Although Egypt’s pyramids are its biggest tourist attraction, the land of the pharaohs has much more to offer. From fascinating temples to massive star-reaching obelisks, Egypt is a land of incredible history. In addition to pyramids There is a specific monument that is unlike any other | the Great Sphinx of Giza, and it is the ancient treasure of Egypt.
The Great Sphinx was not built as some people believe, but carved and sculpted from a limestone block on the Giza plateau. It has a height of about 20 meters and measures around 70 meters in length.
The head is said to represent Pharaoh Khafre, who has the body of a lion. In ancient times, it was painted in bright colors | its body was probably painted in reddish tones and the nemes, the part that covered the head of the Sphinx, were painted with yellow and blue stripes.
Khafre, is that you?
Whether the Sphinx represents Khufu remains a mystery. Conventional Egyptologists generally agree that it was commissioned by King Khafre of the Fourth Dynasty , the man who is also said to have ordered the construction of the second largest pyramid in Giza.
If this is the case, we cannot know, unless we have a time machine that allows us to travel back to the Fourth Dynasty, around 4,400 years ago, and see for ourselves.
This is because despite the fact that the Sphinx is the most unique unique stone monument in Egypt, there are no references to the statue that date back to the supposed period in which it was carved. In fact, everything we have written about the Sphinx, and everything traceable back to ancient Egypt, was anchored thousands of years after the Sphinx was carved. Archaeologists have yet to discover any type of papyrus or symbol that describes or mentions the Sphinx, Khafre, who commissioned it.
Standing guard in front of the pyramids, the huge monument faces from west to east. It is one of the largest and oldest statues on the planet and, unlike the pyramids of Egypt built over generations where pharaohs attempted to replicate the achievements of their predecessors, there is only one Great Sphinx. However, other statues of the Sphinx have been found in Egypt, but they are not as large as that of Giza.
We call it the sphinx. But thousands of years ago, its creators had a different name. That name is lost forever in history since the people who collapsed it left no evidence of it. The name the statue is called today was given in classical antiquity, approximately 2,000 years after leading scholars believe it was carved.
Interestingly, and although it was one of the most important monuments in Egyptian history, there are no known inscriptions of the Sphinx in the Ancient Kingdom There is no mention of the Sphinx that has been carved.
This is strange because the ancient Egyptians were meticulous scientists and excellent records. During the New Kingdom, the Sphinx became known as Hor-em-akhet, the solar deity.
Circumstantial evidence at best
Despite conflicting evidence and differing opinions in recent decades, mainstream Egyptologists believe that the Sphinx is no older than the Fourth Dynasty. But this is based on archaeological conjecture and not on many physical tests, in addition to the belief system of certain Egyptologists.
Selim Hassan, an expert on the sphinx and researcher who spent many years excavating the ancient monument and its surroundings, summarizes the problem related to the sphinx in his book “The sphinx | its history in light of recent excavations”.
Hassan wrote :
Taking all things into consideration, it seems that we must give the credit of erecting this, the most wonderful statue in the world, to Khafre, but always with this reservation | that there is not a single contemporary inscription that connects the Sphinx with Khafre; thus, as much as it may seem, we must treat the evidence as circumstantial, until a lucky turn of the excavator’s shovel reveals to the world a definitive reference to the erection of the Sphinx.
What the early Egyptologists said
But although leading experts seem to be convinced of the identity of the Sphinx, the first Egyptologists who studied the Sphinx in the 19th century had a different point of view. In studying the surrounding temples and interpreting the evidence, Sir Flinders Petrie, for example, said that the temples surrounding the Sphinx and, by extension, the Great Sphinx, go back further in history than the Fourth Dynasty.
Petrie wrote :
“The date of the Granite Temple has been affirmed so positively that it predates the fourth dynasty that it may seem reckless to argue the point.”
Petrie was an expert in ancient Egypt, and was considered one of the leading scholars in the field.
The Spinx spent several centuries buried underneath the Sphinx, waiting for time to pass, until someone finally released him from his sleep. Auguste Mariette unearthed the Stella inventory, which tells how Khufu discovered the Sphinx already buried in the sand. The inventory trail has been called a false intentional created in ancient times. But it is physical evidence that tells us that the Sphinx predates Khafre. The leading experts ignore this.
In 1886, Gaston Maspero, another leading Egyptology expert, was surveying the area around the Sphinx. And based on what he had found at the time, he also concluded that the Sphinx must be prior to the reign of the Fourth Dynasty and was carved much earlier. Maspero believed that the Sphinx was the oldest monument in Egypt.
Another Egyptologist and expert on the subject, EA Wallis Budge, He shared the views of his colleagues on the Sphinx and how it predates Khafre’s reign. In his 1914 book The gods of the Egyptians, Wallis Budge explained his view on the age of the Sphinx.
“This wonderful object existed in the days of Khafre or Khephren, and it is probable that it is much older than his reign and that it dates from the end of the archaic period around 2686 a. C.. “
The above are just a few of the many examples of what early Egyptologists thought about the age of the Sphinx. Many contemporary experts and writers still share their views, although they oppose strict opinions put forth by mainstream experts.
There are no ancient sources that mention the Great Sphinx
Although we Egyptians are excellent records, there are no hieroglyphs, symbols, or illustrations of the Sphinx that date back to the reign of the Fourth Dynasty of Khafre. Nothing discovered to date, written on papyri or otherwise recorded by the ancient Egyptians conclusively tells us that it was Khafre who carved the Sphinx.
To say that the face of the Sphinx is reminiscent of Khafre is an additional mistake, since we cannot say that one statue resembles another, and represents a man who lived 4,400 years ago, without knowing for certain what that man was like.
If there are no sources from the time when leading experts say the Sphinx was carved, why do we have to believe that the Sphinx was carved in Khafre’s time? Well we don’t.
Given the there is no physical evidence which conclusively puts the origin of the Sphinx back to the time of Khafre, as far as we know, the Sphinx may have preceded Egyptian civilization. I am not saying yes. Petrie and Maspero believed that the Sphinx could predate Khafre and possibly the entire Fourth Dynasty, and as far as we know, it could be. If the Sphinx has been conclusively shown to represent Kahfre, why is it so difficult to accept the possibility that it predates the Fourth Generation?
In the same way, the Sphinx could have been carved after Khafre and perhaps even Menkaure, but given the location of the Sphinx and its proximity to the Khafre Temples, leading scholars say this is not a possibility. This is only circumstantial evidence.
One theory, although not as accepted as that put forth by leading experts, comes from Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval, two researchers who locate the building of the Great Sphinx, based on the location of the stars around 10,500 BC. C.
Is it possible that there are no records of the Sphinx dating from Khafre’s reign because the monument predates the King? Certainly yes. Is evidence conclusive? Definitely not.
