Herodotus: From Father of History to Father of Lies

The Truth About The Great Pyramid

By: Jarett Fields and Dr. William Rogers

Introduction
For centuries, the pyramids at Giza have fascinated the world. Countless books
have been written describing their mysterious builders. Herodotus wrote the first and
most famous, non-Egyptian account of The Great Pyramid at Giza more than 2000
years after its completion. Known as the .Father of History,. Herodotus was one of the
few authorities trusted and quoted by medieval and Renaissance writers. Even today
his account remains a most important source (David, p. 214).
Written in 450 B.C., Herodotus. The Histories gives a detailed description of both
Cheops and his Great Pyramid. Although his attention to detail is shown repeatedly
throughout Book II, his accuracy concerning the character of Cheops and the status of
the builders is in question. Herodotus takes the liberty to write with great passion about
what he heard and assumed instead of what he observed. There are many people who,
because of Herodotus, believe that slaves built the great pyramid of Cheops. The
purpose of this research paper is to show that during the reign of Cheops, slavery was
not a part of Egyptian society. Therefore, the pyramid erected for him at Giza could not
have been the result of slave labor.

Literature Review
Herodotus readily admits in his Histories that the plan of his book .is to record the
traditions of the various nations just as I heard them related to me. (Book II, 123). His
intentions are well understood; however, good intentions should never infringe upon
accuracy when reporting the customs and traditions of any nation. Herodotus mentions
that priests were responsible for giving him his information. Consequently, with the
amount of time that he spent in Egypt, Herodotus should have been aware that those
priests were notorious for the ways they callously manipulated tradition to hoodwink
naove Greeks, Romans and native Egyptians (Hoffman, p. 10).
The Egypt Herodotus visits is much different than the Egypt he writes about.
Herodotus. journey to Egypt happens near 450 B.C.; by this time Egypt has been under
Persian rule for seventy-five years. The Egypt he writes about goes back more than
2,000 years to the reign of Cheops [Khufu]. This is important because it needs to be
understood that Herodotus asked priests under Persian rule about an Egypt that was
solely controlled and governed by native Egyptians. Based on what he was told,
Herodotus wrote that Cheops brought the country into all sorts of misery and that no
crime was too great for him. In addition to this, he writes that Cheops compelled his
subjects, without exception to labor as slaves for his own advantage. (Book II,
124&126).
The information that exists concerning Cheops [Khufu] is meager; however,
enough has been found to establish significant rebuttal to Herodotus. allegations. In
addition to writing that Cheops enslaved his subjects, Herodotus also wrote that Cheops
closed all the temples excluding his subjects from practicing their religion (Book II, 124).
However, in Rosalie David.s Life In Ancient Egypt, she writes that the texts concerning
Cheops, emphasizes building temples for the god and replenishing his altars (p. 143). In
spite of what Herodotus. wrote, Cheops was known as a wise king. His full name
Khnum-khufu means, .The god Khnum protects me. (Shaw, p. 94). Khnum is a creator
god who, at the time, was said to aid kings in pyramid building. It should also be
mentioned that Cheops was the son of Sneferu who was responsible for having built
two pyramids himself.
What needed to be considered by Herodotus before he wrote of the
characteristics of Cheops was the change from a star cult to a sun cult. This change
may have been the primary reason for the transition of the step pyramid to the smooth-
sided pyramid. Although the year of the transition is not known, it is known that the
smooth-sided pyramid symbolized the sun ray, which provided the king.s soul with a
means of access to heaven (David, p. 175). Under this transition from star to sun cult, it
is clear that Cheops had a significant concern with his access to heaven, thus it is
doubtful that he would jeopardize this by enslaving his subjects.

Methodology
In order to establish the framework for rebutting Herodotus. claim, a conceptual
analysis of his Histories needs to be done. In addition to this, inquiry into Egypt.s
spiritual beliefs must be made to establish the foundation of Cheops. moral beliefs and
values. Then, a glimpse of Egyptian schooling will further establish the view that the
Great Pyramid was not the result of slave labor, but a collective conscious effort to
perform a spiritual duty.

Conclusion
Uncharacteristically, Herodotus let hearsay become fact. He allowed himself to be
fooled by persons whom he claims are priests, but could have been commoners of
Egypt. Consequently, believing these priests did not do the harm; the harm was done
when Herodotus wrote fiction as fact. The impact of his fiction has lasted well over
2,000 years.
Despite the claims of Herodotus concerning Cheops having slaves build his
pyramid, Rosalie David writes that the definition of a slave in Egyptian context differs
from the modern world. She continues by stating that there were no true slaves in
ancient Egypt, and that the pyramids would have been constructed by serf labor (p.
322). Although serf labor is much more plausible than slaves, this still does not offer
enough evidence to conclude the opposition to Herodotus.
Supporting factors are grounded in Egyptian philosophy and morals. In ancient
Egypt .There was no such distinction as sacred versus secular; there is no such thing
as the life of this world and the life of the other world, no such thing as religious versus
political. Everything is tied intimately and inextricably together. (Akbar, .Light. p. 6). If
this is true, then it would follow that the moral life of ancient Egyptians would be
practiced daily instead of having designated times.
The ancient Egyptian .Studied and expressed God in all that they did from their
language, to their art, to their monuments and buildings. (Akbar, .Know Thyself. p. 51).
The significance of this is to be understood within the context of Cheops. pyramid being
built as a funerary monument, but its magnitude and accuracy to the glory of God. Not
for his own advantage as Herodotus claims.
Concerning the training and courtship as King, Cheops .Was expected to
authenticate his leadership through the benefits that accrued to the people because of

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his leadership. These benefits were not necessarily material ones, but benefits that
embraced the highest possibilities of peace, productivity and happiness for the people.
People do not work well if they are not living well or thinking well. On that basis, the
Egyptian kingdom was able thrive for many years. Its citizens did not need to exploit
human beings to build or maintain the social order or the magnificent structures. They
were able to cultivate citizens and workers who had discipline, skill, and commitment.
(Akbar, .Light. p. 38).
Furthermore, Cheops would have been very familiar with the process of pyramid
building. Pyramids were being built at least fifty years prior to his reign. Not only that, a
closer introduction to the building process would have been provided by his father
Sneferu, who built the .Bent. pyramid and the .Northern Red. pyramid (Shaw, p. 93).
Both pharaohs and kings of Egypt were under strict guidance. The book of Ptah-
Hotep served as one guide; it reads, .If you are a leader and command many, strive for
excellence in all you do so that no fault can be found in your character. For Maat . the
way of Truth, Justice, and Righteousness . is great; its value is lasting and it has
remained unequalled and unchanged since the time of its Creator (Karenga, p. 41).
Striving for excellence did not include enslaving one.s brethren or any other citizens. As
a matter of fact, the fifth passage in the Book of Kheti reads, .Make no distinction in your
behavior between those of rank and the common people. Rather choose a person
because of his or her skills so that every craft may be carried on. (Karenga, p. 51).
Based on the evidence given and the moral practices of ancient Egypt, it is highly
doubtful that Cheops [Khufu] would have been whom Herodotus makes him. The
likelihood of slaves in Egypt is still being debated. However, it is known that in lieu of
any circumstantial evidence, the Great Pyramid at Giza was not the result of slave
labor.

Bibliography
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1998.
3. Amen, Ra Un Nefer. Metu Neter. Volume 2. Brooklyn, NY: Kamit Publications,
1994.
4. David, Rosalie. Handbook to Life In Ancient Egypt. New York, NY: Facts on File,
Inc. 1998.
5. Herodotus. The Histories. New Edition. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1996.
6. Hoffman, Michael A. Egypt Before The Pharaohs. New York, NY: Alfred A.
Knopf, Inc. 1979.
7. Karenga, Maulana. The Husia. Los Angeles, CA: University of Sankore Press,
1989.
8. Shaw, Ian. The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford, NY: Oxford University
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