Are the Pyramids too good?

[Crazy Eskimo]

Personally, I think the Pyramids are just fine. Sometimes I build them, sometimes I don't bother (though it is nice to capture them... heh heh....)

Some folks have mentioned that the pyramids should be more religion-based (and they probably will be in Civ IV), but something occured to me about their current function. On one hand, it make sense since it seems like a builder wonder and a granary in every city definitely seems like a peaceful-man's Sun Tzu. But might it be a religious reference as well? Christianity and Judeaism hold that Joseph (one of the Jewish Patriarchs) worked for Pharoah (who, one would assume, had a pyramid built for himself), and was given prophetic sight by God to see that there would seven bountiful years followed by seven years of famine. So, they hoarded extra grain during the fat years and doled it out to the people during the famine.

That certainly sounds like a nationwide granary to me!

 

[gunkulator]

While the pyramids demonstrate a tremendous achievement in terms of engineering and planning, they are without question, the most complete and utter waste of resources ever squanded by ancient man. So much time and effort spent for basically zero benefit to mankind. All that manpower not spent building roads, or ships or irrigating fields. When all is said done, the pyramids are nothing more than a big pile or rocks in the sand.

Perhaps they are due some religious benefit, though. Since they represent the long standing stability of the Egyptian government, I would give the owner of the pyramids a 2 turn anarchy. For already religious civs, they'd get +1 content citizens like TOA, but without the free culture for each city like with TOA.