Page "Early Dynastic Period of Egypt" Paragraph 8

According to Manetho, the first king of the unified Upper and Lower Egypt was Menes who is now identified with Narmer.

Indeed, Narmer is the earliest recorded king of the First Dynasty: he appears first on the king lists of Den and Qa ' a.

This shows that Narmer was recognized by the first dynasty kings as an important founding figure.

Narmer is also the earliest king associated to the symbols of power over the two lands ( see in particular the Narmer palette, a votive cosmetic palette showing Narmer wearing the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt ) and may therefore be the first king to achieve the unification.

Consequently, the current consensus is that " Menes " and " Narmer " refer to the same person.

Alternative theories hold that Narmer was the final king of the Protodynastic Period and Hor-Aha is to be identified with " Menes ".