The Great Sphinx of Giza
The ancient Egyptians built the sphinxes to symbolize strength, intelligence, and the sun deity. The lion symbolizes power and guardian in pharaonic belief, which is why sphinxes are found in their tombs, amulets, furniture, and temple doors. The most famous Sphinx in Egypt is the Great Sphinx of Giza.
The Great Sphinx is the oldest and largest in the world, and there are many mysteries about the time of its construction and the lack of its nose. It is on the west bank of the Nile River, on the Giza Plateau, 20 km from the center of Cairo.
The Name of the Egyptian Sphinx
The ancient Egyptian name of the Sphinx is unknown, and the ancients from the New Kingdom gave it the name “Shesep-ankh,” which means the living image. The word Sphinx is from the Greek word “sphinx,” which means to squeeze, but the Greek sphinx in mythology is a beast that had the wings of an eagle, the head of a woman, and the body of a lion.
The Egyptian Sphinx is wingless and with the head of a human. Due to the Coptic influence, his name was “Bel-hit,” which translates in Egyptian to “hu or Ju,” which means guardian. His name in Egyptian Arabic is “Abu Alhol, ” meaning the father of terror.
The Story of the Sphinx of Giza
Who built the Sphinx of Giza?
It was said that the sun god “Hor-em-Ajet” (Horus on the horizon) is represented by the temple in front of the Sphinx. But they accepted that it was built by King Khafre (the King of the second pyramid of Giza), as the guardian of his pyramid, in 2500 BC in the 4th dynasty because the face of the Sphinx resembles that of Khafre.
A diorite statue of King Khafre was found in the sand near the Sphinx. There are theories that the Sphinx was built by Khafra’s father, King Cheops.
When was the Sphinx of Giza built?
Archaeologists are not sure of the exact time the Sphinx was built, and it was said it was built by King Cheops or King Khafre in the 4th dynasty. It was also noted that it was made before the construction of the Pyramids of Giza because the erosion on the Sphinx was by water dating back to the Ice Age.
The Sphinx was buried in the sand for many years. Thutmose IV and Ramses IIThey tried to dig it up during the New Kingdom. Tuthmosis IV could only unearth the front legs, between which he placed a granite stela in 1400 BC. C. Ramses II ordered a second restoration between 1279 and 1213 a. C. Additional blocks fortified the Sphinx by the Greeks and Romans, especially the legs. The Italians in 1817 cleaned the sand from the Sphinx, and in 1925, the Sphinx completely removed the sand. In 2014 the Sphinx underwent a restoration process that lasted four months.
The Characteristics of the Sphinx
The Sphinx was carved in the monolithic limestone quarry that stood at this location, facing east, as a symbol of the sun. Its height is 20 m, and its length is 70 m. the face is 5 m, and the front legs are 15 m. Also, the Sphinx has a big tail. His head is more preserved than his body because the stone of the head is more complex, and the body was buried in the sand for many years.
The eyes and mouth are severely damaged. A granite slab called the stele of dreams (144 cm high, 40 cm wide, and 70 cm thick) is found on the front legs of the Sphinx. This stele recounted the dream of King Tutomsis IV when he was a prince who promised him to be King if Tutomsis IV would restore the Sphinx from the sand.
What’s Beneath the Sphinx of Giza?
There are three tunnels inside the Sphinx, one below the head, one in the tail, and one on the north side. Its builders, its purpose, or where it leads is unknown.
But as an explanation, these tunnels were excavated in later years in an attempt to find a treasure. But there are theories about what is underneath; it is believed that there is a secret chamber located under the Sphinx of Giza connected to the Great Pyramid with corridors, and others think that there is the lost city of Atlantis.
How was the Sphinx’s nose broken?
The Sphinx of Giza had a 1.5-meter nose whose exact cause is unknown, whether it was due to erosion or human. During the French campaign in 1798, Napoleon was said to have destroyed the nose, but Frederic Louis Norden’s drawings of the Sphinx, published in 1738, show that the Sphinx was noseless 31 before Napoleon’s birth.
Others believe it was by British troops or the Mamluks. It was said that when the peasants were offerings to the Sphinx, a Sufi Muslim decided to destroy the Sphinx, starting from the nose, and was hanged because he did not destroy another part.
The Theory of the Second Buried Sphinx
One of the many mysteries of the Sphinx is the second sphinx theory. Most of the representations show a pair of sphinxes, a male and a female sphinx representing the children of Aten (the sun god), because the Great Sphinx, unlike other representations, is alone. Also, the dream stele, between the front legs of the great Sphinx of Giza, shows two of the sphinxes.
The second Sphinx was destroyed by erosion, and its remains are buried under tons of rock and sand. The theory of the second Great Sphinx of Giza not only has documentary evidence based on the interpretation and analysis of texts and iconographic representations of the ancient Egyptians.
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