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| | [[Category:Politics and social sciences]] | | [[Category:Politics and social sciences]] |
| | [[Category:Anthropology]] | | [[Category:Anthropology]] |
| − | {{Claimed}} | + | [[Category:Mythical creatures]] |
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| | + | [[Image:MetCemBrunswigSphynx.jpg|thumb|300 px|Marble sphinx on tomb in Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans]] |
| | + | The '''sphinx''' has had a long history of secrecy and intrigue, being viewed by many [[culture]]s as guardians of knowledge and as speaking in riddles. Originating in [[Ancient Egypt]], the sphinx as a [[mythical creature]] existed in [[Ancient Greece]] and [[Mesopotamia]], was revered by the later Western World, and to this day still exists in Eastern cultures. The sphinx has no history of real living existence, but exists only in [[art]] and [[literature]], representing human desire for that which is greater than themselves, both in terms of the body and the mind. Yet the sphinx also embodies paradox, beautiful and alluring, she is also dangerous even deadly; the guardian of knowledge and threat to evil, encountering a sphinx is described as confusing and destructive. |
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| | + | Ultimately the sphinx represents human desire and ability to penetrate the mysteries of the universe, while warning us to venture there at our own risk. Perhaps the sphinx guards such knowledge until such time as true human beings, worthy and capable of understanding truth, appear on the earth. |
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| − | [[Image:Egypt.Giza.Sphinx.01.jpg|280px|none|thumb|right|The [[Great Sphinx of Giza]], with the [[Khafre's Pyramid|Pyramid of Khafre]] in the background]] | + | ==Description== |
| | + | [[Image:Wien Schloss Belvedere DSC03014.JPG|thumb|right|300 px|A sphinx at the entrance of Belvedere Palace, Vienna, Austria]] |
| | + | The sphinx varies in physical features, but is almost always a composite of two or more animals, and some versions are part-human part-animal. In [[ancient Egypt]] there are three distinct types of sphinx: The '''Androsphinx''', with the body of a [[lion]] and head of person; a '''Criosphinx''', body of a lion with the head of [[sheep|ram]]; and '''Hierocosphinx''', that had a body of a lion with a head of a [[falcon]] or [[hawk]]. In [[Greek mythology]] there is less variation: a winged lion with a woman's head, or a woman with the paws, claws, and breasts of a lion, a [[serpent]]'s tail and [[eagle]] wings. |
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| | + | Found throughout history, in tales and in art, the sphinx always possesses an enigmatic character. Alluring, knowledgeable, and dangerous, the sphinx is to be approached with caution. |
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| − | '''Sphinx''' is an iconic image of a recumbent [[lion]] with the [[head]] of a [[Domestic sheep|ram]], of a [[falcon]] or of a person, invented by the [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptians]] of the [[Old Kingdom]], but a [[Culture|cultural]] import in [[Greek mythology]].
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| | ==Egyptian sphinx== | | ==Egyptian sphinx== |
| | + | The sphinxes of [[ancient Egypt]] were regarded as [[icon]]ic images. Usually, the sphinxes appeared as giant [[statue]]s with the faces of [[pharaoh]]s and almost always were regarded as protectors of temples or sacred areas. To what extent the sphinx played a role in ancient Egyptian mythology is an issue of debate. While the sphinx is not the only combination of animal and man to emerge in the [[religion|religious]] [[art]] of the time, it may be one of the first, pre-dating all other anthropomorphic images of animal deities. |
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| − | The sphinx of Giza is an ancient iconic mythical creature usually comprised of a recumbent lion — animal with sacred solar associations — with a human head, usually that of a [[pharaoh]].
| + | [[Image:Sphynxes.JPG|thumb|280px|right|Avenue of ram's-head sphinxes at Karnak in Luxor]] |
| | + | Famous Egyptian sphinxes include the [[alabaster]] sphinx of Memphis, localated within the open-air museum at that site; and the ram-headed sphinxes (in Greek, ''criosphinxes'') representing the god Amon, in [[Thebes]], of which there were originally some nine hundred. The most famous and largest of sphinxes is the [[Great Sphinx]] of [[Pyramids of Giza|Giza]]. |
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| − | [[Image:Sphynxes.JPG|thumb|280px|left|Avenue of ram's-head sphinxes at [[Karnak]] in [[Luxor]]]] | + | This famous Egyptian sphinx is known as ''Sesheps'', the "Great Sphinx of Giza," and is situated on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the [[Nile River]]. The Great Sphinx is a statue with the face of a man and the body of a [[lion]]. Carved out of the surrounding [[limestone]] bedrock, it is 57 meters (260 feet) long, 6 meters (20 feet) wide, and has a height of 20 meters (65 feet), making it the largest single-stone statue in the world. Blocks of stone weighing upwards of 200 tons were quarried in the construction phase to build the adjoining Sphinx Temple. It is located on the west bank of the Nile River within the confines of the Giza pyramid field. |
| | + | [[Image:GreatSphinx1867.jpg|thumb|left|275px|The Great Sphinx in 1867. Note its unrestored original condition, still partially buried body, and a man standing beneath its ear]] |
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| − | Seen as guardians in the egyptian statuary, sphinxes are depicted in one of these three forms:
| + | The Great Sphinx faces due east, with a small temple between its paws. The Great Sphinx was believed to stand as a guardian of the Giza Plateau, facing the rising sun. It was the focus of solar worship in the Old Kingdom, centered in the adjoining temples built around the time of its probable construction. Its animal form, the lion, has long been a symbol associated with the sun in ancient Near Eastern civilizations. Images depicting the Egyptian king in the form of a lion smiting his enemies appear as far back as the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt.<ref>Winston, Allen. 2003. [http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/sphinx1.htm "The Great Sphinx of Giza: An Introduction."] Retrieved January 23, 2007.</ref> |
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| − | '''''Androsphinx''''' - body of lion with head of person; | + | The face of the Great Sphinx is believed to be the head of the pharaoh [[Khafra]], or Khafre, (often known by the Greek version of his name, ''Chephren'') or possibly that of his brother, the Pharaoh [[Djedefra]], which would date its construction from the fourth dynasty (2723 B.C.E. – 2563 B.C.E.). However, there are some alternative theories that re-date the Sphinx to the pre-Old Kingdom, and, according to one hypothesis, to [[prehistory|prehistoric]] times. |
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| − | '''''Criosphinx''''' - body of lion with head of ram; | + | After the Giza [[necropolis]] was abandoned, the Sphinx became buried up to its shoulders in sand. The first attempt to dig it out dates back to 1400 B.C.E., when the young [[Thutmose IV|Tutmosis IV]] formed an excavation party which, after much effort, managed to dig the front paws out. Tutmosis IV had a [[granite]] ''[[stela]]'' known as the "Dream Stela" placed between the paws. The ''stela'' reads, in part: |
| | + | [[Image:Egypt.Giza.Sphinx.01.jpg|280px|thumb|right|The Great Sphinx of Giza, with the Pyramid of Khafre in the background]] |
| | + | <blockquote>...the royal son, Thothmos, being arrived, while walking at midday and seating himself under the shadow of this mighty god, was overcome by slumber and slept at the very moment when Ra is at the summit (of heaven). He found that the Majesty of this august god spoke to him with his own mouth, as a father speaks to his son, saying: Look upon me, contemplate me, O my son Thothmos; I am thy father, Harmakhis-Khopri-Ra-Tum; I bestow upon thee the sovereignty over my domain, the supremacy over the living ... Behold my actual condition that thou mayest protect all my perfect limbs. The sand of the desert whereon I am laid has covered me. Save me, causing all that is in my heart to be executed.<ref>Mallet, D. [http://www.harmakhis.org/The%20Stele%20of%20Thotmes%20IV%20%28Translation%29.htm Translation.] Retrieved February 22, 2007.</ref></blockquote> |
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| − | '''''Hierocosphinx''''' - body of lion with head of falcon or hawk.
| + | [[Ramses II]] may have also performed restoration work on the Sphinx. However, it was not until 1817 that the first modern dig, undertaken by [[Giovanni Battista Caviglia]], uncovered the Sphinx's chest completely. The entirety of the Sphinx was finally dug out in 1925. |
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| − | The largest and most famous is ''Sesheps'', the [[Great Sphinx of Giza]], sited on the [[Giza]] Plateau on the west bank of the [[Nile River]], facing due east, with a small temple between its paws. The face of the Great Sphinx is believed to be the head of the pharaoh [[Khafra]] (often known by the Greek version of his name, ''Chephren'') or possibly that of his brother, the Pharaoh [[Djedefra]], which would date its construction from the [[Fourth dynasty of Egypt|fourth dynasty]] ([[28th century B.C.E.|2723 B.C.E.]]–[[26th century B.C.E.|2563 B.C.E.]]). However, there are some alternative theories that re-date the Sphinx to the pre-Old Kingdom – and, according to one [[hypothesis]], to prehistoric times.
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| − | Other famous Egyptian sphinxes include the [[alabaster]] sphinx of [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]], currently localizated within the open-air museum at that site; and the ram-headed sphinxes (in Greek, ''criosphinxes'') representing the [[God (male deity)|god]] [[Amon]], in [[Thebes (Egypt)|Thebes]], of which there were originally some nine hundred.
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| − | What name or names the builders gave to the [[statue]]s is unknown. The inscription on a [[stele]] in the Great Sphinx dates it from one thousand years after the carving of the Sphinx,<ref>It was erected in [[1400 B.C.E.|1400]], probably by [[Thutmose IV|Thutmose]]. </ref> gives three names of the sun: ''Kheperi - Re - Atum''. The Arabic name of the Great Sphinx, ''Abu al-Hôl'', translates as "Father of Terror". The Greek name "Sphinx" was applied to it in the [[Classical antiquity|Antiquity]]. But it has the head of a man, not of a woman.
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| | ==Greek sphinx== | | ==Greek sphinx== |
| − | [[Image:Oedipus_and_sphinx.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[4th century BC]] [[Attica|Attic]] [[Red-figure pottery|red-figure]] [[Kylix (drinking cup)|kylix]] from the [[Vatican Museums|Vatican]]]] | + | [[File:Oedipus and the Sphinx of Thebes, Red Figure Kylix, c. 470 B.C.E., from Vulci, attributed to the Oedipus Painter, Vatican Museums (9665213064).jpg|thumb|right|250px|Fourth century B.C.E. Attic red-figure Kylix from the Vatican Museum]] |
| − | There was a single ''Sphinx'' in Greek mythology, a unique demon of destruction and bad luck, according to [[Hesiod]] a daughter of [[Echidna (mythology)|Echidna]] and of [[Orthrus]] or, according to others, of [[Typhon]] and Echidna — all of these [[chthonic]] figures. She was represented in vase-painting and [[bas-relief]]s most often seated upright rather than recumbent, as a winged lion with a woman's head; or she was a woman with the paws, claws and breasts of a lion, a [[Serpent (symbolism)|serpent]]'s tail and [[eagle]] wings. [[Hera]] or [[Ares]] sent the Sphinx from her [[Ethiopia]]n homeland (the Greeks remembered the Sphinx's foreign origin) to [[Thebes (Greece)|Thebes]] and, in [[Sophocles]] ''[[Oedipus Tyrannus]]'', asks all passersby history's most famous [[riddle]]: "Which creature in the morning goes on four feet, at noon on two, and in the evening upon three?" She strangled anyone unable to answer. The word "sphinx" comes from the [[Greek language|Greek]] '''''Σφινξ''''' — '''''Sphinx''''', apparently from the verb '''''σφινγω''''' — '''''sphingo''''', meaning "to strangle". This may be her [[proper name]], but ''The Penguin Dictionary of Classical Mythology'' states that her given name was '''Φιξ — Phix'''. [[Oedipus]] solved the riddle: man — he crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two feet as an adult, and walks with a cane in old age. Bested at last, the Sphinx then threw herself from her high rock and died. An alternative version tells that she devoured herself. The exact riddle asked by the Sphinx was not specified by early tellers of the story and was not standardized as the one given above until much later in Greek history.<ref>{{cite book|last=Edmunds|first=Lowell|title=The Sphinx in the Oedipus Legend|year=1981|publisher=Hain|location=Königstein im Taunus|id=ISBN 3-445-02184-8}}</ref> Thus Oedipus can be recognized as a liminal or "threshold" figure, helping effect the transition between the old religious practices, represented by the Sphinx, and new, [[Twelve Olympians|Olympian]] ones.
| + | While it is more than likely that the Greeks acquired the idea of the sphinx through cultural diffusion, they nonetheless incorporated it to a large degree into their written mythology and gave it its name (a potential combination of the Greek verb σφινγω — ''sphingo'', meaning "to strangle" and the name Φιξ — ''Phix''. |
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| − | ==Similar creatures==
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| − | [[Image:Sphinxes.jpg|thumb|left|200px|3000-year-old sphinxes were imported from Egypt to embellish public spaces in [[Saint Petersburg]] and other [[Europe]]an [[capital]]s]]
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| − | Not all human-headed animals of antiquity are sphinxes. In ancient [[Assyria]], for example, bas-reliefs of [[shedu|bulls with the crowned bearded heads of kings]] guarded the entrances to temples.
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| − | In the classical Olympian mythology of Greece, all the deities had human form, though they could assume their animal natures as well. All the creatures of Greek myth that combine human and animal form are survivals of the pre-Olympian [[religion]]: [[centaur]]s, Typhon, [[Medusa (mythology)|Medusa]], [[Lamia (mythology)|Lamia]].
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| − | In Hindu tradition, one of the Avatars of [[Vishnu]] was the [[Narasimha]] which means 'man-lion'. The Avatar had a human body and the head of a lion.
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| − | == Mannerist Sphinx ==
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| − | The revived ''[[Mannerism|Mannerist]] Sphinx'' of the 16th century is sometimes thought of as the ''French Sphinx.'' Her lovely coiffed head is erect and she has the pretty bust of a young woman. Often she wears [[Ear drop|ear drops]] and [[pearl]]s. Her body is naturalistically rendered as a recumbent lion. Such Sphinxes were revived when the ''[[grottesche]]'' or "grotesque" decorations of the unearthed "'''''Golden House'''''" ('''''[[Domus Aurea]]''''') of [[Nero]] were brought to light in late [[15th century]] Rome, and she was incorporated into the classical vocabulary of arabesque designs that was spread throughout Europe in [[engraving]]s during the [[16th century|16th]] and [[17th century|17th]] [[Century|centuries]]. Her first appearances in [[France|French]] [[art]] are in the [[School of Fontainebleau]] in the [[1520s]] and [[1530s|30s]]; her last appearances are in the [[Baroque|Late Baroque]] style of the French [[Regence|Régence]] ([[1715]]–[[1723]]).
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| − | ==[[19th century]] and [[Symbolism (arts)|symbolism]]==
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| − | Sphinxes were too somber perhaps for the [[Rococo]], and they tended to disappear from the European design repertory - until revived in the 19th century with its [[romanticism]], and later symbolism. Many of these sphinxes alluded to the [[Oedipus|Greek sphinx]], rather than the Egyptian.
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| − | [[Image:Fernand Khnopff 002.jpg|thumb|600px|center|[[Fernand Khnopff]]'s symbolist version of a Sphinx]] | + | There was a single sphinx in [[Greek mythology]], a unique demon of destruction and bad luck, according to [[Hesiod]] a daughter of [[Echidna (mythology)|Echidna]] and of [[Orthrus]] or, according to others, of [[Typhon]] and Echidna. She was represented in vase-painting and bas-reliefs most often seated upright rather than recumbent. [[Hera]] or [[Ares]] sent the sphinx from her [[Ethiopia]]n homeland (the Greeks remembered the sphinx's foreign origin) to [[Thebes]], where she guarded the entrance to the city, asking all those who passed her famous riddle "Which creature in the morning goes on four feet, at noon on two, and in the evening upon three?" All those who answered wrong were killed, and it was not until [[Oedipus]] came along and solved the riddle that the besieged city was liberated, making Oedipus king (the answer to the riddle is man; a baby crawls when young, walks on two legs as an adult, and uses a cane in old age).<ref>Hamilton, Edith. 1942. ''Mythology''. New York: Little, Brown. ISBN 0316341517</ref> Bested at last, the sphinx then threw herself from her high rock and died. An alternative version tells that she devoured herself. The exact riddle asked by the sphinx was not specified by early tellers of the story and was not standardized as the one given above until much later in Greek history. Thus Oedipus can be recognized as a liminal or "threshold" figure, helping effect the transition between the old religious practices, represented by the sphinx, and new, Olympian ones. |
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| − | ==Sphinxes mentioned in fiction and games== | + | == Sphinx in South and South-East Asia == |
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| − | Sphinxes often appear in [[fantasy]] [[literature]] and [[role-playing game]]s as races or species of monstrous creatures with the head of a person and the body of a lion, usually also with a pair of wings or the hind quarters of a bull.
| + | In contrast to the sphinx in [[ancient Egypt|Egypt]], [[Mesopotamia]], and [[ancient Greece|Greece]], where the traditions have been largely lost due to the discontinuity of the [[civilization]],<ref>Demisch, Heinz. 1977. “Die Sphinx.” ''Geschichte ihrer Darstellung von den Anfangen bis zur Gegenwart.''</ref> the traditions of the "Asian sphinx" are still very much alive. The earliest artistic depictions of "sphinxes" from the South Asian subcontinent are to some extend influenced by Hellenistic art. But the "sphinxes" from Mathura, Kausambi, and Sanchi, dated to the third century B.C.E. until the first century C.E., also show a considerable non-Hellenist, indigenous character. It is therefore unlikely that the concept of the "sphinx" originated through foreign influence.<ref>Deekshitar, Raja. [http://www.geocities.com/sphinxofindia/earlyart.html The Sphinx in Early Indian Art.] Retrieved February 9, 2007.</ref> |
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| − | *The [[Sphinx (Dungeons & Dragons)|Dungeons & Dragons Sphinx]].
| + | [[Image:Purushamrigatribhuvanai01.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Purushamriga or Indian sphinx depicted on the Shri Varadaraja Perumal temple in Tribhuvana, India]] |
| | + | In South [[India]] the "sphinx" is known as ''purushamriga'' ([[Sanskrit]]) or ''purushamirukam'' ([[Tamil]], meaning human-beast). It is found depicted in sculptural art in temples and palaces where it serves an apotropiac purpose "warding off evil," just like the "sphinxes" in other parts of the ancient world.<ref>Demisch, Heinz. 1977. “Die Sphinx.” ''Geschichte ihrer Darstellung von den Anfangen bis zur Gegenwart.''</ref> According to tradition, it is said to take away the [[sin]]s of the devotees when they enter a temple and to ward off evil in general. It is therefore often found in a strategic position on the ''gopuram'' or temple gateway, or near the entrance of the ''Sanctum Sanctorum''. |
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| − | *In the video game Age of Mythology.(a playable character when using the egyptian civilization)
| + | The ''purushamriga'' plays a significant role in daily as well as yearly [[ritual]]s of South Indian [[Hinduism|Shaiva]] temples. In the ''sodasa-upacara'' (or 16 honors) ritual, performed between one to six times at significant sacred moments throughout the day, it decorates one of the lamps of the ''diparadhana'' or lamp ceremony. And in several temples the ''purushamriga'' is also one of the ''vahana'', or vehicles of the deity during the processions of the ''Brahmotsava'' or festival. |
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| − | *In the novel ''[[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire]]'' Harry encounters a sphinx that has been placed in a maze. ''[[Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them]]'' reveals more information about the nature of Egyptian sphinxes in the [[Harry Potter|Harry Potter]] world.
| + | In the Kanya Kumari district, in the southernmost tip of the [[Indian subcontinent]], during the night of ''Shiva Ratri'', devotees run 75 kilometers while visiting and worshiping at twelve [[Shiva]] temples. This Shiva Ottam (or Run for Shiva) is performed in commemoration of the story of the race between the Sphinx and Bhima, one of the heroes of the epic ''[[Mahabharata]]''. |
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| − | *In the comic ''[[Cerebus]]'', issue #300, Cerebus's son Shep-Shep (or She-Shep, [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]] for "living symbol") visits Cerebus and brings a box containing a baby sphinx that was created by splicing his genes with those of a lion, with which Shep-Shep intends to rule Egypt as a god.
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| − | *In the video game ''[[Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy]]'', the [[protagonist]] is based on the [[Great Sphinx|Great Sphinx of Giza]].
| + | In [[Sri Lanka]], the sphinx is known as ''narasimha'' or “man-lion.” As a sphinx it has the body of a [[lion]] and the head of a [[human being]], and is not to be confused with [[Narasimha]], the fourth reincarnation of the deity [[Mahavishnu]]; this [[avatar]]a or incarnation is depicted with a human body and the head of a lion. The "sphinx" Narasimha is part of the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] tradition and functions as a guardian of the northern direction and was also depicted on banners. |
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| − | *In the video game ''[[Pharaoh and Cleopatra|Pharaoh]]'', the [[Great Sphinx|Great Sphinx of Giza]] may be constructed as a [[monument|monument]] during one of the game's campaign missions.
| + | In [[Myanmar]], the sphinx is known as ''manusiha'' and ''manuthiha''. It is depicted on the corners of Buddhist ''stupas'', and its [[legend]]s tell how it was created by Buddhist monks to protect a new born royal baby from being devoured by ogresses. |
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| − | *In [[Terry Pratchett]]’s ''[[Discworld]]'' novel, ''Pyramids'', the Sphinx roams a border between parallel universes, accessible only between [[Tsort]] and [[Ephebe]], when the Kingdom [[Djelibeybi]] has disappeared. Djelibeybi’s King, Teppic, encounters the Sphinx who presents him with the generic riddle. Teppic confuses the Sphinx by pointing out the obvious technical errors in the riddle – The riddle turns into: “What, metaphorically speaking, walks on four legs just after midnight, on two legs for most of the day…, barring accidents, until at least supper-time… when it continues to walk on two legs or with any prosthetic aids of its choice?” - therefore managing to escape being eaten by the dreaded creature.
| + | ''Nora Nair'' and ''Thep Norasingh'' are two of the names under which the "sphinx" is known in [[Thailand]]. They are depicted as upright walking beings with the lower body of a lion or [[deer]], and the upper body of a human. Often they are found as male-female pairs. Here too it serves a protective function. It is also enumerated among the mythological creatures that inhabit the ranges of the sacred mountain Himmapan.<ref>[http://www.himmapan.com/himmapan_lion_thepnorasri.html Thep Norasri.] Himmapan.com. Retrieved February 9, 2007.</ref> |
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| − | *In the RPG ''[[Adventure Quest|Adventure Quest]]'', Sphinxes are enemies fought when around level 45 or so. They attack with powerful strikes and have a lot of HP.
| + | ==Similar creatures== |
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| − | *In the Film ''[[MirrorMask]]'', Sphinxes are ravenous creatures warded off by feeding them books. One guards the entrance to where the Stone Golems reside and asks a riddle of Helena.
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| − | ==Great Sphinx of Giza== | |
| − | [[Image:Sphinx.jpg|thumbnail|left|250px|The head of the Great Sphinx of Giza, thought to be the likeness of the pharaoh Khufu. The Great Sphinx is the largest and most recognized monumental sculpture in the world, and commonly is thought to have been constructed around 4,500 years ago.]]
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| − | The '''Great Sphinx of Giza''' is a large half-human, half-lion [[Sphinx]] statue in [[Egypt]], on the [[Giza Plateau]] at the west bank of the [[Nile|Nile River]], near modern-day [[Cairo]] ({{coor d|29.975299|N|31.137496|E|scale:10000}}). It is one of the largest single-stone statues on Earth, and is commonly believed to have been built by [[ancient Egyptians]] in the [[3rd millennium B.C.E.]].
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| − | What name ancient Egyptians called the statue is not completely known. The commonly used name "[[Sphinx]]" was given to it in [[Classical antiquity|Antiquity]] based on the [[Greek mythology|legendary Greek]] creature with the body of a [[lion]], the head of a woman and the wings of a eagle, though Egyptian sphinxes have the head of a man. The word "sphinx" comes from the Greek Σφινξ — Sphinx, apparently from the verb σφινγω — sphingo, meaning "to strangle," as the sphinx from Greek mythology strangled anyone incapable of answering her riddle. A few, however, have postulated it to be a corruption of the ancient [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]] ''Shesep-ankh,'' a name applied to royal statues in the [[Fourth dynasty of Egypt|Fourth Dynasty]], though it came to be more specifically associated with the Great Sphinx in the [[New Kingdom]]. In medieval texts, the names ''balhib'' and ''bilhaw'' referring to the Sphinx are attested, including by Egyptian historian [[Maqrizi]], which suggest [[Coptic language|Coptic]] constructions, but the [[Egyptian Arabic]] name ''Abul-Hôl'', which translates as "Father of Terror", came to be more widely used.
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| − | ===Description===
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| − | [[Image:GreatSphinx1867.jpg|thumb|right|275px|The Great Sphinx in 1867. Note its unrestored original condition, still partially buried body, and a man standing beneath its ear.]]The Great Sphinx is a statue with the face of a man and the body of a [[lion]]. Carved out of the surrounding [[limestone]] bedrock, it is 57 metres (260 feet) long, 6 m (20 ft) wide, and has a height of 20 m (65 ft), making it the largest single-stone statue in the world. Blocks of stone weighing upwards of 200 [[ton]]s were quarried in the construction phase to build the adjoining Sphinx Temple. It is located on the west bank of the [[Nile|Nile River]] within the confines of the [[Giza]] pyramid field. The Great Sphinx faces due east, with a small temple between its paws.
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| − | ===Restoration===
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| − | After the [[necropolis]] was abandoned, the Sphinx became buried up to its shoulders in sand. The first attempt to dig it out dates back to [[1400s B.C.E.|1400 B.C.E.]], when the young [[Thutmose IV|Tutmosis IV]] formed an excavation party which, after much effort, managed to dig the front paws out. Tutmosis IV had a [[granite]] [[Stele|stela]] known as the [[Dream Stela]] placed between the paws. The stela reads, in part:
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| − | <blockquote>...the royal son, Thothmos, being arrived, while walking at midday and seating himself under the shadow of this mighty god, was overcome by slumber and slept at the very moment when [[Ra]] is at the summit (of heaven). He found that the Majesty of this august god spoke to him with his own mouth, as a father speaks to his son, saying: Look upon me, contemplate me, O my son Thothmos; I am thy father, [[Harmakhis]]-[[Khepri|Khopri]]-[[Ra]]-[[Atum|Tum]]; I bestow upon thee the sovereignty over my domain, the supremacy over the living ... Behold my actual condition that thou mayest protect all my perfect limbs. The sand of the desert whereon I am laid has covered me. Save me, causing all that is in my heart to be executed. <ref>Translation by D. Mallet, accessible online [http://www.harmakhis.org/The%20Stele%20of%20Thotmes%20IV%20%28Translation%29.htm here].</ref></blockquote>
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| − | [[Ramesses II]] may have also performed restoration work on the Sphinx.
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| − | It was in [[1817]] that the first modern dig, supervised by [[Giovanni Battista Caviglia|Captain Caviglia]], uncovered the Sphinx's chest completely. The entirety of the Sphinx was finally dug out in [[1925]].
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| − | ===Missing nose===
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| − | The one-meter-wide [[nose]] on the face is missing. A legend that the nose was broken off by a cannon ball fired by [[Napoleon I of France|Napoléon]]'s soldiers still survives, as do diverse variants indicting [[Great Britain|British]] troops, [[Mamluk]]s, and others. However, sketches of the Sphinx by [[Frederic Louis Norden|Frederick Lewis Norden]] made in 1737 and published in 1755 illustrate the Sphinx without a nose. The Egyptian historian [[al-Maqrizi]], writing in the fifteenth century, attributes the vandalism to Muhammad Sa'im al-Dahr, a [[Sufi]] [[Fanaticism|fanatic]] from the [[Khaneqah|khanqah]] of Sa'id al-Su'ada. In 1378, upon finding the Egyptian peasants making offerings to the '''Sphinx''' in the hope of increasing their harvest, Sa'im al-Dahr was so outraged that he destroyed the nose. Al-Maqrizi describes the Sphinx as the "Nile talisman" on which the locals believed the cycle of inundation depended.
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| − | Curious and droll fictional explanations of the nose's disappearance occasionally appear in modern entertainment set in vaguely appropriate times, such as in [[Asterix and Cleopatra]].
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| − | In addition to the lost nose, a ceremonial pharaonic beard is thought to have been attached, although this may have been added in later periods after the original construction. Egyptologist Rainer Stadelmann has posited that the rounded divine beard may not have existed in the Old or Middle Kingdoms, only being conceived of in the New Kingdom to identify the Sphinx with the god Horemakhet. This may also relate to the later fashion of pharaohs, which was to wear a plaited beard of authority—a false beard (chin straps are actually visible on some statues), since Egyptian culture mandated that men be clean shaven. Pieces of this beard are today kept in the [[British Museum]] and the [[Egyptian Museum]].
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| − | ===Mythology===
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| − | The Great Sphinx was believed to stand as a guardian of the [[Giza Plateau]], where it faces the rising sun. It was the focus of solar worship in the [[Old Kingdom]], centered in the adjoining temples built around the time of its probable construction. Its animal form, the lion, has long been a symbol associated with the sun in [[ancient Near East]]ern civilizations. Images depicting the Egyptian king in the form of a lion smiting his enemies appear as far back as the [[Early Dynastic Period of Egypt]]. During the [[New Kingdom]], the Sphinx became more specifically associated with the god ''Hor-em-akhet'' ([[Ancient Greek|Greek]] ''Harmachis'') or Horus at the Horizon, which represented the [[Pharaoh]] in his role as the ''Shesep ankh'' of [[Atum]] (living image of Atum). A temple was built to the northeast of the Sphinx by King [[Amenhotep II]], nearly a thousand years after its construction, dedicated to the cult of Horemakhet.
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| − | ===Riddle of the Sphinx===
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| − | The Great Sphinx is one of the world's largest and oldest statues, yet basic facts about it such as the real-life model for the face, when it was built, and by whom, are debated. These questions have collectively earned the title "Riddle of the Sphinx", a nod to its Greek namesake, although this phrase should not be confused with the original [[Sphinx#Greek sphinx|Greek legend]].
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| − | [[Image:Egypt.Giza.Sphinx.02.jpg|290px|left|thumb|The Sphinx against Khafra's pyramid]]
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| − | ===Origin and identity===
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| − | The Great Sphinx is commonly accepted by Egyptologist to represent the likeness of King [[Khafra]] (also known by the Hellenised version of his name, ''Chephren'') in which he believed to be the builder as well. Crediting Khafra as the builder would place its construction somewhere between 2520 - 2494 B.C.E. Because the evidence for this is often ambiguous it continues to be the subject of debate.
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| − | Supporting Egytologists base the Khafra theory on the belief that the context of the monument resides within part of a greater funary complex credited to Khafra which includes the Sphinx and Valley Temples as well as the 2nd pyramid <ref>"http://www.aeraweb.org/khafre_structures.asp"</ref>. Supporting evidence includes a diorite statue of Khafre discovered buried upside down in the nearby Valley Temple. Because of the relatively close proximity of the two structures, as well as it is assumed they were built at the same time, it is from this relationship Egyptologists associate Khafra with the Sphinx.
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| − | In addition, the Dream [[Stela]] erected by [[Pharaoh]] [[Thutmose IV]] in the [[New Kingdom]] is believed by Egyptologists to associate the Sphinx with King Khafra. When discovered, however, the lines of text were incomplete only referring to a "Khaf", and not the full "Khafra". The missing syllable "ra" was later added to complete the translation by Thomas Young on the assumption the text referred to "Khafra". The translation reads as follows:<ref>"http://jcolavito.tripod.com/lostcivilizations/id17.html</ref>
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| − | <blockquote>"...which we bring for him: oxen... and all the young vegetables; and we shall give praise to Wenofer ...Khaf.... the statue made for Atum-Hor-em-Akhet."</blockquote>
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| − | Regardless of the translation, the stela offers no clear record if at all of what context the name Khafre was used in relation to the Sphinx as the builder, restorer, or otherwise. The lines of text referring to Khafre flaked off and were destroyed when the Stela was re-excavated in the early 1900's in which Young's translation was based on an earlier facsimile.
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| − | <!--This section needs further explanation - if true, there is no way the Sphinx can be Khafra - but Egyptologists still say so - how come? There must be a counter-argument —>
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| − | <!--The 'Inventory Stela' of the 26th dynasty (664-525 B.C.E.) found by Auguste Mariette on the Giza plateau in 1857, describes how Khufu (the ''father'' of Khafra, the alleged builder) discovered the damaged monument buried in sand and attempted to excavate and repair the dilapidated Sphinx.<ref>"http://www.gizabuildingproject.com/art_reader1.php"</ref> —>
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| − | Traditionally, the evidence for dating the Great Sphinx by Egyptologists has been based primarily on fragmented summaries of early Christian writings gleaned from the work of the Hellinistic Period Egyptian priest Manethô who compiled the now lost revisionist Egyptian history ''Aegyptika''. These works, and to a lesser degree earlier Egyptian sources, mainly the "Turin Canon" and "Table of Abydos" among others, combine to form the main body of historical reference for Egyptologists giving a timeline by popular consensus of rulers known as the "King's List", found in the reference archive; the ''Cambridge Ancient History''.<ref>"http://www.phouka.com/pharaoh/egypt/history/00kinglists.html"</ref><ref>"http://www.friesian.com/notes/oldking.htm"</ref> As a result, Egyptologists have ascribed the Sphinx to Khafra, establishing the time he reigned by default subsequently dates the monument as well.
| + | Not all human-headed animals of antiquity are sphinxes. In ancient [[Assyria]], for example, bas-reliefs of bulls with the crowned bearded heads of kings guarded the entrances to temples. |
| | + | In the classical Olympian mythology of Greece, all the deities had human form, though they could assume their animal natures as well. All the creatures of [[Greek mythology|Greek myth]] that combine human and animal form are survivals of the pre-Olympian [[religion]]: [[centaur]]s, Typhon, [[Gorgon|Medusa]], [[Lamia (mythology)|Lamia]], and so forth. |
| | + | In [[Hinduism|Hindu]] tradition, one of the [[avatar]]s of [[Vishnu]] was the [[Narasimha]] which means "man-lion," although this avatar had a human body and the head of a lion. |
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| − | In [[2004]], French Egyptologist [[Vassil Dobrev]] announced the results of a 20-year reexamination of historical records and uncovering of new evidence that suggest the Great Sphinx may have been the work of the little known Pharaoh [[Djedefre]], Khafra's half brother and a son of [[Khufu]], the builder of the [[Great Pyramid of Giza]]. Dobrev suggests it was built by Djedefre in the image of his father Khufu, identifying him with the sun god [[Ra]] in order to restore respect for their dynasty.<ref>[http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/12/14/wsphinx14.xml "I have solved riddle of the Sphinx, says Frenchman"], newspaper article from ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]''. Last retrieved [[June 28]], [[2005]].</ref> Former director of the German Institute of Archaeology in Cairo Rainer Stadelmann suggests it was Khufu and not his son Khafre who is responsible for constructing the monument. <ref>"http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/12/14/wsphinx14.xml"</ref>.
| + | ==Artistic Representations== |
| − | Regardless, the sphinx's link with Khafra continues to be the most widely held view by [[Egyptologist]]s.
| + | [[Image:Oedipus And The Sphinx - Project Gutenberg eText 14994.png|thumb|right|300 px| Oedipus and the Sphinx]] |
| | + | Beyond the monuments in [[Egypt]], the sphinx has been depicted in [[art]] for centuries. Some of the most famous depictions, ranging from [[ancient Greece]] to [[Asia]], are variations of [[Oedipus]]' encounter with the sphinx. Some depictions show a sphinx in a position of power and wisdom, looking down on Oedipus as he tries to solve the riddle, while others depict the battle of minds as an epic, mortal fight.<ref> "Sphinx." ''Encyclopedia Britannica''. </ref> In any case, the artistic iconography of the Greek legend represents man's ability to penetrate the mysteries of the world, to use his mind in epic measures. |
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| − | ===Alternative theories===
| + | The revived ''Mannerist Sphinx'' of the sixteenth century is sometimes thought of as the ''French Sphinx''. Her lovely coiffed head is erect and she has the pretty bust of a young woman. Often she wears [[pearl]]s. Her body is naturalistically rendered as a recumbent [[lion]]. Such sphinxes were revived when the ''grottesche'' or "grotesque" decorations of the unearthed "Golden House" (''Domus Aurea'') of [[Nero]] were brought to light in late fifteenth century [[ancient Rome|Rome]], and she was incorporated into the classical vocabulary of [[arabesque]] designs that was spread throughout [[Europe]] in [[engraving]]s during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Her first appearances in French art are in the School of Fontainebleau in the 1520s and 1530s; her last appearances are in the [[Baroque|Late Baroque]] style of the French [[Régence]] (1715–1723). |
| − | In common with many famous constructions of remote antiquity, the Great Sphinx has over the years been the subject of numerous speculative theories and assertions by non-[[Egyptology|specialists]], [[mysticism|mystics]], [[pseudohistory|pseudohistorians]], [[pseudoarchaeology|pseudoarchaeologists]] and general writers. These alternative theories of the origin, purpose and history of the monument typically invoke a wide array of sources and associations, such as neighboring cultures, [[astrology]], [[Lost Lands|lost continents]] and civilizations (e.g. [[Atlantis]]), [[numerology]], [[mythology]] and other [[esotericism|esoteric]] subjects. [[Egyptologist]]s and the wider scientific community largely ignore such claims; however, on occasion they are drawn into public debate when a claim purports to rely upon some novel or re-interpreted data from an academic field of study.
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| − | ====Water erosion====
| + | <center>[[Image:Fernand Khnopff 002.jpg|thumb|600px|center|Fernand Khnopff's symbolist version of a Sphinx]]</center> |
| − | French scholar and mathematician [[R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz]] in the 1950s was the first to note water erosion to the Sphinx, an idea expanded upon by writer [[John Anthony West]] in the 1970s. In the 1990s [[Robert M. Schoch]] of [[Boston University]] investigated the geology of the Sphinx at the urging of John Anthony West, and concluded based solely on the geological evidence that the Sphinx must be much older than currently believed. Schoch has argued that the particular weathering found on the body of the Sphinx and surrounding "ditch" or "hollow" the monument was carved from, displays evidence that can only be caused from prolonged water erosion <ref>"http://www.robertschoch.net/Redating%20the%20Great%20Sphinx%20of%20Giza.htm"</ref>. Egypt's last time period where there was a significant amount of rainfall ended during the late 4th to early [[3rd millennium B.C.E.]]. Schoch claims the amount of water erosion the Sphinx has experienced indicates a construction date no later than the [[6th millennium B.C.E.]] or [[5th millennium B.C.E.]], at least two thousand years before the widely accepted construction date and 1500 years prior to the accepted date for the beginning of Egyptian civilization.
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| − | English geologist and secretary of The Manchester Ancient Egypt Society [[Colin Reader]] who has studied the weathering patterns as well, agrees the weathering occurred from heavy water erosion, but concludes that the Sphinx is only several hundred years older than the traditionally accepted date believing the Sphinx to be a product of the Early Dynastic period <ref>"http://www.thehallofmaat.com/modules.php?name=Articles&file=article&sid=93"</ref>. Independently, geologist David Coxill has also come forward to confirm in principle Schoch's findings, but like Reader has taken a more conservative approach to the dating of the Sphinx, yet concludes: "Nevertheless, it (the Sphinx)is clearly older than the traditional date for the origins of the Sphinx-in the reign of Khafre, 2520-2490 B.C.E."<ref>"http://www.morien-institute.org/sphinx8.html"</ref> Both Schoch and Reader base their conclusions not only on the Sphinx and surrounding enclosure, but have also taken into account other congruent weathering features found on the Giza plateau from monuments such as the Sphinx Temple which are known to be consistent with the time period the Sphinx was constructed.
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| − | This theory has not been accepted by mainstream Egyptologists. Alternative theories offered by Egytologists for the erosion include wind and sand, [[acid rain]], [[exfoliation (geology)|exfoliation]] or the poor quality of the limestone used to construct the Sphinx. Schoch, Reader, and Coxill have independently argued, regardless of when the Sphinx was actually built, that none of these explanations can account for what they consider as geologists to be "classic" water erosion patterns.
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| − | Schoch has also noted as have others that the clearly evident disproportionately small size of the head compared to the body suggests the head to have been originally that of a lion, but later re-carved to give the likeness of a pharaoh. This implies that the Egyptian Kings were the inheritors of an already existing structure of which they re-made in their own image to give provenance over the monument<ref>"http://members.aol.com/davidpb4/sphinx1.html"</ref>.
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| − | ====Hancock and Bauval====
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| − | One well-publicised debate<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2000/atlantisrebornagain.shtml BBC Horizon programme (2000) on alternate theories of Hancock and Bauval]</ref> was generated by the works of two writers, [[Graham Hancock]] and [[Robert Bauval]], in a series of separate and collaborative publications from the late 1980s onwards. Their claims include that the Great Sphinx was constructed in [[Upper Paleolithic|10,500 B.C.E.]]; that its [[lion]]-shape is a definitive reference to the [[constellation]] of [[Leo (constellation)|Leo]]; and that the layout and orientation of the Sphinx, the [[Giza pyramid complex]] and the [[Nile|Nile River]] is an accurate reflection or "map" of the constellations of Leo, [[Orion (constellation)|Orion]] (specifically, [[Orion (constellation)|Orion's Belt]]) and the [[Milky Way]], respectively.
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| − | Their initial claims regarding the alignment of the Giza pyramids with Orion ("…the three pyramids were an unbelievably precise terrestrial map of the three stars of Orion's belt"— Hancock's ''[[Fingerprints of the Gods]]'', 1995, p.375) are later joined with speculation about the age of the Sphinx (Hancock and Bauval, ''[[Keeper of Genesis]]'', published 1997 in the U.S. as ''The Message of the Sphinx''). By 1998's ''[[The Mars Mystery]]'', they contend:
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| − | <blockquote>...we have demonstrated with a substantial body of evidence that the pattern of stars that is "frozen" on the ground at Giza in the form of the three pyramids and the Sphinx represents the disposition of the constellations of Orion and Leo as they looked at the moment of sunrise on the spring equinox during the astronomical "Age of Leo" (i.e., the epoch in which the Sun was "housed" by Leo on the spring equinox.) Like all precessional ages this was a 2,160-year period. It is generally calculated to have fallen between the Gregorian calendar dates of 10,970 and [[9th millennium B.C.E.|8810 B.C.E.]]. (''op. cit.'', p.189)</blockquote>
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| − | A date of 10,500 B.C.E. is chosen because they maintain this is the only time in the [[precession of the equinoxes]] when the [[astrological age]] was [[Leo (astrology)|Leo]] and when that constellation rose directly east of the Sphinx at the [[vernal equinox]]. They also suggest that in this epoch the angles between the three [[star]]s of Orion's Belt and the horizon was an "exact match" to the angles between the three main Giza pyramids. This time period coincidentally also coincides with the American [[psychic]] [[Edgar Cayce]]'s "dating" of [[Atlantis]]. These and other theories are used to support the overall belief in an advanced and ancient, but now vanished, global progenitor [[civilization]].
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| − | Their theories, and the [[astronomy|astronomical]] and archaeological data upon which they are based, have received refutations by some mainstream scholars who have examined them, notably the astronomers [[Ed Krupp]] and [[Anthony Fairall]]<ref>[http://www.antiquityofman.com/Orion_Fairall.html Tony Fairall's criticisms]</ref>. The refuting evidence includes noting that the correspondence of the angles between the pyramids and the angles in Orion's Belt at that epoch is not in fact precise or even very close, that the "Age of [[Leo (constellation)|Leo]]" (period when the [[Sun]]'s path appears in this constellation at the equinoxes) in fact starts 1500 years later than this, that the [[Zodiac]] of [[western astrology]] is known to have originated in [[Mesopotamia]] and not pre-ancient Egypt, and that if the Sphinx is meant to represent Leo, then it should be on the other side of the Nile (the "Milky Way") from the pyramids ("Orion"). Hancock, Bauval, and others have offered counter-arguments to Krupp's points <ref>[http://www.grahamhancock.com/horizon/krupp-mail.htm]</ref> <ref>[http://members.cox.net/fbajus1/]</ref><ref>[http://home.maine.rr.com/imyunnut/Blinking.back.html]</ref> and maintain their positions, continuing to publish books based on their theories. The majority of the scientific community regards these ideas as being counter to mainstream views and as a result are often labeled as [[pseudoscience]]<ref>[http://www.antiquityofman.com/pseudoscience.html critiques on the theory as pseudoscience]</ref>.
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| − | ====Early Egyptolgists====
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| − | While mainstream Egytologists today rail against any alternative theory suggesting the Great Sphinx is possibly older than currently accepted, this was not always the case. The emininant Keeper of the Egyptian Antiquities in the British Museum and father of modern egytology Sir E.A. Wallis Budge states in his 1904 book ''Gods of the Egyptians'': "This marvelous object [the Great Sphinx] was in existence in the days of Khafre, or Khephren, and it is probable that it is a very great deal older than his reign and that it dates from the end of the archaic period." French Egyptologist and Director General of Excavations and Antiquities for the Egyptian government Gaston Maspero who surveyed the Sphinx in the 1920's asserts:" The Sphinx stela shows, in line thirteen, the cartouche of Khephren. I believe that to indicate an excavation carried out by that prince, following which, the almost certain proof that the Sphinx was already buried in sand by the time of Khafre and his predecessors."<ref>[http://www.theglobaleducationproject.org/egypt/articles/phototr3.html]</ref>
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| | | | |
| | == Notes == | | == Notes == |
| | + | <references/> |
| | | | |
| − | <references/>
| + | ==References== |
| | + | * Hamilton, Edith. ''Mythology''. Boston, MA: Back Bay Books, 1998. ISBN 0316341517 |
| | + | * Hancock, Graham and Robert Bauval. ''The Message of the Sphinx: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind''. Three Rivers Press, 1997. ISBN 0517888521 |
| | + | * Regier, Willis Goth. ''Book of the Sphinx''. Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0750938617 |
| | + | * Zivie-Coche, Christiane. ''Sphinx: History of A Monument ''. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. ISBN 0801489547 |
| | | | |
| | == External links == | | == External links == |
| | + | All links retrieved February 7, 2023. |
| | | | |
| − | *[[http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~loxias/sphinx.htm/]] - The Classics Pages: Oedipus & the Sphinx | + | *[http://guardians.net/egypt/sphinx/ Guardian’s Sphinx] – Photo gallery by Andrew Bayuk |
| − | | + | *[http://www.catchpenny.org/nose.html The Sphinx's Nose] – Catchpenny Mysteries by Larry Orcutt |
| − | | |
| − | *[http://www.thehallofmaat.com/modules.php?name=Articles&file=article&sid=93 An academic article arguing the case for water erosion evidence]
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| − | *[http://www.eridu.co.uk/Author/egypt/lost.html Egypt—The Lost Civilization Theory]
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| − | *[http://www.wikimapia.org/#y=29975274&x=31137585&z=18&l=0&m=s Satellite images of Great Sphinx of Giza] at [[WikiMapia]] = Google maps + wiki
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| − | *[http://www.catchpenny.org/nose.html The Sphinx's Nose] | |
| − | *[http://guardians.net/egypt/sphinx/ Sphinx photo gallery]
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| − | *[http://al-eman.com/Islamlib/viewchp.asp?BID=224&CID=1 Al Maqrizi's account in Arabic]
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| − | {{Credit2|Sphinx|92960936|Great_Sphinx_of_Giza|98331962|}} | + | {{Credit2|Sphinx|105122524|Great_Sphinx_of_Giza|98331962|}} |
Marble sphinx on tomb in Metairie Cemetery, New Orleans
The sphinx has had a long history of secrecy and intrigue, being viewed by many cultures as guardians of knowledge and as speaking in riddles. Originating in Ancient Egypt, the sphinx as a mythical creature existed in Ancient Greece and Mesopotamia, was revered by the later Western World, and to this day still exists in Eastern cultures. The sphinx has no history of real living existence, but exists only in art and literature, representing human desire for that which is greater than themselves, both in terms of the body and the mind. Yet the sphinx also embodies paradox, beautiful and alluring, she is also dangerous even deadly; the guardian of knowledge and threat to evil, encountering a sphinx is described as confusing and destructive.
Ultimately the sphinx represents human desire and ability to penetrate the mysteries of the universe, while warning us to venture there at our own risk. Perhaps the sphinx guards such knowledge until such time as true human beings, worthy and capable of understanding truth, appear on the earth.
Description
A sphinx at the entrance of Belvedere Palace, Vienna, Austria
The sphinx varies in physical features, but is almost always a composite of two or more animals, and some versions are part-human part-animal. In ancient Egypt there are three distinct types of sphinx: The Androsphinx, with the body of a lion and head of person; a Criosphinx, body of a lion with the head of ram; and Hierocosphinx, that had a body of a lion with a head of a falcon or hawk. In Greek mythology there is less variation: a winged lion with a woman's head, or a woman with the paws, claws, and breasts of a lion, a serpent's tail and eagle wings.
Found throughout history, in tales and in art, the sphinx always possesses an enigmatic character. Alluring, knowledgeable, and dangerous, the sphinx is to be approached with caution.
Egyptian sphinx
The sphinxes of ancient Egypt were regarded as iconic images. Usually, the sphinxes appeared as giant statues with the faces of pharaohs and almost always were regarded as protectors of temples or sacred areas. To what extent the sphinx played a role in ancient Egyptian mythology is an issue of debate. While the sphinx is not the only combination of animal and man to emerge in the religious art of the time, it may be one of the first, pre-dating all other anthropomorphic images of animal deities.
Avenue of ram's-head sphinxes at Karnak in Luxor
Famous Egyptian sphinxes include the alabaster sphinx of Memphis, localated within the open-air museum at that site; and the ram-headed sphinxes (in Greek, criosphinxes) representing the god Amon, in Thebes, of which there were originally some nine hundred. The most famous and largest of sphinxes is the Great Sphinx of Giza.
This famous Egyptian sphinx is known as Sesheps, the "Great Sphinx of Giza," and is situated on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile River. The Great Sphinx is a statue with the face of a man and the body of a lion. Carved out of the surrounding limestone bedrock, it is 57 meters (260 feet) long, 6 meters (20 feet) wide, and has a height of 20 meters (65 feet), making it the largest single-stone statue in the world. Blocks of stone weighing upwards of 200 tons were quarried in the construction phase to build the adjoining Sphinx Temple. It is located on the west bank of the Nile River within the confines of the Giza pyramid field.
The Great Sphinx in 1867. Note its unrestored original condition, still partially buried body, and a man standing beneath its ear
The Great Sphinx faces due east, with a small temple between its paws. The Great Sphinx was believed to stand as a guardian of the Giza Plateau, facing the rising sun. It was the focus of solar worship in the Old Kingdom, centered in the adjoining temples built around the time of its probable construction. Its animal form, the lion, has long been a symbol associated with the sun in ancient Near Eastern civilizations. Images depicting the Egyptian king in the form of a lion smiting his enemies appear as far back as the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt.[1]
The face of the Great Sphinx is believed to be the head of the pharaoh Khafra, or Khafre, (often known by the Greek version of his name, Chephren) or possibly that of his brother, the Pharaoh Djedefra, which would date its construction from the fourth dynasty (2723 B.C.E. – 2563 B.C.E.). However, there are some alternative theories that re-date the Sphinx to the pre-Old Kingdom, and, according to one hypothesis, to prehistoric times.
After the Giza necropolis was abandoned, the Sphinx became buried up to its shoulders in sand. The first attempt to dig it out dates back to 1400 B.C.E., when the young Tutmosis IV formed an excavation party which, after much effort, managed to dig the front paws out. Tutmosis IV had a granite stela known as the "Dream Stela" placed between the paws. The stela reads, in part:
The Great Sphinx of Giza, with the Pyramid of Khafre in the background
...the royal son, Thothmos, being arrived, while walking at midday and seating himself under the shadow of this mighty god, was overcome by slumber and slept at the very moment when Ra is at the summit (of heaven). He found that the Majesty of this august god spoke to him with his own mouth, as a father speaks to his son, saying: Look upon me, contemplate me, O my son Thothmos; I am thy father, Harmakhis-Khopri-Ra-Tum; I bestow upon thee the sovereignty over my domain, the supremacy over the living ... Behold my actual condition that thou mayest protect all my perfect limbs. The sand of the desert whereon I am laid has covered me. Save me, causing all that is in my heart to be executed.[2]
Ramses II may have also performed restoration work on the Sphinx. However, it was not until 1817 that the first modern dig, undertaken by Giovanni Battista Caviglia, uncovered the Sphinx's chest completely. The entirety of the Sphinx was finally dug out in 1925.
Greek sphinx
Fourth century
B.C.E. Attic red-figure Kylix from the Vatican Museum
While it is more than likely that the Greeks acquired the idea of the sphinx through cultural diffusion, they nonetheless incorporated it to a large degree into their written mythology and gave it its name (a potential combination of the Greek verb σφινγω — sphingo, meaning "to strangle" and the name Φιξ — Phix.
There was a single sphinx in Greek mythology, a unique demon of destruction and bad luck, according to Hesiod a daughter of Echidna and of Orthrus or, according to others, of Typhon and Echidna. She was represented in vase-painting and bas-reliefs most often seated upright rather than recumbent. Hera or Ares sent the sphinx from her Ethiopian homeland (the Greeks remembered the sphinx's foreign origin) to Thebes, where she guarded the entrance to the city, asking all those who passed her famous riddle "Which creature in the morning goes on four feet, at noon on two, and in the evening upon three?" All those who answered wrong were killed, and it was not until Oedipus came along and solved the riddle that the besieged city was liberated, making Oedipus king (the answer to the riddle is man; a baby crawls when young, walks on two legs as an adult, and uses a cane in old age).[3] Bested at last, the sphinx then threw herself from her high rock and died. An alternative version tells that she devoured herself. The exact riddle asked by the sphinx was not specified by early tellers of the story and was not standardized as the one given above until much later in Greek history. Thus Oedipus can be recognized as a liminal or "threshold" figure, helping effect the transition between the old religious practices, represented by the sphinx, and new, Olympian ones.
Sphinx in South and South-East Asia
In contrast to the sphinx in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece, where the traditions have been largely lost due to the discontinuity of the civilization,[4] the traditions of the "Asian sphinx" are still very much alive. The earliest artistic depictions of "sphinxes" from the South Asian subcontinent are to some extend influenced by Hellenistic art. But the "sphinxes" from Mathura, Kausambi, and Sanchi, dated to the third century B.C.E. until the first century C.E., also show a considerable non-Hellenist, indigenous character. It is therefore unlikely that the concept of the "sphinx" originated through foreign influence.[5]
Purushamriga or Indian sphinx depicted on the Shri Varadaraja Perumal temple in Tribhuvana, India
In South India the "sphinx" is known as purushamriga (Sanskrit) or purushamirukam (Tamil, meaning human-beast). It is found depicted in sculptural art in temples and palaces where it serves an apotropiac purpose "warding off evil," just like the "sphinxes" in other parts of the ancient world.[6] According to tradition, it is said to take away the sins of the devotees when they enter a temple and to ward off evil in general. It is therefore often found in a strategic position on the gopuram or temple gateway, or near the entrance of the Sanctum Sanctorum.
The purushamriga plays a significant role in daily as well as yearly rituals of South Indian Shaiva temples. In the sodasa-upacara (or 16 honors) ritual, performed between one to six times at significant sacred moments throughout the day, it decorates one of the lamps of the diparadhana or lamp ceremony. And in several temples the purushamriga is also one of the vahana, or vehicles of the deity during the processions of the Brahmotsava or festival.
In the Kanya Kumari district, in the southernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent, during the night of Shiva Ratri, devotees run 75 kilometers while visiting and worshiping at twelve Shiva temples. This Shiva Ottam (or Run for Shiva) is performed in commemoration of the story of the race between the Sphinx and Bhima, one of the heroes of the epic Mahabharata.
In Sri Lanka, the sphinx is known as narasimha or “man-lion.” As a sphinx it has the body of a lion and the head of a human being, and is not to be confused with Narasimha, the fourth reincarnation of the deity Mahavishnu; this avatara or incarnation is depicted with a human body and the head of a lion. The "sphinx" Narasimha is part of the Buddhist tradition and functions as a guardian of the northern direction and was also depicted on banners.
In Myanmar, the sphinx is known as manusiha and manuthiha. It is depicted on the corners of Buddhist stupas, and its legends tell how it was created by Buddhist monks to protect a new born royal baby from being devoured by ogresses.
Nora Nair and Thep Norasingh are two of the names under which the "sphinx" is known in Thailand. They are depicted as upright walking beings with the lower body of a lion or deer, and the upper body of a human. Often they are found as male-female pairs. Here too it serves a protective function. It is also enumerated among the mythological creatures that inhabit the ranges of the sacred mountain Himmapan.[7]
Similar creatures
Not all human-headed animals of antiquity are sphinxes. In ancient Assyria, for example, bas-reliefs of bulls with the crowned bearded heads of kings guarded the entrances to temples.
In the classical Olympian mythology of Greece, all the deities had human form, though they could assume their animal natures as well. All the creatures of Greek myth that combine human and animal form are survivals of the pre-Olympian religion: centaurs, Typhon, Medusa, Lamia, and so forth.
In Hindu tradition, one of the avatars of Vishnu was the Narasimha which means "man-lion," although this avatar had a human body and the head of a lion.
Artistic Representations
Beyond the monuments in Egypt, the sphinx has been depicted in art for centuries. Some of the most famous depictions, ranging from ancient Greece to Asia, are variations of Oedipus' encounter with the sphinx. Some depictions show a sphinx in a position of power and wisdom, looking down on Oedipus as he tries to solve the riddle, while others depict the battle of minds as an epic, mortal fight.[8] In any case, the artistic iconography of the Greek legend represents man's ability to penetrate the mysteries of the world, to use his mind in epic measures.
The revived Mannerist Sphinx of the sixteenth century is sometimes thought of as the French Sphinx. Her lovely coiffed head is erect and she has the pretty bust of a young woman. Often she wears pearls. Her body is naturalistically rendered as a recumbent lion. Such sphinxes were revived when the grottesche or "grotesque" decorations of the unearthed "Golden House" (Domus Aurea) of Nero were brought to light in late fifteenth century Rome, and she was incorporated into the classical vocabulary of arabesque designs that was spread throughout Europe in engravings during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Her first appearances in French art are in the School of Fontainebleau in the 1520s and 1530s; her last appearances are in the Late Baroque style of the French Régence (1715–1723).
Fernand Khnopff's symbolist version of a Sphinx
Notes
- ↑ Winston, Allen. 2003. "The Great Sphinx of Giza: An Introduction." Retrieved January 23, 2007.
- ↑ Mallet, D. Translation. Retrieved February 22, 2007.
- ↑ Hamilton, Edith. 1942. Mythology. New York: Little, Brown. ISBN 0316341517
- ↑ Demisch, Heinz. 1977. “Die Sphinx.” Geschichte ihrer Darstellung von den Anfangen bis zur Gegenwart.
- ↑ Deekshitar, Raja. The Sphinx in Early Indian Art. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
- ↑ Demisch, Heinz. 1977. “Die Sphinx.” Geschichte ihrer Darstellung von den Anfangen bis zur Gegenwart.
- ↑ Thep Norasri. Himmapan.com. Retrieved February 9, 2007.
- ↑ "Sphinx." Encyclopedia Britannica.
References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees
- Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Boston, MA: Back Bay Books, 1998. ISBN 0316341517
- Hancock, Graham and Robert Bauval. The Message of the Sphinx: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind. Three Rivers Press, 1997. ISBN 0517888521
- Regier, Willis Goth. Book of the Sphinx. Thrupp, Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing, 2005. ISBN 0750938617
- Zivie-Coche, Christiane. Sphinx: History of A Monument . Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. ISBN 0801489547
External links
All links retrieved February 7, 2023.
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