A philosophical idea initially exclusive to only the Ancient Greeks during the Classical Era, Humanism is a form of an artistic ideal in which the human man is seen as a “godlike” figure, and thus is the center of everything in the universe. As evident throughout history, the Ancient Romans had a tendency to adopt and build upon Ancient Greek art. Given this knowledge, it was not a surprise that the Ancient Romans adopted this idea. Nevertheless, this view of humanism was very much different from the god-centered view that the Ancient Egyptians had in relation to art. Therefore, it is interesting to observe the difference the humanistic, man-influenced-cause-and-effect view of the world/art that the Ancient Greeks and Romans had in contrast to that of the Ancient Egyptians.

The Art of Greece and Rome illustrates humanism and the differences that are seen in artworks from the Ancient Greeks and Romans versus those of Ancient Egyptians. Best exemplifying of this is the fact that Ancient Greek/Roman artworks were usually depictions of naked men who are of strong physical or societal power. On the flip side, Egyptian Art depicts humans and animals alike, and has a strong tendency to have the individuals clothed and wearing symbols of wealth and symbolism. This produces a contrast because the concept of humanism suggests that there is nothing higher than the human body, whilst that of the Ancient Egyptians builds upon symbolic meanings of objects other than the human body, such as animals or crowns.

Lastly, to exemplify these differences with artwork, we can look at the differentiation between the painting of the Egyptian god Anubis and that of Polykleitos, Doryphoros, from the Ancient Greeks. Anubis is seen portrayed with a head of a dog that may symbolize his ferocity and/or aggression as a god. Furthermore, the ubiquity of this artwork reached heights where Anubis was painted on the inside of a coffin so as to protect the soul of the dead individual. Deviating from this, Polykleitos, Doryphoros exhibits the more man-focused art known as humanism that the Ancient Greeks used in that the man is seen significantly leaning on his right leg rather than holding a straight stance, which is usually seen in Ancient Egyptian art. Furthermore, the muscle mass and proportionality of the sculpture, Polykleitos, Doryphoros, simply trumps that of Ancient Egyptian art. Therefore, humanistic art is seen as more “visual” and crowd-friendly than Ancient Egyptian art.