Essay On Egyptian Architecture

It is the largest tomb every built. It was the height of a forty-story building, and its base was the average size of eight football fields. The pyramid contains about 2,300,000 stone blocks. The limestone was covered with a layer of polished stone to add a shine. Deep inside the pyramid are the tomb chambers, one for the king and another for the queen.

The people of Egypt willingly labored to build these monuments for their rulers, believing that, as gods, the pharaohs had to be properly provided for in their afterlife. The Step Pyramid was built around 2630 B.C. It exhibited a radical new shape never before used, and it was so new the Egyptians used its silhouettes as the hieroglyphic for “primeval mound”, the first piece of earth to emerge from the soup of creation (Malek 90). King Djoser's chief architect for his pyramid was Imhotep. It is thought that King Djoser's stone tomb started out having the standard shape of a mastaba.

Stone was, therefore, the material from which temples and tombs were built, the finest and most graters examples are the construction of the pyramid. These two factors, belong to the religious and architecture of ancient Egypt, do nothing else but prove its greatness of what we have this days. "...the Egyptians made their complex hierarchy of Gods, and their strange religion. In the service of that religion they made their architecture" (Romer: 75, 1982). These pyramids were built to protect the bodies Of Egyptian kings and other royalty but before the pyramids became the standard for burials, tombs were used for Egypt's early rulers, nobles, and other high

The first know pyramid is the Step Pyramid. A step pyramid has very large edges that look like giant steps(Ancient). Archeologist say that the steps were used by pharaohs to climb to the sun god.The first pyramid was made by the pharaoh Djoser in 2630 B.C.(Logan). Many ask why the pyramids were built and there are many different ways to explain, but the best way is simply that they were stone tombs in which the body of the pharaoh(ruler of Egypt) could live in the afterlife(Sen)(Barrow). The pyramids have changed since the first step-pyramid was built.

Their belief was that the top point of the pyramid was the gate for the soul to travel to the afterlife and return to earth if chosen. These tombs were built which line up with planets and certain stars. 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 Egyptian sun god Ra, considered the father of all pharaohs, was said to have created himself from a pyramid-shaped mound of earth before creating all other gods.

Of the original seven wonders of the ancient world, only this wonder remains. The Great Pyramid of Giza was built around 2500 B.C. It is about 450 feet high, making it the largest pyramid ever built. By comparison, the Step Pyramid of Djoser was almost 200 feet high. It was built by the Pharaoh Khufu, who enslaved his own people to build it.

All of the pharaohs had a common goal and vision of building monuments to either honor themselves our honor the gods. In the beginning the pharaohs believed that the bigger the better, but that changed once they started paying attention for towards decorating the insides of tombs and pyramid. Also later in the dynasty they changed from 2 dimensional arts to more realistic looking art and painting of humans. Egyptian art is unique and one of a kind. You will never see any style of art like Egyptian art anywhere in the world.

It was during this time the first wonder of the ancient world was created. Under the reign of Pharaoh Khufu, the great pyramid at Giza was constructed to be his tomb (Woods 9). Khufu came into rule about 2,550 B.C, and instantly began the ginormous project of building his pyramid shaped tomb. For a pharaoh, his tomb is beyond just a structure. It is an everlasting memorial that truly depicts a remembrance of their reign.

Standing at 450 feet high and 756 feet across at each side, the great pyramid of Pharaoh-King Khufu was the first of the seven wonders to be erected in Giza, which now part of Cairo, Egypt. Made out of 2,300,000 blocks of stone at two and half tons each, it is marvel upon itself. It is ironic to note that out of all the ancient wonders built, the first one is the only one still standing today. Even in those times of when the pyramid was erected, in 2560 B.C., there were grave robbers. To prevent this there were elaborate and hidden passage within the pyramid which led to the pharaoh as well as he earthly possessions.

They used their skill and intellect to build great structures and monuments (the Great Pyramids are some of the most sophisticated ones known today). Above all, the world 's first national government was organized, which was a foundation of their society. Pharaohs ruled with the assistance of a chief minister who would oversee the business of government. These chief ministers would keep track of many important things like tax collection, management of irrigation systems, and farming (Elisabeth Gaynor Ellis et al. 25).