The ancient Egyptians built their tombs on the west side of the Nile River and their temples on the east. This practice corresponded to the rise and setting of the sun which represented the cycle of life itself. The east signified rebirth and the west signified death. With the tombs on the west or left bank, the spirits of the dead would be ready to journey into the cycle of life.

The Egyptians believed strongly in the afterlife and made complete preparation for this journey.The three pyramids are actually tombs of three pharaohs of the Old Kingdom. In its most common form, a pyramid is a massive stone or brick structure with a square base and four sloping triangular sides that meet in a point at the top. Pyramids have been built by different peoples at various times in history. Probably the best-known pyramids are those of ancient Egypt, which were built to protect the tombs of rulers or other important persons. Pyramids were also built as platforms for temples by pre-Columbian civilizations in Central and South America. Still other pyramids exist in Sudan, Southwest Asia, and Greece.

In the 26th century BC, as Egyptian civilization was reaching its height, three kings Khufu, his son Khafre, and his grandson Menkure ordered the construction of three huge pyramids that would serve as their tombs. The first of these, the Great Pyramid, is the largest ever built. It stands with the other two pyramids and the Great Sphinx in a cluster near the town of Giza.

The ancient Greeks named the pyramids one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and today they are the only one of those wonders that still exists.

King Khufu's pyramid rests on a base that covers 13 acres (5.3 hectares), and each side of the base is about 756 feet (230 meters) long. The Great Pyramid once rose to a height of 481 feet (147 meters), but the top has been stripped.Originally 471 feet (143 meters) high, Khafre's pyramid was only 10 feet (3 meters) lower than his father's tomb. Menkure's pyramid, much smaller, rose to 218 feet (66 meters). Three small pyramids built for Khufu's queens stand near his pyramid. Also nearby are several temples and rectangular tombs built for other relatives and courtiers.

The Egyptian rulers ordered the pyramids to be built because they feared their remains would be disturbed by grave robbers. They chose a site on the west side of the Nile River because they believed that the home of the dead was toward the setting sun. The burial chambers were placed under the exact centers of the pyramids. Passageways, which were built angling down from the sides and leading to the chambers, were later sealed with heavy stones. The pyramids did not achieve their purpose of protecting the ancient tombs, however. Over the centuries looters broke into most of them and stole the jewels and other treasures that had been buried in them.

The Greek historian Herodotus, writing 2,400 years ago, estimated that 100,000 men labored for 20 years to complete the Great Pyramid. It is also estimated that 2.3 million stone blocks were used to build the pyramid. It was once thought that the blocks weighing an average of 2 1/2 tons each were floated on rafts down the Nile from quarries hundreds of miles away. A more recent theory holds that the blocks were cut from limestone quarries that have been found near the pyramids. Another theory suggests that the blocks were formed in wooden molds at the site. Many authorities believe that the blocks of stone were moved up a circular ramp constructed around the pyramid as it was built up.

Other scholars have studied the relationship between the position of the pyramids and the apparent motion of the sun and other stars. They suggest that the pyramids' design may have been influenced by a religion based on sun worship.

                                         THE SPHINX

A sphinx is a fabled monster. It has a human head and a lion's body. In ancient Egypt, where the idea originated, the head was usually a portrait of the reigning pharaoh. It also represented the sky-god Horus. The Egyptians always pictured their kings as calm and stately, with wide-open, staring eyes. The lion's body--symbolizing courage--is crouched with its front feet outstretched.

   From Egypt the idea of the sphinx spread to the Syrians and Phoenicians and finally to the Greeks. These peoples gave the creature the head and bust of a woman. They added an eagle's wings to represent majesty and a long serpent's tail to indicate wiliness. In later Greek literature the sphinx was no monster, but a beautiful, wise, and mysterious woman.

                                                   The Old Kingdom

Little is known of Menes' successors until the reign of King Zoser, or Djoser, at the end of the 3rd dynasty. Zoser's capital was located at Memphis, on the Nile's west bank near the point where the Two Lands met. Imhotep, a master builder, erected Zoser's tomb, the step pyramid of Saqqara, on high ground overlooking the city. This monument--the first great building in the country made entirely of stone--marked the beginning of Egypt's most creative period, the Pyramid Age

   Later kings built their tombs in true pyramidal form. Each pyramid guarded the body of one king, housed in a chamber deep within the pile. The climax of pyramid building was reached in the three gigantic tombs erected for Kings Khufu (Cheops), Khafre, and Menkure at Giza (Gizeh). Near them in the sand lies the Great Sphinx, a stone lion with the head of King Khafre

The Old Kingdom lasted about 500 years. It was an active, optimistic age, an age of peace and splendor. Art reached a brilliant flowering. Sculpture achieved a grandeur never later attained. The pharaoh kept a splendid court. The people worshiped him as a god on Earth, for they believed him to be the son of Ra, or Re, the great sun-god. They called him pr-'o (in the Bible, pharaoh), meaning "great house." 

   About 2200 BC the Old Kingdom came to an end. Nobles became independent and ruled as if they were kings. The country was split up into small warring states. Irrigation systems fell into disrepair. According to writers of the time: "The desert is spread throughout the land. The robbers are now in the possession of riches. Men sit in the bushes until the benighted traveler comes to . . . steal what is upon him." Thieves broke into the pyramids and robbed them of their treasures. The archaeologists of today can only imagine the splendid treasures they might have unearthed had thieves not stolen them first.

                                                 The Middle Kingdom

The Middle Kingdom period began about 2050 BC. After a long struggle, the rulers of Thebes won out over their enemies and once again united Egypt into a single state. Thebes was then a little town on the Nile in Upper Egypt. In the New Kingdom it became one of the ancient world's greatest capitals.

The pharaohs of the Middle Kingdom constructed enormous irrigation works in the Faiyum. Noting the annual heights of the Nile flood at Aswan, they laid plans to use the Nile water wisely. They sent trading ships up the Nile to Nubia and across the sea to Mediterranean lands. They got gold from Nubia and copper from the mines in Sinai. Construction of the most colossal temple of all time, the Temple of Amen (Amon) at El Karnak, was begun. 

   After two centuries of peace and prosperity, Egypt entered another dark age. About 1800 BC it fell for the first time to foreign invaders. Down from the north came the Hyksos, a barbarian people who used horses and chariots in combat and also had superior bows. The Egyptians, fighting on foot, were no match for them. The Hyksos occupied Lower Egypt, living in fortified camps behind great earthen walls; but they failed to conquer Upper Egypt. When the Egyptians had learned the new methods of warfare, the ruler Kamose began a successful war of liberation.

                                                 The New Kingdom

A new era dawned for Egypt after the Hyksos had been expelled. This period, the New Kingdom, was the age of empire. The once-peaceful Egyptians, having learned new techniques of warfare, embarked on foreign conquest on a large scale. The empire reached its peak under Thutmose III, one of the first great generals in history. He fought many campaigns in Asia and extended Egypt's rule to the Euphrates.

   Slaves and tribute poured into Egypt from the conquered nations. The tribute was paid in goods, for the ancient world still did not have money. Wall paintings show people from Nubia, Babylonia, Syria, and Palestine bearing presents on their backs and bowing humbly before the pharaoh.

   The Egyptian rulers used their new wealth and slaves to repair the old temples and build new ones. Hatshepsut, Egypt's first great female leader, enlarged the great Temple of Amen at El Karnak. She also built her own beautiful temple at Deir el Bahri.

   Amenhotep III built the wonderful temple at Luxor and put up the famous pair of colossal seated statues called the Colossi of Memnon. In the Middle Kingdom period, the pharaohs of Thebes had built modest brick pyramids for their tombs. In the New Kingdom period they broke with this tradition and began to hew tombs deep in the cliffs of an isolated valley west of Thebes. About 40 kings were buried in this Valley of the Tombs of the Kings.

   In the last years of his reign Amenhotep III paid little attention to the empire. It was already decaying when his son Amenhotep IV came to the throne. This king was more interested in religion than in warfare. Even before his father's death, he began to promote a new religious doctrine. He wanted the people to give up all their old gods and worship only the radiant sun, which was then called Aten. He changed his name from Amenhotep ("Amen is satisfied") to Ikhnaton (Akhenaton) ("It is well with Aten"). He left Thebes and built a splendid new capital sacred to Aten at El Amarna in middle Egypt. Throughout the land he had the word "gods" and the name "Amen" removed from tombs and monuments. 

   Ikhnaton's idea of a single god gained no hold on the Egyptian people. His successor, Tutankhamen, moved the capital back to Thebes and restored the name of Amen on monuments. Tutankhamen is famous chiefly for his lavishly furnished tomb, discovered in 1922. Its treasures reveal the luxury of the most magnificent period of Egyptian history.

   Half a century later Ramses II completed the gigantic hall at El Karnak and set up many statues of himself. He also had his name carved on monuments built by earlier rulers, so that he became better known than any other king. He regained part of Egypt's Asian empire. But the kings who followed him had to use the army to defend Egypt against invaders.

                                                     The Late Period

In the Late Period, the final decline of Egypt's power set in. The treasury had been drained by extensive building projects and by the army. Hungry workers had to resort to strikes to get their wages in grain. The central government weakened, and the country split up once more into small states.

About 730 BC, Ethiopian invaders entered Egypt and established a strong, new dynasty. However, they were unable to withstand an invasion from the north by the Assyrians. When Assyria's power waned, a new Egyptian dynasty reorganized the country. Persia conquered Egypt in 525 BC and held it until 404 BC. Three brief Egyptian dynasties followed, ending with the 30th, which fell to a second Persian conquest in 341 BC.

                                           HIEROGLYPHICS

 Ancient Egyptians had three different writing systems. The oldest, best known, and most difficult to read is called hieroglyphics. The word, which means "sacred carving," was used by Greeks who saw the script on temple walls and public monuments. The Greeks were somewhat mistaken in their terminology because hieroglyphs were used on gravestones, statues, coffins, vessels, implements, and for all sorts of nonreligious texts--songs, legal documents, and historical inscriptions. 

   Hieroglyphic writing has two main characteristics: objects are portrayed as ideograms or pictures, and the picture signs have the phonetic, or sound, value of the words represented by the objects. Thus hieroglyphs are not pictures only: they can be spoken, as are words written in an alphabet such as that of English. A written text normally contains three kinds of hieroglyphs: ideograms, which are read as the words they represent; phonograms, which are signs that do not refer to the objects they picture: they simply stand for one or more consonants; and determinatives, which have no phonetic value but help the reader to determine the correct meaning of the text.

   Hieroglyphics were established as a writing system by at least 3100 BC. The system remained in use for about 3,500 years. The last known hieroglyphic inscription is dated AD 394. In the earliest period there were about 700 hieroglyphs. In this first stage of writing only the absolutely necessary symbols were invented. In the second stage of development easier readability was achieved by increasing the number of signs and by using determinatives. After the second stage, a period of about 2,000 years during which the system was essentially unaltered, the number of symbols increased to several thousand.

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