Angkor Wat Analysis

“It is not the beauty of a building you should look at; it’s the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time.” By David Allan Coe
The quotation above means that the beauty of a building is not as important as the construction of the prototypes of its structure. Basically, the development of its foundations and techniques are more important than those of its attractiveness. Meanwhile, Angkor Wat and Pyramids of Giza are two ancient buildings that are able to continue its legacies to the contemporary world. Angkor Wat and the Pyramids of Giza are the examples of the external and internal beauties in which its structures were completed by their respective developed foundation which includes the techniques, social structures,
Firstly, the main aim of the construction of Angkor Wat was dedicated to Hinduism and especially Vishnu (UNESCO Angkor Wat, 2014). Conversely, the Pyramids of Giza were built especially as a tomb to preserve the Pharaoh Khufu’s body because “The Egyptians believed that as a god, the pharaoh needed a suitable house for his spirit for the afterlife” (Beers, 1983, p.23). Secondly, the intension of building both of these structures was to showing off their nation’s wealth. The construction of Angkor Wat has shown the prosperity in the Khmer Empire through the amount of money and labors that have spent on the project (Chandler, 2009, p.61). Likewise, as mentioned by Beers (1983, p.24), “These massive tombs are evidence of the great wealth and power of Egyptians rulers in the Old Kingdom. Thousands of laborers had to be recruited, fed, clothed, and housed during the year it took to build a pyramid”. Third, the other signification of building these buildings was to compete with their previous leaders. Particularly, during the Khmer Empire the king focus on celebrating their wealth and constructing more temples rather than developing their countries (Lonely Planet Angkor Wat, 2014). Meanwhile, these autocratic ruler tried to legitimize their leaderships by building more temples (Lonely Planet Angkor Wat, 2014). Similarly, King Khufu ordered the construction of the massive tombs to show that he is a stronger leader by building a more elaborated and bigger tombs than the one that were built by Zoser, who is the previous king (Beers, 1983, p.24). Even though the main purpose constructing of these two temples are heading opposite directions, its indications are the same which to illustrate their wealth and to challenge the former