The Great Pyramid is the most significant of the three large pyramids located on the Giza Plateau. The Great Pyramid was also the first pyramid to be built starting in around 2550 BC. This pyramid was built for the pharaoh Khufu, who ruled Egypt from about 2547-2524 BC. Along with the Khufu’s Great Pyramid his son, Khafre had one built on the Giza Plateau that at a first glance seems larger than his fathers, and Menkaure, Khufu’s grandson, also had one built on the Giza Plateau. The first question asked when looking at these ancient works of art is what purpose was it made for?
In this very early time period Egyptians wanted to preserve the bodies of the dead, and for the better-known tombs were built. The tombs were often a place where offerings could be left to people that had gone home to the gods. These larger pyramids were not only built to prevent robbery, but they also resembled the rays of the suns rays descending to Earth. This relates it to the religious beliefs connected to the cult with the sun god Re. Ancient Egyptians believed that the sun died each night in the West and was re-born the next morning in the East. This is why the Pyramids are built on the West side of the Nile so that the bodies of the deceased can travel with the sun god through the night and be reborn with him the next morning in the East. The Great Pyramid was built to hold the body and