Pyramids

Djoser’s Step Pyramid

• builds first pyramidical tomb

• had 6 steps

• eyes filled with rubies

• table where priests would serve offerings

• body laid to rest in a chamber underneath the pyramid

• robing room; bathroom

• essentially a permanent eternal house

• 40,000 clay pots filled with food

Sneferu

• Huni Pyramid

• change in a relationship between the king and its people

• he takes the phrase "the lord of truth"; he is saying his word is law and he is godly

• Bent Pyramid

• Red Pyramid

  - was buried at this tomb

  - built in Memphis

  - built on an east/west axis to mimic half of the sun

  - associating himself with the sun god 'Ra'

  - the workers were not eating the cattle they raised for the king; ate grain

Kufu

• the son of Sneferu

- built the Great Pyramid of Giza

- the biggest pyramid to be built

- 10,000 men in total to build the great pyramids

- built by ordinary egyptians

- skeletal remains of workers showed arthritis and other complications

- narrow shafts built that point upwards and lead to stars

- constructed the "Sphinx"

- the head of the Sphinx was his own

What were pyramids made out of?

stone

Why were tombs built?

to prepare for the afterlife, viewing death as the beginning of a journey to the next world. Tombs served as eternal homes for the deceased, filled with necessities for the afterlife like furniture, food, and treasures. For pharaohs, tombs were monumental complexes designed to ensure their successful transition into divinity, reflecting their divine role on Earth.