Egyptian Striding King Menkaure,
The Last Great Pyramid Builder
Description While the great pyramids of the Giza Plateau attest to the lofty rule of at least three of Egypt's early, 4th Dynasty rulers, we actually know very little about these men. Of course, one reason for this was the lack of inscriptions on their most dominate and enduring monuments, including the last and smallest of the Giza Pyramids built by Menkaure and named, "Menkaure is Divine". We believe that Menkaure, the pharaoh's birth name meaning "Eternal like the Souls of Re", (Greek Mycerinus or Mykerinus and known as Mencheres by Manetho), succeeded his Khafre (Chephren), his father, in about 2532 BC, during Egypt's Old Kingdom. There is some minor evidence that a king may have been interposed between Khafre and his son, presumably as a continuation of the putative power struggle that had followed the death of Khufu, but this is now considered unlikely. His mother is thought to have been Khameremebty I. He was married perhaps to three different queens, including Khameremebty II, who was his eldest sister. He had two sons that we know of, Khuenre, his eldest son who apparently died prior to Menkaure and was buried in a rock tomb (MQ 1) southeast of his father's pyramid, and Shepsekaft, who was his successor. He also had a daughter named Khentkawes. Traditional legend provides that Menkaure's reign was both benevolent and prosperous. Herodotus, who is our primary source of information on Menkaure, tells us that"...of all the kings who ruled Egypt...the greatest reputation for justice... and for this the Egyptians give him higher praise than any other monarch." However, this angered the gods, because they had decreed that Egypt would suffer 150 years of hardship, which had in fact been evident during the reigns of his father and his grandfather, Khufu. Both are said to have been particularly harsh during the building of their greater pyramids. These legends record that Menkaure reopened temples which had been closed to provide labor for his predecessor's pyramid construction, and repealed many of the more oppressive measures of his predecessors, which therefore was an affront to the gods. Therefore, the deities decreed, through the oracle of Buto, the ancient capital in the Delta whose patron goddess was Wadjet, the sacred cobra (Uraeus that protected the pharaoh that Menkaure would only rein for six years, after which the oppression would return.Payments * We accept PayPal Payments, Money Brokers, Bank Transfer, Money Order, Certified Check, Western Union. * Payments must be made within 5 days. * Please don't wait more than 5 days, or the item will be relisted.
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