Scholars enjoy writing about the Greeks—individuality, and development of the first democracy. But the West began with Egyptian civilization, which flourished for over three-thousand years. Here we witness the origin of civilization in sacrifice—the pyramids—that required the expenditure of vast human and material resources. The labor of tens-of-thousands of men for thousands of years was devoted to building these megalithic structures.
The pyramids had no practical use; did not produce economic benefits. On the contrary, they were a drain on Egyptian society, syphoning off energy to create “worthless” structures—that nevertheless contained profound symbolic significance.
It does not require genius to interpret the symbolism of the pyramids: they testified to the immortality of the Pharaoh. This monumental tomb contained—embodied—the fantasy of immortality. If the Pharaoh could live forever, perhaps other human begins could as well. It was a dream—a gigantic fantasy—that compelled human beings to abandon the veldt, and to develop an economic surplus. |