Let's try to understand the purpose of its creation and the methods of its construction. Let's find out what they say in the scientific world about the age of the Sphinx. What does he hide inside and what role does he play in relation to the pyramids? We will weed out fiction and assumptions, leaving only scientifically confirmed facts.
Brief description of the Sphinx in Egypt
Sphinx and 50 jets
The Sphinx in Egypt is the most grandiose surviving sculpture of antiquity. The length of the body is 3 compartment cars (73.5 m), and the height is a 6-storey building (20 m). The bus is smaller than one front paw. And the weight of 50 jet airliners is equal to the weight of a giant.
The blocks that make up the paws were added during the New Kingdom period to restore the original appearance. The sacred cobra, nose and ritual beard - symbols of the power of the pharaohs - are absent. Fragments of the latter are exhibited in the British Museum.
Near the ear, remnants of the original dark red paint can be seen.
What can strange proportions say?
One of the main abnormalities of the figure is the disproportion of the head and torso. It appears that the upper part was remade several times by subsequent rulers. There are opinions that at first the head of the idol was either a ram or a falcon and later turned into a human form. Restorations and renovations over many thousands of years could reduce the head or enlarge the body.
Where is the Sphinx located?
The monument is located in the necropolis of Memphis next to the pyramidal structures of Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Khefren) and Menkaura (Mitserin) about 10 km from Cairo, on the west bank of the Nile River on the Giza plateau.
God is the other way around or what does the giant symbolize
In ancient Egypt, the figure of the Lion personified the power of the pharaohs. In Abydos, the cemetery of the first Egyptian kings, archaeologists have found about 30 skeletons of adults who were under 20 years old, and ... the bones of lions. The gods of the ancient Egyptians were always depicted with a human body and an animal head, but here it is the other way around: a human head the size of a house on the body of a lion.
Maybe this suggests that the power and strength of the lion was combined with human wisdom and the ability to control this power? But to whom did this power and wisdom belong? Whose features are carved in stone?
Unraveling the secret of construction: interesting facts
The world's leading Egyptologist Mark Lehner spent 5 years next to the mysterious creature, exploring him, the materials and rock around. He made a detailed map of the statue and came to an unequivocal conclusion: the statue was carved from limestone, which lies at the base of the Giza plateau.
First, they hollowed out a trench in the form of a horseshoe, leaving a huge block in the center. And then the sculptors carved a monument out of it. Blocks weighing up to 100 tons for the construction of the walls of the temple in front of the Sphinx were taken from here.
But this is only part of the puzzle. The other is how exactly did they do it?
Together with Rick Brown, an expert on ancient tools, Mark reproduced the tools depicted in the drawings of the tombs over 4000 years old. These were copper chisels, a two-handed pestle and a hammer. Then, with these tools, they cut out a detail of the monument from the limestone block: the missing nose.
This experiment allowed us to calculate that the creation of a mysterious figure could work one hundred sculptors in three years. At the same time, they were accompanied by a whole army of workers who created tools, dragged the rock and did other necessary work.
Who broke the nose of the colossus?
When Napoleon arrived in Egypt in 1798, he saw a mysterious monster already without a nose, as evidenced by the drawings of the 18th century: the face was like this long before the arrival of the French. Although you can meet the opinion that the nose was recaptured by the French military.
There are other versions. For example, the shooting of Turkish (according to other sources - English) soldiers, whose target was the face of an idol, is called. Or there is a story that tells of a fanatical Sufi monk in the 8th century AD who mutilated a “blasphemous idol” with a chisel.
Fragments of the ritual beard of the Egyptian Sphinx. British Museum, Photo from EgyptArchive
Indeed, there are traces of wedges driven into the bridge of the nose and near the nostril. The impression is that someone hammered them on purpose to break off the part.
Prophetic dream of the prince at the Sphinx
The monument was saved from complete destruction by the sands that covered it for millennia. Attempts to restore the colossus have been made since Thutmose IV. There is a legend how during the hunt, resting in the midday shade of the building, the son of the king fell asleep and had a dream. The giant deity promised him the crown of the Upper and Lower Realms and in return asked him to be released from the consuming desert. The Granite Dream Stele, set between the paws, keeps this story.
Drawing of the Great Sphinx 1737 Hood. Frederic Norden
The prince not only dug up the deity, but also surrounded it with a high stone wall. At the end of 2010, Egyptian archaeologists unearthed sections of a brick wall that stretched 132 meters around the monument. Scientists believe that this is the work of Thutmose IV, who wants to protect the statue from drifts.
The Story of the Unfortunate Restoration of the Sphinx at Giza
Despite efforts, the structure was again filled up. In 1858 some of the sand was cleared by Auguste Mariette, founder of the Egyptian Antiquities Service. And in the period from 1925 to 1936. the French engineer Emile Baraise completed the clearing completely. Perhaps for the first time, the divine beast was exposed to the elements again.
It is also evident that the statue is being destroyed due to wind, humidity and exhaust gases from Cairo. Realizing this, the authorities are trying to preserve the ancient monument. In the last century, in 1950, a huge and costly restoration and conservation project was started.
But at the initial stage of work, instead of benefit, only additional damage was caused. The cement used for the renovation was later found to be incompatible with the limestone. For 6 years, more than 2000 limestone blocks were added to the structure, chemical treatment was carried out, but ... this did not bring a positive result.
How M. Lehner guessed who the Great Sphinx of Egypt represents
Excavations of the temple of Khafre (in the foreground).
The Cheop pyramid is in the background.
Photograph by Henri Bechard, 1887
The tombs of the pharaohs change their shape and size over time. and appear. And the Great Sphinx is the only one.
A significant number of Egyptologists believe that he represents the pharaoh Khafre (Havra) from the fourth dynasty, because. a similar small stone silhouette with his face was found nearby. The dimensions of the blocks of the tomb of Khafre (circa 2540 BC) and the monster also coincide. Despite their claims, no one knows for sure when and by whom this statue was installed in Giza.
Mark Lehner found the answer to this question as well. He studied the structure of the Sphinx Temple, which is 9 meters away. On the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes, the sun at sunset connects the two sanctuaries of the temple and the pyramid of Khafre, in one line.
The religion of the ancient Egyptian kingdom was based on the worship of the Sun. The locals worshiped the idol as the incarnation of the Sun God, calling it Hor-Em-Akhet. Comparing these facts, Mark determines the original purpose of the Sphinx and its identity: Khafre face, the son of Cheops, looks from the figure of a god who protects the pharaoh's journey to the afterlife, making it safe.
In 1996, a New York detective and identification expert revealed that the resemblance is more noticeable with Chefren's older brother Djedefre (or son according to other sources). The debate on this topic is still ongoing.
How old is the giant anyway? Writer vs Scientists
Explorer John Anthony West
There is a lively debate going on over the dating of the monument. Writer John Anthony West was the first to notice footprints on the body of a lion. one erosion. On other structures of the plateau, wind or sand erosion is observed. He contacted Boston University geologist and assistant professor Robert M. Schoch, who, after reviewing the material, agreed with West's findings. In 1993, their joint work "The Secret of the Sphinx" was presented, which received an Emmy Award for Best Research and a nomination for Best Documentary.
Although today this area is arid, about 10,000 years ago the climate there was humid and rainy. West and Schoch concluded that the age of the Sphinx must be 7,000 to 10,000 years.
Scholars have dismissed Schoch's theory as grossly misguided, pointing out that the once-common, severe rainstorms in Egypt ceased before the appearance of the sculpture. But the question remains: Why was it that only this Giza structure showed signs of water damage?
Spiritual and supernatural interpretations about the purpose of the Sphinx
The famous English journalist Paul Brunton spent a lot of time traveling in Eastern countries, living with monks and mystics, studying the history and religion of Ancient Egypt. He explored the royal tombs, met with famous fakirs and hypnotists.
His favorite symbol of the country, a mysterious giant, told him his secrets during a night spent in the Great Pyramid. The book "In Search of Mystical Egypt" tells how one day the secret of all things was revealed to him.
The American mystic and prophet Edgar Cayce is confident in the theory that can be read in his book on Atlantis. He pointed out that the secret knowledge of the Atlanteans was stored next to the Sphinx.
Sketch by Vivant Duvon 1798. Depicts a man climbing out of a hole at the top.
The writer Robert Bauval published an article in 1989 that the three pyramids at Giza formed a kind of three-dimensional "hologram" of the three stars of Orion's belt and the Milky Way relative to the Nile. He developed an elaborate theory that all the structures in the area, together with the ancient scriptures, constituted an astronomical map.
The most suitable position of the stars in the sky for this interpretation was in 10500 BC. This date is, for obvious reasons, disputed by Egyptologists, since not a single archaeological artifact dating from these years has been excavated here.
New mysteries of the Sphinx in Egypt?
There are various legends about the secret passages associated with this artifact. Research at the University of Florida and Boston, as well as Waseda University in Japan, revealed various anomalies around the figure. Although, it is possible that these are natural features.
In 1995, workers repairing a nearby car park stumbled upon a series of tunnels and paths, two of which plunge into the dungeon near the man-beast's stone body. R. Bauval is convinced that these structures are the same age.
Between 1991 and 1993, while studying the damage on the monument with a seismograph, Anthony West's team discovered regular hollow spaces or chambers located at a depth of several meters between the forelimbs and on both sides of the mysterious image. But permission for a deeper study was not received. The mystery of the underground rooms has not yet been solved.
The Sphinx in Egypt continues to excite inquisitive minds. Many conjectures and assumptions exist around the most ancient monument on our planet. Will we ever know who and why left this mark on Earth?
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The Sphinx of Giza is one of the oldest, largest and most mysterious monuments ever created by man. Disputes about its origin are still going on. We've rounded up 10 little-known facts about the majestic monument in the Sahara desert.
1. The Great Sphinx of Giza is not a Sphinx
Experts say that the Egyptian sphinx cannot be called a traditional image of the sphinx. In classical Greek mythology, the sphinx was described as having the body of a lion, the head of a woman, and the wings of a bird. In Giza, there is actually a sculpture of an androsphinx, since it has no wings.
2. Initially, the sculpture had several other names
The ancient Egyptians did not originally call this giant creature the "Great Sphinx". In the text on the Dream Stele, dated to about 1400 BC, the Sphinx is referred to as the "Statue of the great Khepri". When the future pharaoh Thutmose IV was sleeping next to her, he had a dream in which the god Khepri-Ra-Atum came to him and asked him to free the statue from the sand, and in return promised that Thutmose would become the ruler of all Egypt. Thutmose IV dug up a statue that had been covered with sand over the centuries, which after that became known as Horem-Akhet, which translates as "Mountains on the horizon." The medieval Egyptians called the Sphinx "balhib" and "bilhou".
3. No one knows who built the Sphinx
Even today, people do not know the exact age of this statue, and modern archaeologists argue about who could have created it. The most popular theory is that the Sphinx arose during the reign of Khafre (the fourth dynasty of the Old Kingdom), i.e. The age of the statue dates back to around 2500 BC.
This pharaoh is credited with the creation of the pyramid of Khafre, as well as the Giza necropolis and a number of ritual temples. The proximity of these structures to the Sphinx prompted a number of archaeologists to believe that it was Khafre who ordered the construction of a majestic monument with his own face.
Other scholars believe that the statue is much older than the pyramid. They argue that the statue's face and head bear evidence of apparent water damage and put forward the theory that the Great Sphinx already existed during the era when the region faced extensive flooding (6th millennium BC).
4. Whoever built the Sphinx ran away from it headlong after it was built.
American archaeologist Mark Lehner and Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass have discovered large stone blocks, toolkits and even fossilized dinners under a layer of sand. This clearly indicates that the workers were in such a hurry to get away that they did not even take their tools with them.
5The Laborers Who Built The Statue Were Fed Well
Most scholars think that the people who built the Sphinx were slaves. However, their diet suggests something completely different. As a result of excavations led by Mark Lehner, it was found that the workers regularly dined on beef, lamb and goat meat.
6 The Sphinx Was Once Covered In Paint
Although now the Sphinx is grey-sandy in color, it was once completely covered in bright paint. Remains of red paint can still be found on the face of the statue, and there are traces of blue and yellow paint on the body of the Sphinx.
7. The sculpture was buried under the sand for a long time.
The Great Sphinx of Giza fell victim to the quicksands of the Egyptian desert several times during its long existence. The first known restoration of the Sphinx almost completely buried under the sand occurred shortly before the 14th century BC, thanks to Thutmose IV, who soon after became the Egyptian pharaoh. Three thousand years later, the statue was again buried under the sands. Up until the 19th century, the statue's front legs were deep below the desert surface. The entire Sphinx was excavated in the 1920s.
8 The Sphinx Lost Its Headdress In The 1920s
During the latest restoration, the Great Sphinx fell off part of its famous headdress, and the head and neck were seriously injured. The Egyptian government hired a team of engineers to restore the statue in 1931. But during this restoration, soft limestone was used, and in 1988 a 320-kilogram part of the shoulder fell off, nearly killing a German reporter. After that, the Egyptian government again began restoration work.
9. After the construction of the Sphinx, there was a cult that honored it for a long time.
Thanks to the mystical vision of Thutmose IV, who became pharaoh after he dug up a giant statue, a whole cult of worship of the Sphinx arose in the 14th century BC. The pharaohs ruling during the New Kingdom even built new temples from which the Great Sphinx could be seen and worshipped.
10. The Egyptian sphinx is much kinder than the Greek
The Sphinx's modern reputation as a violent creature comes from Greek mythology, not Egyptian mythology. In Greek myths, the Sphinx is mentioned in connection with a meeting with Oedipus, to whom he asked a supposedly unsolvable riddle. In ancient Egyptian culture, the Sphinx was considered more benevolent.
11. Napoleon is not to blame for the fact that the Sphinx has no nose
The mystery of the absence of a nose on the Great Sphinx has given rise to all sorts of myths and theories. One of the most common legends says that Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the nose of the statue to be beaten off in a fit of pride. However, early sketches of the Sphinx show that the statue lost its nose even before the birth of the French emperor.
12 The Sphinx Was Once Bearded
Today, the remnants of the Great Sphinx's beard, which were removed from the statue due to severe erosion, are kept in the British Museum and in the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, established in Cairo in 1858. However, the French archaeologist Vasil Dobrev claims that the bearded statue was not from the very beginning, but the beard was added later. Dobrev argues for his hypothesis that removing the beard, if it had been a component of the statue from the start, would have damaged the statue's chin.
13. The Great Sphinx is the oldest statue, but not the oldest sphinx
The Great Sphinx of Giza is considered the oldest monumental sculpture in human history. If we assume that the statue dates from the reign of Khafre, the smaller sphinxes depicting his half-brother Djedefre and sister Netefer II are older.
14. Sphinx - the largest statue
The Sphinx, which is 72 meters long and 20 meters high, is considered the largest monolithic statue on the planet.
15. There are several astronomical theories associated with the Sphinx.
The mystery of the Great Sphinx of Giza has given rise to a number of theories about the ancient Egyptians' supernatural understanding of the cosmos. Some scientists, such as Lehner, believe that the Sphinx with the Pyramids of Giza is a gigantic machine for capturing and processing solar energy. Another theory notes the coincidence of the Sphinx, the pyramids and the Nile River with the stars of the constellations Leo and Orion.
When people talk about places where developed ancient civilizations existed, Ancient Egypt comes to mind first. This country, like a magician's cylinder, keeps many secrets and mysteries. The pyramid complex, located in a valley near Cairo, is one of them. But not only the burial places of the ancient rulers of Egypt annually attract millions of tourists to this valley. The greatest interest among them and among scientists is the mysterious figure of the Great Sphinx, which is a symbol of Egypt and a world cultural and historical heritage.
On the western bank of the great Nile River, in the city of Giza, located in the southwestern suburbs of Cairo, not far from the Pyramid of Pharaoh Khafre, there is a sculpture of the Sphinx, the oldest of all surviving monumental sculptures. Hewn by the hands of ancient masters from a huge limestone rock, it is a figure with the body of a lion and the head of a man. The eyes of this mythical entity are directed to that place on the horizon, above which the sun appears on the days of the seasonal equinoxes, revered by the ancient Egyptians as the highest deity. The dimensions of the Great Sphinx are amazing: the height exceeds 20 meters, and the length of the mighty body is more than 72 meters.
The secret of the origin of the Sphinx.
For many centuries, the mystery of the origin of the Sphinx statue in Egypt haunts adventurers, scientists, tourists, poets and writers. Despite the fact that historians have been trying for centuries to find out when and by whom, and most importantly why this grandiose structure was erected, they have not yet been able to get closer to the solution. In ancient papyri there is detailed evidence of the construction of many pyramids, the names of those who participated in their creation are mentioned. However, no such data was found about the Sphinx, which gave impetus to disagreements in the interpretation of the age and purpose of erecting this monument.
The first recorded historical mention of it is considered to be the writings of Pliny the Elder, dating from the beginning of the first century AD. In them, the ancient Roman writer and historian noted that regular work was carried out to clear the statue of the Sphinx in Egypt from sand. It is noteworthy that even the real name of the monument has not been preserved. And the one by which it is now known is of Greek origin and means “strangler”. Although many Egyptologists tend to believe that his name means "the image of Being" or "the image of God."
A lot of controversy arises in the scientific world about the age of the Sphinx. Some researchers believe that the similarity of the materials from which the monument was carved and the stone blocks used in the construction of the Khafre pyramid is indisputable evidence of their same age, i.e. they date back to 2500 BC. However, in the early 90s of the XX century, a group of Japanese archaeologists, while studying the Sphinx, came to a stunning conclusion: the traces of processing left on the stone indicate an earlier origin of the monument. This fact is confirmed by geological studies based on the influence of erosion on the surface of the Sphinx, which allowed the 70th century BC to be considered the moment the monument appeared. And the research of hydrologists, who studied the effect of rain flows on the limestone from which the monument was created, pushed back its age by another 3-4 millennia.
There is still no consensus on whose head is on the body of the Egyptian Sphinx. According to some assumptions, earlier it was a statue of a lion, and the human face was carved much later. Some researchers attribute it to Pharaoh Khafre, explaining this by the similarity of the statue with the sculptural images of the pharaohs of the VI dynasty. Others suggest that this is the image of Cheops, and others - the great Cleopatra. There is also a fantastic assumption that this is one of the rulers of the mythical Atlantis.
For millennia, time dominated the appearance of the Great Sphinx. Over the years, the cobra, a symbol of divine power, which was placed on the forehead of the statue, collapsed and disappeared, and the festive headdress covering the head was partially destroyed. Unfortunately, the man also had a hand in this. Wishing to fulfill the precepts left to the Muslims by the Prophet Muhammad, one of the rulers in the XIV century ordered to beat off the nose of the sculpture. Cannon shots in the 18th century severely damaged the face, and the soldiers of the Napoleonic army in the early 19th century used the Sphinx as a target during practice shooting. Later, when research was being conducted in the Valley of the Pyramids, a false beard was beaten off from the face of the Sphinx statue in Egypt, fragments of which are kept in the Cairo and British Museums. Today, the state of the ancient monument is affected by car exhaust and nearby lime factories. According to studies carried out over the past 20th century, the monument suffered more damage than in all the past millennia.
Restoration work.
For many centuries of the existence of the Sphinx, the sands have repeatedly covered it. The first clearings, during which only the front paws were released, were undertaken under Pharaoh Thutmose IV. To commemorate this, a memorial sign was placed between them. In addition to excavations, primitive restoration work was carried out to strengthen the lower part of the statue.
In 1817, Italian scientists managed to clear the chest of the Sphinx from the sand, but more than a hundred years passed before its complete release. This happened in 1925. In the late 80s of the XX century, a part of the right shoulder of the statue collapsed. During the restoration work, about 12,000 limestone blocks were replaced.
Geolocation work carried out in 1988 by Japanese scientists made it possible to discover a narrow tunnel starting under the left paw. It stretches in the direction of the Khafre pyramid and goes deeper. A year later, during the implementation of seismic surveys, a rectangular chamber was found, located under the forelimbs of the Sphinx. All this indicates that the Great Sphinx is in no hurry to reveal all its secrets.
After restoration work completed at the end of 2014, the ancient statue again became available to tourists. In the evening, the Sphinx greets visitors in several languages, which, together with the illumination, creates an incredible effect.
To preserve this majestic structure for future descendants, the Egyptian government plans to build a glass sarcophagus over it to protect the monument of history and culture from adverse conditions.
The Great Sphinx, standing on a plateau at Giza, is the subject of controversy among scientists, the object of numerous legends, assumptions and conjectures. Who built it, when, why? Not a single question has a definitive answer. Blown by the sands of time, the Sphinx keeps its secret for many millennia.
It is carved out of a single limestone rock. It is believed that she stood nearby and with her shape already resembled a sleeping lion. The length of the Sphinx is 72 meters, the height is 20. The nose, which has been missing for a long time, was one and a half meters long.
Today, the statue is a lion lying in the sand, but some historians suggest that the original sculpture was completely lion, and one of the pharaohs decided to depict his face on the statue. Hence some disproportions between the huge body and the relatively small head. But this version is just a guess.
No papers have been preserved about the Sphinx at all. Ancient Egyptian papyri about the construction of the pyramids have survived. But there is not, not a single word about the statue of a lion. The first mentions in papyri can be found only at the beginning of our era. Where it says that the Sphinx, which was once cleared of sand.
Purpose
Most scientists agree that the Sphinx guards the eternal rest of the pharaohs. In ancient Egypt, the lion was considered a symbol of power and the guardian of sacred places. Some believe that the Sphinx, in addition, was a religious object; the entrance to the temple supposedly began at its paws.
Other answers are looking for, focusing on the location of the statue. It is turned to the Nile and looks strictly to the east. Therefore, there is an option that the Sphinx is associated with the Sun God. The ancient inhabitants could worship him, bring gifts here, ask that the harvest be good.
It is not known what the ancient Egyptians themselves called the statue. There is an assumption that "Seshep-ankh" is "the image of the Being or the Living". That is, he was the embodiment of the divine on earth. In the Middle Ages, the Arabs called the sculpture "Father or the king of horror and fear." The word “sphinx” itself is Greek and literally translates as “strangler”. Some historians speculate based on the name. In their opinion, there is emptiness inside the sphinx, people were tortured, tortured, killed there, hence the “father of horror” and the “strangler”. But this is just a guess, one of many.
Sphinx face
Who is immortalized in stone? The most official version is Pharaoh Khafre. During the construction of his pyramid, stone blocks of the same dimensions were used as in the construction of the Sphinx. Plus, not far from the statue, they found an image of Khafre.
But even here it is not so obvious. An American expert compared the face from the image and the face of the Sphinx, finding no similarities, he came to the conclusion that these are portraits of completely different people.
Whose face is the Sphinx? There are many versions. For example, Queen Cleopatra, the god of the rising sun - Horus, or one of the rulers of Atlantis. Proponents of this theory believe that the entire ancient Egyptian civilization was the work of the Atlanteans.
When was it built?
There is no answer to this question either. The official version is in 2500 BC. This just coincides with the reign of Pharaoh Khafre and the unprecedented dawn of ancient Egyptian civilization.
Japanese scientists using echo sounders studied the internal state of the sculpture. Their discovery was a real sensation. The stones of the Sphinx are processed much earlier than the stones of the pyramids. Hydrologists joined the work. On the body of the Sphinx, they found significant traces of water erosion, on the head they were not so large.
Therefore, experts came to the conclusion that the Sphinx was built when there was a different climate in these places: it rained, there were floods. And this is 10, according to other sources, 15 thousand years before our era.
The sands of time have no mercy
Time and people did not spare the Great Sphinx. In the Middle Ages, it was a training target for the Mamluks, the military caste of Egypt. The nose was broken off either by them, or it was the order of a certain ruler, or it was done by one religious fanatic, who was then torn apart by the crowd. It is not clear just how one and a half meter nose can be destroyed alone.
Once upon a time, the Sphinx was blue or purple. A little paint remained in the ear area. He had a beard - now it is an exhibit of the British and Cairo museums. The royal headdress - the uraeus, which was decorated with a cobra on the forehead, did not survive at all.
The sands sometimes covered the statue with its head. In 1400 BC, the Sphinx, on the orders of Pharaoh Thutmose IV, was cleansed for a year. It was possible to free the front paws and part of the torso. About this event, at the foot of the sculpture, a plaque was then installed, it can be seen now.
The statue was freed from the sand by the Romans, Greeks, Arabs. But she was swallowed up again and again by the sands of time. The Sphinx was completely cleaned up only in 1925.
A few more mysteries and conjectures
It is believed that under the Sphinx there are some passages, tunnels and even a huge library with ancient books. In the late 80s and early 90s, American and Japanese scientists, using special equipment, discovered several corridors and a certain cavity under the Sphinx. But the Egyptian authorities stopped the research. Since 1993, any geological and radar work has been prohibited here.
Experts hope to find not only secret rooms. The ancient Egyptians built everything according to the principle of symmetry, and one lion looks somehow unusual. There is a theory that somewhere nearby, under a thick layer of sand, another Sphinx is hidden, only female.
Hearing the combination of the words "Ancient Egypt", many will immediately imagine the majestic pyramids and the great Sphinx - it is with them that the mysterious civilization, separated from us by several millennia, is associated. Let's get acquainted with interesting facts about sphinxes, these mysterious creatures.
Definition
What is a sphinx? This word first appeared in the Land of the Pyramids, and later spread throughout the world. So, in ancient Greece you can meet a similar creature - a beautiful woman with wings. In Egypt, these creatures were most often masculine. A sphinx with the face of a female pharaoh Hatshepsut is known. Having received the throne and pushed aside the rightful heir, this imperious woman tried to rule like a man, she even wore a special false beard. Therefore, it is not surprising that many statues of this time have found her face.
What function did they perform? According to mythology, the sphinx acted as the guardian of tombs and temple buildings, which is why most of the statues that have survived to this day were found near such structures. So, in the temple of the supreme deity, solar Amon, about 900 of them were found.
So, answering the question of what a sphinx is, it should be noted that this is a statue characteristic of the culture of Ancient Egypt, which, according to mythology, guarded temple buildings and tombs. Limestone was used as a material for creation, of which there were quite a lot in the Land of the Pyramids.
Description
The ancient Egyptians depicted the sphinx like this:
- The head of a human, most often a pharaoh.
- The body of a lion, one of the sacred animals of the hot country of Kemet.
But such an appearance is not the only option for depicting a mythological creature. Modern finds prove that there were other species, for example with a head:
- a ram (the so-called cryosphinxes were installed at the temple of Amon);
- Falcon (they were called hierakosphinxes and most often placed near the temple of the god Horus);
- hawk.
So, answering the question of what a sphinx is, it should be pointed out that this is a statue with the body of a lion and the head of another creature (more often a man, a ram), which was installed in the immediate vicinity of the temples.
The most famous sphinxes
The tradition of creating very original statues with a human head and a lion's body was inherent in the Egyptians for a long time. So, the first of them appeared during the fourth dynasty of the pharaohs, that is, approximately in 2700-2500. BC e. It is interesting that the first representative was female and depicted Queen Hetepher II. This statue has reached us, everyone can look at it in the Cairo Museum.
Everyone knows the Great Sphinx at Giza, which we will discuss below.
The second largest sculpture depicting an unusual creature is an alabaster creation with the face of Pharaoh Amenhotep II, discovered in Memphis.
No less famous is the famous Alley of Sphinxes near the Temple of Amun in Luxor.
The greatest value
The most famous all over the world, of course, is the Great Sphinx, which not only amazes the imagination with its huge size, but also sets many mysteries for the scientific community.
The giant with a lion's body is located on a plateau in Giza (near the capital of the modern state, Cairo) and is part of a funerary complex, which also includes the three great pyramids. It is carved from a monolithic block and is the largest structure for which a single stone was used.
Even the age of this outstanding monument causes controversy, although analysis of the rock suggests that it is at least 4.5 millennia old. What features of this colossal monument are known?
- The face of the Sphinx, disfigured by time and, as one of the legends says, by the barbaric actions of the soldiers of Napoleon's army, most likely depicts Pharaoh Khafre.
- The face of the giant is turned to the east, and it is there that the pyramids are located - the statue seems to protect the peace of the greatest pharaohs of antiquity.
- The dimensions of the figure, carved from monolithic limestone, amaze the imagination: length - more than 55 meters, width - about 20 meters, shoulder width - more than 11 meters.
- Previously, the ancient sphinx was painted, as evidenced by the preserved remains of paint: red, blue and yellow.
- Also, the statue had a beard, characteristic of the kings of Egypt. It has survived to this day, although separate from the sculpture - it is kept in the British Museum.
The giant was buried under the sands several times, it was dug up. Perhaps it was the protection of the sand that helped the Sphinx survive the destructive influence of natural disasters.
Changes
The Egyptian Sphinx managed to defeat time, but it affected the change in its appearance:
- Initially, the figure had a headdress traditional for pharaohs, decorated with a sacred cobra, but it was completely destroyed.
- Lost the statue and false beard.
- Nose injury has already been mentioned. Someone blames the shelling of Napoleon's army for this, others - the actions of Turkish soldiers. There is also a version that the protruding part suffered from wind and humidity.
Despite this, the monument is one of the greatest creations of the ancients.
Mysteries of history
Let's get acquainted with the secrets of the Egyptian Sphinx, many of which have not been solved so far:
- Legend has it that under the giant monument there are three underground passages. However, only one of them was found - behind the giant's head.
- The age of the largest sphinx is still unknown. Most scholars believe that it was built during the reign of Khafre, but there are those who consider the sculpture to be more ancient. So, her face and head retained traces of the influence of the water element, which is why the hypothesis arose that the giant was erected more than 6 millennia ago, when a terrible flood hit Egypt.
- Perhaps the army of the French emperor is wrongly accused of damaging the great monument of the past, since there are drawings by an unknown traveler, in which the giant is already depicted without a nose. Napoleon had not yet been born at that time.
- As you know, the Egyptians knew writing and documented everything in detail on papyri - from conquests and the construction of temples to tax collection. However, not a single scroll has been found that would contain information about the construction of the monument. Perhaps these documents simply have not survived to this day. Perhaps the reason is that the giant appeared long before the Egyptians themselves.
- The first mention of the Egyptian Sphinx was found in the writings of Pliny the Elder, which refers to the work of digging out sculptures from sand.
The majestic monument of the Ancient World has not yet revealed all its mysteries to us, so its research continues.
Restoration and protection
We learned what the Sphinx is, what role it played in the worldview of the ancient Egyptian. Even under the pharaohs, they tried to dig out a huge figure from the sand and partially restore it. It is known that such work was carried out during the time of Thutmose IV. A granite stele (the so-called “Stele of Sleep”) has been preserved, which tells that one day the pharaoh had a dream in which the god Ra ordered him to clear the statue of sand, in return promising power over the entire state.
Later, the conqueror Ramses II ordered to dig up the Egyptian sphinx. Then attempts were made at the beginning of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Now let's see how our contemporaries are trying to preserve this cultural heritage. The figure was carefully analyzed, all cracks were identified, the monument was closed to the public and restored within 4 months. In 2014, it was reopened to tourists.
The history of the Sphinx in Egypt is amazing and filled with secrets and mysteries. Many of them have not yet been solved by scientists, so the amazing figure with the body of a lion and the face of a man continues to attract attention.
