For this reason they perfectioned the process of embalming, that transformed the corpses into mummies that were placed in sarcophagus, protected from the exterior elements, such as heat, air and humidity, that might decompose the body. The sarcophagus was decorated according to the social status of the deceased.
In the tomb were stored various objects that they believed he might need in the next life. Animals were also embalmed to serve as companions during the journey to the next world. There was also a papyrus were there were written all the good qualities and deeds of the person, so he could be fairly judged by Osiris, the god of the nether world, in the court of the dead.
During their early history Egyptian religion traveled from polytheism to a sort of monotheism with philosophical shades. The main gods of the polytheist religion were Osiris, Amon-Ra, Horus, and Isis. Divinities were often represented in animal figures to symbolize the diversity of their attributes.
As for their vision over human beings, they believed that each man had a 'double', invisible and immaterial, that lived after the body was deceased. but, to assure the survival of the soul, the body needed to be preserved and the soul given a 'house' to inhabit in: the tomb.
For the Egyptians the tomb was more important than their houses, which they believed to be a merely transitory shelter, while the grave was the permanent residence they would inhabit in for eternity.
The shape stairway of the pyramid was perhaps a staircase towards heaven, which the soul of the person had to climb to reach the gods or the universe, where they presumably lived, and join Ra, the Sun god. Later pyramids took the straight wall shape, perhaps to help the ascension be faster and easier for the spirit.
Not only had the isolation from the air, sun and humidity helped preserve the mummies. The shape of the pyramid itself has the capacity of preserving concentrating the energy in the centre...
The magnetic energies are concentrated from the peak towards the base in equal gradation and keep the energy inside creating an optimum atmosphere for conservation, besides isolating them in a cold and constant environment.
Besides the physical traps they used to protect the king's slumber from tomb robbers and trespassers, it is believed that they also recurred to other methods to chase away, or punish, unwanted visitors. Some believe that they would use toxic gases, different kinds of fungus or poisons, spread all over the corridors and chambers to stop the intruders.
This brought a legend about the curse of the mummies, since the first archeological discoveries lead to mysterious deaths. Some attribute this to chemical effects of the bodies in a closed environment; some actually believe there is some truth about the legends.
Above the sands of the desert the Pyramids of Egypt, majestic and monumental, are more than a grave and a temple. They give the viewer the impression of beholding a monument that keeps transcendental secrets closely related with their structure.
Those perfect geometric figures have a power that many consider even magic, but that, in reality is as natural as the forces that rule the cosmos and intervene in the effects. Their constructers knew them, but the main secrets had been buried along with the mummies, that have survived for thousands of years.
References
Verner, Miroslav. The Pyramids: The Mystery, Culture, and Science of Egypt's Great Monuments. New York: Grove Press, 2002
Egypt, secrets of an ancient world." National Geographic 2007, 7 Oct. 2007. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/pyramids.html
Rigby, Mark T. "Egyptian pyramids" RIGBY'S WORLD of EGYPT. 2007 7 Oct. 2007. http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/pyra1.htm
Earthly life was merely an episode on the way to eternity" Miroslav, 2002, p 30
