As time goes on and economies and their societies develop, new and redesigned forms of culture and power develop, as well, to keep up with changes and newfound modernity. With each generation emerges new beliefs, new religions, new standards, and constantly progressing and maturing ideals and mythologies. As a result of this all, hierarchy, or the way hierarchy is validated and perceived, evolves along with these new societal advancements. Through viewing and analyzing statues built in these different regions and societies, understanding how power is displayed through statues depicting leaders becomes easier and clearer.

Power displayed through statues in ancient Egypt was, yes, about the literal power that the Pharaohs held over their people, but in addition to this, about the godliness and all-mightiness that engulfed their position. Pharaohs were not just displayed mundanely and realistically or even romanticizing the realistic; they were portrayed with symbols and metaphors that go beyond humankind and daily life. 

A couple of the many examples of a statue with these traits is the Sphinx of Hatshepsut, which is a statue of the female Pharaoh Hatshepsut, and the Great Sphinx at Giza, which is a statue of King Khafre, who ruled nearly a thousand years before Hatshepsut. The Sphinx of Hatshepsut is a statue of a lion’s body with a human face, Nemes headcloth and fake beard. 

Another example is the statue of Ramses 11. To symbolize power, there are nine bows that the king’s feet are stepping over on the statue’s base. “The bow itself probably refers to the deserts bordering the Nile valley, places often associated with disorder and everything foreign…This allegory’s role is to permanently repel chaos by literally stepping over Egypt’s traditional enemies (The Cleveland Museum of Art: Art and Power in Ancient Egypt.)”

In short, Egyptian statuary portrayed leaders and rulers with symbolic and metaphorical means of power and control, ones drawn in from mythology, religion, and belief/rhetoric of the times. There were specific symbols and traits portraying power, and it could be inferred that the displayed individual was in a high hierarchy status considering the fantasy-like state. 

This differs from the way leaders in more modern times are portrayed. 

An example of this is the many statues of Napoleon Bonaparte. In these statues, yes, Napoleon is displayed looking powerful and victorious, but they hold no metaphors or aloof symbols such as the statues of Ancient Egypt. Neither religion nor mythology play a role in his depiction at all. The display and pose are based in humane-like activity. In a way, more secular than the Pharaohs. The same goes for the statue of George Washington, particularly the one located in the capitol of Virginia. The pose and stance are powerful, but less spiritual and metaphorical. These statues can be seen as God-like, but in a much indirect sense.  

It seems to me, like the less power a society lets an individual hold, the less they are viewed and depicted God-like. It also seems that in modern times, power is not depicted in correspondence with religion and mythology as much as it had in the past, or at least in more recent modern times. In ancient Egypt, power was depicted with literal displays of godliness, whereas in modern portrayals of leaders, their power is inferred, considering all we must know about their leadership is prior knowledge of the individual, with nothing religious to give the power visualization.