在吉薩，有最大的胡夫金字塔（又稱“大金字塔”、“奇歐普斯金字塔”），其次是卡夫拉金字塔及孟卡拉金字塔，附近還分布著許多較小的附屬金字塔及獅身人麵像。
胡夫金字塔建於埃及第四王朝第二個國王胡夫統治時期（約公元前2670年），原高146.5米，因頂端剝落，現高136.5米，底麵呈正方形，每邊長約230多米，占地麵積約80畝。塔身由230萬塊巨石組成，它們大小不一，分別重達1.5噸至160噸。據考證，為建成這些金字塔，一共動用了10萬人，花了20年時間。
在這三座主要的金字塔中，隻有卡夫拉金字塔還保留部分原始磨光的石灰岩外殼，覆蓋於它的頂端附近。憑借著較高的地基位置和較斜的金字塔角度，這座金字塔看上去似乎比臨近的胡夫金字塔還大，但實際上，無論是高度還是體積，卡夫拉金字塔皆比胡夫金字塔都要小一些。吉薩金字塔群是自古以來全球觀光客最常去的景點之一。
Abusir Pyramid 阿布西爾金字塔
There are a total of fifty-seven pyramids at this site,which served as the main royal necropolis during the Fifth Dynasty.The quality and technology of the Abu Sir pyramids is inferior to those of the Fourth Dynasty-perhaps signaling a recession of royal power and economy.
The three major pyramids are Niuserre-Neferirkare Kakai and Sahure.All of the major pyramids at AbuSir were built as step pyramids,although the largest of them-the Pyramid of Neferirkare Kakai-is believed to have originally been built as a step pyramid some 70 metres high and then later transformed into a“true”pyramid by having its steps filled in with loose masonry.
阿布西爾共有57座金字塔，在第五王朝期間曾被用作王室墓地。它的建築品質、技術明顯不及第四王朝，普遍認為其代表著當時王室權力與經濟的衰退。
這裏主要的金字塔是紐塞拉、內弗爾卡拉及薩胡拉三座金字塔，而所有在阿布西爾的金字塔皆建造為階梯金字塔。內弗爾卡拉金字塔是此階段最大的金字塔，據估算，它原先建成時為高約70米，而後將階梯缺角處填充鬆散的石材而成為“真金字塔”。
Saqqara Pyramid 塞加拉金字塔
Saqqara pyramid includes the famous Step Pyramid of Djoser,the Pyramid of Userkaf and the Pyramid of unas.The Step Pyramid of Djoser is Egypt\\u0027s most ancient stone pyramid.Also,Saqqara has the Pyramid of Unas,which retains a pyramid causeway that is one of the best-preserved in Egypt.Pyramid of unas was also one of the earliest restoration.Saqqara is also the location of the incomplete step pyramid of Djoser\\u0027s successor Sekhemkhet,known as the Buried Pyramid.Archaeologists believe that this pyramid been completed and even larger than Djoser\\u0027s.
塞加拉金字塔包含著名的左塞爾階梯金字塔、烏納斯金字塔及馬塞爾卡夫金字塔。其中左塞爾階梯金字塔是埃及最古老的石造金字塔。而烏納斯金字塔甚至還保留著埃及保存最完好的建築堤道，也是在古埃及最早被嚐試修複的金字塔之一。塞加拉還是左塞爾繼承者塞肯凱特被毀壞的階梯金字塔所在地，考古學家認為這座毀壞的金字塔已被完工，甚至還比左塞爾著名的階梯金字塔更大。
Lisht Pyramid 利斯特金字塔
Two major pyramids are known to have been built at Lisht are those of Amenemhat Ⅰ and his son,Senusret Ⅰ.There are ten ruined smaller subsidiary Pyramids which had been built latter.The site which is in the vicinity of the oasis of Fayyum,located between Dahshur and Meidum,and about 100 kilometres away from south of Cairo,it is believed that the ancient city of ltjtawy（the precise location of which remains unknown），which served as the capital of Egypt during the 12th Dynasty.
利斯特的兩座主要金字塔是阿蒙涅姆赫特一世和其子辛努塞爾特一世的金字塔。旁邊圍繞著十個較晚建造的已毀附屬金字塔。利斯特附近還有一個著名的法尤姆綠洲，位於代赫舒爾與美杜姆之間，距離開羅約100公裏，鄰近古城伊塔威（實際的古城殘骸位置是未確定的），在第十二王朝時曾為古埃及首都。
Meidum Pyramid 美杜姆金字塔
The pyramid at Meidum is one of three constructed during the reign of Sneferu,it is believed the pyramid is built by that pharaoh\\u0027s father and his predecessor,Huni.However,that kind of saying is uncertain,as no record of Huni\\u0027s name has been found at the site.ln addition,Meidum Pyramid may be the earliest Egyptian attempt to build the real Pyramid,but later the project was not successful.The pyramid at Meidum suffered several catastrophic collapses in ancient and medieval times.Today,only the inner core part is still standing,giving the structure its odd,tower-like appearance.The hill on which the pyramid is situated,but a natural landscape feature.In fact,it is the small mountain of debris created when the lower courses and outer casing of the pyramid gave way.
美杜姆金字塔是是斯尼夫魯統治期間所建造的三個金字塔中的一個，一般認為這座金字塔已經由斯尼夫魯的父親胡尼及其前代著手興建，然而這個學說也可能是不確定的，因為斯尼夫魯的名字並沒有出現在這個地點，另外美杜姆金字塔可能是埃及最早嚐試建造的真金字塔，但後來工程並不成功。美杜姆金字塔在古代遭受了嚴重的崩塌，而現今隻剩下內部核心的部分仍屹立著，這使它成為一座外表奇特的金字塔，其底下坐落的山丘並不是自然形成的，事實上，這座碎石山就是當時外殼崩塌時形成的。
Mystery of the Construction Pyramid 金字塔修建之謎
According to legend,in ancient Egypt,before the Third Dynasty,both kings and ministers or even the common people died,were buried into a rectangular tomb built by mudbrick,the ancient Egyptians called“mastaba.”Subsequently,there was an intelligent young man named Too Pu invented a new method of construction when he desingned the graves for Egyptian pharaoh king.He used the mountains of mining stones which were square instead of mud-brick,and have been revising the construction of the mausoleum of the design,eventually built a six trapezoidal pyramid-this is what we now see the embryonic form of the pyramid.
In ancient Egypt,the pyramid was the hierarchical ladder,it also was called the level of the pyramid.This is a tall,angular pyramidal building with four square bases,each side is a triangle.It looks like the Chinese characters“gold”so we call it“pyramid.”The tower tomb designed by Too Pu was the first stone tomb in the history of Egypt.
After Djoser,the Egyptian pharaohs followed him to build their own tombs in their lifetime.so,it set off a wave of building the pyramids at the ancient Egypt.
There was a question why the ancient Egyptian pharaohs want to building their tombs as the forms of Pyramid which looks like the Chinese characters of“gold”.
In fact,at the earliest time,Egypt\\u0027s pharaohs were ready to take mastaba death as a permanent residence after death.Later,at around the second to the third dynasty,the Egyptians thought that the king would be god after death,his soul would ascend to heaven.The theory was proved by“pyramid inscription，”which was found later,It is said that there are like this：
To build a ladder to heaven for him（pharaoh），so that he could be up to the sky.
Pyramid is such a kind of ladder.
At the same time,the pyramid form of cone angle also expresses the worship of the sign sun god,because the sigh ancient Egyptian sun god is the sun-shine.Pyramid is a symbol of the sun rays pierce the sky.Because,when you stand on the road leading to the kezar,pyramid ridge at the point of view looking up to the West,it can be seen the sun shines scattered by land of the pyramids.
As it was said in“The Pyramid inscriptions”“Sky put their own light into you,so you can go to heaven,as if it is the eyes of him.”Later,the worship ancient Egyptians to the obelisk also have such significance,because the obelisk alsorepresemts light.
相傳，古埃及第三王朝之前，無論王公大臣還是老百姓死後，都被葬入一種用泥磚建成的長方形的墳墓，古代埃及人叫它“馬斯塔巴”。後來，有個聰明的年輕人太普，在給埃及法老左塞王設計墳墓時，發明了一種新的建築方法。他用山上采下的呈方形的石塊來代替泥磚，並不斷修改陵墓的設計方案，最終建成一個六級的梯形金字塔——這就是我們現在所看到的金字塔的雛形。
在古埃及文中，金字塔是梯形分層的，因此又稱作層級金字塔。這是一種高大的角錐體建築物，底座四方形，每個側麵是三角形，樣子就像漢字的“金”字，所以我們叫它“金字塔”。而太普設計的塔式陵墓是埃及曆史上的第一座石質陵墓。
左塞王之後的埃及法老紛紛效仿他，在生前就大肆為自己修建墳墓，從此在古埃及掀起一股營造金字塔之風。
古代埃及的法老們為什麼要將墳墓修成角錐體的形式，即修成漢字中的金字形呢？
原來，早些時候，埃及的法老是準備將馬斯塔巴認為作為死後的永久性住所。到第二至第三王朝的時候，埃及人認為國王死後要成為神，他的靈魂要升天。這一理論在後來發現的《金字塔銘文》中有所證明：
“為他（法老）建造起上天的天梯，以便他可由此上到天上”。
而金字塔就是這樣的天梯。
角錐體金字塔形式又表示對太陽神的崇拜，因為古代埃及太陽神的標誌是太陽光芒。金字塔象征的就是刺破青天的太陽光芒。因為，當你站在通往基澤的路上，在金字塔棱線的角度上向西方看去，可以看到金字塔撒向大地的太陽光芒。
《金字塔銘文》中有這樣的話：“天空把自己的光芒伸向你，以便你可以去到天上，猶如它的眼睛一樣”。後來古代埃及人對方尖碑的崇拜也有這樣的意義，因為方尖碑也表示太陽的光芒。
[1]pyramid n.金字塔；錐體v.使……成金字塔狀
[2]consorts n.配偶
[3]current n.趨勢；潮流adj.當前；現時；現在
[4]adjacent adj.鄰；鄰近的
[5]composition n.創作，寫作，作曲
[6]angle n.角度；角v.角落；釣
[7]inclination n.愛好，癖好，意向
[8]antiquity n.古老；年代久遠；（尤指中世紀前流傳下來的）；古代
3.The Riddle of\\u0027Sphinx\\u0027“斯芬克斯”的謎語
The sphinx,in Greek tradition,has the haunches of a lion,the wings of a great bird,and the face and breast of a woman.She is methodized as treacherous and merciless.Those who cannot answer her riddle suffer a fate typical by in such mythological stories,as they are killed and eaten by this ravenous monster.The Greek sphinx which was a woman,the Egyptian sphinx is typically shown as a man（an androsphinx）.ln addition,the Egyptian sphinx was viewed as benevolence in contrast to the malevolent Greek version and was thought of as a guardian often flanking the entrances to temples.
In European decorative art,the sphinx was focused more during the Renaissance.Later,the sphinx image,something very similar to the original Ancient Egyptian concept,was exported into many other cultures,albeit often interpreted[1]quite differently due to translations of descriptions of the originals and the evolution of the concept in relation to other cultural traditions.
Generally the role of sphinxes is associated with architectural structures such as royal tombs or religious temples.The oldest known sphinx was found in Gobekli Tepe,Turkey and was dated to 9，500 BC.
在希臘神話中，斯芬克斯是有著獅子的臀部、鳥的翅膀和女人麵部與胸部的怪物，它被描繪為一個奸詐和殘忍的邪惡之物。據說，他總是攔住過往的路人，讓他們猜謎語，猜不中的人就會被它殺死並吃掉。而古希臘傳說中，斯芬克斯是以一個女人的形象出現的，在古埃及中則是以一個男人的形象出現。此外，古埃及的斯芬克斯被視為善的象征，而古希臘的斯芬克斯被視為惡的象征，是守衛神廟入口的護衛。
在歐洲的裝飾藝術裏，斯芬克斯隨著文藝複興而得到了很大的重視。隨後，盡管與古埃及相近的斯芬克斯形象傳進其他文化中，但卻因為不同的描述而形象各異並在不同文化傳統裏得到不同的發展。
一般來說，斯芬克斯常常與皇家的墓葬和宗教廟宇等建築形式聯係在一起。最早的已知斯芬克斯形象發現於公元前9500年土耳其的哥貝克力石陣。
[1]interpret v.闡釋；翻譯
4.Return to Be King—Mummy 待君歸來——木乃伊
Mummification in ancient Egypt was a very long and expensive process.lt took about seventy days to embalm a body from beginning to end.
Since the Egyptians believed that mummification was essential for passage to the afterlife,people were mummified and buried as well as they could possibly afford.High-ranking officials,priests and other nobles who had served the pharaoh and his queen had fairly elaborate burials.
The pharaohs,who were believed to become gods when they died,had the most magnificent burials of all.ln the case of a royal or noble burial,the embalmers set up workshops near the tomb of the mummy.The art of Egyptian mummification consisted of many steps.First,the body was washed and ritually purified.The next step was to remove the deceased person\\u0027s inner organs.A slit was cut into the left side of the body so that the embalmers could remove the intestines,the liver,the stomach and the lungs.Each of these organs was embalmed using natron,which served to dry out the organs and discourage bacteria from decaying the tissues.The organs were then individually wrapped using long strips of linen and placed in canopic jars.The lids of these jars were fashioned after the four sons of Horus,who were each entrusted with protecting a particular organ.After the removal of the inner organs,the brain was then removed through the nose using long hooks.Since the ancient Egyptians considered the brain unimportant,it was probably thrown away.