The designations of the pyramids—Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure—correspond to the kings for whom they were built. The northernmost and oldest pyramid of the group was built for Khufu (Greek: Cheops), the second king of the 4th dynasty. Called the Great Pyramid, it is the largest of the three, the length of each side at the base averaging 755.75 feet (230 metres) and its original height being 481.4 feet (147 metres). The middle pyramid was built for Khafre (Greek: Chephren), the fourth of the eight kings of the 4th dynasty; the structure measures 707.75 feet (216 metres) on each side and was originally 471 feet (143 metres) high. The southernmost and last pyramid to be built was that of Menkaure (Greek: Mykerinus), the fifth king of the 4th dynasty; each side measures 356.5 feet (109 metres), and the structure’s completed height was 218 feet (66 metres). All three pyramids were plundered both internally and externally in ancient and medieval times. Thus, the grave goods originally deposited in the burial chambers are missing, and the pyramids no longer reach their original heights because they have been almost entirely stripped of their outer casings of smooth white limestone; the Great Pyramid, for example, is now only 451.4 feet (138 metres) high. That of Khafre retains the outer limestone casing only at its topmost portion. Constructed near each pyramid was a mortuary temple, which was linked via a sloping causeway to a valley temple on the edge of the Nile floodplain. Also nearby were subsidiary pyramids used for the burials of other members of the royal family.

 

If the Pyramids helped to build ancient Egypt, they also preserved it. Giza allows us to explore a long-vanished world. “Many people think of the site as just a cemetery in the modern sense, but it’s a lot more than that,” says Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and Tufts University Egyptologist Peter Der Manuelian. “In these decorated tombs you have wonderful scenes of every aspect of life in ancient Egypt—so it’s not just about how Egyptians died but how they lived.”

 

Anceint Egypt. The first pyramid was built by Pharaoh Kufu around 2550 BC. Kufu’s pyramid is also known as Great Pyramid, and it’s the largest among the three, with an imposing height of 146.5 meters. It stood as the tallest structure in the world for nearly 3800 years. It took around 20 years to complete, and it’s still unknown how Egyptians pulled off a massive construction.

The second pyramid was built for Pharaoh Khafre, son of Khufu. The construction of this pyramid, and the Great Sphinx, began around 2520 BC. The third, and smallest, pyramid was built during the reign of Pharaoh Menkaure and was completed around 2510 BC.