DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.67683#0041
EARLY EGYPT AND THE OLD KINGDOM 17
alabaster, and granite were readily accessible; harder stones,
frequently valuable for their beauty of color — diorite, porphyry,
green and yellow breccia — though found more sparingly and in
places difficult of access because of desert conditions, furnished
choice material for the sculptor and maker of vases.
ARCHITECTURE
In view of the religious beliefs of the Egyptian, it is not sur-
prising to find his architecture strongly influenced by a desire
to create a permanent abiding place for the dead, for he could not
conceive of a future existence without the body. Hence one of
the most characteristic structures of Egypt and one which
stands out as the chief accomplishment of this period in architec-
ture is the royal tomb, which culminates in the great Pyramids
of Gi^eh. Before studying these monuments in detail let us stop
at a distant view (Pl. 1 c) and notice first, that they stand on the
plateau which forms the brink of the Nile valley, safe from the
highest level of the river; second, they gradually rise in un-
broken line from the long
horizontal plateau up
against a cloudless sky to
an apex pointing to the
sun which they symbo-
lize, affording a shape of
great simplicity and
dignity entirely fitting
for a tomb. Contrast for
a moment the fagade of a
Gothic cathedral (Pl. 84)
with its multiplicity of
vertical lines, each point-
ed arch, statue, pinnacle,
buttress, and tower con-
to the soaring
d to the broken
light and shade; and no-
tice how different is the feeling of unrest and exaltation there
experienced from the quiet repose that comes from the unity of
the unbroken line and surface of the pyramid.
Approaching the Pyramid of PJoufu (Fig. 11), the northern one
of the group at Gizeh, as we wander about or sit down in the
sand, let us think back over the long development that led up to
Fig. xi. Pyramid of Khufu. Gizeh. H.
originally 481 ft.; 755 ft. square; covering an
area of 13 acres; c. 2900 b.c.
tributing
quality ai
alabaster, and granite were readily accessible; harder stones,
frequently valuable for their beauty of color — diorite, porphyry,
green and yellow breccia — though found more sparingly and in
places difficult of access because of desert conditions, furnished
choice material for the sculptor and maker of vases.
ARCHITECTURE
In view of the religious beliefs of the Egyptian, it is not sur-
prising to find his architecture strongly influenced by a desire
to create a permanent abiding place for the dead, for he could not
conceive of a future existence without the body. Hence one of
the most characteristic structures of Egypt and one which
stands out as the chief accomplishment of this period in architec-
ture is the royal tomb, which culminates in the great Pyramids
of Gi^eh. Before studying these monuments in detail let us stop
at a distant view (Pl. 1 c) and notice first, that they stand on the
plateau which forms the brink of the Nile valley, safe from the
highest level of the river; second, they gradually rise in un-
broken line from the long
horizontal plateau up
against a cloudless sky to
an apex pointing to the
sun which they symbo-
lize, affording a shape of
great simplicity and
dignity entirely fitting
for a tomb. Contrast for
a moment the fagade of a
Gothic cathedral (Pl. 84)
with its multiplicity of
vertical lines, each point-
ed arch, statue, pinnacle,
buttress, and tower con-
to the soaring
d to the broken
light and shade; and no-
tice how different is the feeling of unrest and exaltation there
experienced from the quiet repose that comes from the unity of
the unbroken line and surface of the pyramid.
Approaching the Pyramid of PJoufu (Fig. 11), the northern one
of the group at Gizeh, as we wander about or sit down in the
sand, let us think back over the long development that led up to
Fig. xi. Pyramid of Khufu. Gizeh. H.
originally 481 ft.; 755 ft. square; covering an
area of 13 acres; c. 2900 b.c.
tributing
quality ai