Early World Civilizations: Supplemental Guide 8A | Approaching the Great Pyramid 151body and treasures after he had died. Now, Djoser had a friend
working for him who he thought was the smartest man alive in
those days.This friend’s name was Imhotep (im-HO-tep). Imhotep
was the greatest architect in Egypt.”
At this point, Setna’s daughter Ahweru interrupted. “Father,
what is an ‘architect’?”
“An architect is a person who decides how a building should
look and draws the plan the builders follow. Today in Egypt, our
builders usually follow the same plans that Egyptian architects
have used for thousands of years. But Imhotep was the one who
fi rst created many of those plans.”
“He must have been the best architect ever.”
Show image 8A-4: Djoser’s pyramid
“Pharaoh Djoser certainly thought so. He called Imhotep to the
palace and told him about the dream. The pharaoh said, ‘Imhotep,
build me a building that reaches up toward the sky in honor of
the gods. Make the middle of it an open space for me, and for
my treasures, for after I die. Make it special.’ So Imhotep built the
fi rst pyramid. The bottom of it is an enormous stone square, and
then the four sides reach upward, leaning in toward one another
until they meet at the top. The sides of that fi rst pyramid are built
as steps, making it easier to climb up the outside.^8 Well, Djoser’s
pyramid was so wonderful that the pharaohs after him wanted
pyramids, too, but with smooth sides, not steps.
“Much later came another pharaoh named Khufu (KOO-foo).^9
Pharaoh Khufu wanted people to know what an important pharaoh
he was, so he commanded his people to build him the biggest
pyramid of all: the Great Pyramid.” Show image 8A-5: Setna and Ahweru on boat, looking at village
Setna and his daughter Ahweru continued sailing for many days
on their way to see the Great Pyramid at Giza and were nearing the
end of their long journey along the Nile when suddenly, Setna pointed
up ahead and said, “Look, my dear Ahweru! What do you see?”8 Here the word steps means the
raised surfaces like the ones on
which on which you put your foot
when climbing up or down. The
word steps can also mean to move
your foot when you walk.
9 So what was a ruler in ancient
Egypt called?