Submitted by: Submitted by uyuxo
Views: 10
Words: 456
Pages: 2
Category: Spirituality
Date Submitted: 05/04/2016 10:33 AM
Pyramids
and Tombs
“When a pharaoh died he was
buried in a tomb designed to
protect his body forever.
This tomb was called
a pyramid.”
The theory behind the tomb was that
if a pharaoh's body were destroyed, his
Ka (soul) would have nowhere to go
and would die. If his Ka died, he would
not be able to be united with the sun.
This in turn would cause the gods to
become angry, and they would no
longer protect the land or people of
the pharaoh. At least, this is what the
pyramids started out to be. They soon
became not only a final resting place,
but a symbol of power.
The first pyramid built was for King
Djoser. This pyramid and a few after
were called Step Pyramids. These
pyramids had steps from the top to
the bottom. This was supposed to
represent a gigantic stairway for the
king to climb to join the sun god in the
sky. It was during King Sneferu's reign
of power that the true pyramid, with
smooth, sloping sides was built. This
pyramid was to represent the mound
upon which Amun-Re stood to call
the other gods and goddesses. These
pyramids were built with winding
passageways, false doors, and walls of
granite. Most of the pyramid, however,
was solid. The actual entrance to the
burial tomb was disguised to look like
the outer surface of the pyramid. All
of these precautions were seemingly
in vain. By around 1000 b.c. grave
robbers had ransacked most, if not all,
the pyramids.
The largest and most famous
pyramid is the Great Pyramid located
in the Giza plateau, near Cairo.
This pyramid was built for the pharaoh
Khufu (Cheops). Over two million
blocks of limestone were used, and it
took over twenty years to build. The
base of the Great Pyramid covers the
size of almost ten football fields. Even
with their primitive tools, the Egyptians
cut the base so that it misses being
perfectly proportioned by only a few
inches. They also cut the outer and
inner blocks so precisely that a knife
blade won't fit...