mastabas, containing Khufu’s servants, were situated
nearby. There was also a harbor, linking the complex to
the Nile. This harbor has now disappeared, but a half-
mile wall remains to mark the perimeter. This border is
called Heit el-Ghurab, the Wall of the Crow.
KHAFRE(Chephren; r. 2520–2494 B.C.E.) built the
second massive pyramid that stands on the Giza plateau.
The structure is smaller than Khufu’s, but it was erected
on arise and appears almost the same height. Khafre’s
pyramid originally rose to a height of 471 feet, on a 705-
foot base. There are two entrances, descending passages,
an ascending corridor, and a burial chamber containing a
red granite SARCOPHAGUS. One subsidiary pyramid rests
beside Khafre’s monument, probably the tomb of an
unidentified queen. Five boat pits were also installed on
the site. Khafre’s mortuary temple was made of limestone
and had a pillared hall, two chambers, and an open court-
yard. Magazines and statuary niches completed the
design. A causeway, some 1,600 feet in length, was
attached to the mortuary temple. The valley temple was a
square structure with two entrances. Magnificent statues
of Khafre, protected by HORUS, were discovered there.
The third massive structure on the Giza plateau is
the pyramid erected as the resting place of MENKAURÉ
(Mycerinus; r. 2490–2472 B.C.E.). It is the smallest of the
great pyramids of Giza and was unfinished when
Menkauré died. This pyramid, however, was completed
by Menkauré’s son and heir, SHEPSESKHAF. Originally 240
feet high, the pyramid was erected on a 357-foot base. An
unusual feature of this monument is the use of reliefs
depicting the palace walls of the period on interior walls.
Mycerinus’s mortuary temple was made of mud bricks.
The causeway that was attached to the temple was 1,995
feet in length, and another mud-brick valley temple con-
tained fine triad statues. Three subsidiary pyramids were
erected beside Menkauré’s main tomb. It is believed that
Queen KHAMERERNEBTY(2) was buried in one of these,
but they were never finished.
The Great SPHINXstands in front of Khafre’s pyra-
mid, with that pharaoh’s features imposed upon its face.
This is an image of a mythical beast with the body of
a lion and the head of a man, wearing the nemes,the
royal head covering. The statue was carved out of a knoll
of poor-grade limestone and is 150 feet long and 75
feet high, from base to crown. The modern name is a
Greek version of the Egyptian shesep-ankh,“the living
image.” The Sphinx is believed to represent Khafre, as
Horus of the Horizon. Originally the carving was faced
with Tureh limestone, and a beard extended from the
chin, almost to the center of the breast. A stela dating
from the reign of TUTHMOSIS IV(1401–1391 B.C.E.) rests
between its paws.
The private necropolis of Giza lies east and west of
the pyramids. Some later burials disrupt the orderly lay-
out of the Fourth Dynasty complex. Of particular interest
is the tomb of Queen MERYSANKH(3), the consort of
Khafre and the daughter of Prince KEWABand Queen HET-
EPHERES(2).Remarkable scenes and a row of statues of
the royal family fill this vast burial site. The tomb was
originally made for Queen Hetepheres (2), who gave it to
Merysankh (3) when she died young. The plateau of Giza
also contains the ruins of a temple honoring HORUSof the
Horizon. This shrine was erected near the Great Sphinx
by AMENHOTEP II(r. 1427–1401 B.C.E.) of the Eighteenth
Dynasty. A temple of ISISwas also formed in one of the
subsidiary pyramids of Giza by a later dynasty.
Avast area containing the ruins of living quarters,
clinics, bakeries, breweries, and other structures has been
discovered at Giza in recent years. An ongoing excavation
of the area is being conducted to uncover this workers’
village. The ruins confirmthe fact that able-bodied Egyp-
tians provided free labor throughout the building process
of the Giza plateau complexes. The CORVÉEsystem enti-
tled the pharaohs to request such services from the peo-
ple, especially during the time of the annual inundation.
Slaves were not used to build the pyramids, which were
national projects, undertaken freely by the entire popu-
lace in service to the pharaoh and the gods.gods and goddesses The supernatural beings who
constituted the great pantheon of deities in ancient
Egypt, some surviving throughout the history of the
nation. These deities served as the focal points for Egyp-
tian cultic rites and personal spiritual aspirations. The
deities associated with creation and cosmological roles
were worshiped throughout the Nile Valley, and others
evolved from local fetish symbols and particular geo-
graphic traditions. Still others were associated with mor-
tuary and funerary rites and were beloved throughout the
land.
The predynastic Egyptians, those living in Egypt
before 3000 B.C.E., practiced animism, the spiritual and
philosophical system that was mirrored in other aboriginalgods and goddesses 147The watcher on the horizon, the Great Sphinx, the mysterious
monument at Giza. Courtesy Thierry Ailleret