Ancient Egypt’s pyramids are the oldest and largest stone structure in the world. Along the Nile 35 major pyramids still stand. The three largest pyramids at Giza rank as one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. It was on the list of notable things to see which was made up by the travelers during ancient times. The ancient Egyptians also built temples of limestone. They designed parts of the temples to resemble plants. Moreover, many of ancient Egypt’s finest paintings and other works of art were produced for tombs and temples. Ancient Egyptian sculptors decorated temples with carvings showing festivals, military victories, and other important events. Sculptors also carved large stone sphinxes. These statutes were supposed to represent Egyptian Kings or Gods and were used to Guard temples and tombs. The Temples were houses of worship. The word temple most often refers to Buddhist, Confucian, Hindu, Taoist, and ancient Near Eastern and European places of worship. Most Temples are built to honor god, a God, or many Gods. Many of these buildings are considered the homes of gods. Back then and still today worship at temples often involves traditional ceremonies and may include sacrifices. Certain temples stood on sacred sites. The design of numerous temples was symbolic.
Luxor has often been called the “worlds greatest open air museum”, as indeed it is and much more. The number and safeguarding of the monuments in the Luxor area is said to be unparalleled then in any other part of the world. Actually, Luxor is really comprised of three different areas, consisting of the City of Luxor on the East side of the Nile, the town of Karnak just north of Luxor and Thebes, which the ancient Egyptians called Waset, which is on the west side of the Nile across from Luxor. The modern town of Luxor is home to 170,000 people in Egypt today. Luxor is the site of the ancient city of Thebes, which was the capital of Egypt from the 12th dynasty (1991 BC) and achieved its peak during the New Kingdom (1539 BC to around 700 BC). Although the mud brick palaces of Thebes have long disappeared, the stone temples have survived. The temple remained buried beneath the town of Luxor for thousands of years, and was not uncovered until a mosque was built on top of it. Now, the mosque remains an important part of the entire temple.
In Ancient Egypt, huge pyramids were created to serve as tombs for pharaohs. I believe that a temple was included for Egyptians to make offerings for their kings. Ancient Egyptians had a belief of Polytheism, meaning that they worshipped their gods, which led them to worship their Pharaohs very much. The Egyptians weren’t the only ones that had the belief of Polytheism. The Ancient Mesopotamia did too have the same belief. I mentioned earlier that the Sumerians and Akkadians rely on their gods. Well, by briefly examining the illustration on Document 6, the size of the temple tells me that the Sumerians placed high value on their gods that they look up to them for their own happiness and prosperity. Polytheism was very important for both civilizations. It contributes to how they govern their civilization.
After his ascent to the throne, the kingdom prospered and the young Pharaoh poured his energies and national treasures into building temples and monuments honoring his father, Egypt's gods and himself. In Nubia he constructed six temples, two of which were carved out of a Cliffside at Abu Simbel, with their four colossal statues of the king, are the most magnificent and the best known. Engineers designed the temple so every year on February 22 and October 22 the earliest sunrays shine on the back wall of the innermost chamber and lights up the pharaoh's statue, and fitting, he sits with the three gods of the sun. In all of his monuments he had his name cartouche and texts engraved so deep that no successor would be able to remove it.
Shown in Doc. #2 & #8 were the results of the religious influence on the Nile river valley civilizations. Egyptians built large triangular structures called pyramids as a tomb for the pharaohs, who were believed to be the embodiment of the sun god, Ra, after death (doc. #2). Pyramids were also loaded with riches and necessities which shows their belief in the afterlife. Doc. #8 is a hymn, a sacred song, written in dedication to the god, Aten, which shows that their religion also have impacted their works of literature and art. The author’s words of choice in the hymn show words of praise and joy suggests that the author must have been an upper-classmen living in that time period, as majority of the people in ancient Egypt are not wealthy enough to afford education.
Egypt is most often known for mummies, pyramids and other famous monuments such as the Sphinx at Giza. Egypt also made a name in art for its paintings, sculptures and the construction of its pyramids. All of these things were customarily created for the pharaohs and the worship of their gods and goddesses. Egyptian religion is polytheistic and their gods were anthropomorphic, meaning they had many gods that could take on both human and animal forms, including the feline. These animals were very well treated and worshiped just like a god or goddess. One of the most important animals considered divine in Ancient Egypt was none other than the feline. Egypt worshiped cats as gods and goddesses, mummified them to join their masters after death and even depicted them in statues and art (Ions, 126).
The most popular Egyptian pyramid was built as a tomb for the Pharaohs and their queens, it was believed that for the dead pharaoh to carry out his duties (after life) as king he needed to be taking care of in the tomb. The massive Egyptian pyramid is still a mystery of how it was built, the tools used, and hidden secrets in the building. The pyramids are the biggest architectural product of the old kingdom (2647-2124 BCE), a period of revolutionary achievements that solidified the accomplishment of the early Dynastic time. The pharaohs were buried in the pyramids. There are about one hundred pyramids known presently from Egypt, the three largest pyramids were built at Giza at the beginning of the old kingdom and about 146 meters high. The pyramids were built by skilled workers who were paid, it was believed that the stones and blocks were transported along the river Nile to the Giza
Mass media, pseudoscience documentaries and the world of Hollywood have caused a great deal of confusion among people when it comes the origins of the Great Pyramids of Giza. When really learning about the ancient Egyptians, it is not unfathomable to comprehend that they were the real masters of the sophisticated architectural legacy they left behind. Long before the construction of the pyramids, the Egyptians already had a thoroughly developed society with agriculture, religion, a writing system, mathematics, innovative artwork and monumental stone architecture. They were a true civilization with genius architects and master builders who had building and quartering skills that were ahead of their time. To question the architectural integrity
The first kingdom is known as the Old Kingdom which ranged from 2650-2150 B.C. The architecture in the old kingdom was mainly influence by the king’s first minister Imhotep. He was very good at his craft and was a skilled architect. The famous Step Pyramid in Saqqara was said to be designed by Imhotep himself; one of the first ministers of King Zoser. The most famous pyramids of the old kingdom are the three great pyramids in Giza. These pyramids run along the west part of the Nile River. The Nile River was and still is a very important major source of water for the people who live along its banks. The pyramids were built to bury the dead pharaohs, along with family, servants, pets, and their jewelry. Also the pyramids symbolize the almighty power of each pharaoh. One of the most typical and earliest of royal Egyptian sculptures is a statute of the great Zoser. “The life-size statue shows the pharaoh sitting staring straight ahead. For a long time, only such ...
Greek palaces and temples, consisting of massive columns, were built for the gods or other religious purposes. The temples found at the center of the polis, the acropolis, were made as earthen dwellings for the gods, a place for storage of sacred objects and offerings, and also served out tasks for the polis such as keeping records. Temples, along with other sacred places were sometimes only open to certain peoples or cults, and people who were not ritually purified or had “religious pollution” were not allowed to enter sacred places (Adkins & Adkins 338). The fact that the religion centers are in the middle of the cities symbolizes how Greek religion was central to Grecian life, it was one of the most important things to them. The temples also represent the architectural and cultural achievements of the Greeks. The magnificent style of these temples has influenced not only Greece but the whole world as Grecian columns have been a staple in architecture since there creation; this is even evident in the United States with buildings such as the United States Capitol, built hundreds of years after the establishment of Ancient Grecian architecture. Along with architecture, Greek art, most notably pottery and sculpture, was also influenced by religion. Greek pottery, depicting mythological and heroic scenes, and statues, portraying the human form often made in the image of gods,
Much of our knowledge about ancient Egyptian culture is based on elaborate worship rituals related to death and the afterlife. Egyptians were devoted to their gods and to their pharaohs who were gods on earth, as demonstrated by their willingness to build the pyramids for the safe passage of their leaders into the afterlife.
In the honour of their sacred gods, the Ancient Egyptians erected Temples. These cherished temples are another thing we associate with Ancient Egypt today. Some important Ancient Egyptian temples you may have heard of are Karnak, Abu Simbel, the temple of Edfu and the Philae Temples.
Initially, the Giza and Mayan pyramids served several purposes in their cultures and religions. Source three, paragraph five states, “Mayan pyramids functioned as temples, whether or not they were also tombs of high ranking officials. Only priests
"Temples, tombs and pyramids - all have witnessed this earth for thousands of years. What better than to say that these architectural achievements show us that Egypt's greatest virtue lay in its architecture" (Fumeaux:11, 1964)
One of the greatest cultural successes of Ancient Egypt was certainly in their architecture related with religion. Fumeaux mention, "Temples, tombs and pyramids - all have witnessed this earth for thousands of years. What better than to say that these architectural achievements show us that Egypt's greatest virtue lay in its architecture"[1]
The pyramids of Egypt are fascinating, however, they remain to be a mystery. The well-built architecture is located in Giza, Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile River. The pyramids of Egypt are the oldest and only surviving member of ancient wonders. It is also the pride and one of the most important factors in Egyptian culture.
Temples are used for various occasions based on different religion. The Jews refer to temples as synagogue which came from the Greek for a place of assembly. Mosque is roughly equivalent to Arabic for temple. While the Church of the Latter-day Saints, or Mormon, temples are centres for sacred ordinances to and for the living and for the dead, not a place of worship unlike other religion. The ziggurats of the Mesopotamian culture were designed and decorated with “stair-step” style going to a point where a god or gods could dwell and where only special priests were allowed. Ancient Egypt had temples for gods but their primary concern was its religion of the afterlife of souls. They made the pyramidal tombs in to shrines. In the ancient Greek religion, various gods were the main focus and in Classical Greek temple architecture created structures that emphasized that. An inner, windowless room, or cella as it is known by, housed an image of a god. An altar stands outside the temple, usually at the eastern end and often enclosed. Many of the Greek temples were built of off marble or other stone, carved and polychromed. They are situated on a hill or stepped platform and have sloping roofs supported on a portico by columns in a variety of styles and various placements. The design and decoration of Greek temples have an effect on architecture. During the 3rd and 2nd centuries bc, Roman temples began to evince Greek influence, using the Greek decorative style but placing the altar within the temple and eventually creating entire forums, or meeting places, of which the temple was the centre. In Roman temple architecture, the columns, in their various styles, soon became engaged rather than freestanding, and circular as well as rectangular temples were built. Byzantine and Western church architecture developed from these bases in the Hellenistic styles, and the names and