The Pyramids of Egypt

The pyramids of Egypt are one of the few remaining monuments to an

ancient past, a tangible bridge to the very beginnings of civilization.

Fashioned more than 4000 years ago by Egyptian hands, they endure as
testament to the power of pharaohs. The pyramids were tombs built to house the pharaoh’s body and possessions.

The pyramids were tombs built to house the pharaoh’s body and possessions. Servants, weapons, anything he might need in the afterlife, accompanied him. His body was mummified, an embalming process that took seventy days. While alive the pharaoh was the falcon god Horus, when dead he was Osiris, God of the Underworld. It was Osiris who would sit in judgment of Egyptians who had died, a process the ancients called the "weighing of the heart". If the Egyptian had led an ethical life, he could then pass into an afterlife where earthly pleasures were amplified. If, on the other hand, his life was judged in the negative, his heart was consumed and his death eternal.

The pyramids were likely constructed with the aid of circular ramps. When the apex of the structure was complete, the ramps were then disassembled from the top down. As impressive as the pyramids are, and they stand as the only extant wonder of the ancient world, they failed the pharaohs. The pyramids did not repel tomb robbers, they attracted them. They were eventually shelved in favor of underground, hidden tombs of the kind pharaohs of later dynasties like Tutankhamen were found in.

Published by Bruce Dillenbeck, Ph.D. on July 2, 2006 09:07 AM | TrackBack