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One of the most readily identifiable architects of the ancient Egyptian civilization is the Great Pyramid of Khufu. It's sheer size and enduring nature (it has stood for the better part of 4,000 years, and is the sole Seven Wonders of the World that is still existent) has made it synonymous with the high degree of cultivation of sophistication which the ancient Egyptian society is known for. A closer look at the Great Pyramid, however, reveals much about the cosmology of this group of people, especially as it pertains to their religious and philosophical beliefs about the afterlife. A close analysis of this structure and its significance elucidates a great deal about the ancient Egyptians' religious beliefs about the soul and its transformation after life.

In under to begin to understand the way the Great Pyramid is a testament to the religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians and their conception of the afterlife, one must become acquainted with those beliefs themselves. Egyptians not only believed in the enduring nature of the soul which would continue to exist following the physical death of the body, but they also had a sophisticated idea of what today are called 'pagan' deities that they believed held sway over those souls -- both while living and while dead. Because they were convinced of the soul's passage into another realm, they believed that the final resting place of the body served as a meeting of the sacred and the profound and operated as a transfer point for the soul's departure. As such, the Great Pyramid was created as a tomb for the Egyptian ruler Cheops that "would bring glory not only to himself but to all of Egypt. He would be buried inside with many belongings that he would take into the afterlife" (Banks et al., 2000, p. 143).

Once the laymen begins to understand that the Great Pyramid was a tomb for one of Egypt's more celebrated pharaohs or rulers, certain facets of the construction of this monument underscore the importance that the Egyptians placed on the afterlife and on religion in general. Khufu was not just a citizen of Egypt but one of its rulers. Ancient Egyptians believed that there rulers were actually the physical incarnations of aspects of the divinity -- somewhat like an avatar. Therefore, there was a great deal of importance placed on the building of Khufu's tomb which resulted in the sprawling girth of the Great Pyramid, which contains "some four million stone blocks, which the builders moved by means of a system of ramps and poles" (p. 39). The average weight of the blocks is estimated to be 2.5 tons (Banks et al., 2000, p. 142). These huge blocks were considered a necessity for Khufu's tomb because he was considered important enough to warrant such a sprawling final resting place -- a fact which reveals the degree of importance Egyptians placed on the afterlife.