Pharaoh Khufu, also known by his Greek name Cheops, was the second ruler of the 4th Dynasty, which was also during the Old Kingdom Period. Khufu was born in 2620 BC and died in 2566 BC. Khufu’s full name is Khnum-Khufu, which means “The God Khnum protects me”. Khufu was the son of Sneferu and Queen Hetepheres I. It is thought that Khufu ruled for approximately 24 years, however some sources claim he ruled for as many as 46 to 63 years. Khufu’s greatest accomplishment is widely known to be the Great Pyramid of Giza, which is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Khufu had two wives, the first was Queen Meritites I, and the second was Queen Henutsen. His siblings were Princess Hetepheres, eldest brother Ankhhaf, half-brother Nefermaat, and brother Rahotep. Khufu had very many children. His sons were Kawab, Djedefre, Khafre, Djedefhor, Baufra, Babaef I, Khufukhaf I, Minkhaf I, and Horbaef. His daughters were Nefertiabet, Hetepheres II, Meresankh II, Meretites II, and Khamerernebty. Khufu planned that his son Kawab would be his heir. Kawab was a scribe and wanted to be like his grandfather Sneferu, who was described by the Egyptians as a cultured and wise king. However, Kawab died during Khufu’s reign. Khufu’s immediate successor was his son Djedefre, who curiously built his pyramid at a location other than that of Khufu’s. There are mixed reports on the reputation and personality of Pharaoh Khufu. Many sources claim that Khufu’s reputation depicts him as a harsh, brutal leader. His father, Sneferu, was remembered as a benevolent and beneficent ruler, so it is interesting that Khufu is remembered as being ruthless or cruel. Greek historian Herodotus (450 BC) reported that Khufu was a cruel and wicked leader, who prostituted his daughter when he needed more money to spend on building the Pyramid. Herodotus also claimed that Khufu closed the temple of the Gods and forbade the Egyptians to give offerings to Gods other than himself, and was generally considered an unpopular Pharaoh. Manetho, an Egyptian historian, also said that Khufu did not respect the Gods. Modern Egyptologists say that Herodotus cannot be fully trusted as he lived nearly 2,000 years after Khufu, and his sources are questionable. There is also very little evidence backing up the claims of Herodotus. It is also reported by some historians that Khufu put slaves through hard labor all day until the work on the Pyramid was completed. However, it has later been discovered that those who worked on the Pyramids were not slaves. The workers built their own tombs near the Pyramid of Khufu. Their tombs were prepared for eternity like the tombs of officials. They were also paid for their services. The most important achievement of Khufu was building the great pyramid at Giza plateau. There were 13 architectural components attached to his pyramid. The royal family was buried in tombs and pyramids to the east and the officials were buried to the west of the pyramid. Recently the cult pyramid was discovered to the southeast of Khufu's tomb. The program of the pyramid complex was designed in his reign and was used until the end of the Old Kingdom. The Great Pyramid is 756 feet long on each side, 450 feet high, and composed of 2,300,000 blocks of stone. Despite the workers’ limited tools, no side is more than 8 inches different in length than another. Until the 19th century, it was the tallest building in the world. The building of the Great Pyramid can provide us with important insights into the rule of Khufu. Politically, it shows how Khufu controlled the wealth and the population of the country. The Great Pyramid was the project of the nation while Khufu was ruling. The fantastic architecture of the Great Pyramid shows how brilliant the king, his architects, and his laborers were. The Pyramid also demonstrates the Egyptian achievements in science, astronomy, mathematics, and art, all of which were necessary for the building of the Great Pyramid. There are only a few statues that have been found depicting Pharaoh Khufu. The one in best shape is called the Khufu Statuette. Flinders Petrie discovered the Khufu Statuette in 1903 at Kom el-Sutan, which is near Abydos, Egypt. The king is seated in a throne with a flail in his left hand. The Khufu Statuette is in the Egyptian Museum of Cairo today. It was said that the Khufu Statuette was the only preserved statue of Khufu, however, that is not correct. Excavations at Saqqara in 2001 and 2003 revealed a pair of terracotta statues. One of the statues can be identified as Khufu by his Horus name (Medjedu). It is very interesting that the mummy of Khufu has never been found. There was an empty sarcophagus in the King’s Chamber of the Great Pyramid, and no evidence that the pyramid was ever used for an actual burial. No other burial site has been discovered. There are a number of satellite burials around the Great Pyramid, including that of his mother, Hetepheres, and his two wives. The most logical thought on what happened to the treasure of Pharaoh Khufu is that like many other royal tombs, the Pyramid was the victim of robbers in ancient times.