Monumental Architecture

The cultures we studied this week produced grand architectural structures. Carefully examine the following structures, and read about each one in your textbook, course lectures, and other reliable academic resources:

· Ziggurat, Ur, c. 2100 B.C.E

· Aerial view of the Fourth Dynasty pyramids (looking north), Gizeh, c. 2601-2515 BCE

· Lion Gate, Mycenae, c. 1250 BCE

Choose your favorite architectural structure from the three above. Then, in a minimum of 3 well-developed paragraphs, answer the following questions:

1. Who created the structure? Who commissioned its creation?

2. What was the function of the structure?

3. What historical events or social or cultural influences affected the creation of the structure?

4. How do the visual characteristics of the structure contribute to or enhance its message or meaning?

5. How do the reasons this structure was created compare with those of a more modern example of monumental art work, such as Mount Rushmore, the 9/11 Memorial, etc.?