Menes ( ; ; egy, mnj, probably pronounced *; grc, Μήνης and Μήν) was a pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period of ancient Egypt, credited by classical tradition with having united Upper and Lower Egypt, and as the founder of the First Dynasty. The identity of Menes is the subject of ongoing debate, although mainstream Egyptological consensus inconclusively identifies Menes with the Naqada III ruler

Narmer Narmer ( egy, Wiktionary:nꜥr-mr, nꜥr-mr, meaning "painful catfish," "stinging catfish," "harsh catfish," or "fierce catfish;" ) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period (Egypt), Early Dynastic Period. He was the successor ...

or his successor, the First Dynasty pharaoh

Hor-Aha Hor-Aha (or Aha or Horus Aha) is considered the second pharaoh of the First Dynasty of Egypt by some Egyptologists, while others consider him the first one and corresponding to Menes. He lived around the 31st century BC and is thought to have h ...

Name and identity

The name ''Menes'' is first documented in the work of

Manetho Manetho (; grc-koi, Μανέθων ''Manéthōn'', ''gen''.: Μανέθωνος) is believed to have been an Egyptian priest from Sebennytos ( cop, Ϫⲉⲙⲛⲟⲩϯ, translit=Čemnouti) who lived in the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the early third ...

, an Egyptian historian and priest of the relatively late Ptolemaic period. Manetho noted the name in Greek as Μήνης ( transliterated: ''Mênês'').Manetho, Fr. 6, 7a, 7b. Text and translation in ''Manetho'', translated by W.G. Waddell (Cambridge: Harvard University, 1940), pp.26–35 An alternative Greek form, Μιν (transliterated: ''Min''), was cited by the fifth-century-BC historian Herodotus, but this variant appears to be unrelated, the result of contamination from the name of the god Min. The Egyptian form, ''mnj'', is taken from the Turin and Abydos King Lists, which are dated to the

Nineteenth Dynasty The Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XIX), also known as the Ramessid dynasty, is classified as the second Dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom period, lasting from 1292 BC to 1189 BC. The 19th Dynasty and the 20th Dynasty furt ...

, whose pronunciation has been reconstructed as . By the early

New Kingdom New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

, changes in the Egyptian language meant his name was already pronounced . The name ''mnj'' means "He who endures", which, I.E.S. Edwards (1971) suggests, may have been coined as "a mere descriptive

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

denoting a semi-legendary hero ..whose name had been lost". Alternatively, the name may conceal the collective identity of the Naqada III rulers: Ka, Scorpion II and

, or may simply refer to a functional leadership role.

Narmer and Menes

The almost complete absence of any mention of Menes in the archaeological record and the comparative wealth of evidence of

, a protodynastic figure credited by posterity and in the archaeological record with a firm claim to the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, has given rise to a theory identifying Menes with Narmer. The chief archaeological reference to Menes is an ivory label (from the town Naqada) which depicts the

royal title Traditional rank amongst European royalty, peers, and nobility is rooted in Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. Although they vary over time and among geographic regions (for example, one region's prince might be equal to another's grand duke ...

''Aha'' (the pharaoh

) next to a building, and within this is the

''mn'', generally taken to be Menes. From this, various theories on the nature of the building (a funerary booth or a shrine), the meaning of the word ''mn'' (a name or the verb ''endures'') and the relationship between Hor-Aha and Menes (as one person or as successive pharaohs) have arisen. The Turin and Abydos king lists, generally accepted to be correct, list the ''nesu-bit''-names of the pharaohs, not their Horus-names, and are vital to the potential reconciliation of the various records: the '' nesu-bit''-names of the king lists, the Horus-names of the archaeological record and the number of pharaohs in Dynasty I according to Manetho and other historical sources. Flinders Petrie first attempted this task, associating ''Iti'' with

Djer Djer (or Zer or Sekhty) is considered the third pharaoh of the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt in current Egyptology. He lived around the mid- thirty-first century BC and reigned for c. 40 years. A mummified forearm of Djer or his wife was disco ...

as the third pharaoh of Dynasty I, ''Teti'' (Turin) (or another ''Iti'' (Abydos)) with Hor-Aha as second pharaoh, and Menes (a ''nebty''-name) with Narmer (a Horus-name) as first pharaoh of Dynasty I. Lloyd (1994) finds this succession "extremely probable", and Cervelló-Autuori (2003) categorically states that "Menes is Narmer and the First Dynasty begins with him". However, Seidlmayer (2004) states that it is "a fairly safe inference" that Menes was Hor-Aha. Two documents have been put forward as proof either Narmer or

was Menes. The first is the "Naqada Label" found at the site of Naqada, in the tomb of Queen Neithhotep, often assumed to have been the mother of Horus Aha. The label shows a serekh of Hor-Aha next to an enclosure inside of which are symbols that have been interpreted by some scholars as the name "Menes". The second is the seal impression from Abydos that alternates between a ''serekh'' of Narmer and the chessboard symbol, "''mn''", which is interpreted as an abbreviation of Menes. Inconclusive arguments have been made with regard to each of these documents in favour of Narmer or Hor-Aha being Menes. The second document, the seal impression from Abydos, shows the serekh of Narmer alternating with the gameboard sign ('' mn''), together with its phonetic complement, the ''n'' sign, which is always shown when the full name of Menes is written, again representing the name "Menes". At first glance, this would seem to be strong evidence that Narmer was Menes. However, based on an analysis of other early First Dynasty seal impressions, which contain the name of one or more princes, the seal impression has been interpreted by other scholars as showing the name of a prince of Narmer named Menes, hence Menes was Narmer's successor, Hor-Aha, and thus Hor-Aha was Menes. This was refuted by ; but opinions still vary, and the seal impression cannot be said to definitively support either theory. Herodotus, having mentioned ''Min'' as the first king of Egypt, wrote that ''Linus'', or Egyptian ''Maneros'', was "the only son of the first king of Egypt" and that he died untimely.

Dates

Egyptologists, archaeologists, and scholars from the 19th century have proposed different dates for the era of Menes, or the date of the first dynasty: *

John Gardner Wilkinson Sir John Gardner Wilkinson (5 October 1797 – 29 October 1875) was an English traveller, writer and pioneer Egyptologist of the 19th century. He is often referred to as "the Father of British Egyptology". Childhood and education Wilkinson ...

(1835) – 2320 BC *

Jean-François Champollion Jean-François Champollion (), also known as Champollion ''le jeune'' ('the Younger'; 23 December 17904 March 1832), was a French philologist and orientalist, known primarily as the decipherer of Egyptian hieroglyphs and a founding figure in th ...

(Published posthumously in 1840) – 5867 BC *

August Böckh August Böckh or Boeckh (; 24 November 1785 – 3 August 1867) was a German classical scholar and antiquarian. Life He was born in Karlsruhe, and educated at the local gymnasium; in 1803 he left for the University of Halle, where he studied th ...

(1845) – 5702 BC *

Christian Charles Josias Bunsen Christian Charles or Karl Josias von Bunsen (25 August 1791 – 28 November 1860), also known as , was a German diplomat and scholar. Life Early life Bunsen was born at Korbach, an old town in the German principality of Waldeck. His fath ...

(1848) – 3623 BC * Reginald Stuart Poole (1851) – 2717 BC *

Karl Richard Lepsius Karl Richard Lepsius ( la, Carolus Richardius Lepsius) (23 December 181010 July 1884) was a pioneering Prussian Egyptologist, linguist and modern archaeologist. He is widely known for his magnum opus ''Denkmäler aus Ägypten und Äthiopien'' ...

(1856) – 3892 BC *

Heinrich Karl Brugsch Heinrich Karl Brugsch (also ''Brugsch-Pasha'') (18 February 18279 September 1894) was a German Egyptologist. He was associated with Auguste Mariette in his excavations at Memphis. He became director of the School of Egyptology at Cairo, producin ...

(1859) – 4455 BC *

Franz Joseph Lauth Franz Joseph Lauth (18 February 1822, Landau, Germany – 11 February 1895, Munich), was a German Egyptologist. Career From 1842 to 1845 he studied classical philology. In 1849 he became a teacher at the Wilhelmsgymnasium (Munich). *From 1863 t ...

(1869) – 4157 BC *

Auguste Mariette François Auguste Ferdinand Mariette (11 February 182118 January 1881) was a French scholar, archaeologist and Egyptologist, and the founder of the Egyptian Department of Antiquities, the forerunner of the Supreme Council of Antiquities. Early ...

(1871) – 5004 BC * James Strong (1878) – 2515 BC * Flinders Petrie (1887) – 4777 BC Modern consensus dates the era of Menes or the start of the first dynasty between c. 3200–3030 BC; some academic literature uses c. 3000 BC.

History

Ancient tradition ascribes to Menes to uniting Upper and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom and becoming the first pharaoh of the First Dynasty. Although Menes does not appear on extant pieces of the Royal Annals (Cairo Stone and Palermo Stone), his name appears in later sources as the first ruler of Egypt. Some sources credit him as directly inheriting the throne from the god

Horus Horus or Heru, Hor, Har in Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as god of kingship and the sky. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the P ...

. He also appears in later dated king's lists, always as the first human pharaoh of Egypt. Menes appears in demotic

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

s of the Hellenistic period, demonstrating that, even that late, he was regarded as an important figure. Menes was seen as a founding figure for much of the history of ancient Egypt, similar to

Romulus Romulus () was the legendary foundation of Rome, founder and King of Rome, first king of Ancient Rome, Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus ...

in ancient Rome. Manetho records that Menes "led the army across the frontier and won great glory".

Capital

associates the city of

Thinis Thinis (Greek: Θίνις ''Thinis'', Θίς ''This'' ; Egyptian: Tjenu; cop, Ⲧⲓⲛ; ar, ثينيس) was the capital city of the first dynasties of ancient Egypt. Thinis remains undiscovered but is well attested by ancient writers, includ ...

with the Early Dynastic Period and, in particular, Menes, a "Thinite" or native of Thinis. Herodotus contradicts Manetho in stating that Menes founded the city of Memphis as his capital after diverting the course of the Nile through the construction of a

levee A levee (), dike (American English), dyke (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is a structure that is usually soil, earthen and that often runs parallel (geometry), parallel to ...

. Manetho ascribes the building of Memphis to Menes' son, Athothis, and calls no pharaohs earlier than

Third Dynasty The Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty III) is the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Other dynasties of the Old Kingdom include the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth. The capital during the period of the Old Kingdom was at Memphis. Overview Af ...

"Memphite". Herodotus and Manetho's stories of the foundation of Memphis are probably later inventions: in 2012 a relief mentioning the visit to Memphis by

Iry-Hor Iry-Hor (or Ro) was a predynastic pharaoh of Upper Egypt during the 32nd century BC. Excavations at Abydos in the 1980s and 1990s and the discovery in 2012 of an inscription of Iry-Hor in the Sinai confirmed his existence. Iry-Hor is the earlie ...

—a predynastic ruler of Upper Egypt reigning before Narmer—was discovered in the Sinai Peninsula, indicating that the city was already in existence in the early

32nd century BC The 32nd century BC was a century that lasted from the year 3200 BC to 3101 BC. Events * c. 3190–3170 BC? reign of King Double Falcon of Lower Egypt. There is a strong possibility that he appears on the Palermo stone, although half his name ...

Cultural influence

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

stated that Menes had introduced the worship of the gods and the practice of sacrifice as well as a more elegant and luxurious style of living. For this latter invention, Menes' memory was dishonoured by the Twenty-fourth Dynasty pharaoh

Tefnakht Shepsesre Tefnakht (in grc, Τνέφαχθος, translit=Tnephachthos) was a prince of Sais and founder of the relatively short Twenty-fourth Dynasty of Egypt; he rose to become a Chief of the Ma in his home city. He is thought to have reigned ...

and Plutarch mentions a pillar at Thebes on which was inscribed an imprecation against Menes as the introducer of luxury. In Pliny's account, Menes was credited with being the inventor of writing in Egypt.

Crocodile episode

Diodorus Siculus recorded a story of Menes related by the priests of the

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

god Sobek at

Crocodilopolis Faiyum ( ar, الفيوم ' , borrowed from cop, ̀Ⲫⲓⲟⲙ or Ⲫⲓⲱⲙ ' from egy, pꜣ ym "the Sea, Lake") is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum ...

, in which the pharaoh Menes, attacked by his own dogs while out hunting, fled across Lake Moeris on the back of a crocodile and, in thanks, founded the city of Crocodilopolis. Gaston Maspero (1910), while acknowledging the possibility that traditions relating to other kings may have become mixed up with this story, dismisses the suggestions of some commentators that the story should be transferred to the Twelfth Dynasty pharaoh

Amenemhat III :''See Amenemhat, for other individuals with this name.'' Amenemhat III ( Ancient Egyptian: ''Ỉmn-m-hꜣt'' meaning 'Amun is at the forefront'), also known as Amenemhet III, was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the sixth king of the Twelfth Dy ...

and sees no reason to doubt that Diodorus did not correctly record a tradition of Menes. Later, Edwards (1974) states that "the legend, which is obviously filled with anachronisms, is patently devoid of historical value".

Death

According to Manetho, Menes reigned for either 30, 60 or 62 years and was killed by a hippopotamus.

In popular culture

Alexander Dow Alexander Dow (1735/6, Perthshire, Scotland – 31 July 1779, Bhagalpur) was a Scottish Orientalist, writer, playwright and army officer in the East India Company. Life He was a native of Crieff, Perthshire. Alexander Dow's father worked at th ...

(1735/6–79), a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

orientalist and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

, wrote the tragedy ''

Sethona ''Sethona'' is a 1774 tragedy by the British writer Alexander Dow.Nicoll p.257 It is set in Ancient Egypt at a time when Menes is heir to the crown. The original Drury Lane cast included Spranger Barry as Serapis, Samuel Reddish as Menes, Fran ...

'', set in ancient Egypt. The lead part of Menes is described in the ''

dramatis personæ Dramatis personae (Latin language, Latin: 'persons of the drama') are the main character (arts), characters in a dramatic work written in a list. Such lists are commonly employed in various forms of theatre, and also on screen. Typically, off-s ...

'' as "next male-heir to the crown" now worn by Seraphis, and was played by

Samuel Reddish Samuel Reddish (1735–1785) was a theatre manager and an actor in England. He made a reputation with Mossop's company in Smock Alley, Dublin in the seasons of 1761-2 and appeared at Drury Lane, London, 1767, where he remained during ten seasons ...

in a 1774 production by

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1717 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil and friend of Sa ...

at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane.

Explanatory notes

Citations

General and cited references

* * . * * * . * . * . * . * . * . Available online . *. * . *. *. * . * . * . * . * . * . * .

External links

* . * . * . * {{Authority control 31st-century BC pharaohs 32nd-century BC pharaohs Accidental deaths in Egypt Egyptian mythology Hunting accident deaths People whose existence is disputed Pharaohs of the First Dynasty of Egypt ca:Narmer