THE CIVILIZATION OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS (which lasted from about 3100 bc until it was finally absorbed into the Roman Empire in 30 bc) is famous for its temples and tombs. Egyptian temples were often huge and geometric, like the Temple of Amon-Re (below and right). They were usually decorated with hieroglyphs (sacred characters used for picture-writing) and painted reliefs depicting gods, Pharaohs (kings), and queens. Tombs were particularly important to the Egyptians, who believed that the dead were resurrected in the afterlife. The tombs were often decorated—as, for
example, the surround of the false door opposite—in order to give comfort to the dead. The best known ancient Egyptian tombs are the pyramids, which were designed to symbolize the rays of the Sun. Many of the architectural forms used by the ancient Egyptians were later adopted by other civilizations; for example, columns and capitals were later used by the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans
