narrator the quest for immortality the desire to extend th certainties of life beyond the grave is as old as egypt itself. The pyramids at giza, the wonders of the ancient world, were not just designed as the pharaohs last restingplace. They were the first stop on a long nights journey to everlasting life. By 1550 bc, power had shifted to a n kingdom 500 miles south in the ancient city of thebes, now called luxor. To the west, in the hills beyond the niles west bank, the royal tombs of the valley of the kings were cut into limestone cliffs. Their interiors are richly decorated with hieroglyphs and paintings signs and symbols that detail the necessary steps to attain immortality. Egypts power and the grandeur that came with it were wellestablished by 2500 bc when the Great Pyramids at giza were built. The sphinx was a philosophy of government set in stone. It depicted the king as fearless, cunning and brave as the lion. And as crucial to egypt as the nile itself. The king was not just a
Their interiors are richly decorated with hieroglyphs and paintings signs and symbols that detail the necessary steps to attain immortality. Egypts power and the grandeur that came with it were wellestablished by 2500 bc when the Great Pyramids at giza were built. The sphinx was a philosophy of government set in stone. It depicted the king as fearless, cunning and brave as the lion. And as crucial to egypt as the nile itself. The king was not just a political leader but a religious leader too. In the minds of the ancient egyptians, the pharaohs power and authority as a king stretched far beyond the boundaries of his country and into the cosmos itself. After death, he would escape the earthly bounds of his tomb, board a solar boat and sail into immortality. This vision became material in objects and images founin the tombs and temples as a way of preordaining a central idea afr a perilous and carefully prescribed journey through the night, the king would become one with the sun god re.
Their interiors are richly decorated with hieroglyphs and paintings signs and symbols that detail the necessary steps to attain immortality. Egypts power and the grandeur that came with it were wellestablished by 2500 bc when the Great Pyramids at giza were built. The sphinx was a philosophy of government set in stone. It depicted the king as fearless, cunning and brave as the lion. And as crucial to egypt as the nile itself. The king was not just a political leader but a religious leader too. In the minds of the ancient egyptians, the pharaohs power and authority as a king stretched far beyond the boundaries of his country and into the cosmos itself. After death, he would escape the earthly bounds of his tomb, board a solar boat and sail into immortality. This vision became material in objects and images found in the tombs and temples as a way of preordaining a central idea after a perilousnd carefully prescribed journey through the night, the king would become one with the sun god re