These three pyramids were constructed by Khufu, Khafra, and Menkaura. Of the three, the largest pyramid was build by Khufu. It stood at a remarkable 450 feet and covered 13 Acers. It was surrounded by an enclosure wall and consisted of a funerary temple and a long straight causeway leading to the valley temple at the edge of cultivation. The smallest of the three was that of Menkaura, whose focus was not on the pyramid, but on the temples, which are some of the most elaborate to be found. (Gay Robins, "The Art of Ancient Egypt," Chapter 2, page 47).
The people that were buried in these pyramids were people of great significance. They were the leaders of the land, and the closest thing to God on earth, they were the Pharaohs. In many instances the pharaoh was also buried with members of his family around him and sometimes even slaves and other people close to him that he would want to be with in the afterlife. .
The shape of the pyramids had a lot to do with the beliefs of the Egyptians and their desire to be as close to God or Ra as possible. The shapes of the pyramids themselves have a great resemblance to "the effect made by the sum shining down on the earth through a gap in the clouds- and it was on the rays of the sun that the dead king was said to mount to heaven." (Honour and Fleming, "Ancient Egypt," page 68) The way in which the pyramids were constructed also points towards the sun and its cardinal directions. "Its four sides being equilateral triangles. The precision with which it was laid out is remarkable, the sides being aligned on the cardinal points of the compass to within one tenth of a degree. (Honour and Fleming, "Ancient Egypt," page 68) This was another example of the desire to focus everything upward towards the sun and sky. .
A great amount of man power was needed in order to construct these mammoth structures. It is thought that during the agricultural off season, between July and October, that the citizens of Egypt would devote their time to constructing these formations for their beloved Pharaoh.
