Djedefhor or Hordjedef (died 2530 BC)
was a noble
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
ian of the
4th Dynasty. He was the son of King
Khufu
Khufu or Cheops (died 2566 BC) was an ancient Egyptian monarch who was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, in the first half of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom period (26th century BC). Khufu succeeded his ...
and his name means "Enduring Like
Horus
Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...
".
Biography
Djedefhor was a son of
Khufu
Khufu or Cheops (died 2566 BC) was an ancient Egyptian monarch who was the second pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth Dynasty, in the first half of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom period (26th century BC). Khufu succeeded his ...
and half-brother of kings
Djedefre and
Khafre.
[, p.58] Queen
Meritites I is named in the tomb G 7220 of Djedefhor and it is possible she is his mother.
He is mentioned on an inscription in Wadi Hammamat, his name appears in a
cartouche, written after the names of Khufu, Djedefre and Khafre, preceding the name of another of his brothers,
Baufra. There is no evidence that either Djedefhor or Baufra ruled as a king, even though only kings' names were written in cartouches during the 4th dynasty.
The ''
Teachings of Djedefhor'', a document of which only fragments remain, is attributed to him. Djedefhor seems to have been deified after his death.
The wisdom text by Djedefhor was written as advice to his son, Prince Auibra.
Titles
Djedefhor's titles were:
Translation and indexes from Dilwyn Jones.
Burial
He was still alive during the reign of
Menkaure, Khufu's grandson. Hence he must have been buried towards the end of the
Fourth Dynasty. Djedefhor was buried in mastaba G 7210–7220 in the
east field which is part of the
Giza pyramid complex
The Giza pyramid complex (also called the Giza necropolis) in Egypt is home to the Great Pyramid of Giza, Great Pyramid, the pyramid of Khafre, and the pyramid of Menkaure, along with their associated pyramid complexes and the Great Sphinx of G ...
. His sarcophagus is now in the
Egyptian Museum
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian antiquities in the world. It hou ...
in Cairo.
[Porter, Bertha and Moss, Rosalind, Topographical Bibliography of Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts, Statues, Reliefs and Paintings Volume III: Memphis, Part I Abu Rawash to Abusir. 2nd edition (revised and augmented by Dr Jaromir Malek, 1974. Retrieved from gizapyramids.org]
Appearance in ancient Egyptian fiction
He is one of the main characters in a story included in the
Papyrus Westcar. In the text of that papyrus, Djedefhor is mentioned as one who brought the soothsayer and magician called
Djedi to the court of Khufu. This Djedi was inspired by real
Prince Djedi, who was a son of
Prince Rahotep and nephew to Khufu.
Sources
{{Reflist
External links
The Ancient Egypt Site
Princes of the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt
Children of Khufu
3rd-millennium BC births
3rd-millennium BC deaths