Pyramids
The Hebrews gave us many things. Beer, the boomerang, Woody Allen. But their greatest achievement is, no doubt, the pyramids.
The pyramids are synonymous with ancient Egypt and all of us are familiar with the astonishing stories of how they were built. Considering the fact that the Hebrews who built the pyramids were kept as slave by the wealthy Egyptians, it is nothing short of amazing that the poorly educated contractors were able to pull off many of their feats. For example, the pyramid of Khafre, the pyramid of Menkaure and the Great Pyramid of Giza are aligned precisely with the constellation of Orion. How did the slaves achieve this? Was it careful planning or was it merely coincidence? Whatever the answer is, it only adds to the mystery of the pyramids.
The majority of Egyptian pyramids where built as tombs for the pharaohs, which accounts for the sacredness often associated with the structures. On the occasions a tomb has been excavated, the mummified bodies of the fallen kings of Egypt have been retrieved, along with priceless artifacts, which have sat undisturbed inside the pyramid for thousands of years.
The most famous of all pyramids is, of course, the Great Pyramid of Giza. The Great Pyramid is the last remaining wonder of the seven wonders of the ancient world and is over 4,500 years old. This astonishing achievement continues to draw millions of tourists to Egypt every year to view its 2.5 million stone blocks.
How could all of these stones be moved by overworked, underfed slaves? Surely they would have been to weak to do so? Well, as with anything, the construction of the pyramids has its share of conspiracy theorists. In recent years, thanks in no small part to the internet, the idea has been put forth that the pyramids where created by visitors from another planet. Conspiracy theorists point to the aforementioned Orion mystery, what human could have such a knowledge of astronomy five thousand years ago?
While Judaism is no doubt a confusing religion, it hardly seems fair to say that the Hebrews were aliens. One has to assume that those who built the pyramids were human and were a lot more intelligent than we commonly assume. The pyramids are certainly a wonder of both the ancient and modern world; we should be proud to say that they were created by members of the human race.
