Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx. Whoever built the Sphinx, he ran away from him headlong after the construction was completed. Astronomical explanation of the stone statue

Let's try to understand the purpose of its creation and the methods of its construction. Find out what they say 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

The Sphinx in Egypt is the most grandiose surviving sculpture of antiquity. The body length 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 (Chefren) and Menkaur (Micerin) about 10 km from Cairo, on west bank 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 mysterious monster already without a nose, as the drawings of the 18th century 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.

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.

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 at the initial stage of work, instead of benefit, only additional damage was caused. The cement used for the renovation was later found to be incompatible with the limestone. For 6 years, more than 2000 limestone blocks were added to the structure, chemical treatment was carried out, but ... this did not bring a positive result.

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

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

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

The famous English journalist Paul Brunton spent a lot of time traveling in Eastern countries, lived with monks and mystics, studied the history and religion of 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.

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. e .. This date is, for obvious reasons, disputed by Egyptologists, since not a single archaeological artifact, dated to these years, was not 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 on 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 received. The mystery of the underground rooms has not yet been solved.

The Sphinx in Egypt continues to excite inquisitive minds. There are many speculations and assumptions around the ancient monument on our planet. Will we ever know who and why left this mark on Earth?

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Let's study the statue of the Sphinx in more detail and figure out what is in ancient building that it haunts millions of people studying this issue? Where is it located, who built and how did the monument of architecture appear?

This article is intended for persons over 18 years of age.

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The Sphinx is one of the most famous and at the same time, completely unexplored structure of mankind. Some sources say that it is the Sphinx that guards the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs, while others believe that it appeared long before the appearance of those same tombs. Entire cults have been created that confidently assert that the Sphinx is alive and exalt it to the rank of God.

Egypt is a country that is very spoiled by tourists who want to solve the mysteries that they hide in themselves: the mystery of the pyramid, interesting facts about and the meaning of the statues.

The most visited place is directly the statue of the Sphinx. Great Sphinx- this is the biggest and unsolved mystery of ancient Egypt. The Sphinx statue is located in the Giza Valley, which is on the west bank of the Nile River in Egypt. Information about who nevertheless created it is unknown to this day. Also, the Sphinx was awarded the title of the most ancient statue of the planet, which has not been destroyed so far. Speaking about its size, its length reaches 72 meters, and its height is not less than 20 meters. What is worth only his head! After all, the face of the Sphinx is 5 meters long, but its nose was about the size of an average person.

Therefore, in order for a tourist to be able to capture all the majesty of this statue in a photo, he must have a powerful lens, since it will be quite problematic to do this on a smartphone. Also, it is hard not to notice that between the paws there is a stele, which was erected by Pharaoh Thutmose IV. Around the Sphinx there is a ditch, the depth of which is 2.5 m, and the width is 5.5 m. Near the statues there are at least famous pyramids, which are the tombs of famous Egyptian pharaohs: Cheops, Mykern, and also Hebren.

Legend of the Sphinx in Egypt

If earlier the great Sphinx instilled an unknown sacred horror in people, now it is nothing more than a sculpture that is simply located above the pit, and not, as in ancient times, a head sticking out of the sand, which looks like a lion and a man at the same time. It is hard to believe, but judging by the archaeological excavations and studies, it was found out that the construction of such hollow sphinxes was conceived as a place for the execution of people. After all, from the Greek language, the word "sphinga" is nothing more than "strangle". Perhaps among those who suffered a painful death inside such statues were those who built them.

History of the creation of the Sphinx in Egypt

Alas, although it is believed that the statue has been preserved almost perfectly, the flaws are still visible to the naked eye. This, of course, is a natural state, for a statue whose age is millennia, because the exact time of creation is not known. In its original form, there was a headdress on the head, which accurately imitated a cobra, which allegedly rose to the face. Unfortunately, the board that fell on the shoulders was also broken off. There are also residual fragmentation phenomena of the ceremonial beard. Her remains can most likely be seen in museums in Great Britain, and a copy was also found in the Cairo Museum. But who beat off the nose is not exactly known, but there is an assumption that this could be done according to the will of Muhammad by his heirs. The covenant talked about the fact that it was impossible to depict a person's face in statues, and it was ordered to knock down the nose of the Sphinx so that its appearance was less human-like.

The history of origin goes back to the distant past, and it is difficult to say how many years ago this sculpture was erected. It is also ambiguous how the sculpture was built, which pyramid it guards, and who created it? There is an assumption that the Sphinx is dedicated to the great Nile, and also heavenly body The sun, because it is not for nothing that his head is directed towards the east. Also, it is symbolic that the head is made in the likeness of a lion, and as you know, the lion has always been considered the incarnation of God, and he was depicted for reprisals against enemies. But there is a myth that the sculpture was conceived - as a guard, and maybe even a keeper for the deceased great pharaohs.

Unfortunately, with the naked eye it is clearly visible how much the Sphinx suffered both from the passage of time and from the worst enemy of historical sculptures - man. But the greatest damage is caused by constant sandstorms that blow with gusty winds from the north. Not so long ago, another destruction occurred - a piece of sculpture was chipped off, the weight of which was about 350 kg. And now just imagine for a second how much the entire Sphinx weighs, if there was an opportunity, check it out.

But if, nevertheless, the desire to see an improved copy of the greatest Sphinx does not leave you, then visit China. And in what city to look for and what is it made of, you ask? Go to the outskirts of Shijiazhuang and you can enjoy what a copy of the great Sphinx looks like. Thanks to the ingenuity and diligence of the Chinese, you can easily see what is inside the statue, as well as what is under it.

Pyramids and Sphinx

We have already said that there are three pyramids near the Sphinx sculpture. So is the Great Sphinx connected with the pyramid of Cheops? Many scientists argue that such a connection is possible, since the pyramid of Cheops is also one of the oldest sights that has survived to this day. Its dimensions are no less impressive than the Sphinx itself. They say that the original height of the pyramid of Cheops was as much as 146.7 meters. But alas, over time, its upper part disappeared, and the height of the pyramid has already become a little less, namely, 137.3 meters. And it was this height that was enough until 1880 to consider this pyramid the tallest building in the world, but technological progress did not stand still and works of art began to appear that could surpass the pyramid of Cheops.

What is under the Sphinx

Continuing to say that the study of the Sphinx continues even now, it would be appropriate to mention the fact that back in 1990 a council of specialists was created. They were concerned about the fact that parts of the sculpture began to fall off, and this has already caused concern to UNESCO. Therefore, it was decided to create a field laboratory, in which, with the help of analyzers and super-powerful computers, they began to conduct research. Ultrasonic testing was also carried out. The head of the Sphinx was scanned and very dangerous cracks were found that could lead to the destruction of world heritage. The experts of the council concluded that for the partial restoration it was necessary to allocate about hundreds of millions of dollars and the obligatory condition was that the entire structure should be covered with a plastic sarcophagus and tourists should be banned from visiting. After all, they say that in just one 20th century more damage was done than in all 4000 years before.

But, as expected, the results of the consultation did not arouse support from the sponsors and the money was not obtained. Therefore, the council went home, and the Egyptians themselves began to reconstruct the great Sphinx on their own. Synthetic compounds were used to strengthen the pedestal. It was also requested from the UK government to return Museum exhibit- a beard so that they can begin to strengthen the main part - the head! And this is not a lot, not a little - 900 tons.

After the reconstruction began, there was even greater genuine interest among tourists. Namely, will they be able to restore the most ancient sculpture of mankind, to its original form? And most importantly, when will it be open to the public again?

The general plan allocated ten years for restoration, but as you know, investing in the deadlines, with a reconstruction of such a scale, is quite problematic. Financing sponsored even travel companies, so that their tourists can visit these attractions as soon as possible. Foreign geologists and hydrologists were invited, because the problem of brackish subsoil waters arose. And the work began to boil new force and energy.

Soon, Japanese experts also began to study, and it was the scientists of the Tokyo Institute who concluded that the stones from which the sculpture of the Sphinx was made are much older than the stones of the pyramids. This meant not a specific geological age, but the time during which the processing of the stone that made up the sights took place.

There are a lot of mysteries, but not all are solved! Therefore, do not forget to include a visit to the pyramids and the great Sphinx in the list of excursions when you are in Egypt.

pyramids

Great Sphinx and Egyptian pyramids. The Pyramid of Cheops

The Great Sphinx of Giza, which the Arabs coined the name Abu Hol, or "Father of Terror", is a world famous monument carved from a monolithic rock. It not only amazed travelers of different times, but also impressed fans of science fiction and archeology, who consider this building the product of an ultra-ancient civilization that disappeared thousands of years before the construction of the pyramids and left no other traces.

Sphinx - a statue 57 m long and 20 m high, face width 4.1 m, face height 5 m - depicts a pharaoh who combines the power of man, god and lion. At the same time, the Sphinx is considered the head of the guard of the necropolis, he was identified with the god Horus. In fact, although there is a certain air of mystery surrounding this monument, the Sphinx does not carry a secret or a key to lost knowledge. lost civilization. It is carved from a mountain ledge, consisting of the material of three formations, one of which - marl limestone, which forms the basis of the Giza plateau, was subjected to wind erosion and took on the approximate contours of a future sculpture before a person touched it.
Egyptian Sphinx

A thousand years after its creation in 1550-1397. BC. The Sphinx was buried under the sands of the desert. On the stele, located between the front paws of the Sphinx, a story is carved. It described how the young prince Thutmose, who hunted here, fell asleep in the shade of a stone body. In a dream, the Sphinx appeared to him in the form of Horus and predicted the future accession to the throne to the prince and asked him to free him from the sand. When Thutmose, a few years later, was on the throne under the name of Pharaoh Thutmose IV, he remembered his dream and carried out the first restoration. Apart from natural erosion, the most serious harm was caused to the Sphinx by the Mamluks, who beat off his nose with a shot from a cannon (Muslims were extremely negative about the image of a person). The statue was finally cleared of sand in the mid-1920s.
Egyptian pyramids

"Business card"Egypt - pyramids. There are about a hundred pyramids here - large and small, stepped and with smooth sides, which have come down to us almost unchanged and look more like a shapeless pile of stones. They are located along the left, western bank of the Nile in small groups, not far from that place , where in the era ancient kingdom was the capital of the country - Memphis. The most famous of the pyramids are on the outskirts of Cairo, on the edge of the desert plateau of Giza, hanging over the green valley of the Nile. Here, in Giza, there are three great pyramids - Cheops, Khafre and Mykerin.

Even in ancient times, the pyramids of Giza were considered one of the seven "wonders of the world." But even today they are able to hit anyone. The largest of them is the pyramid of Cheops, the second pharaoh of the IV dynasty. This pyramid is still the largest architectural creation of human hands. At the base, it is a square with a side of 227.5 meters. The height during construction is 146.6 meters, and now the pyramid is 9 meters lower: the upper stones fell during earthquakes. The construction of the pyramid (and it was completed around 2590 BC) took 2.3 million stone blocks weighing two and a half tons each. The total volume of the pyramid is 2.34 million cubic meters. The faces of the pyramid are oriented to the cardinal points, and their angle of inclination to the base is 51o52 ". The entrance is on the north side. Separate blocks, according to the Arab historian Abdel Latif (XII century), fit so precisely to each other that it is impossible to slip between them blade of knife.

On south side The pyramid is a structure shaped like a ship. This is the so-called Solar Boat - one of the five on which Cheops was supposed to go to the other world. In 1954, a boat 43.6 m long, disassembled into 1224 parts, was discovered during excavations. It was built of cedar without a single nail and, as evidenced by traces of silt preserved on it, before the death of Cheops, it was still floating on the Nile.

The second largest pyramid of Giza belongs to the pharaoh Khafre. It was built 40 years later than the first one. Sometimes it seems that the pyramid of Khafre is even larger than that of Cheops. In fact, it is slightly smaller. The side of the square base of the Khafre pyramid is 215 meters. Height - 136 meters. However, in ancient times, like the pyramid of Cheops, it was 9 meters higher. The angle of inclination is sharper than that of the first pyramid: 53o8". Here, the entire complex of structures is more clearly visible, consisting of a temple in the valley, a road, a temple of the dead and the pyramid itself. The lower temple, in which 25 statues of pharaohs once stood, is known for that here, on the threshold of the kingdom of the dead, Khafre was mummified.

Other Egyptian pyramids. great pyramids

The pyramid of Menkaure completes the ensemble of the great pyramids of Giza. Its construction was completed in 2505 BC. This pyramid is much smaller than its predecessors. The side of the base is 108 meters, the original height is 66.5 meters (today - 62 m), the angle of inclination is 51o. The only burial chamber of the pyramid is carved into its rocky base. The Pyramid of Menkaure emphasizes the greatness of the pyramids of Cheops and Khafre. The latter are not difficult to distinguish from each other: at the pyramid of Khafre, near the top, a white basalt lining is partially preserved.

The Great Pyramids are part of the vast Giza necropolis. Next to them are several small pyramids, where the wives of the pharaohs, the tombs of priests and high officials are buried. At the foot of the Giza plateau are the funerary temples and the Great Sphinx.

Each of the great pyramids also had a triune complex: the lower funerary temple - the road - the upper funerary temple. But this complex has been preserved in a more or less complete form only at the pyramid of Khafre. The stone-paved road from the lower temple, where embalming was carried out, to the upper one, where they said goodbye to the pharaoh before burial, stretched for more than half a kilometer. Near the lower granite temple, devoid of a roof, lie the ruins of the temple of the Sphinx. And behind them, the ancient guardian of the pyramids, the Great Sphinx, turned his gaze to the east. The Sphinx, a resting lion with a human head (Mamluk soldiers shot off its nose), is the largest monolithic sculpture. Its length is 73 meters, height - 20 meters. It is believed that the sphinx was carved during the construction of the Khafre pyramid, and its face bears the features of this pharaoh.

Other Egyptian pyramids and the Sphinx

There are no convincing explanations why the son of Snefru Khufu (Cheops in Greek transcription) chose the Giza plateau for the construction of his pyramid, and not Dashur. We will tell about the Great Pyramid of Cheops separately, but for now we will consider the complex itself as a whole.

The desert, rocky plateau of Giza has a flat shape, with a slight slope from west to east for 2 kilometers and from north to south - 1.3 kilometers and is now almost swallowed up by Cairo. The complex located on it consists three big pyramids, a sphinx, and several small pyramids, temples, tombs of priests and officials. It is noteworthy that all sides of the Pyramids are almost exactly oriented to the magnetic poles (deviation is only 3 degrees).

Today the Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu) consists of 203 rows of masonry, has a height of 138 m (originally 146.6 meters). The facing on the Pyramid of Cheops has not been preserved, the top has been cut off.

At a distance of about 160 meters from the pyramid of Cheops, the pyramid of Khafre (Khafra) rises, the height of which is 136.6 meters (previously 143.5), and the length of the sides is 210.5 meters. Visually, the pyramid of Khafre, which has retained 22 rows of facing, seems to be higher than the pyramid of Cheops. The effect is achieved due to the fact that its base is at a higher level. In general, from those points to which tourists are taken (including the show of the Pyramids), the Khafre pyramid seems to be the center of the entire ensemble, although this is my personal point of view.
Pyramid of Khafre

The internal structure of Khafre's pyramid is relatively simple. Two chambers and two entrances to north side, one is approximately at a height of 15 meters, the other is below it, at the level of the base. Now people get inside the pyramid from the upper entrance along the corridor, which levels out under the very base and leads to the burial chamber. The corridor leading from the lower entrance first descends to a depth of ten meters, and after a small even segment rises again and leads to the upper corridor; on the side it has a branch to a small chamber, which remained unfinished. The burial chamber is located approximately on the axis of the pyramid, it is extended from east to west by 14.2 meters, from north to south - by 5 meters, its height is 6.8 meters. The chamber is carved into the rock, only the vaulted ceiling goes into the stone mass of the pyramid. This chamber still contains an empty sarcophagus with a broken lid, discovered by Belzoni in 1818; the sarcophagus was made of finely polished granite. There are no more chambers and shafts in the pyramid, the Belzoni tunnel is also already covered with sand. This pyramid is the most compact building in the world: with a volume of limestone blocks of 1629200 cubic meters, the free space in it is less than 0.01%.

On the eastern side of the pyramid of Khafre, on the continuation of its axis, there is an upper mortuary temple, which has the shape of an elongated rectangle in plan, occupying an area of ​​112 x 50 m. Its rear wall adjoins the wall surrounding the pyramid. We are dealing here with the established type of the mortuary temple of the era of the Old Kingdom, consisting of two main parts - the first, accessible to believers and the second, where only the elect were allowed.

The ramp connecting the upper temple with the lower one, with a level difference of more than 45 m, had a length of 494 m and a width of 4.5 m. Partially carved into the rock, it was lined inside with limestone slabs and outside with granite. Originally it was apparently a covered corridor, illuminated through holes in the ceiling. It is also possible that its inner walls were once decorated with reliefs.

One of the most magnificent and well-preserved monumental structures of the Old Kingdom is the lower temple of Khafre. This temple, which has the shape of a square with a side of 4.5 m, is built from large blocks of granite. Its walls are slightly sloping, and in this regard, it gives the impression of a huge mastaba, especially from the facade. In front of the temple was a pier, where boats sailing along the canal from the Nile were docked. Two entrances to the temple were guarded, apparently, by four sphinxes carved from granite. In the middle of the temple was placed something like a platform, where perhaps there was a statue of the pharaoh. Narrow corridors branched off from both entrances, leading to the hypos with sixteen monolithic granite pillars. In this hall, shaped like an inverted T, stood twenty-three statues of a seated pharaoh, made of alabaster, slate, and diorite. This hall, now uncovered, was originally illuminated by small holes in the ceiling, through which light passed, falling separately on each statue.
Pyramid of Menkaure

The Pyramid of Menkaure (Menkaur), the smallest, is located 200 meters from the Pyramid of Khafre. Its height is 62 meters, and the length of the sides is 108.4 meters. Initially, it was 4 meters higher, but retained the length of the sides, because sand deposits protected the lower part of its lining. This facing - from red Aswan granite - originally covered the pyramid for almost a third of its height, then it was replaced by white slabs of Turkish limestone, and the top, in all likelihood, was also red, granite. It was so two-color back in the 16th century, until it was robbed by the Mamluks.

At first, the pyramid had a base of about 60x60 meters, and only later it was almost doubled. Menkaura ordered the burial chamber to be hewn out just 6 meters under the base; but in the next phase of construction lowered it to a safer depth. For the construction of the pyramid, he ordered the use of large blocks, much larger in size than in the pyramids of Khufu or Khafre. He wanted to speed up the construction and therefore did not force the workers to carefully work the stone. But, despite the haste, which is felt even after millennia, Menkaura obviously did not live to see the completion of the pyramid. He probably died when she reached about twenty meters in height, i.e. level of granite cladding.

Unlike the others, the pyramid of Menkaure does not stand on a rocky foundation, but on an artificial terrace made of limestone blocks. The burial chamber is relatively small - only 6.5x2.3 meters and 3.5 meters high. The ceiling is made up of two blocks, carved from below like a semi-arch, so that the impression of a vault is created. The walls of the burial chamber and the entrance corridor were lined with polished granite; the corridor with the original burial vault and rooms for grave goods was connected by a staircase. The scheme of all these underground spaces is quite complex and reflects at least three changes in the original architectural design.

The entrance to the pyramid is located just under the place where the Mamluks abandoned their encroachments. The granite corridor is covered with a layer of sand, behind it there are only empty chambers with stale air. The sarcophagus of Menkaur, found in 1837 by Wiz, now lies on the ocean floor somewhere beyond Cape Trafalgar. The sarcophagus was made of basalt and decorated with reliefs depicting the facade royal palace. When the British Colonel Howard Vance entered the burial chamber of this pyramid in 1837, he found a basalt sarcophagus, a wooden coffin lid in the form of a human figure and bones. The sarcophagus sank along with the ship carrying it to England, and the dating of the coffin lid and bones dated them to the era of early Christianity.

To the south of the third pyramid are three associated small pyramids surrounded by a common wall. The area of ​​​​the base of each of them is equal in size to 1/3 of the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe base of the Mycerin pyramid. It is generally accepted that the wives of the pharaoh were buried in these pyramids. In one of the rooms associated with the Menkaure pyramid, the American archaeologist Reisner discovered during excavations four sculptural groups of slate, now called the Menkaure triads. Three of them are now in Cairo, one in Boston.

No dead bodies were found in any of the Pyramids, only empty sarcophagi.

Another oddity is that, unlike later pyramids (where there were "pyramid texts" on the walls), in the pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty there were no inscriptions other than graffiti. Does this mean that the pharaohs of the Fourth Dynasty could not write? No, this is not so - around the pyramids there are many structures belonging to the Fourth Dynasty, and there are many inscriptions on them. In the chapel of Queen Meresankh, you can still see many hieroglyphic texts. Therefore, their absence on the pyramids of the Fourth Dynasty looks extremely strange. Why are the creators grandiose structures, with all the love of the Egyptians for praise, did not emphasize the individual affiliation of their Pyramids?

The whole complex gives the impression of being built according to a single original plan. The only question is which one.

It is now believed that the pyramids are the tombs of the pharaohs. And if there are almost no doubts about the later pyramids, then the pyramids of the fourth dynasty raise many questions.
Sphinx

A lot has been written about the Sphinx, but it still remains mysterious to us. We want to know: when and by whom it was built and what it is silent about.

Now Great Sphinx badly damaged. The face is disfigured. The royal uraeus, in the form of a cobra raised on its forehead, disappeared forever; the festive kerchief descending from the head to the shoulders is partially broken off; only fragments remained of the beard.
The wounds on the Sphinx's face are reminiscent of chisel marks. In the 14th century, a certain pious sheikh mutilated it in such a way in order to fulfill the covenant of Muhammad, which forbids depicting a human face. The Mamelukes used the head of the Sphinx as a practice target for their cannons.

Seven hundred years ago, the destruction was not completed to the end, and Abdul Latif, a physician, philosopher and traveler, wrote about the Sphinx that "its face is beautiful, and its mouth bears the stamp of grace." The praise of one whose work "On the Human Body" has become a classic among the Arabs for centuries is worthy of appreciation.

During the yoke of the Hyksos (1640 - 1520 BC), the head of the Sphinx was thrown between its paws, and the sands of the desert hid the entire monument, and the Sphinx disappeared from the inhabitants of Egypt for several centuries. Thutmose IV at the end of the 15th century BC. e. ordered to unearth it.

Then he was released from the captivity of the sands by the Saisi rulers in the 7th century BC. e. After them - the Roman emperor Septimius Severus at the beginning of the III century AD. e. The last time such excavations were carried out by the Egyptian Antiquities Service was in 1925-1926.

Going back to the time of the creation of the pyramids and the Sphinx at Giza, one can drown in a stream of various information. There are different points of view about the time of the creation of the Sphinx, and Egyptologists have not come to a consensus. So in the works of E. Blavatsky and the Roerichs it is said that the creation of the pyramids "by the initiated Atlanteans dates back 200 thousand years ago", and Jorge A. Livraga, a famous philosopher, says that "the descendants of Atlantis erected the Great Pyramid ... and after millennia the Great Sphinx ". W. Harmon determined by calculations that "the first ceremony in the Pyramid took place 66,890 years ago." According to N.N. Sochevanov, "The construction of the Sphinx began 44.2 thousand years BC and was completed in 1200 years." Edgar Cayce, an American clairvoyant, claimed that "the pyramid of Cheops and the Sphinx were built between 10490 and 10390 BC." Between these dates lie tens and hundreds of thousands of years, which can fit in the time of their existence with an interval of approximately 3000 years, dozens of such Egyptian Civilizations.

Many who study this problem push the creation of the Sphinx back in time due to the fact that the limestone body of the Sphinx is destroyed by erosion. Dr. Robert Schoch, professor of geology at Boston University, given the degree of erosion of the Sphinx, believes that the time of the Sphinx's creation "lies between 7000 and 5000 BC [for during this period] it really rained." John West believes that "the main erosion occurred in the earlier rainy period before 10,000 BC."

We don't mind all this evidence of rain erosion on the Sphinx and in the trench. But we are surprised by the fact that if the lion head of the Sphinx was remade in the dynastic period into a human head with the attributes of the royal crown of the pharaoh, then why does this "new" head also have traces of water erosion? This means that during the time of the Old Kingdom (III-VI dynasty of the pharaohs (c. 2849-2150 BC), heavy rains fell on Egypt.

Why do people forget about the time when there was the Great Flood (Noah's)? But Noah's flood with heavy rains could also cause erosion of the Sphinx and bring the date of creation of this monument closer to 4000 BC. Moreover, if we take into account that the humid mild climate after Noah's flood could not immediately become arid in Egypt, then rain showers could continue further until 3000 BC, which means that the date of the sculpture of the Sphinx can also approach 3000 BC. AD If we also take into account, according to the Biblical legends, that favorable weather could stand in Egypt for several years in a row - a time of heavy rains, and then around 1800 BC. for several years in a row there was a dry wind (the dream of the pharaoh, solved by Joseph), then we can confidently attribute the date of the creation of the Sphinx to 2820-2620. BC, because heavy rains for 1000 years can leave erosion on limestone.

Before the Hyksos attack on Egypt (1640 - 1520 BC), the Sphinx was not covered with sand, because the Giza plateau was a holy place that was kept in order and clean, therefore the body of the Sphinx was accessible to heavy rains, which gradually led to erosion limestone.

In addition, many Egyptologists break the time of the simultaneous creation of the Sphinx and the pyramid complex, referring to the erosion on the body of the Sphinx, forget that the pyramids were lined and only in the XIII century, the facing stone from the pyramids began to be actively removed for the construction of Cairo. The fact that the Sphinx is an integral part of the entire pyramid complex in Giza is also indicated by the information that "the Chaldeans, Greeks, Romans and even the Arabs have an ancient and very stable legend, which claims that a hiding place was built underground and a tunnel was dug, along which the priests passed from Great Pyramid to the Sphinx", which may have been made later.
Whether these hidden tunnels that connect the Sphinx with the pyramids on the Giza plateau will be discovered in our time, we cannot unambiguously predict, but we hope in humble calm for the fulfillment of Fate, if it is pleasing for humanity. We also know that if such tunnels exist, then in our era, when all secrets are revealed and the secret becomes clear, these tunnels will also be open.

Anatoly Chernyaev in the book "The Great Sphinx: A Sign of Trouble", as well as R. Bauval and G. Hancock in the book "The Secret of the Sphinx" write that the Egyptian Sphinx was carved from the rock during the time of Atlantis 12.5 thousand years ago during the transition of the point spring equinox from the constellation of Virgo to the constellation of Leo, but then, according to the logic of things, the Sphinx should have a female face and without any false beard in the form of a phallus. But, alas! In the human face of the Egyptian Sphinx, we primarily see masculine features, not feminine ones. And is there really only one Sphinx left of the Civilization of Atlantis? Now, if A.F. Chernyaev, R. Bauval, G. Hancock and others noticed that the Egyptian Sphinx has the body of a Taurus and paws of a Lion, then he might have turned his attention not to the era of Leo, but to the era of Taurus. For the era of Taurus is precisely interconnected with the constellations Leo (summer solstice), the constellation Aquarius - the symbol of man - the face of the Sphinx (winter solstice), the constellation Taurus (spring equinox) and the constellation Scorpio-Eagle (autumn equinox). Just at the end of the Taurus era, the Giza pyramid complex appeared along with the Sphinx.

Many Egyptologists claim that "the face of the Sphinx resembles the face of a statue of Khafre found in a pit in the Temple of the Valley", but now this temple is called the Temple of Khafre. But, according to G. Hancock, "I did not manage to discern the slightest resemblance between these persons. Neither did the forensic experts from the New York Police Department, who were recently specially brought there for "identification."
Sphinx and Egyptian gods

The Sphinx is a collective image in which the Age of Taurus is imprinted (four stations of the Sun in the Zodiacal Houses: Taurus - the spring equinox - the body of the Sphinx; Leo - the summer solstice - the front and back legs of the Sphinx; Scorpio-Eagle - the autumn equinox - the invisible wings of the Sphinx; Aquarius - winter solstice - the human face of the Sphinx). In addition to all this, the face of the Sphinx carries the collective portrait image of Imhotep, the image of the pharaoh, the image of Baboon (associated with the god Thoth) and the image of Horus (the god of the sun). This is the majestic mystery of the Sphinx, therefore the name of the Sphinx is "Shepes ankh" - "Living Image", associated with the creator god Atum (Sun), Ptah, Thoth. This is the Divine Trinity, where Imhotep was Thoth, the Son of God.

The Sphinx is the deified Imhotep, who protects three large pyramids on the Giza plateau, and the latter symbolize the phallus of Orion-Osiris. Therefore, the Sphinx was identified with the god Harmachis, the phallic god, who has the name "Hor in the horizon", and the god Hor-Gor is the phallus. For as soon as the phallus of Orion (Orion's Belt) appeared from behind the horizon in the east, this indicated that in a month the Nile would begin to flood.
Mystery of the Sphinx

The secret of the Sphinx is the secret of Imhotep, and this secret is revealed only through the three Pyramids on the Giza plateau, which are connected with the Belt of Orion, that is, with the phallus of Osiris, for the secret Key to become a god is hidden in the phallus. Hierophant Imhotep possessed this secret Key to immortality. This secret Key is hidden in the three Pyramids of Giza. The keeper of this secret Key is precisely the Sphinx - the Teacher of the Taurus era. Therefore, the Sphinx guards not only the Pyramid of Khafre, but guards the entire Giza Pyramid Complex.

Imhotep, as a religious Teacher, combined in his Teaching all the best from the religion of the pre-dynastic era and the teachings of the dynastic era. This religion of Imhotep gradually began to penetrate into the daily life of the temples of Egypt and the Egyptians. But after the invasion of the Hyksos, this religion of Imhotep began to undergo changes. Imhotep himself was identified among the people with the god Thoth, and under the influence of Greek ideology, this god began to be called Thoth Hermes Trismegistus. From era to era, the name of Imhotep was forgotten, but after millennia, the god That Hermes Trismegistus appeared, in whose Teachings one can guess the religious, educational and esoteric (secret) Teachings of Imhotep.

But since not a single inscription from the time of the Old Kingdom has been preserved, where the Sphinx was mentioned in ancient texts, we clarify that the Sphinx, as a symbolic image of the deified Architect Imhotep, could appear just from the moment when the Giza pyramid complex began to be erected. Despite the fact that the Sphinx stands in front of the pyramid of Khafre, this does not mean that the face of the Sphinx displays the image of the pharaoh Khafre. The very same image of the Sphinx was not associated with either the pharaoh Khafre (Khefren), or with other pharaohs (Cheops and Mikerin).

Based on all of the above, we can say that the Sphinx could have arisen at the beginning of the 29th century BC. or at the turn of the XXIX and XXVIII centuries BC, during the time of the great Architect - the sculptor Imhotep.

The Sphinx constantly indicates to everyone who looks at his majestic statue that He is the great Architect who designed the entire pyramid complex in Giza along with the temples, and that it contains the key to deciphering all the pyramids and satellite pyramids built on the Giza plateau and behind the back of the Sphinx. The Sphinx, absorbing the images of a man, a lion, a calf, says about itself that it was built just in the Age of Taurus, when Taurus-Apis was sacrificed to the god of the Sun, that is, when the vernal equinox was in the constellation Taurus. Based on this information, the esoteric Sphinx will contain four animals: a man, a lion, a calf and an eagle, which will correspond to the four cardinal points: east, west, south and north. These images-symbols will permeate the whole Bible (Old and New Testaments), because these images will contain the secret of the integrity of Man, striving to become like God. The Sphinx constantly tells the person standing in front of him that the secret of the God-man is hidden in the person himself. Until a person combines all the best energies from Leo, Taurus, Eagle and Man, or rather, the energies of all the signs of the Zodiac, a person will be a mortal being with the features of one or another animal, residing in the wheel of Samsara, in the world of suffering, reincarnation and death . And only that person who will constantly watch the Sun as the Eye of God, and see that the Sun passes through all the Zodiacal Houses, so that a person can unite all the energies of these Zodiacal Houses in himself in order to become Whole, One, then such a person acquires the dignity of God and breaks out of the wheel of Samsara, falling into the Kingdom of God, into the world of Grace, Joy, Happiness and Delights. Either this person becomes a Sphinx Teacher for other people to show those who wish the Way to God in the world of Beauty and Peace.

Great Sphinx on the west bank of the Nile at Giza - the oldest surviving monumental sculpture. Carved from a monolithic limestone rock in the form of a colossal sphinx - a lion lying on the sand, whose face, as has long been considered to be, is given a portrait resemblance to Pharaoh Khafre (c. 2575-2465 BC), whose funerary pyramid is located nearby. The length of the statue is 72 meters, the height is 20 meters; between the front paws there was once a small sanctuary.

Purpose and title

Statue of the Nile and the rising sun. Almost all ancient Eastern civilizations saw the lion as a symbol of the solar deity. Since ancient times, the pharaoh has been depicted as a lion, exterminating his enemies. In the light of these data, it is permissible to consider the sphinx as the guardian of the eternal rest of the pharaohs buried around it. The surrounding temples were originally dedicated solar god Ra, and only in the period of the New Kingdom, the sculpture began to be identified with Horus (more precisely, with Horemakhet), as a result of which Amenhotep II dedicated a special temple to him to the northeast of the sphinx.

The ancient Egyptian name for the Great Sphinx remains unknown. The word "sphinx" is Greek and literally means "strangler", which is a reference to the famous myth of the riddle of the Sphinx. The opinion that this word came to Greece from ancient Egyptian is unfounded.

Time of creation

The circumstances and exact time of the construction of the Sphinx are still a mystery. The judgment of ancient authors accepted in modern literature that its builder was Khafre (Khafra) is confirmed only by the fact that during the construction of the temple, stone blocks of the same size were used for the statue as in the construction of the neighboring pyramid. In addition, not far from the Sphinx, archaeologists discovered a diorite image of Khafre in the sand.

There are other opinions regarding the customer of the sphinx. An inventory stele, discovered at Giza by Mariet in 1857 and most likely created shortly before the Persian conquest, claims that Khafre's father, Pharaoh Cheops (Khufu), dug up and cleaned the dilapidated statue from the sand. Most scholars tend to dismiss this evidence as late and unreliable; only Gaston Maspero spoke out for the reliability of the information given in the stele among the researchers of the old school. A prominent modern Egyptologist, Rainer Stadelmann, is of the opinion that, in his artistic features the statue should be attributed to the building activity of Khufu. In 2004, French scholar Vasil Dobrev suggested that the statue depicts Khufu and was erected by his son Djedefra.

Even more confusing is the fact that the statue's face has Negroid features, which is at odds with other surviving images of Khafre and his relatives. Forensic experts, who used a computer to compare the face of the Sphinx with the signed statues of Khafre, came to the conclusion that they cannot represent the same person.

Since the 1950s in popular literature, the dating of the Sphinx to the period of the Old Kingdom began to be questioned. It has been argued that the lower part of the Sphinx is a classic example of erosion caused by the prolonged exposure of a stone to water. The last time the corresponding level of precipitation was observed in Egypt at the turn of the 4th and 3rd millennia, which, according to supporters of this theory, indicates the creation of the statue in the Predynastic period or even earlier. In the scientific literature, the peculiarities of sculpture erosion are explained by other reasons - secondary fracturing, the action of acid rain, and the poor quality of limestone.

The relatively small size of the head prompted Boston geologist Robert Schoch to suggest that the statue originally had the face of a lion, from which one of the pharaohs ordered a mysteriously smiling human face to be carved in his own image and likeness. This hypothesis has not been accepted by scientific environment, as well as the assumption of Graham Hancock about the correlation of the three pyramids with the stars in the constellation of Orion, which was allegedly observed in the 11th millennium BC. e. (See en:Orion Correlation Theory).

Descriptions

The Roman historian Pliny described the Great Sphinx as a monster. Medieval Arabs in the Thousand and One Nights and other texts also called him the "father of horror."

In modern times, sculpture was first depicted by the Italian architect Sebastiano Serlio, who published his work on monuments in 1546 in Antwerp. ancient architecture- his sphinx with a smiling female face was equipped with a bust and a hairstyle corresponding to that time.

State

During its existence, the Sphinx was buried up to its shoulders in the sand. Attempts to dig it out were already made in antiquity by Thutmose IV and Ramses II. The first was able to free only the front paws from the sand, between which he ordered to place a granite stele with the following inscription:

The king's son Thutmose, upon his arrival, sat down in the shadow of this mighty deity during his midday walk. When Ra reached the top [of the sky], he was overwhelmed by sleep, and he saw how this great god addressed him with a speech, as if a father were saying to his son: “Look at me, take a closer look, O my son Thutmose, I am your father Harmachis, and I will give you dominion over my land and power over all living ... Behold my true form in order to protect my flawless limbs. The sand of the desert on which I lie has covered me. Save me and fulfill whatever is in my heart."

Also, the Sphinx was strengthened with the help of additional blocks by the ancient Greeks and Romans, in particular the paws and walls of the niche.

The Italians managed to clear the entire chest of the Sphinx from sand in 1817, and it was completely freed from millennia-old sand drifts in 1925.

In 2014, the sphinx underwent a four-month restoration, after which it became available to tourists.

losses

Sphinx face in profile.

The statue is missing a nose 1.5 meters wide. Its absence can be explained both by the natural destruction of the stone (centuries-old action of wind and moisture), and by human influence. There is a legend that this detail of the statue was knocked off by a cannonball during the Napoleonic battle with the Turks at the Pyramids (1798); according to other versions, the place of Napoleon is occupied by the British or the Mamelukes. The falsity of this opinion is indicated by the drawings of the Danish traveler Norden, who saw a noseless sphinx already in 1737.

The medieval Cairo historian al-Makrizi wrote that in 1378, a Sufi fanatic, having caught the fellahs bringing gifts to the Sphinx in the hope of replenishing their harvest, was filled with anger and beat off the nose of the “idol”, for which he was torn to pieces by the crowd. From al-Maqrizi's account it can be concluded that for local residents The Sphinx was a kind of talisman, the ruler of the Nile, on which, as they believed, the flood level of the great river and, accordingly, the fertility of their fields depended.

The Sphinx has survived to this day not only without a nose, but also without a false ceremonial beard, fragments of which can be seen in the British and Cairo museums. The timing of the appearance of the Sphinx's beard is controversial. Some authors attribute its installation to the New Kingdom. According to others, the beard was made along with the head, because the technical complexity of the high-altitude work on mounting the beard exceeded the capabilities of the builders of that time.

In works of art

• "The Prisoner of the Pharaohs" (1924) is a short story by Howard Lovecraft built on the assumption of a million-year-old Egyptian Sphinx, originally depicting a supposedly creepy monster. Under Pharaoh Khafre, the features of the monster were allegedly knocked off the face of the sphinx and replaced with those of the pharaoh.

Among the many tourist destinations, one of the most popular is the Pyramids of Giza. Three of them were supposedly erected during the Fourth Dynasty (about 2550 BC). In ancient Egypt, the pyramids were built as tombs for the pharaohs and their wives. There are over 93 pyramids in Egypt today. The most famous are the pyramids of Giza.

Article: Pyramids of Egypt and the Sphinx (The pyramids and the sphinx)

The Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) is the most famous, largest and tallest of the Egyptian pyramids and the best preserved. The only one of the "Seven Wonders of the World" that has survived to this day. For 4300 years, until 1889, when the Eiffel Tower was built, the pyramid was the tallest building on earth.
The entrance to the pyramid is located on the north side, like many other pyramids in Egypt. In fact, there are two entrances on this side, one - originally created and the second - made by order of Caliph Al-Mamun, who was looking for treasures supposedly stored inside the pyramid. The tunnel goes almost 35 m deep into the pyramid and connects with the original inner corridors. But there were no treasures inside, they were stolen even earlier. Today, visitors to the pyramid use this, the last entrance built. It is a long narrow corridor with a low ceiling leading to a room located about 24 meters underground. There is an unfinished tomb here, but due to insufficient air ventilation, access to it is limited.
The Pyramid of Khafre is the second largest pyramid. It is easily recognizable by the facing stone preserved near the top. Due to the fact that the pyramid is located on a hill, it seems that it is higher than the pyramid of Cheops. But in fact, its height is 136 m, although it was originally 145 m. The only similarity between this pyramid and the pyramid of Cheops is that the entrance is located on the north side. There are no corridors leading to the heart of the pyramid, no underground tomb. The entrance is 15 m above ground level and leads to a large above-ground tomb containing a large black sarcophagus.
Pharaoh Khafre's son, Menkaur, built the smallest of the three pyramids located on the Giza plateau. Previously, its height was 65.5 m, today it is 62 m. It is believed that the pyramid itself has undergone several changes. Initially, it was a corridor descending to the tomb, but then another passage and an additional room were built. Later, another tomb and vault was built.
In addition to size, the Menkaur pyramid differs from the other two in the type of facing stone. The pyramids of the father and grandfather of the pharaoh were completely covered with white limestone, while here the first 15 meters are carved from pink granite and only above is a limestone coating.
The Great Sphinx is one of the most famous buildings on earth. The Sphinx is automatically associated with Egypt and the Giza plateau. Since it is carved out of sandstone, it is widely believed that it should have disappeared a long time ago, but was buried in the sand over the years. The statue is a reclining lion with the face of a man, presumably Pharaoh Khafre. It is 60 m long and 20 m high. The face is 4 m wide and the eyes are 2 m high. The sculpture faces east. She was so highly revered among the ancient Egyptians that a temple was built in front of the Sphinx. Pharaoh Thutmose the Fourth ordered to install a stele between the front paws of the statue, on which the case was subsequently described of how he, while still a very young man, went hunting and fell asleep in the shadow of the sphinx's head. Here he had a dream that Ra, the son of God, spoke to him through the Sphinx, and told him to clean off the sand, as the Sphinx was choking on him. The Sphinx promised that if the young prince obeyed him, he would become the king of Egypt. Thutmose cleaned off the sand and two years later, as promised by the son of God, he became the king of Egypt.
Today, the Sphinx is missing part of the nose and "urea" (the image of a cobra on the pharaoh's crown), but they were not shot by Napoleon's soldiers, as many believe, but were destroyed by one Sufi fanatic. In 1378, upon learning that Egyptian peasants were making offerings to the Sphinx in the hope of a richer harvest, Mohammed al-Da-her was so angry that he beat off the nose of the sculpture.