Pharaoh or Pharoh, which is Egyptian for "Great House", originally referred to the king's palace but the meaning loosened over the course of history to become the name for the office of the kingship of ancient Egypt. The Pharaohs were generally male but the title was also used for the rare ruling female Pharaohs. These rulers were considered gods and goddesses, literally the incarnation of Horus, and treated as such in life and in death with elaborate burial rituals and pyramids to house their royal corpes until they could reach the afterlife