Pyramid
This article is about architectural pyramids. For other versions including the polyhedron pyramid, see Pyramid (disambiguation).Pyramids are among the largest man-made constructions as well as one of the great Wonders of the ancient world.
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The ancient pyramids of Egypt |
See also List of ancient pyramids by countryPyramid-shaped structures were built by many ancient civilizations.
Egyptian pyramids
The most famous are the
Egyptian pyramids — huge pyramids built of brick or stone some of which are among the largest man-made constructions ever conceived, constitute one of the most potent and enduring symbols of Ancient Egyptian civilization.
Standard Archaeology claims that they were used as
tombs for
pharaohs, however their many surprising features have birthed many alternative theories, particularly since the great pyramids have never yielded a body. The
Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in the world. It is one of the
Seven Wonders of the World, and the only one of the seven to survive into modern times. The
ancient Egyptians capped the peaks of their pyramids with gold and covered their faces with polished white limestone, though many of the stones used for the purpose have fallen or been removed for other structures over the millennia.
The putative inspirations for Egypt's pyramids are themselves a subject of ancient and ongoing debate. Some Egyptologists have seen King
Zoser's
Step Pyramid as a symbolic representation of
ancient Egypt's
stratified society. A more recent hypothesis by Patricia Blackwell Gary and Richard Talcott ("Stargazing in Ancient Egypt,"
Astronomy, June 2006, pp. 62-67) derives the shapes of the pyramid and of the
obelisk from natural phenomena associated with the
sun (the sun-god being the Egyptians' greatest deity). The pyramid and obelisk would have been inspired by previously overlooked astronomical phenomena connected with
sunrise and
sunset: the
zodiacal light and
Sun pillars, respectively.
Nubian pyramids
Nubian pyramids were constructed - roughly 220 of them - at three sites in Nubia to serve as tombs for the kings and queens of Napata and Meroë.
The
Nubians built far more than the Egyptians, but they are much smaller. The
Nubian pyramids were constructed at a much steeper angle than Egyptian ones and were not tombs, but monuments to dead kings. Pyramids were built in Nubia up until the AD
300s.
Mesopotamians pyramids
The
Mesopotamians also built pyramids, called
ziggurats.
In ancient times these were brightly painted. Since they were constructed of mud-brick, little remains of them. The biblical
Tower of Babel is believed to have been a
Babylonian ziggurat.
Mesoamerican pyramids
A number of
Mesoamerican cultures also built pyramid-shaped structures.
Mesoamerican pyramids were usually stepped, with temples on top, more similar to the Mesopotamian ziggurat than the Egyptian pyramid. The largest pyramid by volume is the
Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the
Mexican state of
Puebla. This pyramid is also considered the largest monument ever constructed anywhere in the world, but it is still being excavated. There is an unusual pyramid with a circular plan at the site of
Cuilcuilco, now inside
Mexico City and mostly covered with lava from an ancient eruption of
Xictli.Pyramids in Mexico were often used as places of sacrifice.
France
There is a roman era
pyramid built in Falicon, France.
Ancient Rome
There is a pyramid in ancient Rome. The 27-meter-high
Pyramid of Cestius was built by the end of the first century BC and still exists today, close to the
Porta San Paolo. Another one, named
Meta Romuli, standing in the
Ager Vaticanus (today's
Borgo), was destroyed at the end of XV century.
China
There are quite a few flat-top pyramids in China. The First Emperor of Qin (221 B.C.~), with the terracotta warriors in vicinity, was buried under a large pyramid outside modern day Xi'an. In the following centuries a dozen more Chinese royalties of Han Dynasty were also buried under flat top pyramidal earth works.
Pyramids have occasionally been used in Christian architecture of the feudal era, e.g. as the tower of
Oviedo's Gothic
Cathedral of San Salvador. In some cases this leads to speuculations on masonic or other symbolical intentions.
An example of a modern pyramid can be found in
Paris,
France, in front of the
Louvre Museum. The
Louvre Pyramid is a 20.6 meter (about 70 feet) glass structure which acts as an entrance to the museum. It was designed by the American architect
I. M. Pei and completed in 1989.
The
Transamerica Pyramid in Downtown San Francisco, California.
The 32-story
Pyramid Arena in
Memphis,
Tennessee (built in 1991) was the home court for the
University of Memphis men's
basketball program, and the
National Basketball Association's
Memphis Grizzlies until 2004.
The
Walter Pyramid, home of the basketball and
volleyball teams of the
California State University, Long Beach, campus in
California,
United States, is an 18-story-tall blue pyramid.
The
Luxor Hotel in
Las Vegas, United States, is a 30-story pyramid with light beaming from the top, for some giving occult Luciferian symbology.
The
Summum Pyramid, a 3 story pyramid in
Salt Lake City,
Utah, used for instruction in the
Summum philosophy and conducting rites associated with Modern Mummification.
The
Pyramid Arena, is an arena in
Memphis, Tennessee.
| The Louvre Pyramid, a modern pyramid built as a feature of glass with a black inner pyramid and as an entrance to the Louvre Museum in Paris. |
| | The Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee. |
| | | Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas. |
| | The Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California |
|
| The Summum Pyramid in Salt Lake City, Utah |
|
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Surface Area MATHguide
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Volume MATHguide
* Patricia Blackwell Gary and Richard Talcott, "Stargazing in Ancient Egypt,"
Astronomy, June 2006, pp. 62-67.
