{fair'-oh}
From the New Kingdom onward the title pharaoh, from an Egyptian word meaning "the royal palace," was given to the kings of ancient Egypt. It was later added to the king's name as part of his title. Egyptian kings were thought to be divine, incarnations of the god Horus. Pyramids and the tombs in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes were built to ensure the survival of the king's influence after his death. Ideas regarding the king's divinity eventually changed, however, and by the New Kingdom a distinction was usually made between the institution of divine kingship and the actual, individual pharaoh.