They never built,
as we do, for the living, but for the gods and for the dead, _i.e._,
temples and tombs. Only a slight amount of debris is left of their
houses, and even the palaces of their kings in comparison with the
tombs appear, in the language of the Greeks, to be only inns. The
house was to serve only for a lifetime, the tomb for eternity.
=Tombs.=--The Great Pyramid is a royal tomb. Ancient tombs ordinarily
had this form. In Lower Egypt there still remain pyramids arranged in
rows or scattered about, some larger, others smaller. These are the
tombs of kings and nobles. Later the tombs are constructed
underground, some under earth, others cut into the granite of the
hills. Each generation needs new ones, and therefore near the town of
living people is built the richer and greater city of the dead
(necropolis).
=Temples.=--The gods also required eternal and splendid habitations.
Their temples include a magnificent sanctuary, the dwelling of the
god, surrounded with courts, gardens, chambers where the priests
lodge, wardrobes for his jewels, utensils, and vestments. This
combination of edifices, the work of many generations, is encircled
with a wall.
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