Great Pyramid of KhufuThe largest pyramid at Giza, built for King Khufu. It was first about 481 feet tall.
Pyramid of KhafreThe second largest pyramid, built for Khufu's son Khafre. The Sphinx belongs to its complex.
Pyramid of MenkaureThe smallest of the three, built for King Menkaure. He is thought to be Khafre's son.
Great SphinxA huge statue with a lion's body and a king's head. It is generally dated to Khafre's reign.
Pyramids, large and small 2
Queens' pyramids of KhufuSmall pyramids beside the king's, built for queens. These stand east of the Great Pyramid.
Queens' pyramids of MenkaureThree small pyramids for queens, beside Menkaure's pyramid.
Temples, tombs and the town 8
Khufu's boat pitsLong pits beside the Great Pyramid. Wooden boats were buried in them.
Mortuary temple of KhafreThe temple against the pyramid's east side. It is also called the pyramid temple.
Khafre's causewayA long walled path. It joined the valley temple to the temple at the pyramid.
Khafre's valley templeThe lower temple, at the edge of the valley. Statues of Khafre were found in it.
Sphinx TempleA temple beside the Sphinx, next to Khafre's valley temple.
Western CemeteryRows of tombs west of the Great Pyramid. Officials and the king's relatives were buried here.
Eastern CemeteryTombs of Khufu's relatives, east of the Great Pyramid.
Workers' townThe town of the pyramid builders, south of the Sphinx.
How this list was compiled: Read 2026-10-03; a name is kept only where two of these use it. (1) Wikipedia, Giza pyramid complex, text only (the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the slightly smaller Pyramid of Khafre to the south-west and the Pyramid of Menkaure farther south-west; the Great Sphinx on the east side; Khufu's three queens' pyramids and boat pits; Khafre's valley temple, Sphinx temple, causeway and mortuary temple; Menkaure's three queens' pyramids; the West Field and the East Field; the workers' village south-east of the Khafre and Menkaure complexes; built c. 2600 to 2500 BC). (2) The Giza Project at Harvard University, Digital Giza (the Great Pyramid built by Khufu, originally 481 feet; Khafre's the second-largest, with the Sphinx; Menkaure's the smallest; Khufu, his son Khafre and his grandson Menkaure; smaller pyramids for the kings' wives and mothers; the valley temple, the pyramid or mortuary temple and the causeway between them; boats buried in pits beside the pyramids; the Sphinx and its temple near Khafre's valley temple; the Eastern Cemetery, the Western Cemetery and the Central Field; the town of the pyramid builders, who were not slaves). (3) A public television science series' pages on Giza, 1997 (Khufu's height originally 481 feet; Khafre's complex with the Sphinx, a mortuary temple and a valley temple; Menkaure's the smallest; causeways roofed and walled; boat-shaped pits beside Khufu's and Khafre's pyramids; the Sphinx Temple). (4) Ancient Egypt Research Associates, The Lost City of the Pyramids (a Fourth Dynasty town 400 meters south of the Sphinx that housed the builders). (5) A geographic society's article of 2025 (the Great Pyramid some 481 feet; Menkaure's three queens' pyramids; built some 4,500 years ago). (6) W. M. F. Petrie, The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh, 1883, public domain, chapters 12 to 14 (the distances between the centers of the three pyramids, measured in his survey; the northern, the middle and the southernmost small pyramid by the Great Pyramid; the causeway from the temple of the Second Pyramid down to the temple by the Sphinx, which does not run due east). Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 from plain geometry; nothing traced. The three pyramids are placed to a public-domain survey of 1883; the rest is not to scale. Licence: own work
How it works
A Pyramids of Giza diagram drawn as a plan: the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure, with the Great Sphinx, the temples, the cemeteries and the workers' town.
Read the full guide
Find the three pyramids first
On this plan the largest square, at the top right, is the Great Pyramid of Khufu. Khafre's pyramid is next along the diagonal, and Menkaure's, the smallest, is at the bottom left. On the east side lies the Great Sphinx, near Khafre's valley temple.
Then one king's complex
A king's pyramid was one part of a larger complex. A mortuary temple stood against the pyramid, a valley temple lay lower down, and a causeway joined the two. Queens had small pyramids beside the king's, and boats were buried in pits nearby.
The plan is not to scale: the Sphinx, the small pyramids and the boat pits are drawn larger so that you can find them.
Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure were father, son and grandson.
Questions and answers
Label the three pyramids of Giza. Which is the largest?
They are the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure. Khufu's is the largest: it was first about 481 feet tall. Khafre's is the second largest and Menkaure's is the smallest.
Who built the pyramids of Giza?
Three kings of Egypt's Fourth Dynasty: Khufu, his son Khafre and his grandson Menkaure. The workers were Egyptians, not slaves, and many lived in a town south of the Sphinx.
How old are the pyramids of Giza?
About 4,500 years. They were built during Egypt's Old Kingdom, between about 2600 and 2500 BC.
What is the Great Sphinx?
A huge statue, a lion's body with the head of a king. It lies near the valley temple of Khafre, and it is generally thought to have been made in his reign.
What are the small pyramids next to the big ones?
Queens' pyramids. Smaller pyramids were built beside a king's pyramid for his wives and mothers. Menkaure's pyramid has three.