it is she holds, but it might be the Minoan ritual object, the double axe. The figures process in one general direction, toward the propyleum, sometimes overlapping one another, and sometimes carrying other ritual objects.
• Once we reach the propyleaum, this procession seems to end. However, fragments of figures have been found north of the propyleum in the stairway (point to map): these seem to portray (R)figures, one in front of another, stepping up the wall. It has been suggested that it coexisted with the processional group in the hallway.
• If this is true, then we surely have one long continuous processional group through the palace and (L) up to the second story.
• Another single scene fresco from the palace in the east wing shows the ritual activity of (R)Bull-leaping.
• If this was an activity went on in the palace courtyard then it might be possible that the (R)procession through the hallway, up the stairs, and into the ritual chambers might be the procession that took place before the Bull-leaping ceremony?

Conlcusion – even if these fresco groups did not in fact coexist, the procession fresco alone is evidence for programmatic planning in the palace. These images act as a sign-posts that direct the viewer from less important lower rooms of the palace toward more important rooms on upper floors. One scholar, Mark Cameron, maintains that, larger figures were on the upper stories, signifying the importance of these rooms. It follows then, that the planning of the entire structure, not only decorative motifs, was preconceived to a great extent, as we saw also in Hatshepsut’s tomb.

Here is a situational narrative composition, telling the story of the ritual life of the palace: whether this activity went on weekly, annually, or once, we will never really know. But the scenes narrate to any person walking through the hall, mirroring the activities on the past, present and future. We have no clear repetition of figures, and there is no text to explain particularities of the event shown here – it is clear then that the Knossos procession fresco is a situational narrative.

Northwest Palace of Assurnasirpal II at Nimrud, Assyria (L-map, R-overview) – Neo-Assyrian Period, completed between 865 and 859 BC. Episodic narrative and its use as an architectural tool reaches an incredibly advanced state during the Neo-Assyrian period in Northern Mesopotamia. You have all seen the palace of Sargon at Khorsabad. This is one of many examples. The first of such palaces to incorporate the use of episodic narrative on orthostatic reliefs was Asunasirpal’s seen here. This structure (R-recon), as with Hatshepsut’s tomb and the Palace at Knossos, had an impressive and imposing exterior, along with monumental entrances and elaborately compartmented chambers. Rather than discuss the way in which the narrative relates to the entire building, I would like to present the detailed way in which the narrative directs one’s movement and reading throughout one particular room.

• This room (B – point to it, then advance R – plan detail, L-plan with reliefs) was the king’s main reception suite. Located off a central courtyard, room B is a long room; measuring 45 meters by 10 meters. It could have been approached from two directions through any one of five doors.
• The major doorway D was flanked by (L)bull and lion Collossi, which were butted up against the orthostats that ran around the walls. The king’s throne was located at the far east side of the room.
• Behind the king’s throne was an (R) apotropaic scene (slab 23). The king stands by the sacred tree in a libating gesture, with his personal winged genii behind him. The two long walls on the north and south carried the narrative scenes.
• The best preserved scenes begin on the south wall and move east to west depicting lions hunts, followed by a series of battle scenes organized in two horizontal registers (point to diagram on plan). The terminal door at the west end led into an antechamber (Room C) containing scenes on the back wall.

So, how does this narrative work within the structure? One would have entered from the public court D through the central doorway.

• One would then face the scene of the libating king and consorts (R). This apotropaic scene divided up the narrative space on the south wall. Upon turning 90 degrees to the left, one would encounter the same scene on the far east wall, as well as the king himself seated upon his throne.
• The seat of the king is the source of all action in the narrative reliefs. The first (R)slabs on the south wall (19) depict the king hunting lions. Throughout the visual tradition in Mesopotamia we see the hunting of lions and bulls become increasingly important, as they symbolize the maintenance of the royal power.
• Another important issue to remember about these images is the vertical organization. The action is on the top and the result on the bottom: on the top we see the king racing in his chariot, posed about to shoot the lion approaching from behind. On the bottom we see the king poring a libation over the lion.
• Adjacent to the hunt scenes are the first battle scenes. R-Slabs 18 and 17 depict the victorious battle of the Neo-Assyrians over various cities in the Levant. The king is shown in battle. He rides his chariot to victory over the bodies of his slain enemies as he shoots at fleeing figures.
• On the bottom (R) is the procession of prisoners and booty being led along by the Neo-Assyrian officials. (R)
• Here we see the king shoot at the enemy, and the prisoners return to the Assyrian camp. The king and the victories proceed from left to right – the activity emanates from the king sitting in his throne. And the processions of booty and prisoners return to the king – moving from right to left.
• (R) In a full view of the reliefs we see the scene in its entirety. So as one moves about directed by the symbolic and episodic narratives on the reliefs, one is continually being referred back to the king.

Conclusion - The audience is at the will of the king, following his power from the throne both spatially and cosmologically. Movement is achieved through the hunts and battles, from the top to the bottom of the slabs, and from the east to the west, and back east again, terminating at the location of the king himself. The intricate use of narrative supports the Neo-Assyrian Kings’ program of power propaganda. Each particular scene adds further detail to the story of the king and his accomplishments. The visual material here is a complement to the King’s written history – thus the textual impolication of the visual images s clear to us. The use of episodic narrative in the Neo-Assyrian palaces becomes increasingly complex with the latter kings. From the texts of this period, the Kings; Royal Annals, we have a written history of campaigns – we are thus able to accurately identify battle scenes taking place in specific places and times.

Conclude. Narrative is an extremely complicated and useful artistic tool. It can be used by its creator to persuade, guide, teach, and empower. Different kinds of narrative are successful for different messages. Episodic narrative, as we see here in Asurnasirpal’s palace, is instrumental in providing evidence for the king’s deeds as written in his Annals. It is a buttress for his propaganda. Episodic narrative also serves the same purpose in Hatshepsut’s tomb. In the presence of textual evidence we also have the use of Culminating narrative – (L) The Stele of Naram Sin illustrates this climactic use of imagery – we see the entire story represented in one single frame. The use of single frame narrative is also employed a great deal in Minoan art. (R) The Procession fresco is one example we saw – it appears to represent a certain type of activity, but because it is one continuous scene, and no figures seem to be repeated, it can be termed situational narrative. Varying aspects of narrative art are useful not only in their own right, but as tools in architectural programs for conveying messages and guiding inhabitors through spaces. For us narrative is also an important learning tool through which we can discover stories and events that happened in the ancient past. We can read the stories of ancient cultures without having the actual texts. Although we have seen its use in portable objects and permanent monumental architecture differs from one culture to another, it is a universal instrument to tell stories to audiences of yesterday, today and tomorrow.