Pepi I
Sixth Dynasty pharaoh whose pyramid gave Memphis its name
- Reigned
- 40+ years, late 24th–early 23rd c. BCE
- Dynasty
- 6th Dynasty, 3rd king
- Pyramid
- Men-nefer-Pepi, South Saqqara
- Opened
- 1880, Pyramid Texts found
A long-reigning Sixth Dynasty king whose pyramid holds the largest set of Pyramid Texts and gave the city of Memphis its name.
What is Pepi I known for?
Pepi I Meryre was the third king of the Sixth Dynasty and reigned for more than forty years in the late 24th and early 23rd centuries BCE. His pyramid at South Saqqara was called Men-nefer-Pepi, and the name of this monument, shortened to Men-nefer, became the Greek Memphis, the name of the capital.
His burial chamber has the most extensive set of Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom: 651 spells in 2,263 columns and lines. In 1880 workers employed under Gaston Maspero entered his pyramid and that of his son Merenre, which led to the discovery of the Pyramid Texts.
Life-size copper statues of Pepi I and a smaller figure, perhaps Merenre, found at Hierakonpolis are among the oldest large metal statues known.
One of the pyramids whose opening in 1880 revealed the Pyramid Texts.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holePyramid Texts
- PersonGaston Maspero
- PersonMerenre I
Sources
- Wikipedia, 'Pepi I Meryre'Reference
- Wikipedia, 'Pyramid of Pepi I'Reference
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Unas'Reference
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