ABSTRACT
Bringing order to a patchwork of petty principalities and free cities, the king known as Menes united Upper and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom. In addition to unifying Egypt, Menes established a new capital at Memphis, at approximately the point along the Nile River where Lower Egypt ended and Upper Egypt began. Menes paved the way for the stability that allowed individual Egyptian leaders to effectively utilize all of the rich agricultural, mineral, and human resources of the Nile Valley and inaugurated 3000 years of creativity and greatness. Menes imposed a single culture over Egypt, where a plurality once existed. This creation of a “national” culture led to an artistic style that blossomed especially following the reign of Menes. However, the kings who came after Menes followed the cultural styles established in his time very rigidly and did not always adapt to changing needs and new ideas.
