Roles of the Pyramids and Funeral Rituals in Old Kingdom Egypt

Immortality was the most important goal in oneÆs life, especially the immortality of the king or pharaoh. The well-being of all his people depended upon the careful administration of funeral rites for the dead pharaoh, and upon the careful arrangement of his resting place. Royal burials took place in pyramids, structures which achieved the height of their development during the Old Kingdom, 2658 B.C. û 2135 B.C, or the Third through Sixth Dynasties.

The pyramid and its associated industries accounted for the single largest sector of the ancient Egyptian economy. The building of the pyramid itself was a prodigious undertaking in a time when neither the wheel nor the iron chisel was known. The Great Pyramid at Giza, covering 13.1 acres, is made up of more than 2 million blocks of stone, each weighing an average of two tons. Not all of

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ification with Osiris and the myth of his death and rebirth are in fact a central theme of Egyptian kingship and its religious foundations. Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under one ruler, as well as the ruler having to undergo divine judgment, were encompassed in the idea of maÆat, or ôworld order,ö the ôrightö way of the universe. Also in keeping with maÆat, pharaohs were the reincarnation of Horus and were thus legitimate heirs to the throne: In the very earliest age the mythical history of Osiris was considered to be repeated in the experience of the Pharaoh. He, too, reigned over men; he was slain by death; his son, like Horus, arose to take his place upon his fatherÆs throne. àThe king was identified with Osiris, and was believed to be raised to life again in the person of the god, and placed upon the throne of the underworld. This eternal cycle was perpetuated by the careful performance of burial rituals, which ensured that a dead pharaoh took his place in the heavens as Osiris, and his son assumed the embodiment of Horus on earth. Before the deceased could enter upon his everlasting life as Osiris, he was subjected to divine judgment, just as Horus had been after the battle with Seth. He made confessions regarding
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Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page)