Religion played an important part in Egyptian life. The Egyptians believed in many gods and goddesses. Gods looked after every aspect of life. Every town and city had its own god. Temples were dedicated to different god or a dead pharaoh. Pyramids are the oldest stone structures in the world and its also among the seven wonders of the world they were built as tombs, to keep the body of the dead king safe for eternity and perchaps to ease his passage to the heavens. The Great Sphinx is a mysterious rock sculture with a human head on the body of a lion. This was built near the pyramids, outside modern Cairo, but the exact reason is unknown. Historians believe it is older than the pyramids themselves.
Fact file
The sun god Ra was often portrayed simply as a sun disk. He appeared in other forms too, including a cat, a bird and a lion.