Sphinx

Egypt

About

The Great Sphinx at Giza (Arabic: Abulhol) was part of the funerary complex of Pharaoh Kephren and lies halfway between the mortuary complex (located at the base of the pyramid) and the Valley Temple. The Sphinx, which embodies the body of a lioness and the head of a king (believed to be Kephren), acts as a guardian for the entire complex. The Sphinx was carved from the Giza limestone and measures 157 feet long, 20 feet wide and 66 feet high. Unlike the pyramids there are no chambers inside. Over the years the Sphinx has suffered terrible erosion and man's mistreatment and indignity. It was once used as a target for cannon fire by the Mamelukes. The one responsible for that was Saem El Dahr, a fanatic Mameluk prince. A recent restoration has just been completed. There is some doubt as to exactly when the Great Sphinx was built. It is believed to have been built about 2500 B.C. at the same time as the pyramid of Kephren. Additionally, there exist no evidence that the Great Sphinx is actually connected with Khefren. Not a single inscription ties this marvelous statue to that pharaoh which is uncommon. Many statues bear the cartouche of the pharaoh they represent. Some archaeologists think that the Sphinx belongs to Keops not Kephren. The nose of the Sphinx is not destroyed by Napoleon Ponaparte as some people till today think. This old mistake that exsisted for a specific period of time in some guidebooks and even in the children scool books of Egypt. A stela exists between the two legs of the Sphinx. It is written in ancient Egyptian language. It contains a political propaganda that tells that God appeared to the prince Tutmosis the 4th and told him that he is going to get the throne of Egypt if he frees the Sphinx from the sand that the Sphinx at that time was buried under. When the Prince did that God has given him the power to be king of Egypt and accordingly he wrote this stela. The Sphinx had a beard previously but now most of it is in the British museum. A hole can be seen under the ear of the Sphinx> This hole was for fixing the beard of the Sphinx when it existed previously. The whole Sphinx was previously painted in a dark red color when the three pyramids were white so it was a wonderful panoramic view at that time to see the red sphinx and the three white pyramids together. There are two temples in front of the Sphinx. One of them dates back to the old kingdom period and the other one dates back to the Greco-Roman period with a lot of restoration.
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