Menes

Information about Menes

Menes
Africanus: Mênês
Eusebius: Mênês
Preceded by:
Narmer?		Pharaoh of Egypt
1st Dynasty		Succeeded by:
Hor-Aha?
This article is about the Pharaoh. For the H. P. Lovecraft character, see The_Cats_of_Ulthar#Menes.
Menes was an Egyptian pharaoh, to some authors the founder of the First dynasty, to others of the Second. He lived ca. 3100-3000 BC.

Ancient Egyptian legend credits a pharaoh by this name with uniting Upper and Lower Egypt into one kingdom. Manetho, a 3rd century BC Egyptian historian, called him Menes; the 5th century BC Greek historian Herodotus referred to him as Min [1]; and two native-king lists of the 19th dynasty (13th century BC) call him Meni. On the other hand, two king lists from the First Dynasty name Narmer and Hor-Aha as its first and second kings respectively while Menes is missing entirely.

However, the discovery of the Narmer Palette in the late 19th century showing the pharaoh Narmer, possibly pre-dating Menes, wielding the symbols of both Upper and Lower Egypt, cast doubt on the traditional account. Some Egyptologists hold that Narmer and Menes are in fact the same person; others hold that Menes inherited an already-unified kingdom from Narmer; still others hold that Menes completed a process of unification started either unsuccessfully or only partially successfully by Narmer. In any case, Menes is credited with the foundation of Memphis [2], which he established as the Egyptian capital. It should be noted that while there is extensive archeological evidence of there being a pharaoh named Narmer, the only indisputable evidence for Menes is an ostracon which contains his name under the Nebty symbols.[3] There is a general suspicion that Menes either was a name of Narmer, his predecessor, or of his successor, Hor-Aha.

Also spelled Hor Aka or Hor-Aka, the name can be translated as "Horus of the Reeds", possibly an allusion to the legend in which Isis hid Horus in the Nile Delta among papyri and reeds. In Ancient Egyptian legend, there was a battle between Horus (a patron deity of Upper Egypt) and Set (patron deity of Lower Egypt). In this mythological unification of the two Egypts, Set was defeated and the kingdom was unified under the rule of Horus, the first king of all Egypt [4]. It is possible that this was a real war transformed over time into myth by Euhemerus. A later parallel can be found leading to the establishment of the reign of Pharaoh Khasekhemwy several hundred years later; he may have crushed a civil war between the followers of Set and Horus.

According to historian Emmet Sweeney in his The Genesis of Israel and Egypt, Menes is at least partly mythological, the name being derived from the phallic deity Min, whose cult was extremely important during the First Dynasty. Sweeney argued that the custom of circumcision, attested in Egypt from very early times, was attributed to Min, and that the pharaohs of the time were given this generic name. Sweeney also sees as significant the fact that the biblical Abraham, also associated with a phallic cult - he initiated the custom of circumcision amongst the Jews - was said by Jewish legend to have introduced literate civilization into Egypt from Mesopotamia. This agrees with the very real Mesopotamian influence on First Dynasty Egypt discovered by archaeology; but it has profound chronological implications, since the Abraham legend is presently dated 1,000 years later than the founding of the First Dynasty.

According to Manetho, Menes reigned 62 years and was killed by a hippopotamus.

An image of Menes holding an ankh is depicted on the frieze on the south wall of the U.S. Supreme Court building.[5]

See also

External links

 •  • [ e]
Notable Ancient Egyptian Rulers
Early Dynastic RulersNarmer Hor-Aha Menes
Old Kingdom RulersDjoser Sneferu Khufu Khafra Menkaura Pepi II
Middle Kingdom RulersMentuhotep II Mentuhotep IV Senusret III Amenemhat III Sobekneferu
New Kingdom RulersHatshepsut Thutmose III Amenhotep III Akhenaten Tutankhamun Ramesses I Seti I Ramesses II
Other RulersShoshenq I Piye Taharqa Psammetichus I Necho II Psammetichus III Ptolemy I Cleopatra VII Ptolemy XIII
ConsortsTetisheri Ahmose-Nefertari Ahmose Tiye Nefertiti Ankhesenamun Nefertari Mark Antony
Court officialsImhotep Weni Ahmose, son of Ebana Ineni Senemut Rekhmire Yuya Maya Yuny Manetho Pothinus




References

1. ^ Herodotus, Euterpe, 2.4.1 and 2.99.1ff.
2. ^ cf. Herodotus, Euterpe, 2.99.4.
3. ^ Gardiner, Alan. Egypt of the Pharaohs. p. 405. Oxford University Press, 1961
4. ^ William Kelly Simpson (ed.), The Literature of Ancient Egypt, 1972: The Contendings of Horus and Seth
5. ^ "Courtroom Friezes: North and South Walls: Information Sheet." Supreme Court of the United States. [1]
Manetho, also known as Manethon of Sebennytos, was an Egyptian historian and priest from Sebennytos (ancient Egyptian: Tjebnutjer) who lived during the Ptolemaic era, ca. 3rd century BC. Manetho recorded Aegyptiaca (History of Egypt).
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Manetho, also known as Manethon of Sebennytos, was an Egyptian historian and priest from Sebennytos (ancient Egyptian: Tjebnutjer) who lived during the Ptolemaic era, ca. 3rd century BC. Manetho recorded Aegyptiaca (History of Egypt).
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Narmer was an Egyptian Pharaoh who ruled in the 31st century BC. Thought to be the successor to the predynastic Scorpion and/or Ka, he is considered by some to be the founder of the First dynasty, and therefore the first king of all Egypt.
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Dynasties of Pharaohs
in Ancient Egypt
Predynastic Egypt
Protodynastic Period
Early Dynastic Period
1st 2nd
Old Kingdom
3rd 4th 5th 6th
First Intermediate Period
7th 8th 9th 10th
11th (Thebes only)

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Dynasties of Pharaohs
in Ancient Egypt
Predynastic Egypt
Protodynastic Period
Early Dynastic Period
1st 2nd
Old Kingdom
3rd 4th 5th 6th
First Intermediate Period
7th 8th 9th 10th
11th (Thebes only)

..... Click the link for more information.
Hor-Aha is currently considered the 2nd Pharaoh of the 1st dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He lived around the 31st century BC.

Around the 32nd century BC his father, Narmer had united Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt.
..... Click the link for more information.
Dynasties of Pharaohs
in Ancient Egypt
Predynastic Egypt
Protodynastic Period
Early Dynastic Period
1st 2nd
Old Kingdom
3rd 4th 5th 6th
First Intermediate Period
7th 8th 9th 10th
11th (Thebes only)

..... Click the link for more information.
Howard Phillips Lovecraft

Born: July 20 1890(1890--)
Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Died: March 15 1937 (aged 48)
Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Occupation: short story writer
novelist
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Dynasties of Pharaohs
in Ancient Egypt
Predynastic Egypt
Protodynastic Period
Early Dynastic Period
1st 2nd
Old Kingdom
3rd 4th 5th 6th
First Intermediate Period
7th 8th 9th 10th
11th (Thebes only)

..... Click the link for more information.
Dynasties of Pharaohs
in Ancient Egypt
Predynastic Egypt
Protodynastic Period
Early Dynastic Period
1st 2nd
Old Kingdom
3rd 4th 5th 6th
First Intermediate Period
7th 8th 9th 10th
11th (Thebes only)

..... Click the link for more information.
Dynasties of Pharaohs
in Ancient Egypt
Predynastic Egypt
Protodynastic Period
Early Dynastic Period
1st 2nd
Old Kingdom
3rd 4th 5th 6th
First Intermediate Period
7th 8th 9th 10th
11th (Thebes only)

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and
31st century
←← ↔ →→


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and
30th century
←← ↔ →→


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Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. To the north was Lower Egypt where the Nile fanned out with its several mouths to form the Nile Delta. To the south was Upper Egypt, stretching to Syene. The two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt were united c.
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Manetho, also known as Manethon of Sebennytos, was an Egyptian historian and priest from Sebennytos (ancient Egyptian: Tjebnutjer) who lived during the Ptolemaic era, ca. 3rd century BC. Manetho recorded Aegyptiaca (History of Egypt).
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The 3rd century BC started the first day of 300 BC and ended the last day of 201 BC. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period.

The first few decades of the century are characterized by a balance of power between the Greek Hellenistic kingdoms
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The 5th century BC started the first day of 500 BC and ended the last day of 401 BC.

Overview



This century sees the beginning of a period of philosophical brilliance among advanced civilizations, particularly the Greeks which would continue all the way through the
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Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: Ἡρόδοτος Ἁλικαρνᾱσσεύς Hērodotos Halikarnāsseus
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Dynasties of Pharaohs
in Ancient Egypt
Predynastic Egypt
Protodynastic Period
Early Dynastic Period
1st 2nd
Old Kingdom
3rd 4th 5th 6th
First Intermediate Period
7th 8th 9th 10th
11th (Thebes only)

..... Click the link for more information.
13th century BC was the period from 1300 to 1201 BC.

Events

  • 1300 BC — Cemetery H culture comes to an end.
  • 1295 BC — End of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt, start of the Nineteenth Dynasty.

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Narmer was an Egyptian Pharaoh who ruled in the 31st century BC. Thought to be the successor to the predynastic Scorpion and/or Ka, he is considered by some to be the founder of the First dynasty, and therefore the first king of all Egypt.
..... Click the link for more information.
Hor-Aha is currently considered the 2nd Pharaoh of the 1st dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He lived around the 31st century BC.

Around the 32nd century BC his father, Narmer had united Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt.
..... Click the link for more information.
Narmer Palette, also known as the Great Hierakonpolis Palette or the Palette of Narmer, is a significant Egyptian archeological find, dating from about the 31st century BC, containing some of the earliest hieroglyphic inscriptions ever found.
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For the periodical, see .
The 19th Century (also written XIX century) lasted from 1801 through 1900 in the Gregorian calendar. It is often referred to as the "1800s.
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Narmer was an Egyptian Pharaoh who ruled in the 31st century BC. Thought to be the successor to the predynastic Scorpion and/or Ka, he is considered by some to be the founder of the First dynasty, and therefore the first king of all Egypt.
..... Click the link for more information.
Egyptology is the study of Ancient Egypt and Egyptian antiquities and is a regional and thematic branch of the larger disciplines of ancient history and archaeology. A practitioner of the discipline is an Egyptologist, though Egyptology is not exclusive to such practitioners.
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State Party  Egypt
Type Cultural
Criteria i, iii, vi
Reference 86
Region North Africa

Inscription History
Inscription 1979  (3rd Session)
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ostracon (Greek: ὄστρακον ostrakon, plural ὄστρακα ostraka
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Hor-Aha is currently considered the 2nd Pharaoh of the 1st dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He lived around the 31st century BC.

Around the 32nd century BC his father, Narmer had united Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt.
..... Click the link for more information.
ISIS (Image and Scanner Interface Specification) is an industry standard interface for image scanning technologies, developed by Pixel Translations in 1990 (today: EMC captiva).
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