Menes
Legendary first king of united Egypt
- Date
- c. 2900 BCE (traditional)
- Known for
- Uniting Upper and Lower Egypt
- Founded
- Memphis (by tradition)
- Other names
- Min (Herodotus), Meni (king lists)
- Identified with
- Narmer or Aha (debated)
The first human king of Egypt in Egyptian and Greek tradition, credited with uniting the land and founding Memphis.
What is Menes known for?
Egyptian king lists and Greek writers name Menes as the first human king of a united Egypt, around 2900 BCE. Tradition says he joined Upper and Lower Egypt and founded Memphis, even diverting the Nile to make room for it. Manetho gives him a 62-year reign and says he was killed by a hippopotamus. Herodotus calls him Min, and the Ramesside king lists write Meni.
Archaeology has not found a king who called himself Menes in his own lifetime. Historians usually identify him with Narmer or his successor Aha of the First Dynasty, or treat the name as a memory of several early unifying rulers.
In the Turin King List and in Manetho, Menes marks the boundary between ages of gods, demigods and 'spirits of the dead' and the reigns of human kings.
Stands at the point where Egypt's king lists switch from divine rulers to human kings.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeManetho
- Rabbit holeTurin King List
- PassageGods and demigods ruled Egypt first (Turin King List)
- PersonRamesses II
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Menes'Reference
- Wikipedia, 'Menes'Reference
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