Djoser's Step Pyramid (left), at Saqqara, is considered the
first pyramid. It was designed by Imhotep, who was later promoted to be a god.
The Step Pyramid is somewhat asymmetric, and is about 60 meters tall.Return to my Egyptology pages
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© Copyright 2001, Jim Loy
There are more than forty known pyramids in Egypt, along with many smaller satellite and queen's pyramids. Most of these pyramids are now piles of rubble. A few of them retain much of their former glory. Some of the major pyramids are part of a complex of temples and smaller pyramids.
Djoser's Step Pyramid (left), at Saqqara, is considered the
first pyramid. It was designed by Imhotep, who was later promoted to be a god.
The Step Pyramid is somewhat asymmetric, and is about 60 meters tall.
The Pyramid at Meidum (right) is one
of Sneferu's three pyramids (started by Huni, and completed by Sneferu). It is
surrounded by rubble, perhaps indicating that it collapsed. There are
persistent rumors that it collapsed during construction, and that Egyptologists
have uncovered the remains of workmen, killed during the collapse, among the
rubble. This is apparently false. Much of the rubble has been searched, and no
bodies have been found. The pyramid's current condition may just be the result
of quarrying of limestone from the pyramid, for other building projects. It
stands 92 meters tall.
The Bent Pyramid: Sneferu built
three large pyramids. Another of his is the Bent Pyramid (left), at Dahshur. It
may have become apparent that continuing the initial steepness of the slope
would make the pyramid unstable, and maybe make it collapse. And that seems to
be why the slope was changed part way up. This pyramid is 108 meters tall.
Khufu's Great Pyramid (right), at
Giza, is the largest pyramid, and the only wonder of the ancient world still
standing. It is 146.6 meters tall, and has a volume of 2.7 million cubic
meters. Sneferu's three pyramids total more stone than this one pyramid, but
this is the largest single pyramid. A huge amount of stone was put in place,
each work day of Khufu's (Cheops') reign. Much later, he got a reputation for
cruelty, maybe just because of the great amount of work that must have gone
into the construction of the pyramid. The smooth limestone casing is almost
completely gone from this pyramid. The pyramid originally had a gold pyramidion
(small pyramid-shaped cap) on top.
Khafra's Pyramid (left), at Giza, stands
slightly taller than Khufu's Great Pyramid, because it stands on slightly
higher ground. It is 143.5 meters tall, making it the second tallest pyramid.
It retains some of its limestone casing at the top. It is not as
well-dimensioned as Khufu's pyramid.
The Great Sphinx (right) is next to the causeway leading
from Khafra's Pyramid, and is next to a couple of temples of Khafra's. Because
of the physical connection with Khafra's pyramid and temples, and because the
sphinx actually looks like Khafra, the face of the Sphinx is considered to be
that of Khafra. The body is that of a lion, but is strangely out of proportion.
The Sphinx is carved from a stone that rose out of the sand on that spot.
Various attempts have been made to preserve the Sphinx from erosion, even in
ancient times, including encasing much of it in bricks. See
The Prince And The Sphinx. The Sphinx's nose is
missing. The rumor that it was shot off by Napoleon's soldiers is untrue.
Menkaura's Pyramid is the smallest of the three
pyramids at Giza, being 65 meters tall. Pyramids built after this one were
mostly made from mud brick, instead of stone; and they were mostly much
smaller.
Much later, two pyramids of the 12th Dynasty (those of
Senuseret (Sesostris) III and Amenemhat III) were taller than Menkaura's
pyramid. On the right is a smaller pyramid, Senuseret II's mud brick pyramid
(48.6 meters tall) at Illahun.
Also see Pi and the Great Pyramid.