12/29/2023 0 Comments Builders of egypt genresIn the Predynastic Period in Egypt images of the gods and goddesses appear in sculpture and ceramics but the people did not yet have the technical skill to raise massive structures to honor their leaders or deities. The symmetry of the structures, the inscriptions, the interior design, all reflect the concept of harmony ( ma'at) which was central to the ancient Egyptian value system. The architecture of ancient Egypt tells this story of the people's relationship with their land and their gods. It is not surprising, then, that when these people constructed their great monuments they would reflect this belief system. The afterlife was simply a continuation of the life one had been living. The gods were thought to have provided the most perfect of worlds for the people of ancient Egypt so perfect, in fact, that it would last forever. The lives of the gods mirrored those of the people and the Egyptians honored them in their lives and through their works. Everything had been created by the gods and these gods were ever-present in one's life through nature. The world and all that human beings knew came from water, from dampness, moistness, from the kind of environment familiar to the Egyptians from the Nile Delta. Through his children he was also the creator of human beings (though in some versions the goddess Neith plays a part in this). Upon the mound lighted the god Atum who looked out over the darkness and felt lonely so he mated with himself and creation began.Ītum was responsible for the unknowable universe, the sky above, and the earth below. From these primordial waters rose a mound of dry land, known as the ben-ben, around which the waters rolled. Egyptian Architecture & the Creation Of The WorldĪt the beginning of time, according to the Egyptian religion, there was nothing but swirling waters of dark chaos. These structures still resonate in the present day because they were conceived, designed, and raised to tell an eternal story which they still relate to everyone who visits the sites.Įgyptian structures still resonate in the present day because they were conceived, designed, & raised to tell an eternal story which they still relate to everyone who visits the sites. Many of these whose ruins are still extant, such as the temple complex of Amun-Ra at Karnak, inspire as much genuine awe as the pyramids at Giza but all of them, however great or modest, show an attention to detail and an awareness of aesthetic beauty and practical functionality which makes them masterpieces of architecture. Ancient Egyptian history, however, still had a long and illustrious path before it and as the pyramid form was abandoned the Egyptians focused their attention on temples. 2613 - 2181 BCE) and represent the pinnacle of talent and skill acquired at that time. The pyramids at Giza date from the Old Kingdom (c. Equally impressive, however, is the link between these great monuments and those which came after them. The first pyramid in Egypt, Djoser's Step Pyramid at Saqqara, comes from the end of this Early Dynastic Period and a comparison of this monument and its surrounding complex with the mastaba tombs of earlier centuries show how far the Egyptians had advanced in their understanding of architectural design and construction.
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