Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt

Strabo 389

were designed for the tombs of Djoser’s royal family
members. Adjoining subterranean passages and chambers
were adorned with fine reliefs and with blue faience tiles
designed to resemble the matted curtains of the royal res-
idences at MEMPHIS. Mazes were also incorporated into
the design as a defense against tomb robbers.
The Step Pyramid stands as the centerpiece of a vast
mortuary complex in Saqqara, enclosed by a wall 33 feet
high and more than a mile in length. The wall was made
of limestone and contained 211 bastions and 14 doors, all
carved to resemble the facade of the royal palace. The
main entrance at the southeast corner leads to a hall 175
feet long, decorated with engaged columns. A vestibule
with eight columns connects to this hall. Another court
held the sacred stones carried by the pharaohs in the heb-
sedrituals and three shrines.
A special chamber was designed to honor the
patroness of Lower Egypt, with statues of cobras and
appropriate reliefs. That chamber led to a chapel, which
contained a false tomb, complete with a shaft, glazed tiles,
and inscriptions, followed by another court, all called the
House of the South, containing proto-Doric columns,
engaged. The House of the North, with similar design,
had engaged papyrus COLUMNS. A room of special interest
incorporated into the complex was the serdab,the slitted
chamber which contained a statue of Djoser, positioned so
that he could witness the mortuary rituals being con-
ducted in his honor by the priests of the royal cult and
also view the rising of the North Star. The statue was the
first life-sized representation of a human being in Egypt.

Two other buildings represented the Upper and

Lower Kingdoms in the complex. Some 30,000 vases,

made of alabaster, granite, diorite, and other stones, were

found on the site as well. Saqqara was a miniature city of

400 rooms, galleries, and halls, where priests and custo-

dians served for decades. Modern excavations are

unearthing new chambers, monuments, and tombs. Dur-

ing the Saite Dynasty, the Twenty Sixth (664–525 B.C.E.),

a gallery was excavated in the Great South Court and

revealed chambers.

steps They were an ancient Egyptian symbol represent-

ing the staircase of ascension and the throne of the god

OSIRIS. As AMULETS, the steps were worn by the living and

placed with the mummified remains of the deceased to

assure their resurrection and entry into Osiris’s eternal

domain.

Strabo(d. 23 C.E.)Noted Greek geographer and historian

who visited Egypt

He was born at Pontus on the Black Sea around 64 B.C.E.

and became a scholar. Strabo visited Egypt and sailed up

the Nile. He also depended upon ERATOSTHENESof ALEX-

ANDRIAfor information about the Nile Valley. Strabo is

considered a major source for information concerning the

ancient world. His Geographical Sketchesappeared in 17

volumes. His Historical Sketcheswas known to have been

in numerous volumes, but there are no extant parts of the

work. He died in 23 C.E.

The Step Pyramid, the first pyramidal monument ever erected in Egypt. Built at Saqqara for Djoser, the Step Pyramid was the cre-
ation of the priest official Imhotep.(Courtesy Steve Beikirch.)