ramid was created and built for Khafre, the fourth of the eight kings of the 4th dynasty. Khafres structure measures 707 3/4 feet on each side, and had originally reached a height of 471 feet. The southernmost and last pyramid to be built was that of Menkaure the sixth king of the 4th dynasty. Each side measures 356 feet, and the structure reaches a total height of 218 feet. Each monument originally consisted of not only the pyramid itself (which housed the body of the deceased king) but also an adjoining mortuary temple and a sloping causeway temple near the Nile. Close to each pyramid was one or more subsidiary pyramids used for the burials of members of the royal family. To the south of the Great Pyramid near Khafre's valley temple lies the Great Sphinx. Carved out of a knoll of rock, the Sphinx has the facial features of King Khafre, but the body of a recumbent lion; it is approximately 240 feet long and 66 feet high. The sphinx guards Khafu's valley temple and causeway. Halfway through the Old Kingdom, around 2465 BC pyramids suddenly lost popularity and became less important to the pharaohs. No one is certain why, but many scholars have suggested that after Khufu's pyramid (which took roughly 23 years to build) the kingdom grew weary with each pharaoh's effort to outdo his predecessor. Several pharaohs died before their pyramids were completed, perhaps a cause of embarrassment or even horror among the populace. Never again would a king build his pyramid on a truly colossal scale. Instead, the religious focus shifted from the pyramid itself toward the mortuary temple that stood just east of it. The funerary culture was growing more sophisticated, even as the pharaoh's unlimited power was beginning to erode.The ancient Egyptian pyramids will always be a constant reminder of the vast architectural accomplishments of Egypt's Old Kingdom. A mystical gateway for a pharaoh's leap to immortality, a ...
