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The Great Pyramids Of Giza

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Djoser’s Funerary Complex built during the Third Dynasty (twenty six hundred BCE) measured an astounding eighteen hundred feet long and nine hundred feet wide with thirty four foot white limestone walls. Beyond it’s massive scope, it is significant because it was designed by the first architect we know by name, Imhotep. Imhotep was worshipped as a god within the Egyptian culture, which is not uncommon; but it gives insight to the political ramifications of artists in even this time period thousands of years ago.

Egyptian architecture and other forms of art continued throughout the dynasties. The Fourth Dynasty saw the rise of the Great Pyramids of Giza from twenty five seventy five to twenty four fifty BCE. These pyramids were crafted to represent the rulers Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure. They were originally covered in limestone and topped with gold to reflect the sun’s rays, creating a majestic sight in the name of the pharaohs. Outside of Khafre’s mortuary temple lies the Great Sphinx of Giza. At sixty five feet in height, it is still one of the largest single stone sculptures in the world. While the Great Sphinx was meant to represent a pharaoh, likely Khafre himself, the sphinx in general was representational of the intelligence of humans with the strength of a lion and closely associated with the sun god Ra, further lending credit to their great pharaoh.

As was common with Egyptian royalty as evidenced by these temples, there were often life size

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