The three pyramids at Giza in Egypt, Cheops, Khafre, and Menkaure, are among the most famous pieces of architecture in the world and they are also the first buildings with innovative architecture. Each Egyptian ruler was obsessed with constructing a tomb for himself more impressive and longer lasting than that of his predecessors. Before the 4th Dynasty (begins c. 2680 BC) Egyptian royal burial took the form of the mastaba, an archetypal rectangular mass of masonry. This evolved into the stepped pyramid and finally into the fully refined pyramid. The development of the pyramid reached its climax during the Fourth Dynasty in the famous triad of great pyramids at Giza, which unlike the older pyramids, were of smooth-sided shape. They originally had an outer casing of carefully dressed limestone, but it has disappeared except near the top of the pyramid Khafre. This pyramid, almost 136 m (446 ft) high, was built without the use of cranes, pulleys, or lifting tackle, and archaeologists are still not certain how this was accomplished. Cheops, the first to be completed took about twenty years to complete. It was originally 481 feet high, and its base covered over 13 acres. It was made of over two million stone blocks, each weighing two to fifteen tons. The area covered by the Cheops Pyramid can accommodate St Peter's in Rome, the cathedrals of Florence and Milan, and Westminster and St Paul's in London combined.

The Colosseum is elliptical, sitting on a NW to SE axis. The building's core is constructed of brick and a relatively soft, porous rock called tufa. The exterior is clothed in travertine marble. Originally the Colosseum had three stories, but Alexander Severus added a fourth when he refurbished the building around 230 AD. The bottom three stories have 80 arches each; the stories are separated by a thin. The columns in one story line up exactly with those in the story above it. Engaged Doric columns separate the arches on the bottom story. As stated earlier, the Doric column is the oldest type--it is strong, simple, and even severe in appearance, making the first story appear to be a strong foundation. The second story has engaged Ionic columns, and the third has Corinthian. The fourth story is a solid wall with thin Corinthian pilasters, rectangular columns that are also engaged. The space between the pilasters is filled alternately with 40 small, rectangular windows and 40 bu!

Notre-Dame is probably the most famous image in French Gothic art. Rather than generating strong vertical energy, the portals, windows, and tracery gallery of its main block are gathered into a square, subdivided by a few strong vertical and horizontal elements into a grid like pattern with the rose window at the center. It is very harmonious. The cathedral is also important because it was the first cathedral built on a truly monumental scale. With its compact, cruciform plan, its sexpartite vaulting, flying buttresses and vastly enlarged windows, it became a prototype for future French cathedrals.

The Pyramids of Giza give much information on the beliefs and culture of the ancient Egyptians. These immense monuments testify to the pharaohs’ vast social control and also to the fascination of their architects with abstract, perfect geometrical forms, a concern that reappears frequently throughout history. Egyptians built temples to dignify the ritual observances of those in power and to exclude others. But, what did the pyramids represent? They symbolized the institution of the monarchy itself. The king was a living god. As a god he was above every other human being; his power was not given to him, it was an aspect of his divine nature. As a god, he brought life, fertility, order, stability, and rationality to the Egyptian state just as the gods brought life, fertility, order, stability, and rationality to the universe as a whole. He stood aloof and distant from the rest of humanity, and only the king had the right or t

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