This whole thing kicked off when I stumbled across this picture of the Palette of King Narmer online. Super old Egyptian carving, right? Got me wondering how it stacked up against other crazy old stuff from back then. Seriously, how do you even compare these ancient relics without your eyes glazing over? Figured I’d just dive in headfirst and see.
First step, obvious: actually look at the thing. Went down a deep rabbit hole finding decent pictures of the palette. Saw Narmer whacking some poor guy, those freaky intertwined monster necks they call serpopards… weird but cool. Needed other relics to pit it against. Picked the Standard of Ur from Mesopotamia – that’s got fighting scenes and banquets crammed onto its sides. Then grabbed a Minoan fresco fragment showing bull leaping – totally different vibe, super fluid.
Armed with my coffee and way too many browser tabs open, I started putting them side-by-side mentally. Like comparing dinosaur sketches by different kids in kindergarten. Here’s the chaos I scribbled down:
- How they tell stories? Narmer’s palette bashes you over the head with it – layers, power moves, big king energy. The Standard of Ur? More like comic book panels, separate scenes doing their own thing. The bull leaper fresco? Pure motion snapshot, zero backstory served.
- People shaped funny? Palette Narmer is way bigger than everyone else – classic hierarchy shouting. Ur’s figures? Tiny and kinda stiff, marching along. Minoan ones? Glow with life and bendy poses, barely wearing anything.
- Why do these things even exist? Palette screams propaganda, justifying the big man’s rule. Ur? Maybe bragging about royal loot or showing off ritual. The fresco? Just capturing the sheer thrill of a death-defying jump, I guess.
Hitting the books (okay, mostly websites) for context felt like detective work. Egypt was laser-focused on the king and the gods – everything revolves around that cosmic order. Mesopotamia felt heavier on law and trade popping up all over. Then Crete comes in wild and free, obsessed with nature and pure action. Kinda tracks why the relics look so different!
Finished up staring at my messy notes. Realized trying to say one relic was “better” was dumb. Each piece was wrestling with totally different questions and worlds. The palette’s heavy symbols, Ur’s tiny detail work, that Minoan bull’s crazy energy – they all shout unique stories about the chaos of starting human societies. Makes you respect the sheer weird inventiveness humans whip out wherever they land.
