Ancient Egypt’s pyramids are the oldest and largest stone structure in the world. Along the Nile 35 major pyramids still stand. The three largest pyramids at Giza rank as one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. It was on the list of notable things to see which was made up by the travelers during ancient times. The ancient Egyptians also built temples of limestone. They designed parts of the temples to resemble plants. Moreover, many of ancient Egypt’s finest paintings and other works of art were produced for tombs and temples. Ancient Egyptian sculptors decorated temples with carvings showing festivals, military victories, and other important events. Sculptors also carved large stone sphinxes. These statutes were supposed to represent Egyptian Kings or Gods and were used to Guard temples and tombs. The Temples were houses of worship. The word temple most often refers to Buddhist, Confucian, Hindu, Taoist, and ancient Near Eastern and European places of worship. Most Temples are built to honor god, a God, or many Gods. Many of these buildings are considered the homes of gods. Back then and still today worship at temples often involves traditional ceremonies and may include sacrifices. Certain temples stood on sacred sites. The design of numerous temples was symbolic.
Luxor has often been called the “worlds greatest open air museum”, as indeed it is and much more. The number and safeguarding of the monuments in the Luxor area is said to be unparalleled then in any other part of the world. Actually, Luxor is really comprised of three different areas, consisting of the City of Luxor on the East side of the Nile, the town of Karnak just north of Luxor and Thebes, which the ancient Egyptians called Waset, which is on the west side of the Nile across from Luxor. The modern town of Luxor is home to 170,000 people in Egypt today. Luxor is the site of the ancient city of Thebes, which was the capital of Egypt from the 12th dynasty (1991 BC) and achieved its peak during the New Kingdom (1539 BC to around 700 BC). Although the mud brick palaces of Thebes have long disappeared, the stone temples have survived. The temple remained buried beneath the town of Luxor for thousands of years, and was not uncovered until a mosque was built on top of it. Now, the mosque remains an important part of the entire temple.
The Pyramids Of Giza were chosen as they are three extraordinary structures that give a rich insight into the context, culture, function, technology, power and experiential aspects of the time period and the buildings themselves. The three pyramids showcase the Egyptian’s advanced construction and design methods, their religious beliefs and practices, their rich and diverse culture, the power of the king, as well as the context that surrounded these magnificent structures.
In Ancient Egypt, huge pyramids were created to serve as tombs for pharaohs. I believe that a temple was included for Egyptians to make offerings for their kings. Ancient Egyptians had a belief of Polytheism, meaning that they worshipped their gods, which led them to worship their Pharaohs very much. The Egyptians weren’t the only ones that had the belief of Polytheism. The Ancient Mesopotamia did too have the same belief. I mentioned earlier that the Sumerians and Akkadians rely on their gods. Well, by briefly examining the illustration on Document 6, the size of the temple tells me that the Sumerians placed high value on their gods that they look up to them for their own happiness and prosperity. Polytheism was very important for both civilizations. It contributes to how they govern their civilization.
The Greek and Egyptian Temples have differences and similarities. One of the main reasons they have differences is because of their geographical areas. The Egyptians were more into creating great monumental and fancy structures, whereas the Greeks preferred smaller and literary pieces of art. The Egyptian Temple’s layout has a more complex plan such as, courts, halls and chambers with the sanctuary deep inside the temple.
Egypt is most often known for mummies, pyramids and other famous monuments such as the Sphinx at Giza. Egypt also made a name in art for its paintings, sculptures and the construction of its pyramids. All of these things were customarily created for the pharaohs and the worship of their gods and goddesses. Egyptian religion is polytheistic and their gods were anthropomorphic, meaning they had many gods that could take on both human and animal forms, including the feline. These animals were very well treated and worshiped just like a god or goddess. One of the most important animals considered divine in Ancient Egypt was none other than the feline. Egypt worshiped cats as gods and goddesses, mummified them to join their masters after death and even depicted them in statues and art (Ions, 126).
After his ascent to the throne, the kingdom prospered and the young Pharaoh poured his energies and national treasures into building temples and monuments honoring his father, Egypt's gods and himself. In Nubia he constructed six temples, two of which were carved out of a Cliffside at Abu Simbel, with their four colossal statues of the king, are the most magnificent and the best known. Engineers designed the temple so every year on February 22 and October 22 the earliest sunrays shine on the back wall of the innermost chamber and lights up the pharaoh's statue, and fitting, he sits with the three gods of the sun. In all of his monuments he had his name cartouche and texts engraved so deep that no successor would be able to remove it.
Greek palaces and temples, consisting of massive columns, were built for the gods or other religious purposes. The temples found at the center of the polis, the acropolis, were made as earthen dwellings for the gods, a place for storage of sacred objects and offerings, and also served out tasks for the polis such as keeping records. Temples, along with other sacred places were sometimes only open to certain peoples or cults, and people who were not ritually purified or had “religious pollution” were not allowed to enter sacred places (Adkins & Adkins 338). The fact that the religion centers are in the middle of the cities symbolizes how Greek religion was central to Grecian life, it was one of the most important things to them. The temples also represent the architectural and cultural achievements of the Greeks. The magnificent style of these temples has influenced not only Greece but the whole world as Grecian columns have been a staple in architecture since there creation; this is even evident in the United States with buildings such as the United States Capitol, built hundreds of years after the establishment of Ancient Grecian architecture. Along with architecture, Greek art, most notably pottery and sculpture, was also influenced by religion. Greek pottery, depicting mythological and heroic scenes, and statues, portraying the human form often made in the image of gods,
The Valley of the Kings is a valley in Egypt which was chosen as the burial ground for a great number of pharaohs and nobles of the New Kingdom; the New Kingdom in Egypt spans the time between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC which includes the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth dynasties of Egypt (Long 2015: 39). In 1979 an organization known as the Theban Mapping Project was organized to strategically catalogue the present and available archaeological record of the Theban Necropolis in the Valley of the Kings. “The TMP’s goal is to establish a historical and contemporary record of all monuments … and to prepare detailed topographical maps, architectural plans and surveys of their history and condition (Weeks 2000:1).” The book
The Egyptians believed that if their king would be mummified and buried in a pyramid with food, furniture and gold vessels that they would become a god in the afterlife. In total, 118 pyramids were built in Egypt, during a time period where tools like the wheel and enginery
Pharaohs stared to use The Temple of Karnak to demonstrate their significance and godly status. In the columned hall with Thutmose l and the god Amun sanctioning the choice, coronation rituals would take place. Many parts of the temple show different styles and have different meanings, this is because for every new pharaoh a new structure was added. Religion in ancient Egypt was a very important part of Egyptian society, it was their way of life. They would do everything to please the gods, pharaohs in ancient Egypt were considered gods.
Initially, the purpose for the temple’s existence is to worship and bring praise to the male god, Amon-Ra. It is believed by the Egyptians that it is under Amon-Ra’s instructions to build the temple as a religious sanctuary to exhilarate his great power by prayer and making offerings. Each of the temple’s features has a specific association with Amon-Ra. For instance, the bordering ram-headed sphinxes represent Amon, and in-between each of the sphinx’s paws is a statue of Amon, which symbolized protection. Over time, the temple developed a new meaning, which was to serve as a reflection of the pharaohs’ ruling as King by executing an order according to their desirable royal traditions. Some rulers chose to modify the temple while others chose to physically expand its borders.
The two subjects chosen in conjunction for this consideration are the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Taj Mahal. I chose these two for their surprising similarities from different cultures and time periods. Both of these famous tombs are highly visible and respected in the world today. For this subject's clarification, tomb is a house, chamber or vault for the dead. According to Artforms by Patrick Frank, "The Taj Mahal was created by Shah Jahan alongside a river as a memorial to his favorite wife after she died during childbirth." Jahan designed the architecture in such a way that the marble on the building catches the sunlight and deflects different colors from different angles. The whole structure symbolizes the love, honor, and respect
According to Merriam-Webster (2018) the definition of forthtelling is to make public; to tell. In a word study, Biblehub.com (2016) defines prophecy as that which involves divinely-empowered forthtelling (asserting the mind of God). In essence, the message of the prophets of the Old Testament addressed the “current” status of social injustices and political circumstances which concerned Yahweh. The “forthtelling” of the prophets warned their contemporaries (Israel/Judah) and rebuked their sins and covenant violations (Hays, 2010, p. 64). In the Old Testament, foretelling predicts the actions of what Yahweh will do in the future.
One of the greatest cultural achievements of Ancient Egypt was undoubtedly in their architecture associated with religion.
The pyramids of Egypt are fascinating, however, they remain to be a mystery. The well-built architecture is located in Giza, Egypt, on the west bank of the Nile River. The pyramids of Egypt are the oldest and only surviving member of ancient wonders. It is also the pride and one of the most important factors in Egyptian culture.
The Egyptian pyramids are ancient masonry structures with a square. base and four sloping triangular faces located in Egypt [1]. were built as tombs for the country's Pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods. As of 2008, 138 pyramids have been built. discovered in Egypt.