The statue of the Egyptian Sphinx is a highly mysterious sculpture. The mystery of this creature, which has a female head, paws and body of a lion, wings of an eagle and a tail of a bull, has remained unsolved. The Great Sphinx is located in Giza, on the banks of the Nile River, adjacent to the huge pyramids. This is a grandiose structure that gave rise to many legends and mystical stories about the pharaohs of Egypt.
The Great Sphinx observes the rising sun and the Nile. The statue, made of rock, is striking in its size: its length exceeds 57 meters and its height is about 20 meters.
Currently, the Egyptian Sphinx has a gray-sandy color, and in the past it was quite brightly colored. In some places, traces of yellow and blue paint have been preserved on the body of the statue, and red on the face.
What the Sphinx (Egypt) symbolizes
According to most of the Egyptologists, the sculpture of a man-lion is a dedication to the daylight reborn in the East and the flowing Nile. In ancient Eastern civilizations, the lion was the symbol of the Sun, and the pharaoh was the embodiment of God, and often the latter was depicted in an animal guise, mercilessly dealing with all enemies. It is believed that this mythical creature protects the eternal rest of the pharaohs.
The Sphinx has been the subject of controversy among many scientists for centuries. The exact date of the "birth" of the lion-man remained unclear, as well as the reason why the statue is currently deprived of its nose. In addition, if "Sphinx" in translation into Russian sounds like "strangler", then what did the inhabitants of Ancient Egypt mean by this concept?
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As mentioned above, the Egyptian pharaoh was often depicted as a merciless lion. Hence the opinion arose that the Great Sphinx is guarding the peace of the deceased pharaohs. It is not known for certain who is the author of this unique statue, but most researchers assume that this is the creation of Pharaoh Khafre. The supporters of this theory have their own proof. It turns out that the nearby pyramid of Khafre was built of stones exactly the same size as the sculpture of the lion-man. In addition, an image of the ruler himself was found in these places.
However, among scientists-Egyptologists there is also a version that the Great Sphinx was built by Pharaoh Djedefra, who dedicated the statue to his father Khufu. Whether this is true or not is not known for certain.
The appearance of the sculpture
As you know, the Great Sphinx does not have a nose. But this part of the face, about one and a half meters wide, probably existed - there were eloquent traces. So where did she go? It is believed that the nose disappeared during the battle of Napoleon with the Turkish troops. However, the Danish traveler Norden refutes this theory. He visited Egypt in 1737-38, and already at that time the statue did not have a nose. There is another version, which says that back in the 14th century, according to the behest of Muhammad, which forbids depicting a human face, the sculpture was mutilated by an unknown fanatic.
In addition to the nose, the lion man also lacks a false beard. On this occasion, scientists argue today. Some suggest that the beard was made later than the sculpture, while others argue that the local population did not yet have the appropriate technical ability to fix the beard.
Little known facts about the Sphinx (Egypt)
It was the fact that the sculpture was partially destroyed and then restored that allowed researchers to discover interesting facts. For example, archaeologists have proven that the Great Sphinx arose even before the construction of the pyramids. In addition, the statue's left paw covers the entrance to the tunnel leading to the pyramid of Khafre. By the way, Soviet scientists were the first to talk about the tunnel.
For a long time the sculpture was covered with a thick layer of sand. In ancient times, the Egyptian pharaohs tried to unearth the monument, but all attempts were in vain. At the beginning of the 19th century, a man-lion was dug out of the sand up to the chest. And more than a hundred years later, they were completely released.
How old is the Great Sphinx
The exact age of this unique statue has not yet been determined, as well as its creator is not known for certain. Most likely, the man-lion appeared during the time of Khafre 2500 BC.
Pharaoh Khafra became the author of a number of temples, necropolises and a pyramid named after himself. The close location of the listed structures with the famous statue of the Sphinx allowed archaeologists to suggest that Chefren created a grandiose monument with his own face.
Many researchers suggest that the man-lion is much older than the pyramid. The head of the statue was badly damaged by the effects of water, and it is possible that this happened during a large flood that happened 6,000 BC, that is, much earlier than the appearance of the pyramid.