Ancient Egyptian Religion

One of the most influential factors of architecture is religion. This paper will specifically explore the architectural achievements of the ancient Egyptian culture that stemmed from their rituals and belief system. Religion was without a doubt the strongest aspect in the life of an ancient Egyptian. The monuments that still stand today had some religious relation mainly because the religious or funerary buildings were built in the best location, the largest scale, and built with the most durable materials.

Many buildings were adorned with images, carvings or statues of numerous gods worshipped by ancient Egyptians. The universal gods of the cosmic elements were Re (Sun), Nut (Sky), and Geb (Earth). Local deities included Sobek (the crocodile)

and various ram gods. Local gods that attained the status of a universal god were Amun (The Hidden), Osiris (Resurrection), and Horus (The High One) (Badawy, 1966).

While the Egyptian’s life on earth was important, their afterlife was just as important. Many people would say the Egyptians were “obsessed with death” but in actuality, they considered life to be so sacred, they wanted to live eternally and glorified life. They believed the soul could live on only if the body was preserved from corruption. Mummification resulted from this belief as did the place to keep their bodies. So, to accommodate their eternal afterlife, tombs were constructed.

The Evolution of the Egyptian Tomb

Nowhere in the ancient world has the tomb been given such importance as it has in ancient Egypt. The first graves in Egypt were shallow pits where the bodies were wrapped and laid in the embryonic position. Even in the earliest graves, pots and utensils buried with the dead illustrate an existence of some developed ritual of death and preparation for the afterlife. While the lower classes continued to be buried in these pits, the higher classes and more powerful members of societies started wanting a better and more protected final resting ground. This led to ideas that eventually began to dominate the Egyptian culture (Smith, 1938).

The first built tombs were known as mastabas. These were a free-standing tomb that resembled a rectangular mass of brick or stone with sloping walls forming a mound of earth and rose to at least thirty feet in height. From the beginning, there were two types of mastabas that were interpreted as a contrasting pair. For example, royal versus non-royal or upper versus lower Egyptian. The lower or non-royal was smooth with two false doors. The other type was more striking with colorful paintwork, intended to represent a palace. Some of the larger mastabas had numerous halls and chambers like those of a palace. The mastaba also had a space for a small offering chapel that others could come a leave the soul gifts and a serdab, “cellar”, that housed a statue or shrine of the deceased (Arnold, 2003).

The embalmed body, in its mummy case and sarcophagus, was placed in a chamber usually formed in the rock below the mastaba and reached by a shaft from the top of the structure. The supplies for the afterlife were also placed in the chamber. The shaft was then filled with earth or stone and closed from the top to prevent any grave robbing (Warren, 1919).

Beginning in the third and fourth dynasty, the Pharaohs begin to build their tombs in the form of stone pyramids (noblemen are still buried in mastabas). We then get the earliest form of a pyramid, a stepped pyramid. The oldest and most known stepped pyramid is Saqqara built by King Djoser, designed by architect Imhotep, of the third dynasty (around 2630 BC). Saqqara is the first pyramid built of stone and rises up six stages to a height of one hundred ninety-six feet (Warren, 1919). The stepped pyramid of King Djoser was also surrounded by a number of courtyards, temples and shrines, where he would enjoy his afterlife. Later pharaohs built very similar structures to the stepped pyramid. For example, Sekhemkhet with the Buried Pyramid, and Khaba with the Layer Pyramid.

It was not until the Fourth Dynasty that true pyramids with smooth sides were constructed. The earliest known was the Bent Pyramid and the Red Pyramid (named for the color of the limestone block used to build the core) at Dahshur, two of three structures that was built for King Sneferu. The Bent Pyramid was constructed with the upper part rising at a shallower angle of incline than the lower part which eventually collapsed due to the corners being built on unstable ground causing the walls to shift inward. The third pyramid constructed by King Sneferu, the Red Pyramid, was built with a flatter incline and became the first successful pyramid. It featured a single burial chamber that could be accessed through two smaller chambers (Smith, 1938).

King Sneferu’s pyramids paved the way for the most famous and celebrated pyramids in ancient Egypt, the Great Pyramids of Giza.

The pyramids of Giza are the tombs of the Pharaohs of the fourth dynasty: Khufu (Cheops), Chephren (Khafra), and Mycerinus (Menkara). They were built on a plateau on the west bank of the Nile River and were connected by causeways that led to temples (Warren, 1919).

The oldest pyramid of these is the largest and referred to as the Great Pyramid, the tomb of King Khufu, and one of the seven wonders of the world. Originally, it was four hundred eighty-four feet high and seven hundred sixty-eight feet on each side. Since being built, it has lost its outer covering and has been ruined at the top (Warren, 1919).

Khafra’s pyramid at Giza was the middle pyramid. In front of the pyramid, the Great Sphinx was built — a sculpture carved out of limestone in the shape of a reclining lion with the head of a king, wearing a head cloth, uraeus (upright form of an Egyptian serpent), and beard. Originally, the Sphinx was painted and surrounded by a courtyard. The religious intent of this sculpture was to represent the pharaoh in the form of the first sun and creator god.

The third and smallest pyramid of Giza was built by Menkara. Its height was less than half of Khufu’s pyramid. The lower layers were constructed of red granite while the upper layers were made of

limestone.

During the fifth and sixth dynasties, pyramids continued to be built but in much smaller scale and lesser quality. Along with the decline of the pyramid came the decline of the king himself.

One of the last known pyramids constructed was the pyramid of Pepy II, the second king of the sixth dynasty. Pepy II’s pyramid was also built at Saqqara and measured one hundred seventy-two feet high.

Overall, there are about one hundred recorded pyramids, most of which belonged to royalty. The problem with pyramids is that they stood out in a landscape which made them easier for grave robbers to steal from. This issue is what brought on the development of rock-cut tombs (or shaft tombs) and returning the tombs to below ground (Badawy, 1966).

Rock-cut tombs in ancient Egypt were tombs carved in the Nile Valley cliffs which provided a more secure place for burials. One of the most famous rock-cut tomb is Beni Hasan, located in the Nile Valley cliffs. Beni Hasan was a famous necropolis of rock tombs that house thirty-nine tombs of the ruling class (Arnold, 2003).

To this day, the pyramids and tombs of ancient Egypt are still viewed as one of the most wonderful architectural achievements. The Egyptians were not obsessed with death — they were obsessed with life. The feats and lengths the ancient Egyptians went to preserve the body for an eternal life is remarkable.