Seven Wonders Of The Ancient World

Ancient Egyptians believed that, upon the death of their king, the soul would leave their body and eventually return for the afterlife. The kings were buried in royal tombs, which later developed into the construction of pyramids. The most well-known pyramids, the Great Pyramids of Giza, contain the last remaining of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The quality and size of the pyramids decreased greatly during the fifth and sixth dynasties, as well as the authority of the kings at the time. Many of the goods placed in the pyramids at the time of the king’s death, meant to be gifts in the afterlife, worth lots of money, have been stolen by tomb robbers. The pyramids, such as the Great Pyramid, known as Khufu, were built because the ancient

Kings, or Pharaohs, had a very distinctive position in their society. They were seen as more than human, in fact, they were almost seen as divine. The Egyptians held the belief that their kings were appointed by the gods. The kings were meant to be intermediaries among the Egyptian people and their gods, which is why the Ancient Egyptians made it their duty to protect the king and to keep their body undamaged upon death. They made sure that their king would have everything he needed for his journey to the afterlife. The Egyptians even mummified the pharaohs in order to preserve their body. They believed that their souls would leave the body at the time of death. The bodies needed to be preserved so the soul would be able to recognize the body it was returning to.

After mummification, the kings were placed in tombs in the pyramids, along with gold, food, and other offerings. Anything that was buried with the king would be taken to the afterlife with them. “The pyramids became the focus of a cult of the dead king that was supposed to continue well after his death. Their riches would provide not only for him, but also for the relatives, officials and priests who were buried near him.” (www.history.com). This was the other reason for burying goods with the dead king, to make sure that the king’s family and the high priests were also taken care of in the

The pyramids for Khufu’s queens are unique because there is a lot of information that is still just a matter of assumption, such as who was buried in each of the pyramids. Similar to the other pyramids, the Pyramid of Khufu is encircled by rows of mastabas, where kin or high priests of the king were concealed to join him in the next life. The mastabas were not nearly as large as the pyramids, but rather small and