Sphinx

The Sphinx in Ancient Egypt


 * Other Names:**

Androsphinx


 * Egyptian Name:**

//Shesepankh// ("Living Image") or //Horemakhet// ("Horus in the Horizon")

The famous lion with a human head, common in Egyptian statuary. Unlike the Greek sphinx, which was female, the Egyptian sphinx is typically shown as male with a beard. In addition, the Egyptian sphinx did not have wings and was viewed as benevolent in contrast to the malevolent Greek version.

Generally the role of sphinxes was as protective guardians; they were placed in association with architectural structures such as royal tombs or religious temples, and featured on magic wands. Small amulets of sphinxes have been found, made of faience, gold, lapis lazuli, jasper, and carnelian. Many pharaohs had their heads carved atop the guardian statues for their tombs to show their close relationship with powerful lion deities, and the pharaoh as a sphinx trampling the enemies of Egypt became a popular depiction.

The largest and most famous Egyptian sphinx is, of course, the Great Sphinx of Giza. It is one of the oldest and largest monolithic statues in the world, standing 241 feet (73.4 meters) long, 20 feet (6 meters) wide, and 66 (20 meters) feet high. Carved from an enormous block of solid limestone, it is estimated that the Sphinx took 100 people three years of continuous work to build.

The Great Sphinx was thought to have been built in 2555 B.C.E. by Pharaoh Khufu, who was also the builder of the Great Pyramids. However, this is the subject of much debate - possible water erosion on the Sphinx suggests that it may be much older than Khufu's reign.

Originally the Great Sphinx was painted - the face was red, the Nemes Headdress had blue and yellow alternating stripes, and the eyes were outlined with black, as if it were wearing kohl. Thousands of years of harsh desert winds, however, scoured away much of this paint.

It has been noted that the head of the Sphinx seems too small for its massive body - one theory states that the original sculpture was not of a sphinx, but of a lion. The reason for the too-small head is that various pharaohs, such as Tuthmosis IV, had the face of the Sphinx re-carved in an attempt at restoration. A braided stone beard was added years later, although it soon fell off. Fragments of the beard are in the British Museum, as is the remains of the cobra which originally perched on the Sphinx's brow.

The nose of the Sphinx is made conspicuous by its absence. The popular story is that the troops of Napoleon Bonaparte used the nose for target practice in 1798 C.E. It has been concluded that the nose was gone by 1737 C.E. at the latest; thus its removal can not be blamed on Napoleon, who visited more than 50 years later.

Much more likely it was either Muslims or Coptic Christians - both groups were driven by the compulsion to destroy many of the statues, monuments, and reliefs of the ancients, which they regarded as pagan and heretical. The Copts were especially enthusiastic in this pursuit. In the early 19th century, Arabs living in Cairo called the Sphinx the "Father of Fear," and claimed that it was the spirit of an evil djinn.

There exists an account written by historian Muhammad al-Husayni Taqi al-Din al-Maqrizi who states that the face of the Sphinx, specifically the nose and ears, were demolished in 1378 C.E. by a fanatic Sufi Muslim named Sa'im al-dahr. The reason for the vandalism, according to al-Maqrizi, was to "remedy some religious errors" - at that time some Egyptians were burning herbs at the foot of the Sphinx in hopes of a good harvest. "From the time of this disfigurement also," al-Maqrizi wrote, "the sand has invaded the cultivated land of Giza, and the people attribute this to the disfigurement of the Sphinx."

The Sphinx has been buried by the encroaching desert sands up to its neck at least three times. In one famous instance, young Tuthmosis IV fell asleep under the shadow of the head and had a dream in which the Sphinx spoke to him. It said that if he freed its body from the sand, then Tuthmosis IV would become the next pharaoh. Tuthmosis IV cleared away the sand and duly becam e king, erecting a temple and a stela telling of his experience between the Sphinx's paws. This large stone slab, known as the Dream Stela, can still be seen today.

There is historical evidence of a //second// Great Sphinx at Giza. Not only did ancient Egyptian texts mention a second Sphinx, but so did the Greeks, Romans, and Muslims. All of the writings about the two Sphinxes say that they were facing each other – logical, as sphinxes pictured in Egyptian images were nearly always shown in pairs. The second, smaller sphinx was made out of mudbrick and faced with limestone. Unfortunately, it was partly destroyed during a high Nile flood, and then completely destroyed by ensuing Muslims carting off the crumbling stone to rebuild their villages around 1000-1200 C.E.

On rare occasions sphinxes were shown with falcon wings, the head of the Set Animal, or the head of a queen; the sphinx at the temple of Amenhotep III had the tail of a crocodile. Other types of Egyptian sphinxes are the criosphinx (ram-headed lion) of Amun and the hieracosphinx (falcon-headed lion) of Horus (also known as a griffin; sources are unclear.)

Mythological Animals