Sphinx in Egypt: secrets, riddles and scientific facts. Sphynx cat: origin of the breed and subspecies Sphinx biography

Let's try to understand the purpose of its creation and the methods of its construction. Let's find out what they say in the scientific world about the age of the Sphinx. What does he hide inside and what role does he play in relation to the pyramids? We will weed out fiction and assumptions, leaving only scientifically confirmed facts.

Brief description of the Sphinx in Egypt

Sphinx and 50 jets

Great Sphinx. Egypt Author: Most likely Hamish2k, the first uploader — Most likely Hamish2k, the first uploader, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

The Sphinx in Egypt is the most grandiose surviving sculpture of antiquity. The length of the body is 3 compartment cars (73.5 m), and the height is a 6-storey building (20 m). The bus is smaller than one front paw. And the weight of 50 jet airliners is equal to the weight of a giant.

The blocks that make up the paws were added during the New Kingdom period to restore the original appearance. The sacred cobra, nose and ritual beard - symbols of the power of the pharaohs - are absent. Fragments of the latter are exhibited in the British Museum.

Near the ear, remnants of the original dark red paint can be seen.

What can strange proportions say?

One of the main abnormalities of the figure is the disproportion of the head and torso. It appears that the upper part was remade several times by subsequent rulers. There are opinions that at first the head of the idol was either a ram or a falcon and later turned into a human form. Restorations and renovations over many thousands of years could reduce the head or enlarge the body.

Where is the Sphinx located?

The monument is located in the necropolis of Memphis next to the pyramidal structures of Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Khefren) and Menkaura (Mitserin) about 10 km from Cairo, on the west bank of the Nile River on the Giza plateau.

God is the other way around or what does the giant symbolize

In ancient Egypt, the figure of the Lion personified the power of the pharaohs. In Abydos, the cemetery of the first Egyptian kings, archaeologists have found about 30 skeletons of adults who were under 20 years old, and ... the bones of lions. The gods of the ancient Egyptians were always depicted with a human body and an animal head, but here it is the other way around: a human head the size of a house on the body of a lion.

Maybe this suggests that the power and strength of the lion was combined with human wisdom and the ability to control this power? But to whom did this power and wisdom belong? Whose features are carved in stone?

Unraveling the secret of construction: interesting facts

The world's leading Egyptologist Mark Lehner spent 5 years next to the mysterious creature, exploring him, the materials and rock around. He made a detailed map of the statue and came to an unequivocal conclusion: the statue was carved from limestone, which lies at the base of the Giza plateau.

First, they hollowed out a trench in the form of a horseshoe, leaving a huge block in the center. And then the sculptors carved a monument out of it. Blocks weighing up to 100 tons for the construction of the walls of the temple in front of the Sphinx were taken from here.

But this is only part of the puzzle. The other is how exactly did they do it?

Together with Rick Brown, an expert on ancient tools, Mark reproduced the tools depicted in the drawings of the tombs over 4000 years old. These were copper chisels, a two-handed pestle and a hammer. Then, with these tools, they cut out a detail of the monument from the limestone block: the missing nose.

This experiment allowed us to calculate that the creation of a mysterious figure could work one hundred sculptors in three years. At the same time, they were accompanied by a whole army of workers who created tools, dragged the rock and did other necessary work.

Who broke the nose of the colossus?

When Napoleon arrived in Egypt in 1798, he saw a mysterious monster without a nose, as 18th-century drawings prove: the face was like this long before the arrival of the French. Although you can meet the opinion that the nose was recaptured by the French military.

There are other versions. For example, the shooting of Turkish (according to other sources - English) soldiers, whose target was the face of an idol, is called. Or there is a story that tells of a fanatical Sufi monk in the 8th century AD who mutilated a “blasphemous idol” with a chisel.

Fragments of the ritual beard of the Egyptian Sphinx. British Museum, Photo from EgyptArchive

Indeed, there are traces of wedges driven into the bridge of the nose and near the nostril. The impression is that someone hammered them on purpose to break off the part.

Prophetic dream of the prince at the Sphinx

The monument was saved from complete destruction by the sands that covered it for millennia. Attempts to restore the colossus have been made since Thutmose IV. There is a legend how during the hunt, resting in the midday shade of the building, the son of the king fell asleep and had a dream. The giant deity promised him the crown of the Upper and Lower Realms and in return asked him to be released from the consuming desert. The Granite Dream Stele, set between the paws, keeps this story.

Drawing of the Great Sphinx 1737 Hood. Frederic Norden

The prince not only dug up the deity, but also surrounded it with a high stone wall. At the end of 2010, Egyptian archaeologists unearthed sections of a brick wall that stretched 132 meters around the monument. Scientists believe that this is the work of Thutmose IV, who wants to protect the statue from drifts.

The Story of the Unfortunate Restoration of the Sphinx at Giza

Despite efforts, the structure was again filled up. In 1858 some of the sand was cleared by Auguste Mariette, founder of the Egyptian Antiquities Service. And in the period from 1925 to 1936. the French engineer Emile Baraise completed the clearing completely. Perhaps for the first time, the divine beast was exposed to the elements again.

It is also evident that the statue is being destroyed due to wind, humidity and exhaust gases from Cairo. Realizing this, the authorities are trying to preserve the ancient monument. In the last century, in 1950, a huge and costly restoration and conservation project was started.

But on initial stage work, instead of benefit, only additional damage was caused. The cement used for the renovation was later found to be incompatible with the limestone. Over 2000 limestone blocks were added to the structure in 6 years, chemical treatment was carried out, but… positive result it did not bring.

How M. Lehner guessed who the Great Sphinx of Egypt represents

Excavations of the temple of Khafre (in the foreground).
The Cheop pyramid is in the background.
Photograph by Henri Bechard, 1887

The tombs of the pharaohs change their shape and size over time. and appear. And the Great Sphinx is the only one.

A significant number of Egyptologists believe that he represents the pharaoh Khafre (Havra) from the fourth dynasty, because. a similar small stone silhouette with his face was found nearby. The dimensions of the blocks of the tomb of Khafre (circa 2540 BC) and the monster also coincide. Despite their claims, no one knows for sure when and by whom this statue was installed in Giza.

Mark Lehner found the answer to this question as well. He studied the structure of the Sphinx Temple, which is 9 meters away. On the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes, the sun at sunset connects the two sanctuaries of the temple and the pyramid of Khafre, in one line.

The religion of the ancient Egyptian kingdom was based on the worship of the Sun. The locals worshiped the idol as the incarnation of the Sun God, calling it Hor-Em-Akhet. Comparing these facts, Mark determines the original purpose of the Sphinx and its identity: Khafre face, the son of Cheops, looks from the figure of a god who protects the pharaoh's journey to the afterlife, making it safe.

In 1996, a New York detective and identification expert revealed that the resemblance is more noticeable with Chefren's older brother Djedefre (or son according to other sources). The debate on this topic is still ongoing.

How old is the giant anyway? Writer vs Scientists

Explorer John Anthony West

There is a lively debate going on over the dating of the monument. Writer John Anthony West was the first to notice footprints on the body of a lion. one erosion. On other structures of the plateau, wind or sand erosion is observed. He contacted Boston University geologist and assistant professor Robert M. Schoch, who, after reviewing the material, agreed with West's findings. In 1993, their joint work "The Secret of the Sphinx" was presented, which received an Emmy Award for Best Research and a nomination for Best Documentary.

Although today this area is arid, about 10,000 years ago the climate there was humid and rainy. West and Schoch concluded that the age of the Sphinx must be 7,000 to 10,000 years.

Scholars have dismissed Schoch's theory as grossly misguided, pointing out that the once-common, severe rainstorms in Egypt ceased before the appearance of the sculpture. But the question remains: Why was it that only this Giza structure showed signs of water damage?

Spiritual and supernatural interpretations about the purpose of the Sphinx

Famous English journalist Paul Brunton spent a lot of time traveling in Eastern countries, lived with monks and mystics, studied history and religion ancient egypt. He explored the royal tombs, met with famous fakirs and hypnotists.

His favorite symbol of the country, a mysterious giant, told him his secrets during a night spent in the Great Pyramid. The book "In Search of Mystical Egypt" tells how one day the secret of all things was revealed to him.

The American mystic and prophet Edgar Cayce is confident in the theory that can be read in his book on Atlantis. He pointed out that the secret knowledge of the Atlanteans was stored next to the Sphinx.

Sketch by Vivant Duvon 1798. Depicts a man climbing out of a hole at the top.

The writer Robert Bauval published an article in 1989 that the three pyramids at Giza formed a kind of three-dimensional "hologram" of the three stars of Orion's belt and the Milky Way relative to the Nile. He developed an elaborate theory that all the structures in the area, together with the ancient scriptures, constituted an astronomical map.

The most suitable position of the stars in the sky for this interpretation was in 10500 BC. This date is, for obvious reasons, disputed by Egyptologists, since not a single archaeological artifact dating from these years has been excavated here.

New mysteries of the Sphinx in Egypt?

There are various legends about the secret passages associated with this artifact. Research at the University of Florida and Boston, as well as Waseda University in Japan, revealed various anomalies around the figure. Although, it is possible that these are natural features.

In 1995, workers repairing a nearby car park stumbled upon a series of tunnels and paths, two of which plunge into the dungeon near the man-beast's stone body. R. Bauval is convinced that these structures are the same age.

Between 1991 and 1993, while studying the damage to the monument with a seismograph, Anthony West's team discovered regular hollow spaces or chambers located at a depth of several meters between the forelimbs and on both sides of the mysterious image. But permission for a deeper study was not obtained. The mystery of the underground rooms has not yet been solved.

The Sphinx in Egypt continues to excite inquisitive minds. Many conjectures and assumptions exist around the most ancient monument on our planet. Will we ever know who and why left this mark on Earth?

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Character in the legend of Oedipus.

egyptian sphinx

The oldest images of the man-lion were discovered during the excavations of Göbekli Tepe and date back to the 10th millennium BC. e.

Statues of sphinxes became an attribute of ancient Egyptian art as early as the period of the Old Kingdom, the earliest depict, probably, Queen Hetepheres II. One of the largest monolithic statues in the world is the sphinx statue (Great Sphinx), which guards the pyramids of the pharaohs in Giza.

There were three common variants of sphinxes:

The classic version of the Egyptian Sphinx was androsphinx with the face of a person, usually a high-ranking person - for example, a pharaoh.
The temples of the god Horus were decorated with falcon-headed sphinxes - hieracosphinxes
Sphinxes with a ram's face were installed near the temples of Amun - cryosphinxes.

The winged strangler was sent to Thebes by the goddess Hera for the crime of the Theban king Laius against Chrysippus. She lay in wait for travelers, asked them ingenious riddles and killed everyone who could not guess them. Hera sent her to Thebes. Having learned the riddle from the Muses, Sphinga sat down on Mount Phikes and began to ask her to the Thebans.

After Oedipus solved the riddle of the Sphinx, the monster rushed from the top of the mountain into the abyss. According to one version, the riddle was poetic, and the Sphinx ate those who did not solve it. Her image was on the helmet of Athena. In Olympia, "Theban children abducted by the sphinxes" are depicted.

There is a version that she was the side daughter of Laius, and he told her the secret of the saying of the Delphic godgiven to Cadmus. From the concubines, Lai had many sons, and all of them could not answer the question and died.

According to another interpretation, she was a sea robber who wandered the seas with an army and fleet, capturing a mountain, engaged in robbery until Oedipus defeated her with an army from Corinth. According to another interpretation, this is an amazon, the first wife of Cadmus, fortified on Mount Fikion and began to fight with Cadmus.

The protagonist of the satyr drama of Aeschylus "The Sphinx", the play of the unknown author "The Sphinx", the comedy of Epicharm "The Sphinx".

India

During the Hellenistic period, the “man-lion” motif spread far to the east of Asia. In India, a number of terms are used to refer to such sculptural images, for example, "purusamriga". Amulets with the body of a lion and the face of a man are found in southern Asia everywhere up to the Philippines and Ceylon. With each new century, Asian images become more distinctive and less and less reminiscent of Greek prototypes.

new time

"French Sphinx"

The sphinx motif returned to European art during the Mannerist era, when it was systematically used by the artists of the Fontainebleau school who worked at the court of Francis I. The sphinx of the New Age, as a rule, has a raised head, naked female breasts and pearl earrings. This is a kind of fantastic touch, which the architects of the XVII-XVIII centuries. refreshed by strict regular parks of royal and aristocratic residences.

Such sphinxes were inspired by the grotesque frescoes of Domus Aurea, a Nero palace found in the 15th century. The motif was easily included in the iconographic corpus of classical arabesque motifs, and spread throughout Europe through engravings in the 16th and 17th centuries. Sphinxes adorn the frescoes of the Vatican Loggia by Raphael (1515-20). In French art, sphinxes first appear in the art of the School of Fontainebleau in the 1520s and 30s, and can be traced back to the Baroque and late Regency eras (1715-1723). Thanks to the French influence, the sphinx becomes a ubiquitous landscape decoration throughout Europe (Belvedere (Vienna), Sanssouci (Potsdam), Branicki Palace (Bialystok), La Granja (Spain) and a late rococo variant in the Portuguese Queluz Palace).

Sphinx in the art of classicism

Images of the sphinx abound in the art of classicism, from the interiors of Robert Adam to the empire furniture of the era of romantic "Egyptomania".

Sphinxes became an attribute of neoclassical decoration, and there was a return to a simplified early version, more like a painting of grotesques. Freemasons considered them a symbol of the mysteries and used them in their architecture, considering them as guardians of the gates of the temple. In Masonic architecture, the sphinx is a frequent decorative detail, for example, even in the version of the image of his head on the form of documents.

It was during this period that St. Petersburg was adorned with numerous images of the Sphinx (see, for example, the Egyptian Bridge). In 1832, paired sphinxes, brought from Egypt, were installed on the Neva embankment in front of the Academy of Arts. The same motif was used in the design of the monument to the victims of political repressions.

Since 1800, in St. Petersburg, under the leadership of A.F. Labzin, the Dying Sphinx Masonic Lodge has operated. In the United States, sphinxes are still installed at the entrance to the halls of Masonic meetings as the personification of mystery and a call to silence.

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing the Sphinx

“Dear Natalie,” said Princess Marya, “know that I am glad that my brother found happiness ...” She stopped, feeling that she was telling a lie. Natasha noticed this stop and guessed the reason for it.
“I think, princess, that it’s inconvenient to talk about this now,” Natasha said with outward dignity and coldness, and with tears that she felt in her throat.
"What did I say, what did I do!" she thought as she left the room.
They waited a long time for Natasha for dinner that day. She sat in her room and sobbed like a child, blowing her nose and sobbing. Sonya stood over her and kissed her hair.
- Natasha, what are you talking about? she said. "What do you care about them?" Everything will pass, Natasha.
- No, if you knew how insulting it is ... just like I ...
- Don't talk, Natasha, it's not your fault, so what's your business? Kiss me,” Sonya said.
Natasha raised her head, and kissing her friend on the lips, pressed her wet face to her.
“I can't say, I don't know. No one is to blame, - said Natasha, - I am to blame. But it all hurts terribly. Oh, that he is not going! ...
She went out to dinner with red eyes. Marya Dmitrievna, who knew how the prince received the Rostovs, pretended that she did not notice Natasha's upset face and firmly and loudly joked at the table with the count and other guests.

That evening the Rostovs went to the opera, for which Marya Dmitrievna got a ticket.
Natasha did not want to go, but it was impossible to refuse Marya Dmitrievna's kindness, which was intended exclusively for her. When she, dressed, went out into the hall, waiting for her father and looking in a large mirror, she saw that she was good, very good, she became even more sad; but sad sweet and loving.
“My God, if he were here; then I would not be like before, with some kind of stupid timidity in front of something, but in a new way, I would simply hug him, snuggle up to him, make him look at me with those searching, curious eyes with which he so often looked at me and then would make him laugh, as he laughed then, and his eyes - how I see those eyes! thought Natasha. - And what do I care about his father and sister: I love him alone, him, him, with this face and eyes, with his smile, masculine and childish at the same time ... No, it’s better not to think about him, not to think, forget, completely forget for this time. I can’t bear this waiting, I’m about to sob,” and she moved away from the mirror, making an effort not to cry. “And how can Sonya love Nikolinka so evenly, so calmly, and wait so long and patiently!” she thought, looking at Sonya, also dressed, who came in, with a fan in her hands.
“No, she is completely different. I cant"!
Natasha felt at that moment so softened and tender that it was not enough for her to love and know that she was loved: she needed now, now she needed to hug her beloved and speak and hear from him words of love with which her heart was full. While she was riding in the carriage, sitting next to her father, and gazing thoughtfully at the lights of the lanterns flickering in the frozen window, she felt even more in love and sadder and forgot with whom and where she was going. Having fallen into a line of carriages, the Rostovs' carriage, slowly screeching through the snow, drove up to the theater. Natasha and Sonya hurriedly jumped out, picking up dresses; the count came out, supported by lackeys, and between the ladies and men entering and selling posters, all three went into the corridor of the benoir. The sounds of music could be heard from behind the closed doors.
- Nathalie, vos cheveux, [Natalie, your hair,] - whispered Sonya. The chaplain politely and hurriedly slipped in front of the ladies and opened the door of the box. The music became louder heard at the door, the illuminated rows of boxes with the bare shoulders and arms of the ladies, and the parterre noisy and shiny with uniforms, flashed. The lady, entering the neighboring bin, looked around Natasha with a feminine, envious look. The curtain had not yet risen and the overture was being played. Natasha, straightening her dress, walked along with Sonya and sat down, looking around the illuminated rows of opposite boxes. She had not experienced for a long time the feeling that hundreds of eyes were looking at her bare arms and neck, suddenly and pleasantly and unpleasantly seized her, causing a whole swarm of memories, desires and worries corresponding to this sensation.
Two remarkably pretty girls, Natasha and Sonya, with Count Ilya Andreich, who had not been seen in Moscow for a long time, attracted everyone's attention. In addition, everyone knew vaguely about Natasha's conspiracy with Prince Andrei, knew that since then the Rostovs had lived in the village, and looked with curiosity at the bride of one of the best grooms in Russia.
Natasha grew prettier in the village, as everyone told her, and this evening, thanks to her agitated state, she was especially good. She struck with the fullness of life and beauty, combined with indifference to everything around. Her black eyes looked at the crowd, looking for no one, and a thin, bare arm above the elbow, leaning on a velvet ramp, obviously unconsciously, in time with the overture, clenched and unclenched, crumpling the poster.
“Look, here is Alenina,” Sonya said, “it seems with her mother!”
- Fathers! Mikhail Kirilych has grown even fatter,” said the old count.
– Look! Anna Mikhailovna is our current!
- The Karagins, Julie and Boris are with them. Now you can see the bride and groom. - Drubetskoy made an offer!
- How, now I found out, - said Shinshin, who was a member of the Rostovs' box.
Natasha looked in the direction in which her father was looking, and saw Julie, who, with pearls on her thick red neck (Natasha knew, sprinkled with powder), was sitting with a happy look, next to her mother.
Behind them with a smile, tilted ear to Julie's mouth, one could see the smoothly combed, beautiful head of Boris. He looked frowningly at the Rostovs and smilingly said something to his bride.
“They are talking about us, about me and him!” thought Natasha. “And he truly calms the jealousy of his bride for me: they worry in vain! If only they knew how I don't care about any of them."
At the back sat Anna Mikhaylovna, dressed in a green dress, with a devoted to the will of God and a happy, festive face. In their box there was that atmosphere - the bride and groom, whom Natasha knew and loved so much. She turned away and suddenly everything that was humiliating in her morning visit came to her mind.
“What right does he have to not want to accept me into his kinship? Oh, better not think about it, not think about it until he arrives!” she said to herself and began to look at the familiar and unfamiliar faces in the stalls. In front of the stalls, in the very middle, leaning back against the ramp, stood Dolokhov with a huge shock of curly hair combed up, in a Persian costume. He stood in the very sight of the theatre, knowing that he drew the attention of the whole hall to himself, as freely as if he were standing in his room. The most brilliant youth of Moscow crowded around him, and he apparently excelled among them.
Count Ilya Andreich, laughing, nudged the blushing Sonya, pointing out to her former admirer.
- Did you know? - he asked. “And where did he come from,” the count turned to Shinshin, “because he disappeared somewhere?”
- Disappeared, - answered Shinshin. - He was in the Caucasus, and there he fled, and, they say, he was a minister in Persia for some sovereign prince, he killed the Shakhov’s brother there: well, all the Moscow ladies go crazy! Dolochoff le Persan, [Persian Dolokhov,] and that's it. We now have no word without Dolokhov: they swear by him, they call him like a sterlet, - said Shinshin. - Dolokhov, yes Kuragin Anatole - all of our ladies were driven crazy.
A tall, beautiful lady with a huge plait and very bare, white, full shoulders and neck, on which there was a double string of large pearls, entered the neighboring benoir, and sat down for a long time, rustling her thick silk dress.
Natasha involuntarily peered into this neck, shoulders, pearls, hairstyle and admired the beauty of the shoulders and pearls. While Natasha was already peering at her for the second time, the lady looked around and, meeting her eyes with Count Ilya Andreich, nodded her head and smiled at him. It was Countess Bezukhova, Pierre's wife. Ilya Andreich, who knew everyone in the world, leaned over and spoke to her.
“Long time ago, Countess?” he spoke. - I'll come, I'll come, I'll kiss your hand. But I came here on business and brought my girls with me. They say Semyonova plays incomparably,” said Ilya Andreevich. - Count Pyotr Kirillovich never forgot us. He is here?
“Yes, he wanted to come in,” Helen said and looked at Natasha carefully.
Count Ilya Andreich again sat down in his place.
- Is it good? he whispered to Natasha.

Each civilization has its own symbols, which are considered integral parts of the people, their culture and history. The Sphinx of Ancient Egypt is an immortal proof of the power, strength and greatness of the country, a silent reminder of the divine origin of its rulers, who have sunk into centuries, but left an image of eternal life on earth. The national symbol of Egypt is considered one of the greatest architectural monuments of the past, which still inspires involuntary fear with its impressiveness, a halo of secrets, mystical legends and centuries of history.

Monument in numbers

The Egyptian Sphinx is known to everyone and every inhabitant on earth. The monument is carved from a monolithic rock, has the body of a lion and the head of a man (according to some sources - a pharaoh). The length of the statue is 73 m, height - 20 m. The symbol of the power of royal power is located on the Giza plateau on the western coast of the Nile River and is surrounded by a wide and rather deep moat. The thoughtful gaze of the Sphinx is directed to the east, towards that point in the heavens where the Sun rises. The monument has been covered with sand many times and has been restored more than once. The statue was completely cleared of sand only in 1925, striking the imagination of the inhabitants of the planet with its scale and size.

History of the sculpture: facts against legends

In Egypt, the Sphinx is considered the most mysterious and mystical monument. His story has attracted great interest and special attention of historians, writers, directors and researchers for many years. Everyone who has had a chance to touch the eternity that the statue represents offers their own version of its origin. The locals call the stone attraction the “father of horror” because the Sphinx is the keeper of many mysterious legends and a favorite place for tourists who love mysteries and fantasy. According to researchers, the history of the Sphinx has more than 13 centuries. Presumably, it was built in order to record the astronomical phenomenon - the reunion of the three planets.

origin myth

Until now, there is no reliable information about what this statue symbolizes, why it was built and when. The lack of history is replaced by legends that are passed from mouth to mouth and told to tourists. The fact that the Sphinx is the oldest and largest monument in Egypt gives rise to mysterious and ridiculous stories about it. There is an assumption that the statue guards the tombstones of the greatest pharaohs - the pyramids of Cheops, Mykerin and Khafre. Another legend says that the stone statue symbolizes the personality of the pharaoh Khafre, the third - that it is a statue of the god Horus (god of heaven, half-man, half-falcon), watching the ascent of his father - the Sun God Ra.

legends

In ancient Greek mythology, the Sphinx is mentioned as an ugly monster. According to the Greeks, the legends of Ancient Egypt about this monster sound like this: a creature with a lion's body and a human head gave birth to Echidna and Typhon (a half-snake woman and a giant with a hundred dragon heads). It had the face and chest of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird. The monster lived not far from Thebes, lay in wait for people and asked them a strange question: “Which of the living beings moves to four legs, during the day for two, and in the evening for three? None of the wanderers trembling with fear could give the Sphinx an intelligible answer. After which the monster sentenced them to death. However, the day came when the wise Oedipus was able to solve his riddle. “This is a man in childhood, maturity and old age,” he replied. After that, the crushed monster rushed from the top of the mountain and crashed against the rocks.

According to the second version of the legend, in Egypt the Sphinx was once God. One day, the heavenly ruler fell into an insidious trap of the sands, called the "cell of oblivion", and fell asleep in it with eternal sleep.

Real facts

Despite the mysterious undertones of the legends, real story no less mystical and mysterious. According to the initial opinion of scientists, the Sphinx was built at the same time as the pyramids. However, in the ancient papyri, from which information about the building of the pyramids was obtained, there is not a single mention of a stone statue. The names of architects and builders who created the grandiose tombs for the pharaohs are known, but the name of the person who gave the world the Egyptian Sphinx is still unknown.

True, a few centuries after the creation of the pyramids, the first facts about the statue appear. The Egyptians call her "shepes ankh" - "a living image." Scientists could not give the world any more information and scientific explanation of these words.

But at the same time, the cult image of the mysterious Sphinx - a winged monster maiden - is mentioned in Greek mythology, numerous fairy tales and legends. The hero of these tales, depending on the author, periodically changes his appearance, appearing in some versions as a half-man, half-lion, and in others as a winged lioness.

The story of the Sphinx

Another puzzle for scientists was the chronicle of Herodotus, who in 445 BC. described in great detail the process of building the pyramids. He told the world interesting stories about how the structures were erected, for how long and how many slaves were involved in their construction. The narration of the "father of history" touched even such nuances as the food of the slaves. But, oddly enough, Herodotus never mentioned the stone Sphinx in his work. In none of the subsequent records, the fact of the erection of the monument was also found.

He helped scientists shed light on the work of the Roman writer Pliny the Elder "Natural History". In his notes, he talks about the next cleansing of the monument from sand. Based on this, it becomes clear why Herodotus did not leave the description of the Sphinx to the world - the monument at that time was buried under a layer of sand drifts. So how many times has he been trapped in the sand?

The first "restoration"

Judging by the inscription left on the stone stele between the monster's paws, Pharaoh Thutmose I spent a year freeing the monument. Ancient writings tell that, being a prince, Thutmose fell asleep at the foot of the Sphinx and had a dream in which the god Harmakis appeared to him. He predicted the prince's ascension to the throne of Egypt and ordered the statue to be released from the sand trap. After some time, Thutmose successfully became pharaoh and remembered the promise given to the deity. He ordered not only to dig up the giant, but also to restore it. Thus, the first revival of the legend of Egypt took place in the 15th century. BC. It was then that the world learned about the grandiose construction and the unique cult monument of Egypt.

It is known for certain that after the revival of the Sphinx by Pharaoh Thutmose, it was once again dug up during the reign of the Ptolemaic dynasty, under the Roman emperors who captured Ancient Egypt, and the Arab rulers. In our time, it was again freed from the sands in 1925. Until now, the statue has to be cleaned after sandstorms, as it is an important tourist attraction.

Why is the monument missing a nose?

Despite the antiquity of the sculpture, it has practically survived in its original form, embodying the Sphinx. Egypt (the photo of the monument is presented above) managed to preserve its architectural masterpiece, but failed to protect it from the barbarism of people. The statue does not have this moment nose. Scientists suggest that one of the pharaohs, for reasons unknown to science, ordered to beat off the nose of the statue. According to other sources, the monument was damaged by Napoleon's army, firing a cannon at his face. The British, on the other hand, chopped off the beard of the monster and sent it to their museum.

However, in the later records of the historian Al-Maqrizi from 1378, it is said that the stone statue no longer had a nose. According to him, one of the Arabs, wanting to atone for religious sins (the Koran forbade the depiction of human faces), chipped off the giant's nose. In response to such a crime and abuse of the Sphinx, the sands began to take revenge on people, advancing on the lands of Giza.

As a result, scientists came to the conclusion that in Egypt the Sphinx lost its nose as a result of strong winds and floods. Although this assumption has not yet found real confirmation.

The Stunning Secrets of the Sphinx

In 1988, as a result of exposure to caustic factory smoke, a decent part of a stone block (350 kg) broke off from the monument. UNESCO, concerned about the appearance and condition of the tourist and cultural site, resumed repairs, thereby paving the way for new research. As a result of a thorough study of the stone blocks of the pyramid of Cheops and the Sphinx by Japanese archaeologists, a hypothesis was put forward that the monument was built much earlier than the great tomb of the pharaoh. The conclusion was a stunning discovery for historians, who assumed that the pyramid, the Sphinx, and other funerary structures were contemporaries. The second, no less surprising discovery was a long narrow tunnel discovered under the left paw of a predator, connected to the pyramid of Cheops.

After Japanese archaeologists, hydrologists took up the most ancient monument. They found traces of erosion on his body from a large water stream that moved from north to south. After a series of studies, hydrologists came to the conclusion that the stone lion was a silent witness to the flood of the Nile - a biblical catastrophe that occurred about 8-12 thousand years ago. American researcher John Anthony West explained the traces of water erosion on the body of a lion and their absence on the head as evidence that the Sphinx existed during the Ice Age and dates back to any period before 15 thousand BC. e. According to French archaeologists, the history of Ancient Egypt can boast of the oldest monument that existed even at the time of the death of Atlantis.

Thus, the stone statue tells us about the existence of the greatest civilization, which managed to erect such a majestic structure, which became the immortal image of the Past.

The admiration of the ancient Egyptians before the Sphinx

The pharaohs of Egypt regularly made pilgrimages to the foot of the giant, which symbolized the great past of their country. They made sacrifices on the altar, which was between his paws, burned incense, receiving from the giant a silent blessing on the kingdom and throne. The Sphinx was for them not only the incarnation of the sun god, but also a sacred image that gave them hereditary and legitimate power from their ancestors. He personified powerful Egypt, the history of the country was reflected in its majestic form, embodying each image of the new pharaoh and turning modernity into a component of eternity. Ancient writings glorified the Sphinx as a great creator god. His image reunited the past, present and future.

Astronomical explanation of the stone statue

According to the official version, the Sphinx would have been built in 2500 BC. e. by order of Pharaoh Khafre during the reign of the Fourth Ruling Dynasty of Pharaohs. A huge lion is located among other majestic structures on the stone plateau of Giza - the three pyramids.

Astronomical studies have shown that the location of the statue was chosen not by blind intuition, but in accordance with the point of intersection of the path of heavenly bodies. It served as the equatorial point, indicating the exact location on the horizon of the place of sunrise on the day of the vernal equinox. According to astronomers, the Sphinx was built 10.5 thousand years ago.

It is noteworthy that the pyramids of Giza are located on the earth in exactly the same order as the three stars in the sky in that year. According to legend, the Sphinx and the pyramids fixed the position of the stars, the astronomical time, which was called the first. Since Orion was the heavenly personification of the ruler at that time, man-made structures were built to depict the stars of his belt in order to perpetuate and fix the time of his power.

The Great Sphinx as a tourist attraction

Currently, a giant lion with a human head attracts millions of tourists eager to see the legendary, shrouded in darkness centuries of history and many mystical legends stone sculpture. The interest of all mankind in it is due to the fact that the secret of the creation of the statue remained undisclosed, buried under the sands. It is hard to imagine how many secrets the Sphinx keeps in itself. Egypt (photos of the monument and the pyramids can be seen on any tourist portal) can be proud of its great history, outstanding people, grandiose monuments, the truth about which their creators took with them to the kingdom of Anubis - the god of death.

Great and impressive is the huge stone Sphinx, whose history has remained unsolved and full of secrets. Still, the calm gaze of the statue is directed into the distance, and its appearance is still imperturbable. How many centuries has he been a silent witness of human suffering, the vanity of rulers, the sorrows and misfortunes that befell the Egyptian land? How many secrets does the Great Sphinx keep in itself? Unfortunately, all these questions have not been answered for many years.

The Sphinx is the largest statue in Egypt. The Great Sphinx in Egypt is a monolithic limestone sculpture. It was not built from bricks of a certain shape and size, but was hewn from one monolithic stone of the Giza plateau: later, the lower part of the sphinx was covered with stones to protect it from destruction. If we take the Egyptian civilization, then the Sphinx is the personification of the power and authority of the pharaoh (man - god) on earth.

The statue represents the body of a lion with the head of a man (pharaoh) and is over 70 m long and 20 m high. Temple of the Sphinx whose ruins can still be seen today. It is assumed that this is the Temple of the Sun, because. it has 2 sanctuaries and 24 columns symmetrically to each other (an analogy to 24 hours a day). During the spring and autumn equinoxes, the sun formed a straight line between the eastern and western sanctuaries. Then it passed over the shoulder of the sphinx statue and stretched to the southern corner of the Second Pyramid of Giza (Khafru) - where the sun was setting. These assumptions allow scientists to put forward the theory that the Second Pyramid of Giza, the Sphinx and the Temple of the Sphinx were built under pharaoh Khafre(Chephren) in 2575-2465 BC and it is his face that is depicted on the Sphinx.

Another theory refutes the fact that the face of the Sphinx is the face of Pharaoh Khafre (Khafru). To this end, detailed work has been comparison of the Face of the Great Sphinx of Giza and the statue of Pharaoh Khafre from the museum in Cairo. Though appearance The sphinx suffered from time (missing nose), a discrepancy was clearly identified. Moreover, the study of the facial features of the statue of the Sphinx led to the conclusion that the face belongs to the African race. And this leads to another theory that before this place became a desert, northern Africa was inhabited by the Zulu people. Perhaps the face of the sphinx is indeed the face of a black African king or queen?! This theory is also confirmed by the fact of water erosion, which washed away soft limestone rocks over many millennia, destroying the original smooth surface of the famous statue. And such climatic conditions were in Egypt long before the pharaohs and ancient civilization Egypt, around 9000 B.C. BC (36 thousand years BC).

There is another theory according to which Egypt is the custodian of the knowledge of the great civilization of Atlantis. According to this theory, in the middle of the 11th millennium BC. (36 thousand years BC) a huge Cache of Lost Atlantis. And the entrance to it is at the right front paw of the Sphinx. This is mentioned in the prophecies of Edgar Cayce, as well as when scanning the indicated area by Japanese scientists: voids were found. Perhaps soon we are waiting for discoveries that will turn the idea of history upside down.

First sphinx restoration was in the era of the new kingdom (1500 BC). At this time, the statue was sunk in the sand up to the neck. Thutmose IV ordered to erect two brick walls, reaching 8 meters in height, so that they protected the sphinx from the sand of the desert. The sculpture was dug up, reinforced with stones and painted in red, blue and yellow colors. Between the paws, a statue of Thutmose was installed on a granite stele, on which inscriptions were left. However, wind, sand and time again drowned the monumental historical monument in the sand, and the result of the next excavation, which has survived to this day, was completed only in 1925.

Sphinx - the keeper of the Tombs of the Pharaohs and their secrets. The three majestic pyramids of Cheops, Khafre and Menkaure are part of the vast Giza necropolis. Every day, late at night, a grandiose performance takes place on the Giza plateau - an exciting light and music show, where the beams of a searchlight snatch out monuments of an ancient civilization from the darkness, and all this spectacle accompanies a story about each of them.

Great Sphinx (Egypt) - description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Reviews of tourists, photos and videos.

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One of the most ancient sculptures in the world, without a doubt, can be called the statue of the Sphinx. In addition, it is also one of the most mysterious sculptures, because the secret of the Sphinx has not yet been fully solved. The Sphinx is a creature with a woman's head, the paws and body of a lion, the wings of an eagle and the tail of a bull. One of the largest images of the Sphinx is located on the west bank of the Nile, next to the Egyptian pyramids at Giza.

Almost everything related to Egyptian Sphinx, is controversial among scholars. The exact date of origin of this sculpture is still unknown, and it is completely incomprehensible why the statue has no nose now.

The statue, made of limestone, looks monumental and majestic. It is worth noting its impressive dimensions: length - 73 meters, height - 20 meters. The Sphinx looks at the Nile and the rising sun.

Almost everything related to the Sphinx causes controversy among scientists. The exact date of origin of this sculpture is still unknown, and it is completely incomprehensible why the statue has no nose now. The meaning of the word is also unknown: in Greek, “sphinx” means “strangler”, but what the ancient Egyptians put into this name remains a mystery.

It was customary to portray the Egyptian pharaohs as a formidable lion that would not spare a single enemy. That is why it is believed that the Sphinx guards the rest of the buried pharaohs. The author of the sculpture is unknown, but many researchers believe that it is Khafre. Admittedly, this argument is highly controversial. Proponents of the theory refer to the fact that the stones of the sculpture and the pyramid of Khafre located nearby are the same in size. In addition, an image of this pharaoh was found not far from the statue.

Interestingly, the Sphinx does not have a nose. Of course, once this detail existed, but the reason for its disappearance is still unknown. Perhaps the nose was lost during the battle between Napoleon's troops and the Turks on the territory of the pyramids in 1798. But, according to the Danish traveler Norden, the Sphinx looked like this already in 1737. There is a version that back in the 14th century, some religious fanatic mutilated the sculpture in order to fulfill the covenant of Muhammad to ban the image of a human face.

The Sphinx is missing not only a nose, but also a false ceremonial beard. Her story also causes controversy among scientists. Some believe that the beard was made much later than the sculpture itself. Others believe that the beard was made at the same time as the head and that the ancient Egyptians simply did not have the technical capabilities for the subsequent installation of parts.

The destruction of the sculpture and its subsequent restoration helped scientists find Interesting Facts. So, for example, Japanese archaeologists came to the conclusion that the Sphinx was built before the pyramids. In addition, they found a tunnel under the left paw of the statue, leading towards the pyramid of Khafre. It is interesting that for the first time Soviet researchers mentioned this tunnel.

For a long time, the mysterious sculpture was under a thick layer of sand. The first attempts to dig up the Sphinx were made in antiquity by Thutmose IV and Ramses II. True, they did not achieve much success. Only in 1817, the Sphinx was freed from its chest, and after more than 100 years, the statue was completely unearthed.

Address: Nazlet El-Semman, Al Haram, Giza