| Menkaure | |
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| Menkaura, Mycerinus (Latin), Mykerinos (Greek), Mancheres (Manetho) | |
Statue of Menkaure at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. |
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| Pharaoh of Egypt | |
| Reign | 2532–2503 BC[1], 4th Dynasty |
| Predecessor | Khafre |
| Successor | Shepseskaf |
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| Consort(s) | Khamerernebty II Rekhetre |
| Children | Khuenre, Shepseskaf, Khentkaus I |
| Father | Khafra |
| Mother | Khamerernebty I |
| Died | 2503 BC |
| Burial | Pyramid at Giza |
| Monuments | Pyramid at Giza |
Menkaure (or Men-Kau-Ra; Mycerinus in Latin; Μυκερινος, Mykerinos in Greek) was a pharaoh of the Fourth dynasty of Egypt (c. 2620 BC–2480 BC) who ordered the construction of the third and smallest of the Pyramids of Giza. His name means "Eternal like the Souls of Re". He was the successor of Khafra.
Some authors date his rule between 2532 BC–2503 BC or 28 years but the Turin King List has him ruling for 18 years which is the time given to him by other authors.[3] Several of his statues were unfinished upon his death—suggesting the shorter reign—while his pyramid is the smallest of all the three royal pyramids at Giza.
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Menkaure was the son of Khafra and the grandson of Khufu. A flint knife found in the mortuary temple of Menkaure mentioned a king's mother Khamerernebty I, suggesting that Khafra and this queen were the parents of Menkaure. Menkaure is thought to have had at least two wives.[3]
Not many children are attested for Menkaure:
The royal court included several of Menkaure's half brothers. His brothers Nebemakhet, Duaenre, Nikaure and Iunmin served as vizier during the reign of their brother. His brother Sekhemkare may have been younger and became vizier after the death of Menkaure.[9]
Menkaure's pyramid at Giza was called Netjer-er-Menkaure which means "Menkaure is Divine". This pyramid is the smallest of the three pyramids at Giza. There are three subsidiary pyramids associated with Menkaure's pyramid. These pyramids are sometimes labeled G-IIIa (East subsidiary pyramid), G-IIIb (Middle subsidiary pyramid) and G-IIIc (West subsidiary pyramid). In the chapel associated with G-IIIa a statue of a Queen was found. It is possible that these pyramids were meant for the Queens of Khafra. It may be that Khamerernebti II was buried in one of the pyramids.[5][9]
The Valley temple was a mainly brick built structure which was enlarged in the 5th or 6th dynasty. From this temple come the famous statues of Menkaure with his Queen and Menkaure with several deities. A partial list includes:[9]
At this temple more statues and statue fragments were found. An interesting find is a fragment of a wand from Queen Khamerernebty I. The piece is now in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Khamerernebti is given the title King's Mother on the fragment.[9]
In 1837, English army officer Richard William Howard Vyse, and engineer John Shae Perring began excavations within the pyramid of Menkaure. In the main burial chamber of the pyramid they found a large stone sarcophagus 8 feet 0 inches (244 cm) long, 3 feet 0 inches (91 cm) in width, and 2 feet 11 inches (89 cm) in height, made of basalt. The sarcophagus was uninscribed with hieroglyphs although it was decorated in the style of palace facade. Adjacent to the burial chamber were found wooden fragments of a coffin bearing the name of Menkaure and a partial skeleton wrapped in a coarse cloth. The sarcophagus was removed from the pyramid and was sent by ship to the British Museum in London, but the merchant ship Beatrice carrying it was lost after leaving port at Malta on October 13, 1838. The other materials were sent by a separate ship, and the materials now reside at the museum, with the remains of the wooden coffin case on display.
It is now thought that the coffin was a replacement made during the much later Saite period, nearly two millennia after the pharaoh's original interment. Radio carbon dating of the bone fragments that were found place them at an even later date, from the Coptic period in the first centuries AD.[10]
According to Herodotus, Menkaure was the son of Khufu (Greek Cheops), and alleviated the suffering his father's reign had caused the inhabitants of ancient Egypt. Herodotus adds that he suffered much misfortune: his only daughter, whose corpse was interred in a wooden bull (which Herodotus claims survived to his lifetime), died before him; additionally, the oracle at Buto predicted he would only rule six years, but through his shrewdness, Menkaure was able to rule a total of 12 years and foil the prophecy (Herodotus, Histories, 2.129-133).
Menkaure was the subject of a poem by the nineteenth century English poet Matthew Arnold, entitled "Mycerinus".
| Preceded by Khafre |
Pharaoh of Egypt Fourth Dynasty |
Succeeded by Shepseskaf |
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