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Laura Gibson

Professor Kay Koeninger

ART 2230

23 February 2021

The Funerary Complex of Khafre in Comparison to The Parthenon

The Funerary Complex of Khafre and The Parthenon are both staples of ancient

architecture and culture. The Funerary Complex of Khafre included a pyramid, a mortuary

temple, a valley temple, as well as the Great Sphinx. Khafre’s complex was built c. 2520-2494

BC (Lumen Learning). The funerary complex of Khafre was to ensure that the Pharaoh would

enter the after life after leaving their life on Earth through death (N. Strudwick, H. Strudwick

77). The Great Sphinx was made with limestone (Hawass 177), while the pyramid was also built

with an encasing of limsteone (Winston). The Parthenon is a temple built in Athens, Greece

during the period of 447-432 BC (Parthenon). This temple was built to house a statue of Athena,

and to also be a statement of victory after the Greeks beat the Persian invasion (Cartwright). The

Parthenon was also built as a replacement after all of the damage done to architecture by the

Persians during the Persian invasion (Parthenon). The Parthenon was built with pentelic marble,

while the statue of Athena was constructed with ivory and gold (Sammartino). Both the

Parthenon, as well as the Funerary Complex of Khafre have similarities, as well as differences,

and serve as prime examples of Ancient Egyptian and Greek Art.

The Funerary Complex of Khafre holds many qualities that are direct examples of

Egyptian culture. The Funerary Complex of Khafre holds a representation of the importance of

permanence in Egyptian culture. As discussed in an article regarding Egyptian and Peruvian

cultures, the authors state that “Both these cultures also firmly believed in an afterlife and built
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pyramids to serve as tombs and homes for royalty in the afterlife” (ReFaey, Clifton, Quinones,

Tripathi, Quiñones-Hinojosa). Khafre had a burial chamber constructed in his pyramid, enforcing

that element of having a home in the afterlife in Egyptian culture. The importance of the power

of the Pharaoh was also an important component of Egyptian culture. The Great Sphinx is a

statue that was carved for Khafre of a lion’s body with a king’s head. In Egyptian culture, the

lion is described as a symbol of royalty (Lumen Learning). With the lion being such a powerful

animal, and that being combined with the king, the power of the Pharaoh is emphasized (Lumen

Learning). There is also depictions of sphinxes and lions near doorways in the Valley Temple as

well (N. Strudwick, H. Strudwick 87). In a section of the Lumen textbook, it states that in Valley

Temple of the Pyramid “that 24 additional images of the pharaoh were originally located in this

temple” (Lumen Learning). There were also more than 52 images of the pharaoh that were either

the size of the pharaoh, or larger in Khafre’s mortuary temple (Lumen Learning). All of these

images of the Pharaoh emphasize the importance and power of the Pharaoh considering there is

such a large abundance of them. Ancient Egyptian culture also focused heavily on the

importance of ever-present gods and goddesses. In Khafre’s causeway leading to the Valley

Temple, there is “A relief fragment depicting a goddess facing left” (N. Strudwick, H. Strudwick

86). There is also texts inscribed in the Pyramid regarding how the goddess Bastet is Khafre’s

mother (N. Strudwick, H. Strudwick 87). The combination of the relief of the goddess in the

causeway, as well as the texts about the goddess Bastet in the pyramid emphasize the important

of the gods and goddesses of the culture, as well as keeps the gods and goddesses ever-present by

having this art work remain for centuries. Lastly, artistic consistency was an important aspect of

Egyptian culture. The pyramid of Khafre is a clear representation of the importance of art

consistency in Egyptian culture. Khafre’s pyramid was the second of the Three Great Pyramids
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(Lumen Learning). Khafre built his pyramid following the footsteps of his father, Khufu with his

pyramid being the second. With Khafre building his own pyramid, this maintained the

consistency of the grandiose architecture done by his father. Sneferu, the father of Khufu also

attempted to build a pyramid as a funerary temple as well (Mark). This also contributes to how

important the consistency of art was to Ancient Egyptian culture regarding pyramids, as well as

funerary temple architecture. There are elements all throughout Khafre’s Funerary Complex that

contribute to the main aspects of Ancient Egyptian Culture.

The Parthenon also contributed to the general qualities of Greek culture. An important

aspect of Greek culture was human-centered art. The Parthenon had “ninety-two metopes

showing scenes of mythical battle” (Ancient Greece The Parthenon). These metopes had human

Lapiths fighting with centaurs (Ancient Greece The Parthenon). With these metopes depicting

humans in mythical battle, it contributes to the importance of human-centered art in Greek

culture. According to Khan Academy, in the west frieze of the Parthenon, there is a sculpture of

horsemen (Ancient Greece The Parthenon). The horsemen in this sculpture also contribute to the

importance of human-centered art in Greek culture. Balance and moderation is also an important

element of Greek culture. The Parthenon’s general structure contributes to this important cultural

aspect. The Parthenon has 17 columns on both sides, and 8 in the front and back (Cartwright).

The even aspect of the number of columns promotes the cultural importance of balance and

moderation in Ancient Greece. The importance of the polis is also an important aspect of Greek

Culture. The polis, according to Khan Academy is “a fortified area or citadel which offered

protection during times of war” (The Greek Polis). Athens, where the Parthenon was built, was a

polis (Bloom). With the Parthenon being built in Athens, and the Parthenon being such a sacred,

important monument, this emphasized the importance of the polis. The naturalistic depiction of
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the human body was also a very important aspect of Greek culture. With both the metopes of

humans in mythical battle, as well as the sculptures of the horsemen in the west frieze both

depicting bodies moving in their natural form, the importance of the naturalistic depiction of the

human body is shown. The Parthenon has representations of many aspects of Greek culture

through its sculptures, as well as its general structure.

There are similarities among the Funerary Complex of Khafre and the Parthenon. One

similarity is that both pieces were built in honor of something. The Parthenon was built in honor

of the goddess Athena, as well as in honor of the victory of the Greeks against the Persians. The

Funerary Complex of Khafre was built not only as a resting place for Khafre, but in honor of him

and his reign, as well as in honor of the goddesses in depicted in the pyramid. The Great Sphinx

was also created in honor of Khafre (Hawass 177), similar to the statue of Athena in the

Parthenon created to honor her. Both pieces of art include depictions of deities. The Funerary

Complex of Khafre contains a depiction of a goddess in the causeway leading to the Valley

Temple, as well as texts referring to the goddess Bastet (N. Strudwick, H. Strudwick 86-87). The

Parthenon contains a statue of the goddess Athena (Cartwright), and a sculpture showing the

birth of Athena from the head of the God Zeus (Ancient Greece The Parthenon). The pieces of

art are also similar because they both focus on artistic consistency. The Parthenon’s elements

maintain artistic consistency with how Greek art focused on the art of the human body, while the

Funerary Complex of Khafre maintained artistic consistency with the pyramids, as well as

continuing the tradition of having a monument built for the Pharaoh to continue in the afterlife.

Both monuments have similarities regarding the dedication to Gods, honoring something or

someone important, and maintaining artistic consistency.

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While both monuments have similarities, they also have differences. The Parthenon was

not only built in honor of Athena, but also built as a celebration of victory against the Persians

(Cartwright). The Funerary Complex of Khafre was built as a resting place for the Pharaoh for

the after life (N. Strudwick, H. Strudwick 77). This is where the reasons as to why both

monuments were built differ. The monuments also differ in what materials the monuments are

made of. The Parthenon was made with pentelic marble (Sammartino), while Khafre’s pyramid

was made with limestone. Both statues were made with different materials as well. Athena’s

statue was made with ivory and gold (Sammartino), while The Great Sphinx was made of

limestone (Hawass 177). Both monuments differ in the materials, as well as the reason as to why

they were built.

Both the Parthenon and the Funerary Complex of Khafre were staples for art of the

Ancient Egyptian Civilization, as well as the Ancient Greek Civilization. The Funerary Complex

of Khafre contributed much to the culture of Ancient Egypt. The Parthenon also contributed

much to the culture of Ancient Greece. Both monuments have similarities regarding honor of a

person, event, or deity, as well as the statues that were built. While there are similarities, both

monuments have differences such as the materials used to create the monuments, as well as the

reasoning behind creating the monuments. Despite these differences, both monuments were

staples to the civilizations in which they were created in.

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Works Cited

Ancient Greece The Parthenon, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-

history/ancient-mediterranean-ap/greece-etruria-rome/a/the-parthenon.

Art History I. Vol. 1, Lumen Learning .

Bloom, Robert L, et al. 2. Athens: The Polis, 1958.

Cartwright, Mark. “Ancient History Encyclopedia.” Parthenon, Ancient History Encyclopedia,

28 Oct. 2012, www.ancient.eu/parthenon/.

The Greek Polis, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/ancient-

medieval/classical-greece/a/the-greek-polis.

Hawass, Zahi. Sesto Congresso Internazionale Di Egittologia: Atti, International Association of

Egyptologists, 1993, pp. 177–195.

Mark, Joshua J. Old Kingdom of Egypt, Ancient History Encyclopedia, 26 Sept. 2016,
www.ancient.eu/Old_Kingdom_of_Egypt/.

Parthenon, Saylor Academy, resources.saylor.org/wwwresources/archived/site/wp-

content/uploads/2011/08/HIST361-2.2.2-Parthenon.pdf.

ReFaey, Karim, et al. Mysterious Civilizations: Is There a Connection between Medicine and
Architecture in Ancient Egypt and Peru?, U.S. National Library of Medicine,
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31281759/.

Sammartino, Laura. Archaeologies of the Greek Past, Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology,
www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/greekpast/4795.html.

Strudwick, Nigel, and Helen Strudwick. Old Kingdom, New Perspectives: Egyptian Art and
Archaeology, 2750-2150 BC. Oxbow, 2011.

Winston, Alan. “The Great Pyramid of Khafre at Giza.” Egypt Travel Guide - Tour Egypt,
www.touregypt.net/featurestories/khafrep.htm.