THE PYRAMID OF CHEOPS

WHAT MYSTERIES DOES IT CONCEAL?

Even today, almost five thousand years after its completion, the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt is a technical masterpiece. But its builders lift no plans that might explain how it came to be built.

It was intended to be recognised from a great distance, and the closer you come, the more you are drawn into its spell. The Great Pyramid was probably built around 2580 BC on the instructions of Pharaoh Cheops, on the Giza plateau southwest of modern Cairo, capital of Egypt. It is the largest of a trio of pyramids at the Giza site. But to this day, even with the most modern scientific methods, experts have not been able to solve all the mysteries of this impressive building.

Built on a square ground plan with a side length of 230 m, and an original height of almost 47 m (138 m today), it covers an area of over 5 ha and has a volume of around 2,600,000 m³. The number of stones used is enormous, and each one weighs several tons.

The descriptions provided by two Greek historians - Herodotus in 440 BC and Diodorus in 50 BC - probably adapted early accounts of the actual system that was used to build this structure.

Herodotus based his ideas on the assumption that the Egyptians had constructed wooden machines to assemble the blocks in sections - from the base of the pyramid to its top. Diodorus thought it more likely that the Egyptians had built earth ramps to haul the stones into place.

The quest for the answer

During the Middle Ages, people believed that the builders of the pyramids were able to float or use flying carpets. In modern times, archaeologists have come to rely on written texts, which are considerably more reliable.

Facts and fantasy

Historians and archaeologists believe that the pyramids were built asmonumental burial chambers for the kings of 3rd to the 13th dynasties (about 2670- 50BC). Also, each pyramid always seems form part of an extended complex of an extended complex of funeral architecture.

Some think the geometry of the pyramid reflects the technological know-how that the Egyptians
had acquired up to the time of the biblical floods. Others, however, want to see in it a prophetic code for the most important dates in world history.


New perspectives


Those who desperately try to find secrets where there are none can easily find themselves in a position where they miss the real mystery. For a long time, serious Egyptologists have confirmed again and again that the Great Pyramid is really a shrine.

Three chambers, which are connected to one another by means of a network of underground passages, have so far been identified .

The largest, the King's Chamber, contains the coffin in which the mortal remains of Pharaoh Cheops could have lain. Today the coffin is empty, but it might have been ransacked by the Muslim leader, Caliph AIMamun,who entered the holy chambers inthe 9th century. It is true
that there are cracks in the ceiling of this room which stem from the time prior to the death of Cheops; surely the pharaoh would not have wanted to be buried in a place that was threatened
by collapse? If the corpse did not find its last resting place in this room, the pyramid could have been a giant cenotaph - an empty royal shrine - buitt for the honour of the departed pharaoh alone.

Even after so many centuries of digging and exploration, the Pyramid of Cheops still harbours plenty of surprises: in recent years, a German engineer, Rudolf Gantenbrink, probed the secrets of some of the narrowest passages - as yet unreachable by human explorers - with the help of a
remote-controlled robot camera. Gantenbrink discovered an enormous door at the end of a shaft. But he was never able to find out what lies hidden behind the door.

GILGAMESH

The ancient mesopotamian hero, Gilgamesh, is the earliest symbol in world literature of the search of immortality. Did this extraordinary man really live??


Gilgamesh, according to the Sumerian king list, was the fifth king of Uruk (Early Dynastic II, first dynasty of Uruk), the son of Lugalbanda, ruling circa 2650 BC. He is also the central character in the Epic of Gilgamesh, which says that his mother was Ninsun, (whom some call Rimat Ninsun), a goddess.


Gilgamesh is described as two-thirds divine and one-third human. According to another document, known as the "History of Tummal", Gilgamesh, and eventually his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, located in Tummal, a block of the Nippur city. In Mesopotamian mythology, Gilgamesh is credited with having been a demigod of superhuman strength who built a great wall to defend his people from external threats.


The epic of Gilgamesh is much older than Homer's Iliad or the great Indian epic the Mahabharata.Gilgamesh is said to have ordered the creation of the legendary walls of Uruk. An alternative version has Gilgamesh, towards the end of the story, boasting to Urshanabi the ferryman that the city's walls were built by the Seven Sages. In historical times, Sargon of Akkad claimed to have destroyed these walls to prove his military power.

Gilgamesh is the hero of the epic but also a tyrannical ruler whose subjects groan under the cost of his many wars.In order to rid themselves of their king, his people try to get him to fight ENKINDU- a creature , half salvage and half man, whom the gods have created as his equal opponent.A single combat takes place which ends in a draw and the two men became inseparable friends.

Fragments of an epic text found in Me-Turan (modern Tell Haddad) relate that Gilgamesh was buried under the waters of a river at the end of his life. The people of Uruk diverted the flow of the Euphrates River crossing Uruk for the purpose of burying the dead king within the riverbed.


In April 2003, a German expedition discovered what is thought to be the entire city of Uruk - including, where the Euphrates once flowed, the last resting place of its King Gilgamesh. Despite the lack of direct evidence, most scholars do not object to consideration of Gilgamesh as an historical figure, particularly after inscriptions were found confirming the historical existence of other figures associated with him: kings Enmebaragesi and Aga of Kish.


If Gilgamesh was an historical king, he probably reigned in about the 26th century BC. Some of the earliest Sumerian texts spell his name as Bilgamesh. Initial difficulties in reading cuneiform resulted in Gilgamesh making his re-entrance into world culture in 1891 as "Izdubar". In most texts, Gilgamesh is written with the determinative for divine beings (DINGIR) - but there is no evidence for a contemporary cult, and the Sumerian Gilgamesh myths suggest the deification was a later development (unlike the case of the Akkadian god-kings).


Historical or not, Gilgamesh became a legendary protagonist in the Epic of Gilgamesh.

THE HERO OF ALEXANDRIA

The multi-talented Hero was a mechanic ,mathematician and scientist whose inventions inspired everyone from the Arabs to Leonardo da Vinci.Nineteenth century scientists were astonished to find he had even built a working steam engine !!

For centuries it was unclear if he actually lived.But now the historians are certain that he was active during the 1st century AD.

He is said to have invented the screw lathe - a machine for cutting screws ,water clock and fire extinguisher pump..

Hero wrote extensively, on several branches of geometry, land surveying, mechanics and optics. His works include: "Geometry", "Definitions", "Stereometry", "Engines of War", "Winches", "Ballistics", "Reflections". Many of his works have been lost, while others survive in fragments in Greek or Latin.

Five complete works survive: "Pneumatics" and "Automata" in Greek and "Mechanics", "Metrics" and "Dioptra" in Arabic.Hero is best known today for his famous mechanical "Fountain", and for his formula for finding the area of a triangle from the length of the sides. His most important invention, however, was the aeolipile, a steam-powered engine.

INSPIRATION FOR MANY

Hero wrote down his works and ideas and large part of his writings survived.

The Byzantines , Aramaeans, Persians and especially the Arabs copied his work.His work is said to have provided inspiration for Leonardo da Vinci as well.

His steam engine was reconstructed by John Landels, the english classicist.

Hero was known for his amazing mechanical ingenuity in the ancient world, to include his contributions in military technology and theater.By the standards of modern technology, even though his steam engine is inadeqaute, he deserves all our admiration!