Pyramid
- For other versions including architectural Pyramids, see Pyramid (disambiguation).
Geometry
An n-sided pyramid is a polyhedron formed by connecting an n-sided polygonal base and a point, called the apex, by n triangular faces (n≥3).
Architecture
- See also List of ancient pyramids by country
Pyramids are among the largest man-made constructions.
Ancient monuments
![[1]](http://www.universalcat.org/gallery/EGYPT/20060413.Pyramidsgiza067shr.jpg){kind=link}
Pyramid-shaped structures were built by many ancient civilizations. The most famous are the Egyptian pyramids — huge pyramids built of brick or stone. Standard Archaeology claims that they were used as tombs for pharaohs, however their many surprising features have birthed many alternative theories, particularly since the great pyramids have never yielded a body. The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest in Egypt and one of the largest in the world. It is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, and the only one of the seven to survive into modern times. The ancient Egyptians capped the peaks of their pyramids with gold and covered their faces with polished white limestone, though many of the stones used for the purpose have fallen or been removed for other structures over the millennia.
The putative inspirations for Egypt's pyramids are themselves a subject of ancient and ongoing debate. Some Egyptologists have seen King Zoser's Step Pyramid as a symbolic representation of ancient Egypt's stratified society. A more recent hypothesis by Patricia Blackwell Gary and Richard Talcott ("Stargazing in Ancient Egypt," Astronomy, June 2006, pp. 62-67) derives the shapes of the pyramid and of the obelisk from natural phenomena associated with the sun (the sun-god Re being the Egyptians' greatest deity). The pyramid and obelisk would have been inspired by previously overlooked astronomical phenomena connected with sunrise and sunset: the zodiacal light and Sun pillars, respectively.
To the south of Egypt the Nubians also built pyramids. They built far more than the Egyptians, but they are much smaller. The Nubian pyramids were constructed at a much steeper angle than Egyptian ones and were not tombs, but monuments to dead kings. Pyramids were built in Nubia up until the AD 300s.
The Mesopotamians also built step pyramids, or ziggurats. In ancient times these were brightly painted. Since they were constructed of mud-brick, little remains of them. The biblical Tower of Babel is believed to have been a Babylonian ziggurat.
A number of Mesoamerican cultures also built pyramid-shaped structures. Mesoamerican pyramids were usually stepped, with temples on top, more similar to the Mesopotamian ziggurat than the Egyptian pyramid. The largest pyramid by volume is the Great Pyramid of Cholula, in the Mexican state of Puebla. This pyramid is also considered the largest monument ever constructed anywhere in the world, but it is still being excavated. There is an unusual pyramid with a circular plan at the site of Cuilcuilco, now inside Mexico City and mostly covered with lava from an ancient eruption of Xictli.Pyramids in Mexico were often used as places of sacrifice.
There are pyramid-shaped ancient monuments found in parts of Georgia.
There is a pyramid in ancient Rome. The 27-meter-high Pyramid of Cestius was built by the end of the first century BC and still exists today, close to the Porta San Paolo.
There are quite a few flat-top pyramids in China. The First Emperor of Qin (221 B.C.~), with the terracotta warriors in vicinity, was buried under a large pyramid outside modern day Xi'an. In the following centuries a dozen more Chinese royalties of Han Dynasty were also buried under flat top pyramidal earth works.
Modern pyramids
An example of a modern pyramid can be found in Paris, France, in front of the Louvre Museum. The Louvre Pyramid is a 20.6 meter (about 70 feet) glass structure which acts as an entrance to the museum. It was designed by the American architect I. M. Pei and completed in 1989.
The Transamerica Pyramid in Downtown San Francisco, California.
The 32-story Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee (built in 1991) was the home court for the University of Memphis men's basketball program, and the National Basketball Association's Memphis Grizzlies until 2004.
The Walter Pyramid, home of the basketball and volleyball teams of the California State University, Long Beach, campus in California, United States, is an 18-story-tall blue pyramid.
The Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas, United States, is a 30-story pyramid.
The Summum Pyramid, a 3 story pyramid in Salt Lake City, Utah, used for instruction in the Summum philosophy and conducting rites associated with Modern Mummification.
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Hierarchical structure
The hierarchical structures of some organizations are sometimes described as pyramids. This often includes sports league systems Pyramid structure are commonly used in a reasonably large organization, they show different areas and how 'high up' they are in the organization.
Human pyramid
This is a stunt, performed by circus artists — sometimes even doing other tricks such as juggling while up there — or less perfectly by amateurs (often for the fun of failing and falling), whereby participants form a pyramid of layers of persons, each standing (or supporting in another way, e.g. kneeling) on two others one level lower, one half a position to the right and the other to the left.
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- The castellers of Catalonia (Spain) form human pyramids up to eight man heights high.
- During the Hindu festival Krishna Janmaashtami, young men form human pyramids to reach pots filled with curd and butter and suspended high above the ground as part of the Dahi-Handi ritual.
- Human pyramids are often formed to reach for the bun during the Chinese Bun Festival.
- It is also used in bonding, e.g. as part of a North American college fraternity hazing ritual, also in a variation called a spanking pyramid, also suitable as a collective punishment, in which the pledges, often divested, are paddled on the conveniently protruded posterior.
Arts and Media
- Game show
Pyramid is the name of a game show currently in syndication.
- Novel
Pyramids is a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett.
- Album
Pyramid is a concept album by The Alan Parsons Project, released in 1978.
- American Rock-n-Roll Band
Pyramid formed 1997 in Winston-Salem, N.C. Released "The First American" in 2005.
The Pyramids played instrumental surf music out of Long Beach, CA in the early 60's
- Magazine
Pyramid is an online magazine publishing role-playing and other game articles, published by Steve Jackson Games.
- Card Game
Pyramids a single player card game.
- Fictional sport
Pyramid is a team sport played professionally and recreationally in the television drama Battlestar Galactica (2003).
- Song
Pyramid Song is the title of a song by the British rock group Radiohead. It is the first song off of the album Amnesiac. It was also the first single from the album.
Confidence game
A pyramid scheme is a phony business, similar to a chain letter, that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, promising a multiple return as long as the pyramid keeps growing — which it inevitably stops doing rather soon, so only the first participants are likely to make a profit.
See also
External links
References
- Patricia Blackwell Gary and Richard Talcott, "Stargazing in Ancient Egypt," Astronomy, June 2006, pp. 62-67.
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