KHAFRE

flourished 26th century BC also spelled Khafra, Greek Chephren, or Souphis fourth king of the 4th dynasty (c. 2575c. 2465 BC) of Egypt and builder of the second of the three Pyramids of Giza. Khafre was the son of King Khufu and succeeded the short-lived Djedefre (Redjedef), probably his elder brother. He married his sister Khamerernebti, Meresankh III, and perhaps two other queens. Although many of his relatives were hastily buried in cheap tombs, his own pyramid was almost as vast as the Great Pyramid of his father. Khafre's valley temple, linked to the pyramid by a causeway, was constructed of great monolithic blocks of granite and contained remarkable statues of the king carved from diorite taken from a remote quarry in the Nubian Desert. Near the causeway is located the Great Sphinx, which many consider to bear Khafre's features.