On our first stop during this three part tour of architecture throughout history we will visit the Step Pyramid of Saqqara, formally known as the Pyramid of Djoser. While we explore the ends and outs of this great structure we will want to keep in mind the type of life that someone in this time period would have lived. They believed the Pharaoh to be human and God on earth. The average individual living during this time lived only to serve their God. It can be somewhat confusing at first. Mainly because the Egyptian's in general have many gods. There have been some periods during their history that they became monotheistic, however, these periods were the minority throughout these peoples long history. Even during these periods the reigning Pharaoh would choose the god that would be worshiped, thus the god during these monotheistic times changed from pharaoh to pharaoh.  However, we are talking about him and his reign today mainly because of his influence in architecture. Djoser commissioned the first known pyramid structure to be built. Today it is the oldest man made structure known to exist. The power he must have had to make such a great construction project happen is incomprehensible. He did not do this himself. He sought after the best known engineer under his rule. His name was Imhotep. Imhotep was a well respected individual. Even today there are statues made of solid metals on show in Egypt and around the world. He was the master mind behind the physical and logistical plans to make Djoser's structure a success. He deserves much of the credit for making it happen, as Djoser does for pulling his resources together to make it happen. Picture #1: Pyramid of Djoser (left) Now, we shall move on to the structure itself. The pyramid is located in Saqqara, Egypt; which in modern day is just a hour or two car ride away from Cairo and Giza, where the Great Pyramid is located. I am fortunate enough to have visited this amazing structure in person. Upon arriving at the pyramid complex, where many other pyramids are located as well, I was taken back at how amazing the structure was. Being able to see the Pyramid of Djoser, which was constructed during the third dynasty roughly 2630 BC to 2611 BC, was truly amazing. However, the excitement soon ended as the military police escorted us to the point where I took the above picture, and no closer. It was not fair, however, the individuals with the guns make the rules and those were their rules. Surprisingly enough, we were the only ones in the area and still they would not let us move closer. The structure's name gives way to the design plans; it is a step pyramid. It was constructed by building six mastabas, a flat roof building, one on top of the other in decreasing size. This gave way to the shape of the pyramid. This is simple for our minds to wrap around in modern day with powerful tools to move heavy building materials around at ease. Unfortunately these types of machines were not available over 4,500 years ago. They used man power. This was convenient because the individuals of the day were subject to rule of the Pharaoh, and so they slaved to build their living god his pyramid. Why did Djoser want to build this new type of structure? When looking through the translation of the primary source used for this episode it is easy to see the purpose of the pyramid. It is hard to tell whether these were the exact reasons why Djoser built this structure, because to our knowledge this was the first structure of its kind to be built. I do think these ancient texts shine some light on the thoughts leading up to this type of project. Ancient Egyptian texts are referenced as specific utterances. The primary source for this page is utterance 601. In the text, a sort of prayer to the gods is described. They ask for the pyramid to endure forever and ever, for the pharaoh that constructed the pyramid to endure forever, and for the temple to endure forever. The overwhelming thing that I took away from this was eternal life; the idea that one will live forever and this would be his resting place for all of eternity. This is a well respected theory on why such structures were built throughout Egypt's history. Again, it is hard to tell if these were the exact reasons that caused Djoser to construct his Pyramid. They merely shine some light on a subject that may never be full lit due to how long ago this structure was constructed. Introduction Pyramid of Djoser Abbey of Montecassino The Suleymaniye Mosque Conclusion Resources: Primary Source: Utterance 601. Ancient Pyramid Texts. Translated by: Samuel A.B. Mercer, The Pyramid Texts. Longmans, Green & Co., New York, 1952. Link Secondary Source: Farid S. Atiya, Ancient Egypt. Giza, Egypt, Farid Atiya Press, 2006. Pictures: Picture #1 - Pyramid of Djoser. 2007. Photographer: Tyler J. Smith. Notes: Primary Source: The primary source for this episode was Utterance 601 from the Ancient Egyptian texts. I used the content of this text to show the desires of the pharaohs for their pyramids. The translation was extremely helpful and really was one of the main reasons I chose to do this topic. It was difficult to find a good primary source, but I believe that this one worked out very well. Secondary Source: I chose this text because it had a lot of valuable information regarding Egypt's history. The author also has two other books in the University of Oklahoma library which are also on Egyptian culture and history. He is a native from the country and published his works from their as well. Egyptology is similar to a history major in the states, although all of the information you learn about revolves around one country. Egyptologist's are specialist in the history of Egypt. |