The architecture of Egypt has produced some of the greatest works of art of all time- structures that include step-pyramids, rock-cut tombs, and temples. It includes such famous structures as the pyramids, sphinxes, and temples.
The Egyptians built great tombs for their pharaohs to assure that their souls would be preserved in the afterlife. During the first two dynasties, the pharaohs were buried in tombs called mastabas. Similarly to the pyramids, these were built on the west side of the Nile to symbolize the state of life after death (the west side of the river was believed to be where the sun falls into the underworld). Burial chambers were cut into the rocks and lined with sun-baked bricks and faced with wooden boards. In the mastabas, there were also rooms containing all that the kings believed they would need in the afterlife, including their servants (who were sacrificed).
In the third dynasty, pyramids were constructed. The pyramids were actually tombs for the pharaohs. They were four sided structures that symbolized the sacred mountains that the god Atum or Re (sometimes called Ra) had created. The Saqqara Step Pyramids were the first and were made by the Pharaoh Djoser. They started out as mastabas but were enlarged by adding one mastaba on top of another until it consisted of six terraces. The surface was encased in smooth white limestone. As time went on more pyramids were built in various architectural styles.
Perhaps, the most famous pyramids are those at Giza. The pharaoh Khufu (Cheops) started the construction of these pyramids and the pharaohs Khafre (Chephren) and Menkaure (Mycerinus) continued the work. The biggest one, called the Great Pyramid is considered a magnificent work of engineering skill. The sides are oriented to the four cardinal points of the compass. The length of each side at the base is 755 feet(230.4 m). When completed, the Great Pyramid stood 481 feet (144.6 m) tall and its base was 756 feet (230.3 m) square. The pyramid was built out of 2,300,000 limestone blocks, each weighing about 2.5 tons each. The capstones of all the pyramids are made out of solid polished granite. The Great Pyramid was built by 100,000 people for three months of each year, during the period of the Nile's annual flood which made it impossible to farm the land.
The Great Sphinx at Giza, not far away from the pyramids, is also a form of Egypt's great architecture. It is a statue with the body of a lion and the face of the pharaoh Chephren. There are many other smaller sphinxes with the faces of many different pharaohs. The Great Sphinx is carved out of natural limestone outcrop, and is 65 feet (19.8 m) high and 240 feet (73.2 m) long. Between the paws of the sphinx is a stele (an inscribed, upright stone) that tells the story of a dream the pharaoh Tuthmosis IV had when he was a prince. The dream was that he stopped to rest in the shadow of the sphinx and while he was asleep, the sphinx spoke to him, telling him that if he cleared away the sand that nearly buried the Sphinx, he would become pharaoh.
During the New Kingdom, kings, queens, and nobles were buried in the Valley of the Kings. The tombs were cut into the limestone rock in a dried up river valley on the west side of the Nile. The walls were painted and sculpted with murals depicting scenes of daily life and the land of gods. The rooms were filled with everything the kings would need in the afterlife and more. The valley of kings contains hundreds of tombs, many of which probably have still not yet been discovered, but also many that have and have been pilfered into by grave robbers. The thieves were looking for treasures that were buried with the kings. One famous tomb that was not broken into was the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamen, sometimes called "King Tut". He was a pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty that took the throne at the age of nine and ruled until the age of seventeen or eighteen when he died. Some historians believe that he was murdered and point to the hole in his skull as evidence of that. Others argue that the hole was put there after his death.
Temples were also important in the architectural programs of Egypt. They were covered with hieroglyphics and paintings telling stories about the gods to which they were dedicated. Famous examples are the Temples of Luxor and Karnak. Another famous temple is the Temple of Dendur. It was actually built by the Roman emperor Augustus and honors the goddess Isis. It originally stood in Nubia, and would have been completely submerged as a result of the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Instead, it was given to the United States and it is now part of the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The sides are oriented to the four cardinal points of the compass. The length of each side at the base is 755 feet(230.4 m). When completed, the Great Pyramid stood 481 feet (144.6 m) tall and its base was 756 feet (230.3 m) square. The pyramid was built out of 2,300,000 limestone blocks, each weighing about 2.5 tons each. The capstones of all the pyramids are made out of solid polished granite. The Great Pyramid was built by 100,000 people for three months of each year, during the period of the Nile's annual flood which made it impossible to farm the land.
The walls were painted and sculpted with murals depicting scenes of daily life and the land of gods. The rooms were filled with everything the kings would need in the afterlife and more. The valley of kings contains hundreds of tombs, many of which probably have still not yet been discovered, but also many that have and have been pilfered into by grave robbers. The thieves were looking for treasures that were buried with the kings. One famous tomb that was not broken into was the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamen, sometimes called "King Tut". He was a pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty that took the throne at the age of nine and ruled until the age of seventeen or eighteen when he died. Some historians believe that he was murdered and point to the hole in his skull as evidence of that. Others argue that the hole was put there after his death.