The Great Pyramid: Gateway to Eternity

Page 2 of 6

• 1. Egyptian world of the dead
• 2. Golden age of the pyramids
• 3. Into the magical machine
• 4. The eternal royal abode
• 5. The passing of giants
• 6. Find out more
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Golden age of the pyramids

Perhaps the greatest manifestation of the Egyptians' beliefs in the afterlife is the Great Pyramid, built at Giza by King Khufu around 2500 BC. Just over a century before this, the first ever pyramid, King Djoser's Step Pyramid, had been built, superseding the previous types of royal tomb. These early tombs were essentially made up of an underground burial complex in one location - with a large rectangular enclosure half a mile or so away, where ceremonies for the dead were carried out. Most of then had lain at Abydos, in the southern part of Egypt, but a few had been built at Saqqara, just south of modern Cairo.

It was at this northern site that Djoser built his Step Pyramid, which in many ways combined the old separate elements in one location - and placed a pyramid of stepped form, towering above them, to form a 'stairway to heaven'.

'...for sheer unique mass, Khufu trumped them all with the Great Pyramid at Giza...'

Pyramids became straight-sided under Khufu's father, Seneferu, the new form apparently representing the rays of the sun. Seneferu's accession marked the beginning of the golden age of the pyramids. The greatest builder of them all, he erected three examples, with bases ranging from 144 to 220m (472 to 721ft) square. His multiple pyramids seem to have resulted both from a rapid evolution of religious concepts during his long reign, and a structural failure that led to the abandonment of the 'Bent' pyramid at Dahshur. The 'Red' pyramid, at the same site, became his eventual resting place. However, for sheer unique mass, Khufu trumped them all with the Great Pyramid at Giza, 230m (754ft) square and 146m (479ft) high.

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Published: 2001-09-16