Egypt's 4th Dynasty: The Pyramids Of Giza

Constructed during Egypt's 4th Dynasty, The Pyramids of Giza are truly an astonishing work of architecture. These pyramids display several of the characteristics, that are now known, to be attributed to the Ancient Egyptian era. Years of research show that much of the ancient Egyptian's focus in their artistry, was that of a religious nature, regardless of medium. Artists of the time, focused their efforts on depicting the various Gods and Goddesses, immortality and the afterlife, and the glorification of the pharaohs. (MindEdge) One of the best examples of this are the pyramids. Each pyramid was built to be the final resting place of a pharaoh (Khufu, Khafre, or Menkaure) upon his death, and subsequent mummification. They were built on the

west bank of the Nile, in accordance to a religious doctrine so that when the sun set, it would take the soul of the fallen pharaoh with it on it's journey to the after-life. (visual-arts-cork) During the time that these pyramids were constructed, the time of The Old Kingdom, the ancient Egyptians believed that their pharaohs were essentially Gods on Earth, and were treated as such. Thus why, upon their death, they would be entombed in their pyramid, whose construction began as soon as they ascended the throne, surrounded by anything and everything they could ever possibly need in the afterlife.
Take a journey to the west and another trio of magnificent pyramids will be found.

Twenty-five miles northwest of current day Mexico city, lays a city in ruins, one that dates back over a thousand years. The Mesoamerican site of Teotihuacan, or The City of Gods, is what will be seen. Teotihuacan, as named by the later settled Aztecs, pre-dates them by quite a bit. By the time that the Aztecs arrived at Teotihuacan, it was already a ruin. The three temples Sun, Moon, and Quetzalcóatl (or the Feathered Serpent) are a marvel to see. The temples are positioned along a long, wide strip of land that the Aztecs named “Street of the Dead”, or “Avenue of the Dead”. (Khan Academy) These structures fall into the Late Pre-Classic to Early Classic eras of Mesoamerica, and were built in the talud-tablero style. Which means that there was a platform (tablero) after every slope (talud). (Metropolitan Museum of Art) More so each section could be decorated, most likely with various murals. (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

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The two structures above are similar in a few ways. To begin with, both sets of pyramids were built in similar fashions, and both the Pyramid of Khufu and the Pyramid of the Sun are nearly rivaled for tallest pyramid in the

world.

The structures differ the most in the reason they were built. The Pyramids of Giza were built to be the resting places for pharaoh's, whereas the pyramids at Teotihuacan were most likely built for religious purposes. One of the biggest supports to this reasoning is that during an excavation in the late 1980's at the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, mass graves were uncovered where at least 200 bodies were found, it is believed to have been a sacrifice to the God Quetzalcóatl. (Metropolitan Museum of Art) Even more, while both cultures did worship many Gods and Goddesses, in ancient Egypt they considered their pharaoh's gods, so they didn't worship at the pyramids. Which is something that did happen at the Pyramid of the Moon, the Pyramid of the Sun and the Temple of Quetzalcóatl.