For most people, the topic of Ancient Egypt brings to mind the massive pyramids on the Giza Plateau and the Sphinx. All of these architectural wonders were built during a time period which today’s Egyptologists call the Old Kingdom (2686 to 2160 BCE). The beginning of this period is marked by architectural changes which are visibly apparent in the construction of pyramids as tombs.
In the third century BCE, the Egyptian priest Manetho divided Egyptian history into a number of periods known as Dynasties. Each Dynasty consisted of a series of rulers usually unified by factors such as kinship or the location of the king’s palace. The Old Kingdom begins with the 3rd Dynasty and kings Nebka (2686 to 2667) and Djoser (2667 to 2648) who began experimenting with a new building material: stone. Previously, stone had been used primarily as an element for tombs constructed with brick.
In the 4th Dynasty, Snefuru (2613 to 2589 BCE) constructed the first true pyramid and the pyramids constructed by Khufu (2589 to 2566 BCE), Khafra (2558 to 2532 BCE), and Menkaura (2532 to 2503 BCE) became today’s tourist attractions on the Giza Plateau.
The 5th Dynasty (2494 to 2345 BCE) is marked by a change in Egyptian religion. Egypt was a polytheistic state with gods which were associated with specific places. Each area had its own local god and for the inhabitants of the area, this was their most important god. During the 5th Dynasty, the sun god Ra (also written as Re) was elevated to the status of a state god, one not associated with a particular place. During the first 80 years of the 5th Dynasty, six of the first seven kings built temples specifically dedicated to Ra.
The first king of the 5th dynasty, Userkaf, built a sun temple near Abu Ghurab which set the pattern for the kings who followed him.
A temple to Ra consisted of a valley temple and an upper temple. These two temples were linked by a causeway. The upper temple featured a massive pedestal with an obelisk, one of the symbols of the sun god. An altar would be placed in the courtyard of the upper temple. Egyptologist Jaromir Malek, writing in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, reports:
“The temples were, therefore, personal monuments to each king’s continued relationship with the sun-god in the afterlife. Like pyramid complexes, sun-temples were endowed with land, and received donations in kind on festival days, and had their own personnel.”
Shown above is the reconstructed image of the sun temple built by Nyuserre, the sixth king of the 5th Dynasty.
Not only did the 5th Dynasty kings build temples dedicated to Ra, they also changed how temples were administered. Previously, members of the royal family had been appointed to administrative positions, but during the 5th Dynasty there is a withdrawal of royal family members from the highest offices. As a result, there is an increase in the number of priests and public officials who are able to accumulate enough wealth to build their own tombs.
Toward the end of the 5th Dynasty, during the reign of King Unas (2375 to 2345 BCE), the last 5th Dynasty king, Pyramid Texts begin to appear. These Pyramid Texts are funerary texts which contain about 800 spells or “utterances” which were written in columns on the walls of burial chambers and tomb corridors. These texts map out the development of Egyptian thought which had begun in Pre-dynastic times. In the tomb of King Unas, the king is identified with the gods Ra and Osiris. The Osirian religious doctrine is an important part of the Pyramid Texts. According to Jaromir Malik:
“The belief that after death the deceased entered the kingdom of the god Osiris now became widespread. Osiris, originally a local deity in the Eastern Delta, was a chthonic (linked to the earth) local god associated with agriculture and annually recurring events in nature.”
Shown above is the funerary chamber of Unas’ pyramid.
Shown above are the remains of Unas’ pyramid at Saqqara. He built a small pyramid near the step pyramid of Djoser. His pyramid is the smallest of the royal pyramids built during the Old Kingdom.
The purpose of the Pyramid Texts was to provide the king with information and spells that would be important for his survival and well-being in the afterlife. Their mere presence in the tomb was felt to be sufficient to make them effective. The spells are complex and this makes their interpretation difficult, as does needing an understanding of the relationships between the spells, Egyptian religious thought, the gods, and the concepts of the afterlife.
The death of Unas concludes the 5th Dynasty and the reign of Teti, who appears to have been married to Iput, the daughter of Unas, marks the beginning of the 6th Dynasty.