Ramses the Great's Smiting Scenes: The Art of Pharaoh as Warrior

When Ramses II carved his victories into temple walls, he wasn't just recording history — he was projecting divine power. In Episode 58, Lucas and Luna explore the iconic 'smiting scenes' that appear on nearly every Ramessid monument, from Abu Simbel to Karnak to the Ramesseum. Why did Ramses have himself depicted gripping enemies by the hair, raising a mace to strike them down, over and over again? These images were not mere propaganda; they were ritual statements of ma'at — cosmic order — triumphing over chaos. The episode examines the artistic conventions of the smiting pose (tracing it back to the Narmer Palette 1,500 years earlier), the specific enemies depicted (Libyans, Nubians, Hittites, and the mysterious Sea Peoples), and the hieroglyphic labels that sometimes name individuals like the Libyan chief Mesher or the Hittite prince. Lucas unpacks how these scenes functioned as 'execration texts' — magical acts that ensured the pharaoh's dominance in the afterlife. The conversation also touches on the controversial 'Battle of Kadesh' reliefs at the Ramesseum, where Ramses rewrote a near-defeat as a personal victory gifted by Amun. Finally, they consider what the smiting scenes reveal about Ramses's personality: a king who needed the world to see him as the invincible guardian of Egypt's borders, even when the reality was messier. A tight, visual dive into one of pharaonic art's most enduring motifs. #RamsesII #SmitingScenes #AbuSimbel #Karnak #Ramesseum #NarmerPalette #Ma'at #AncientEgypt #PharaonicArt #Kadesh #Libyans #Nubians #SeaPeoples #Hieroglyphs #ExecrationTexts #Propaganda #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo