| Predynastic period | Early Dynastic | Old Kingdom | First Intermediate | Middle Kingdom | Second Intermediate | New Kingdom | Third Intermediate | Late period | Graeco-Roman period |
| Predynastic period | Early Dynastic | Old Kingdom | First Intermediate | Middle Kingdom | Second Intermediate | New Kingdom | Third Intermediate | Late period | Graeco-Roman period |
Khufu ("protected by Khnum") was named as the third pharaoh in the Fourth Dynasty by Manetho (who called him Suphis). To the Greeks he was Cheops. Manetho states that he was contemptuous of the Gods in his early years, but later repented and composed a series of sacred books. Although there is no mention of these books in later works on the pharaohs of the pyramid age, the idea that Khufu was not a nice bloke is repeated.
He may have reigned for about twenty three years, and is best known as the builder of the Great Pyramid at Giza. Around the pyramid there are a number of satellite burials, including that of his mother, Hetepheres, and two "boat pits" in which huge cedar ships were interred. Despite the size of the monument built by Khufu, only one statue of the man himself has been found. The tiny ivory sculpture stands only three inches tall. His master builder, Hemon, left a larger statue behind!
