Monumental architecture in Egypt

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In the past, monumental architecture was mainly influenced by the political and the social system of a country. Monuments were built to inform the community beliefs in their leaders, religion or on supernatural existence of god-like creatures. Some communities used treasures to skillfully design extra-ordinary structures with writings and signs embedded in them. Some as in the case of Egypt used stones, bricks and sun-baked mud as the raw materials to design their architectural monuments. Skilled labor was used to architect the designs while slaves were used as cheap labor to do the hand work.

Monuments were designed based on the various aspects ranging from political, religious and cultural aspects. Egypt which is one of the archaic-state countries has been viewed to be rich in architectural monuments. One of the most magnificent monuments are the pyramids which were influenced by their then leaders; the pharaohs. The structures were viewed as a symbolic expression of power. In other words, they represented a political aspect in them of leadership. Basically, the pyramids only promoted the interests of the leaders and had little or no real benefit towards the commons. The pyramids were designed in a way to act a tombstone of the pharaohs once they die and their amazing heights were a clear reflection of how high the pharaohs would be revered even in the afterlife.

Currently, most egalitarian societies do not invest in monumental architecture due to the existence of varied opinions. In the past societies, all tribes paid tribute on leadership as a blessing from the gods and would not dare object any form of command from them. This no longer happens as societies have divergent opinions and beliefs. Monuments were only built on common grounds. The different patterns of beliefs, customs either on political or social aspects as well as settlement patterns would not give an environment for investing in monuments as a symbol of equity in opinions and beliefs.

References

Alexander Badawy, (1996). Architecture in ancient Egypt and the near east, M.I.T. press.

David P. Silverman, (2003). Ancient Egypt. Oxford university press.

Reich, Lawrence S. Cunningham, John J. (2010). Culture and values: a survey of the humanities (7th ed. Ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning