The Pyramids of Giza

The Pyramids of Giza have fascinated scholars and laymen alike for thousands of years. Through the numerous accounts of ancient Greek and Roman writers, as well as those of medieval and Napoleonic scribes, modern readers easily can get a sense of the awe and mystery which the pyramids have inspired throughout history.

Of the extant structures rising from the Egyptian Plain of Giza, the three largest pyramids - those of Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure - are the most famous and recognizable, along with the equally well-known and recognizable sculpture of the Sphinx.

The larger pyramids at Giza also are surrounded by the smaller pyramids of queens and princesses as well as the mastaba tombs of high officials.

One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Giza pyramids were ancient tombs named after the Fourth Dynasty kings whose remains they housed for thousands of years.

The Great Pyramid, or the Khufu Pyramid (c. 2589 - c. 2566 B.C.), is the largest of all the pyramids. It was originally 460 feet tall but is now 10 feet shorter. At one time, each of the sides of the base of the pyramid measured 460 feet as well, though now they measure roughly 417 feet as the pyramid has been stripped of its original limestone exterior.

It has been estimated it took 2,300,000 stone blocks to build the Great Pyramid, each weighing an average of 2.3 tons.

The pyramid of Khafre (c. 2540 B.C.), because it was constructed on ground of a slightly higher elevation level than that of Khufu's, appears larger but is actually second in size of the three Pyramids of Giza. The most identifying feature of the pyramid of Khafre is its upper point, where the pyramid retains a fraction of its original limestone casing.

The funerary complex of Khafre is the best preserved of the three Pyramids of Giza, and it includes the famous sculpture of the Sphinx, carved from a mass of stone on the Giza Plateau. Regarded by Egyptians of the New Kingdom (c. 1550 - c. 1069) as a manifestation of the sun god, many Egyptologists today view the Sphinx as a portrait of the king.

The last of the extant Pyramids of Giza to be built was the Menkaure Pyramid (c. 2532 - c. 2503 B.C.), which is only about half the size of those of Khufu and Khafre. Though smaller in stature, the Menkaure Pyramid includes original features not seen in those of its predecessors, including the use of red granite blocks in the pyramids lower section and a more complex burial suite. Also, a lintel above the entrance to a corridor in the pyramid of Menkaure offers the first signs of decoration inside a pyramid since the time of Djoser (c. 2667 - c. 2648 B.C.).

The Pyramids of Giza have fascinated humans of all nations, cultures and classes throughout antiquity, and will undoubtedly continue to draw them with their majesty and mystery for countless years to come.

Sources:

Luberto, M.R. The Great Mysteries of Archaeology: The Pyramids. New York: Metro Books, 2007.

Oakes, Lorna and Lucia Gahlin. Ancient Egypt: An Illustrated Reference to the Myths, Religions, Pyramids and Temples of the Land of the Pharaohs. New York: Barnes & Noble, 2006.