Module 1: Introduction to Giza- It's History and Significance

Ptolemaic Period

(332-30 BCE) a period characterized by the Macedonian Greek rule of Egypt, initiated with the country's conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE

Palermo Stone

A stele inscribed with the Royal Annals of the Old Kingdom

Palermo Stone

The BLANK, like all kings lists, specifies the chronological order of leadership

King Lists

A set of ancient documents describing the sequence of Egyptian rulers, known from several periods of ancient Egyptian history. The most famous of these is the Abydos _________ _______, set up by Sety I in his temple at Abydos

Manetho

Egyptian priest and writer of the Aegyptiaca

Kingdoms, dynasties, intermediate periods

How is Egyptian history divided by modern scholars?

Cairo

The modern city where the Great Pyramid is located

The Step Pyramid

The oldest major pyramid of ancient Egypt, not constructed at Giza, but at Saqqara under the direction of king Djoser

Palermo Stone

What dates periods of rule for each king from the Early dynastic period to the Fifth Dynasty

Palermo Stone

What is the oldest surviving king's list

Proximity to the capital, presence of a natural limestone quarry, and easy access to raw materials

What was the reason Giza was selected as a royal burial site?

Snefru

Which Old Kingdom king was Egypt's most prolific builder?

Amarna

Which of the following sites is NOT the location of an Old Kingdom pyramid? Dashur, Saqqara, Amarna, Giza

Khufu

Who initiated construction of the pyramids at Giza?

The Pyramid Texts

a collection of religious texts from the Old Kingdom, written in the walls of the pyramids of 5th and 6th Dynasty kings and queens.

Aegyptiaca

a history of Egypt, its kings and dynasties, written by Manetho during the Ptolemaic Period

Saqqara

a site in northern Egypt, to the south of Cairo, which served as a royal and elite burial ground throughout ancient Egyptian history. Its most famous complex is that of Djoser's Step Pyramid.

Djedefre

a son of Khufu, and the first king to introduce the title "Son of Re" in the royal titulary. His pyramid complex was built at Abu Roash, not Giza.

Khafre

a son of Khufu, he is the builder of the second largest pyramid at Giza, as well as the Sphinx. He and Djedefre were likely half-brothers.

Imhotep

an Egyptian high official who served Djoser, and likely the architect of the Step Pyramid.

Sphinx

royal monument built by Khafre at Giza, consisting of a lion's body and a human head with a royal headdress. The statue was carved from the natural limestone bedrock in the plateau, and it represents the first piece of colossal sculpture known from ancient Egypt.

Snefru

the first king of the Fourth Dynasty, he was the first to attain the true pyramidal form, and the most active builder of the dynasty, with four known pyramids, and possibly more.

Djoser

the second king of the Third Dynasty, sometimes classified as the first king of the Third Dynasty, and the builder of the Step Pyramid complex at Saqqara. Also known by his Horus name, Nejerirkhet

Menkaure

the son of Khafre and grandson of Khufu, he was the last king to build a pyramid at Giza. His complex is, by far, the smallest of the three.

Khufu

the son of Snefru and builder of the Great Pyramid at Giza.