Narmer

(noun)

An ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period (c. 31st century BCE). He is thought to be the successor to the Protodynastic pharaohs Scorpion (or Selk) and/or Ka, and he is considered by some to be the unifier of Egypt and founder of the First Dynasty, and therefore the first pharaoh of unified Egypt.

Related Terms

Examples of Narmer in the following topics:

  • Egyptian Pharaohs as God-Kings

    • Narmer is also the earliest king associated with the symbols of power over the two lands, in particular the Narmer palette , a votive cosmetic palette showing Narmer wearing the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt.
    • Narmer may therefore be the first king to achieve their unification.
    • Consequently, the current consensus is that "Menes" and "Narmer" refer to the same person.
    • Some scholars now believe, however, that the mythical Menes may have actually been the Pharaoh Narmer, who is depicted wearing royal regalia on the ceremonial Narmer Palette in a symbolic act of unification.
    • Narmer was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period (c. 31st century BCE).

  • Sculpture of the Early Dynastic Period

    • Narmer's headgear symbolizes the historic unification of the two kingdoms.
    • Narmer wields a mace in his right hand as he grabs a kneeling man by the hair with his left.
    • Behind Narmer is his servant holding his sandals.
    • On the second register, Narmer marches between his sandal bearer on the left and a procession of standard bearers.
    • Above them are the names of towns that have fallen to Narmer.

  • Proportion and Scale

    • Narmer, a Predynastic ruler, accompanied by men carrying the standards of various local gods.
    • This piece demonstrates the ancient Egyptians' use of proportion, with Narmer appearing larger than the other figures depicted.

  • Art of the Bronze Age

    • Reverse and obverse sides of Narmer Palette, this facsimile on display at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada
    • The Narmer Palette, named after Egyptian King Narmer, is a significant Egyptian archeological find, dating from about the 3,100 BCE, containing some of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions ever found.

  • Painting of the Early Dynastic Period

    • This appears as early as the Narmer Palette from Dynasty I, but there as elsewhere the convention is not used for minor figures shown engaged in some activity, such as the captives and corpses.

  • Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Art

    • The Prehistory of Egypt spans the period of earliest human settlement to the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt in ca. 3100 BCE, beginning with King Menes/Narmer.