The ancient Egyptians were one of the most remarkable phenomena of human civilization. Noted for monumental building projects such as the pyramids, the developed a rigid society dominated by the pharaoh, a living god, and an optimistic view of life and the afterlife. The last of the great builders, Ramses II, dotted the landscape with colossal figures, which stand as timeless monuments to one of the greatest of all ancient civilizations. Theirs was a society which could harness 100,000 men for twenty years to construct a pyramid, but could not harness the energy to survive the migration of the People of the Sea, the Assyrians, Persians or Alexander the Great. This once-great society finally collapsed in the seventh century b.c., yet one may wonder whether it had not already collapsed from rigid stagnation and the timelessness of its preoccupation with the glory of the pharaoh in the life after life.
Nothing beside remains.
Round the decay Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare, The lone and level sands strech far away. Major periods of Egyptian History A. Archaic 3100-2686 b.c. Osiris of the underworld, living Horus on earth iii. The Book of the Dead B. pyramids and the cult of the pharaoh i. the importance of the afterlife ii. How the pyramids were constructed i.