why does a giant tomb give you all gov't types? if it does? why does egypt, who build it irl use hereditary rule? I think this effect belong to a greek wonder.
Certainly you could make a case for a Grecco-Roman Wonder, since they used many government types between them.
Going back to CIV I , the opening used to conclude with the question "Can you build a civilization that will stand the test of time?" By that standard The Pyramids are arguably the greatest Wonder of all, and as such were assigned the greatest benefit ( being able to use all government types before you research the techs ) in CIV I.
added -
Blitzkrieg 1980, CIV I had an option of government types.. despotism, monarchy, federation, constitutional monarchy, democracy and communism ....or something of the sort... possibly fascism ?
The great benefit to a great endeavor is what you become in the process. In the case of The Pyramids, it was the development of organizational skills( Bureaucracy? ). All of the logistical prowess required the development of a civil service- an advanced government,( but not a deviation from the monarchy). Remember, each Pyramid was built in it's resident's lifetime, not over time, like The Great Wall.
The Egyptians developed a system of collecting grain as taxes, storing, transporting, storing again, and finally distributing it to the workers building The Pyramids. So graineries throughout the land were a legitamate byproduct.
They used various types of labor, including conscription. They gave the kingdom/people a sense of purpose and identity- So the Nationhood civic isn't out of the question.
They trained a lot of masons and stone cutters, and created quarries. It's not inconcievable that they built walls around their cities & villages when they returned home.
If the ancient Egyptians believed that the pyramid was a machine designed to guide the pharoh's soul to the constellation Orion, where he would join his ancestors as a god, and then grant immortality to his people in gratitude for building his pyramid and defending his kingdom out of gratitude - then I could see it having the happiness effects of a temple in every city.
There are lots of ways to express The Pyramids in civ terms,
since I started as a CIV I player, the retro approach is legitimate to me.