Pyramides and architectural forms of ancient Egypt
Introduction
In this essay the theme of a cultural, social and political process of the Egyptians will be addressed;We will talk about Egyptian architecture and the beliefs that they had about the construction of their monuments, and with this also covers the gods that was one of the reasons why some buildings were often standing and with these, theLifting and impact of Egyptian hieroglyphs, which this served to study the ancient Egyptian culture a lot and explain the cult of their gods and the types of rituals and architecture they had directed to their gods or rulers.
Developing
The ancient Egyptians used to build their sculptures, buildings, houses, etc. And these carried writings inside or outside with their hieroglyphs and even images of their gods made in great to be able to worship and admire them.
The Hypostila Room was used to represent a column room with a ship and high “The room is illuminated by huge windows on the walls of the ship.”(Art & Architecture Egypt) P.577. Which did not have access to the people, but to the aristocracy, however, they could not pass beyond the Hiposty Sala because it was destined to the Pharaoh and the priest.
For the Egyptians, the size of their constructions was of the utmost importance, especially those who were dedicated to their gods, so their constructions were very large and there was usually a harmony between the size and position where it began to build,These were called temples and it was where they were about to ask their gods instead where they had to be.
The ancient Egypt, having very marked social classes, began the constructions or monuments dedicated to those who considered important, where appropriate it was the pharaoh who was of the utmost importance and this made the Egyptians begin with the construction of pyramids, this as a symbolof respect and above all a place where the pharaoh could rest in his time of being mummified, so he would become a funeral chamber.
The most outgoing pyramids of ancient Egypt were in Giza and these were the pyramid of micerinos that was a construction based on red granite, and this material was durable so that any construction made based granite would last for many years “the graniteIt was used to build pharaonic works, funeral trousseau and unparalleled sculptures in order to last until the end of time.”(Art & Architecture Egypt) P.178. In addition to this, the red granite was widely used because it provided a light color outside the pyramid, and the red granite coincided with the other granite colors depending on the area of ancient Egypt, the red for the bass Egypt and the target for theHigh Egypt.
The columns in the ancient Egyptian architecture was also a fundamental part of its constructions because it has always been a support to the building, or even served as great constructions that made a labyrinth. The ancient Egyptians used five different types of columns: the polygonal column, which was very similar to the Greek Doric column only that the meaning changes. "The Sacred Egyptian architecture has several types of columns which are based on different reasons" (Art & Architecture Egypt) P.582.
The test post column is a bell -shaped column separates from the floor with a crest. The palm column is a column with an open palm capitel that arrives a Greco-Roman influence.
The lotus column is a column that the capitel was in the form of a closed lotus flower, with stretch marks in the form of large paintings. The papyrus column with closed capital is a column with vertical stretch marks and closed capitel.
Another important point of the architecture of Ancient Egypt was the false door;
"It was the magical place where it was believed that the deceased appeared to receive his funeral gifts" (Art & Architecture Egypt) P.583. These fake doors were constituted by a cavetto cornice at the top of the building, a superior arquitrabe, a post of the outer door, a tablet that represented the funeral cast, another arquitrabe at a midpoint of the door just above a roll ofDoor, a high and narrow door, a post of the inner door and around a bull mold;At this false door, the funerary cast scene is represented, but instead exhibits a niche construction modeled in the perimeter walls of the first places, and this more than anything with its architecture characteristics was to see the painting that it was aboutThe false door and to be able to date the tombs.
Egyptian architecture has always been something important that a lot of study deals, because it was not only the proportion and meaning they had, but also the gods that were a fundamental part of ancient Egypt;Ancient Egypt had deities capable of surprising and it was like other civilizations, each deity was destined for something and these came to relate to important pharaoh.
One of these gods is Hathor and in honor of her built the "Hathor Capital" that reveals Hathor’s face on both sides on a classic column of the Egyptian style where he represents the manifestations of Hathor "she joined elements of heaven and earth, thisWorld and next, indigenous and foreign, but the main ideas related to Hathor, shared by all its manifestations, were of love, protection and joy.”(Art & Architecture Egypt) P.577.
The Keops pyramid was named for the second pharaoh of dynasty IV had many elements such as cemetery, ship, etc. But the funeral complex had a spiritual sense of the KA “at birth, the person draws, despite himself, a part of Ka, as he called it, and in his death he returned to Ka.”The Keops pyramid contained a cemetery that connected people close to Pharaoh and their tombs were simple;compared to the pharaoh that had a whole funeral complex.
There were several buildings on behalf of these deities, to name a few others are the Abu Simel that dedicated to Ramses II and another building very similar to his wife Nefertiti, the temple of Luxor, Karnak, of Kom Ombo, of Hastheput, of Rame and Edfu.
However, despite the fact that these were rulers, the most important thing were their gods among which are Amun who was the God of creation, Anubis who was the God of the Holy Earth or better known as the God of the dead,Atum who was a solar god, Bastet who was the goddess cat, Khnum the potter of the gods, Isis who helped find the dead in the other life, etc.
Not only this, but also the hieroglyphs were an important basis not only of architecture, but also of literature, stories, stories, etc. The Egyptians thought about everything at the time of building, and this helped the study of these.
Something that the ancient Egyptians used to do as well as other civilizations, was to name their constructions and especially to their pyramids this with their hieroglyphic system that was of the utmost importance, because from there they could transmit their culture and beliefs and not onlyWith simple constructions, which were usually things of the king "the real pyramids of the ancient kingdoms of Egypt had their own names and with them a statement of the king" (Art & Architecture Egypt) P.570.
With the hieroglyphs, the ancient Egyptians gave a symbol to each king or God in which they highlight the cimitar, the dagger, scepter, the symbol of Mekes, Pilar, etc. And this also gave symbol to the crowns that served to identify some important elements of the Egyptian culture “The Kings of Regalia included a variety of headdresses such as feathers, plant stems, ram horns, cobras and solar discs” (Art & Architecture Egypt) p.573.
All the architecture and art that had the ancient Egyptian was not only their own, but somehow took parts of some other civilizations such as the Greeks with the type of columns, and also of the Chinese by the type ofLoto flower column they made, it also had a lot of influence of the culture of the entire fertile crescent, because with wars and invasions, both cultures mixed and had great development in all kinds of architecture, to mention one of these battles wasThe battle of Qadesh in which Ramses II participated with many carriages.
When the Romans arrive in Egypt and impose both their religion and culture, the Egyptians leave aside the buildings with the faces of their gods to begin to create buildings in some cases to Roman gods and already a little later after the Christian God, butThese constructions passing the years have different intentions, before were for Egyptian gods or pharaohs, then they are used for buildings of Roman gods or Christians, and for the 600 d.c. That Muslims expand Islam and 1500 with the conquest of the Ottoman Empire Empire, the constructions of mosques begin.
conclusion
In conclusion, the importance of architecture in the ancient Egyptian has been seen and why it was a cultural, political and social process in the history of humanity. A cultural process because its architecture was very peculiar in terms of pyramids and sphinxes in which they were towards gods or rulers. A social process because it was society who intervened in the constructions of these monuments and a political process for the type of construction that were made to the gods and especially the major rulers.
Bibliography
- Schulz Regine;Seidel, Matthias. Regine. Art & Architecture Egypt. China: h.F. Ullman, 2013.
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