Why were Ancient Egyptian Pyramids built?
The Importance of the Sun The history of the pyramids have been lost over time. It is not certain why the pyramids were built as monuments to the Pharaohs but many Egyptologists believe that they were linked the religion and beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians. The early Egyptian priests evolved a creation myth, or Cosmogony, to explain how some of the Gods and Goddesses came into being. The Sun God Ra (as Atum) was believed to have risen from the primeval ocean to the first, conical-shaped, mound of earth and then created the world. The Ancient Egyptians therefore revered the mound as an image of creation. The first rays of the sun fell on Sun God Ra (as Atum) marking the way to heaven by ascending the rays of the sun. The pyramids – mounds of masonary – were a material representation of the rays of the sun. It is easy to imagine how Ancient Egyptians would see the association of the pyramid and the sun and how the structure could be a means whereby the dead king could ascend to heaven.
