The Great Pyramids of Giza
By: Brittany Wright
ART 101
December 3, 2015
Egypt:
This research is on the Ancient Egyptian Culture. Ancient Egypt was located in Northeastern Africa along the Nile River. Egypt was divided into Upper and Lower Egypt from 5000 to 2950 BC; the unification of Egypt was around 3000 BC. Ancient Egypt was around until about 50 BC. The Egyptians are known for many accomplishments; they include: their complex irrigation system, hieroglyphics, and the practice of medicine, the calendar, their art, and the construction of the pyramids. The pyramids were built as monuments to honor the dead. There are many mysteries concerning the construction of the pyramids. This research will be directed towards the Great Pyramids at Giza. The pyramids are a very interesting subject matter because they are gigantic structures that were constructed by only the minds of early architects and the hands of many workers. This research will cover the ideas of how these Great Pyramids were constructed.
The Age of the Pyramids:
The ancient Egyptian people were very religious. Their religion was very important to them; they worshiped their gods, and they glorified them. Their kings or pharaohs were also believed to be gods. The burial of their kings was a very important aspect for Egyptian life, and their belief in afterlife. This belief led to the construction of elaborate funerary architecture. These royal tomb structures were first known as mastabas,
The pyramids were built for a king, for his afterlife. All of his prized possessions were in the pyramid with him. The great egyptians believed after you died you came back to life. That's why they wrapped their kings like mummies, they did this to preserve the body.
In these civilizations, there were many worshipping and sacrificial places that were in place because of their belief in the gods and the afterlife. All around the world were temples and places to pray to the gods, but the religion in these civilizations was exceptionally strong. In Egypt, the Pyramids were everlasting tombs for the dead. The Pyramids are located on the Nile and was the most north and most sacred of all the temples. The belief in the afterlife was crucial in their religion. Egyptians treated the dead better than they treated the living. While your physical life on earth was short, they thought your soul could survive forever in the afterlife. These pyramids held important pharaohs and priests, that were placed in the tombs with gifts that they could take with them after they died.
The majority of ancient Egyptian structures studied by architectural historians and planners alike, were erected to honor a pharaoh or as a grand tomb for their journey through to the afterlife. Whether the structure was in the form of a temple, tomb or statue, the ritual and spiritual influence is unquestionable. The location, scale, and materials used to construct these monuments are all defining factors of how the space is used and functions.
Both the Mayan and Egyptians constructed one of the most greatest and well known tourist site of today's generation. (Shneiderman) The Mayan pyramids were built on Yucatan peninsula in Central America or what is now Guatemala. While the pyramids of Giza were built in Egypt. (Travel Guide) The Mesoamerican pyramids or in other words Mayan pyramids were built around 300 B.C. and 500 A.D. On the other hand according to Gustafson the pyramids of Giza were built around 2550 B.C. to 2490 B.C. (Shneiderman) Since the pyramids of Giza were built west of the Nile River, this created a space of isolation for the sculptors to build each pyramid. Similar for the Mayan pyramids they did not have the desert, but they had the jungle to create the barrier of their isolated land to make the pyramids.
The Ancient Egyptians everyday lives really showed through in their beliefs and religion. They were polytheistic and believed in over 2,000 gods including Re, the sun god, Osiris, the god of death, and Isis, the goddess of maternity who also resembled the ideal mother and wife. To them, their pharaohs were not just pharaohs, they were the actual gods themselves. They also believed in the afterlife. When they died it was really just a continuation of their regular life. The god Anubis weighed their souls, if it was lighter than a feather, they were free to pass into the afterlife, any heavier and the Devourer of Souls would eat it. The Egyptians would also mummify their pharaohs to preserve their bodies for the afterlife. The process was very
According to Egyptian and Sumerian mythology, there was a battle between two families of gods for supremacy and control over the ancient lands and the pyramids of Giza were strategic strongholds for the gods. (vi) The different shafts and chambers of the great pyramids are said to point to various constellations that represent several Egyptian gods. (vii) It is also thought by some that the pyramid may have been a place where Egyptians made a pilgrimage to honor the gods or their pharaoh who, according to legend was a descendent of the gods. (viii)
The theme I have chosen is the Quest for immortality/ creation of legacy. Ancient Egyptians believed that there was a life after death; they focused much of their life preparing for the afterlife. The afterlife did not come easy to them, as they felt like they needed to live the best life possible otherwise they would not be accepted into the afterlife.
The pyramids of Giza are perhaps even more well known than the Egyptian's hieroglyphics. These wondrous structures are thought to be based around the culture of the dead. A paragraph from Emmet John's The Pyramid Age describes these structures as such; “.. from the point of view of orthodox chronology, are the mastaba-tombs [pyramids] replaced. Similar to those used in Egypt.. they were a preferred type of funerary structure..” ( Emmet John 45). Mastaba's are flat roofed structures with sloping sides and are used as tombs within Ancient Egyptian. They were also the final resting place for most Egyptian people, and pyramids were used mainly for the wealthy or those that had some significance within the Egyptian culture. Pyramids are mastabas stacked onto one another, getting smaller as they reach the top. People have thought that the main reason for pyramids was simply
The Giza pyramid site is an ancient Egypt burial site. To understand the significance of the Giza pyramid site it is necessary to first understand the rise of Egyptian civilization, and the religious significance of burial customs. Egyptian civilization began when settlers arrived in the fertile Nile valley around 3500 BCE. Oral traditions and history were preserved as written communication in the form of hieroglyphics which developed around 3100 BCE (British Museum, 2016). The deciphering of hieroglyphics in the nineteenth century assisted greatly in understanding the ancient Egyptian world.
The methods and materials used in the construction of the pyramids continues to challenge historians, archaeologists, and architects to this day, and a better understanding of how the pyramids were constructed remains challenging. Analysis of the historical, architectural, and religious purposes of the pyramids provides the primary thesis of discussion. Social and political analysis of the pyramids along with the history and significance of the structures will be of significant importance.
The Great Pyramid of Giza is also recognized as the Pyramid of Khufu, Khufu's Pyramid and Pyramid of Cheops. It is the most significant and earliest structure in the world. This pyramid is the oldest of the three pyramids standing on the Giza Necropolis. It is also the largest of them all (Larry, 2000). This great pyramid is located on the northern edge of the Giza Plateau, which is 25 km outskirts, southwest of Cairo, Egypt. It is the only remaining standing monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (Crystalink, 2011). It is said that the pyramid was built as the tomb for the Fourth Dynasty Egyptian King Khufu (known in Greek as Cheops).
I didn’t know what to do, should I or should I not? I felt a sudden urge, so I went with my gut. Nevertheless, I jumped…
This essay focuses on two different types of pyramids; the Step pyramid which was the first pyramid and the Great pyramid, which was the largest pyramid built in Egypt. The essay investigates the meaning of the selected forms for the Egyptian culture and explains their dialog with the cosmos.
In the deserts of Egypt lie the colossal remains of an ancient civilization. These enormous works of human endeavor are the only member of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World that time has passed down to us. These are, of course, the great pyramids of ancient Egypt. But these imposing structures were not built to impress civilization millennia down the road. The pyramids in fact had a purpose to the ancient Egyptians. While they seem very simple in nature, as they are simply four-sided pyramids with square bases, they had a meaning for those that had them built. Even by today’s standards, the pyramids of ancient Egypt were an impressive feat of engineering, due to their enormous size, both in building materials and finished product.
Throughout the thousands of years that the Great Pyramid has been standing, there have been many myths and legends that sprung up. Among them was a landing site for alien spacecraft, a spacecraft itself, or the means to predict the future. This report is going to explain the actual reason the Great Pyramid of Giza exists, how and why it has existed for so long, and the story of its construction.