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The Sun Cult and the Pyramids
The cult of the sun god Re dominated the
religious beliefs and practices of the Old Kingdom. The Nile and the
sun were the two great life-givers of Egypt, and the sun, with its
regular appearance at dawn and withdrawal at sunset, was regarded as
an eternal and selfregenerating force. Many myths developed about
the sun: Re was regarded as the great creator of life in the
Heliopolitan cosmogony, and he also featured prominently in the
Egyptian concept of the universe.
The daily pattern of the sun’s life, death, and rebirth was seen as the model for the king’s own life, death, and resurrection. Re may have entered Egypt from elsewhere, brought in by early immigrants in the Predynastic Period, but he soon assimilated the cult center, Iwnw (Heliopolis), and some aspects of the character and appearance of an earlier deity, Atum. As early as Dynasty 2, each king proclaimed his allegiance to Re by adopting the title “Son of Re.” The god became the patron of royalty throughout the Old Kingdom, and his priesthood at Heliopolis held great power. According to the mythology developed at Heliopolis, Re-Atum had created the world. Re played an important role in the Pyramid Texts and in creation mythology and probably influenced the architectural development of the pyramid form. It was during Dynasty 5 that the god’s cult and his Heliopolitan priesthood reached the zenith of their power. The kings of this dynasty patronized the cult to an unprecedented degree and may have owed their accession and support to Re’s priesthood. For the first time they incorporated the title “Son of Re” into the official royal titulary. Some elements of the historical truth surrounding the beginning of Dynasty 5 may survive in the Westcar Papyrus, which preserves much of the story of “King Cheops and the Magicians.” This text emphasizes the divine origin of the line, the role of Re in fathering these kings, and their pious actions in building temples for the god and replenishing his altars. They revived the practice of pyramid building, moving their cemeteries to Abusir and Saqqara, but these monuments were inferior in their construction to those of earlier dynasties. Instead, the kings devoted their resources to building solar temples at Abu Ghurob. These were probably modeled on the much earlier original sun temple at Heliopolis (which has never been discovered). This seems to have consisted of a series of enclosures leading to a wide, paved open-air court containing a rectangular podium, which probably represented the primeval mound of creation. A squat obelisk (the benben) was mounted on top of the podium; this represented a sun ray and acted as the god’s cult symbol. It was the central feature of the temple and probably influenced the form and development of the true pyramid. The Step Pyramid at Saqqara, the first stone monument, had started out as a mastaba tomb but then underwent a number of design changes to reach its final form as a stepped structure. Its architect may have intended that the greater size of this burial place might deter tomb robbers, although it is also possible that it reflected some association with a star cult. The evidence of several transitional pyramids shows how the step pyramids were ultimately transformed into true pyramids with smooth, sloping sides. Again, these changes may have been introduced as practical and architectural developments to give the pyramids greater security, but they may also have been influenced by mythology. One interpretation is that the pyramid represented the mythological Island of Creation where the first god had alighted and life had come into existence. As such it would have been regarded as a place of great spiritual potency where the king’s life could be renewed. From the pit grave through to the mastaba tomb, step pyramid, and finally true pyramid the concept of the “mound” is evident, whether in the pile of stones marking the pit grave, the superstructure of the tomb, or the structures of the step and true pyramids. The true pyramid, however, was probably closely associated with the sun cult, and the transition from step pyramid to true pyramid may mark a change from the predominance of a star cult to that of the sun cult. In the ancient texts the word used for the true pyramid, mer, is nowadays translated as “place of ascension.” The pyramid may have been seen as a means of access for the deceased king buried inside to reach heaven and join Re and the other gods on their celestial journey. Similarly, this “ramp” would have allowed the king to return to his burial place to receive his eternal food offerings. A possible explanation is that the pyramid form was regarded as a sun’s ray, forming a link between heaven and earth along which the king’s spirit could travel. The full-size pyramid was perhaps a variant form of the benben, the sun god’s cult symbol at Heliopolis, which took the form of a pyramidion or small pyramid placed on top of a squat obelisk. .
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The Sun Cult and the Pyramids
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