Khafre

Khafre was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty during the Old Kingdom. He was the son of Khufu and the brother and successor of Djedefre. He ruled for about 24 to 26 years, according to the Turin King List. He is best known for building the second largest pyramid of Giza and the Great Sphinx, although some scholars believe that the Sphinx was built by his older brother Djedefre as a monument for their father Khufu. Khafre had several wives and at least 15 children. He was the father of Menkaure, who succeeded him as the pharaoh. Khafre was also known by the Greek name Chephren, which is derived from the Egyptian Khaf-Ra, meaning “He appears as Ra”. He had a cult center in the valley temple near his pyramid, where he was worshipped as a god after his death. His pyramid complex included a mortuary temple, a causeway, a valley temple, and several satellite pyramids and mastabas for his family members and officials. Khafre’s pyramid is the only one of the three great pyramids of Giza that still retains some of its original casing stones at the top. The pyramid has a base length of 215.5 m (706 ft) and a height of 136.4 m (448 ft). It is made of limestone blocks weighing more than 2 tons each. The slope of the pyramid is 53° 13’, steeper than that of his father’s pyramid. The pyramid was probably looted and damaged during the First Intermediate Period and the New Kingdom. It was first explored in modern times by Giovanni Belzoni in 1818, who found the burial chamber empty except for a sarcophagus and its broken lid. Khafre’s valley temple is one of the best-preserved temples of the Old Kingdom. It is located at the eastern end of the causeway that leads to the pyramid. The temple is built of huge blocks of red granite and limestone. It has a T-shaped plan with a large hall and a sanctuary. The walls are decorated with reliefs depicting Khafre’s life and achievements, as well as scenes of offering and worship. The temple also contains several statues of Khafre, including the famous diorite statue that shows him sitting on a throne with a falcon behind his head, representing the god Horus. The statue was discovered by Auguste Mariette in 1858 and is now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.