The Great Sphinx: Guardian of Egypt’s Mysteries

Near the Great Pyramids in Giza, you can see The Great Sphinx, a huge 4,500-year-old limestone statue 240 feet (73 meters) in length and 66 feet (20 meters) in height. The Great Sphinx is considered one of the largest and most important monuments in the world. However, the origins and history of the Great Sphinx are still a matter of debate.  It is also one of the most famous attractions of the ancient Egyptians.

 

What is the Egyptian Sphinx?

In Egyptian, Asian, and Greek mythology, The Sphinx (or Sphynx) is an outstanding mythological figure, which has the body of a lion and the head of a human to indicate greatness, power, and wisdom. 

 

In Ancient Egypt, the sphinx was generally constructed as a male with a pharaoh’s headdress- as is the Great Sphinx. It was a religious figure and a spiritual guardian. These constructions were mostly included in tombs and temple complexes. For example, the Sphinx Alley in Upper Egypt is a two-mile path that connects the temples of Luxor and Karnak Temple, and each of its sides is lined with Sphinx statues. 

 

The female pharaoh Queen Hatshepsut also had Sphinx statues with her likeness, such as the granite sphinx statue at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the large alabaster sphinx at the Ramesside temple in Memphis, Egypt.

 

Iconic Great Sphinx in Giza

 

Who and when the sphinx of Giza was built?

It’s widely thought that King Khafre was the one who erected the Great Sphinx statue for himself (about 2603-2578 B.C). Hieroglyphic texts indicate that Khafre’s father, King Khufu, constructed the Great Pyramid, the largest and the oldest of the three pyramids in Giza. Also, it is one of the seven wonders of the world. When Khafre became king, he constructed his own pyramid next to the Great Pyramid, nearly 10 feet shorter than his father’s pyramid.

 

The Great Sphinx and some other statues surround the three pyramids in an organization that made the scholars believe there may have been a religious and spiritual purpose for this great complex. This purpose is to steer the sun’s vigor and other gods to rebirth the soul of the pharaoh (King Khafre). Some residues of red pigments on the sphinx’s face indicate the statue may have been painted.

Majestic Sphinx in Cairo

Where is the location of the Great Sphinx in Egypt?

The Great Sphinx Situated just outside Cairo City, Egypt, on Giza Plateau stands the Great Sphinx of Giza. Located roughly 5 miles (8 kilometers) west of the city center, it is situated on the western bank of the Nile River.

Sphinx Location in Giza

 

What is the historical significance of the ancient Sphinx?

The historical and cultural significance of the Sphinx is vast. It was thought to serve as a guardian figure, keeping the surrounding temples and pyramids safe. It also stood for the pharaoh’s divine authority and the union of human intellect (the head) and lion might (the body).

Sphinx’s Cultural Significance

 

Mystery of the Sphinx

The great sphinx is still a riddle because the word “Sphinx” originally began in Greek mythology 2000 years after the Sphinx was built.  The Egyptians’ detention during the old kingdom (2613-2181 B.C.) still needs to be explained because only some texts talk about the statue. However, King Khafre associated himself with the god Horus, and the Great Sphinx may have been known as Harmakhet (Horus on the Horizon) as it was during the new kingdom (1570-1069 B.C). 

 

Inscriptions on a red granite slab between the great Sphinx’s paws tell the story of the way the statue was saved from the sands of time. Prince Thutmose, son of Amenhotep II, fell asleep close to the Sphinx, the story goes. In Thutmose’s dream, the statue, calling itself Harmakhet, complained about its state of disarray and coping with the young prince: it might assist him to become pharaoh if he cleared away the sand from the statue and restored it.

 

Whether or not the dream definitely happened is unknown, but when the prince did, in fact, become Pharaoh Thutmose IV, he introduced the Sphinx worshiping culture to his people. Statues, artwork, and reliefs of the figure popped up throughout the country, and the sphinx became an image of royalty and the strength of the sun.

What are the known dimensions of the Great Sphinx?

The approximate dimensions of the Great Sphinx of Giza are 63 feet (19 meters) in breadth, 240 feet (73 meters) in length, and 66 feet (20 meters) in height. It is among the world’s biggest monolithic statues. 

What about the secrets of the Sphinx?

For a very long time, people have been fascinated by and speculated about the Great Sphinx, which has led to many different ideas and mysteries. The existence of secret corridors or rooms within or beneath the Sphinx is one persistent mystery. The existence and purpose of these secret rooms remain to be discovered despite several exploratory attempts. With either our Half Day Pyramids Tour or a Full Day Visit to the Pyramids, you may discover the mysteries of the Great Sphinx.

 

What Happened to the Sphinx’s Nose? – The Great Sphinx Restoration

All through time, the Great Sphinx suffered from natural and artificial factors like erosion, weathering, and distortion attempts, so its face became damaged. It’s thought that when Napoleon’s troops arrived in Egypt in 1798, they shot off the statue’s nose with a cannon. However, the 18th-century paintings indicate that the Great Sphinx lost its nose long before then. It’s also thought that a Sufi Muslim in the 15th century destroyed the nose of the Sphinx to protest idolatry. The Sphinx was buried in sand up to its shoulders till the early 1800s by a Genoese adventurer called Captain. Giovanni Batista Caviglia hardly tried to excavate the statue with a team of 160 men, but they finally failed.

 

Mariette could erase some surrounding sand around the statue, and Baraize did another big excavation campaign in the 19th and 20th centuries. The Egyptian archaeologist Selim Hassan finally excavated the statue and took it out into the open air in the late 1930s. Today, the Sphinx is still suffering because of the wind, humidity, and pollution. Many efforts at restoration have been made since the mid-1900s. Some of these failed and, unfortunately, led to more damage to the Sphinx.

 

In 2007, authorities knew that the local water level beneath the statue was rising due to sewage being pumped into a channel close to the statue. The moisture spread out through the porous limestone of which the statue was made. This causes the rocks to crumble and sometimes break away into large flakes. Authorities installed pumps near the statue to divert the groundwater and save the monument from bigger destruction.

 

Story of Exploration The Great Sphinx

In the mid-1800s, French archaeologist Auguste Mariette found the Valley Temple (the debris of a building located next to the Great Sphinx). The head and the face of the Sphinx are very similar to a statue of King Khafre in its normal size. For this reason, it became believed that King Khafre was the one who constructed the Great Sphinx.

Additionally, Mariette discovered remnants of a bridge (processional route) that connects the Valley Temple to the Mortuary Temple near Khafre pyramid. In the 1980s, researchers discovered evidence that the limestone rocks used in building the walls of the Sphinx Temple came from the trench surrounding the Great Sphinx; this indicates that the laborers, while carving the Great Sphinx, transferred the rocky blocks that remained from the statue to the Sphinx Temple.

Researchers think that carving the Great Sphinx from a single huge limestone rock takes 100 people for 3 years of continuous work. However, there is evidence that the laborers suddenly stopped working before completely finishing the Great Sphinx and temple complex, like some partially finished bedrock and remnants of workers’ lunch and some tools.

 

Conclusion:

The Great Sphinx is a religious and spiritual guardian. King Khafre built it to represent himself. The statue has the body of a lion to indicate power and strength and the human head to indicate the intelligence and wisdom of pharaohs.

The Great Sphinx suffered from natural and artificial factors such as erosion, weathering, and destruction campaigns, which led to missing its nose. However, the Great Sphinx still stood up like a huge monster guarding the three pyramids and temple complexes next to them.