A pyramid is a structure or
monument, usually with a quadrilateral base, which rises to a triangular point.
In the popular imagination, pyramids are the three lonely structures on the
Giza plateau at the edge of the Sahara Desert but there are over seventy
pyramids in Egypt stretching down the Nile River Valley and, in their time,
they were the centers of great temple complexes. Although largely associated
exclusively with Egypt, the pyramid shape was first used in ancient Mesopotamia
in the mud-brick structures known as ziggurats, and continued to be used by the
Greeks and Romans. Pyramids are also found south of Egypt in the Nubian kingdom
of Meroe, in the cities of the Maya throughout Central and South America, and,
in a variation on the form, in China.
Known as 'mr' or 'mir' by the
Egyptians, the pyramid was a royal tomb and considered the place of ascent for
the spirit of the deceased pharaoh. From the top point of the pyramid, it was
thought, the soul would travel to the after-life of the Field of Reeds and, if
it so chose, could easily return to earth (the high pinnacle of the pyramid
serving as a beacon the soul would recognize). Early on, the simple Mastaba
served as a tomb for the common people and royalty alike but in the Early
Dynastic Period (2920-2575 BCE) the pyramid began to be used atop the
underground chambers of the Mastaba. In the reign of Djoser, of the 3rd
Dynasty, his architect Imhotep (ca. 2650-2600 BCE) decided to place a series of
large stones above the Mastaba chambers in a graduated design and, in so doing,
built the first pyramid in Egypt (the famous Step Pyramid at Saqqara) which
rose 204 feet high and was comprised of six separate 'steps’. The base of this
pyramid was 358 by 411 feet and the 'steps’, or layers, were faced with
limestone.
The first pyramid, as we would
recognize the structure today, appeared in the 4th Dynasty in the reign of
Snofru who completed two pyramids at Dashur as well as finishing the work begun
on his father’s pyramid at Meidum. These pyramids also made use of the
gradation of stone blocks and limestone but the blocks were cut smaller as the
structure rose, providing a smooth outer surface instead of the 'steps' which
was then covered in limestone. The most outstanding example of pyramid building
in Egypt was the Great Pyramid of Khufu at Giza, the last remaining of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, with a base covering thirteen acres and
composed of 2,300,000 stone blocks. Known as the Horizon of Khufu in ancient
times, the pyramid was positioned for precise astrological alignment.
The pyramids of Mesoamerica follow
this precise design even though there is no evidence of cultural exchange
between Egypt and cities such as Chichen Itza or Tikal or the great city of
Tenochtitlan. The great pyramids of the Mayan civilization, and other
indigenous tribes of the region, are thought to represent mountains which
symbolized man's attempt to reach closer to the realm of the gods. The pyramid
known as El Castillo, at Chichen Itza, was specifically designed to welcome the
great god Kukulkan back to earth at the spring and autumn equinoxes. On those
dates, the sun casts a shadow which, owing to the construction of the pyramid,
appears to be the serprent god descending down the stairs of the pyramid to the
ground.
Evidence of pyramid-building in
Greece exists in archaeological excavations at Hellenicon and in the works of
the ancient writer Pausanius who recorded seeing two pyramids in Greece. The
Grecian pyramids function remains mysterious in that the ruins at Hellenicon
are not as well preserved as the pyramids of Egypt and there exist no records
by the Greeks mentioning pyramid-building. Pausanius’ accounts seem to indicate
the pyramids were monuments to fallen heroes and, perhaps, some were; but the
fact that the ruins at Hellenicon have a door in the base which can only be
locked from the inside has led some scholars to speculate that perhaps pyramids
were used as watchtowers (rising in pyramid shape but without the pinnacle). As
the top of the pyramid at Hellenicon is long missing, however, and as there are
no accounts of it from antiquity, this must remain speculation.
In Roman times the pyramid
returned to the Egyptian use as a tomb and the Pyramid of Cestius still stands
today in Rome near the Porta San Paulo. Built between 18 and 12 BCE, the
pyramid was the tomb of the magistrate Gaius Cestius Epulo and rises 125 feet
from a base of 100 feet. There is some disagreement over whether the Romans
took the pyramid shape from Egypt or from Nubia, as the shape and interior
design of Cestius’ pyramid could be interpreted as either but not definitively
as one or the other. The pyramids of the Kingdom of Meroe (south of Egypt in
modern-day Sudan) are identical to those of Egypt though seem to be lacking the
intricacy of interior chambers.
In every culture which made use of
them (and, of course, as mentioned, there were pyramids also in China,
throughout Mesoamerica, in India and, later, throughout Europe) the pyramid was
the centerpiece of a surrounding complex. Today the Great Pyramid at Giza sits
between the two smaller pyramids and other recently excavated Mastabas but,
originally, would have risen above terraces and walks and buildings dedicated
to the spirit of the deceased or to the gods of that particular place. The
positioning of the Sphinx at Giza, as well as recent archaeological finds there
and elsewhere in Egypt, support the theory of Pyramid Complexes as centers of
worship and even commerce, rather than lone tombs erected on empty plains.
